Look Out World!

I can now say with confidence that Bennett is a walker. He has been wearing Robeez for a while for those rare occasions when I would put him down to "walk" outside the house. Once his walk to fall rate dropped below 80/20, I decided he could do it. I took the plunge a couple of days ago and put the Keds on him. I am still having trouble believing that he's a walker now. Where did the baby go? I think the biggest change is that now when we go to a playground, he is free to move about as he pleases. No more will he be confined to the stroller, the swing, or my arms. This will make both Mommy and Benny happy.

I wish I had gotten pictures of it, but on Sunday, Judy and we headed to Wagner for a family reunion/monument dedication ceremony. It took place in the Tyler cemetery which is in the rolling hill country up there. Mr. Bennett, who up till then, thought he was hot stuff, couldn't quite manage the uneven terrrain. He did pretty well going uphill, but sideways or downhill was not so successful. As unstable and wobbly as any toddler looks who is just figuring out the walking thing, Bennett was falling down drunk on this uneven ground. Not that it really even fazed him. He just hopped back up and tried again - and fell again. The only worrisome part for us was making sure he didn't hit any of the stones. So we just ran interference and kept him safe, and he was happy and so were we. Benny Boy, the world is now yours to explore. Enjoy!

Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are

Yesterday, after arriving home from Reeves' (completely unnecessary) haircut, I did the same thing I always do when we get home at naptime. I carried Bennett inside with Reeves following me. I went straight back to Benny's roomand put him down for his nap. As I was rounding the corner to the hall, I noticed Reeves taking off his shoes. Perfect. One less thing for me to get him to do before he goes down for his nap. When I came back to the den, there was no Reeves. Not thinking much of this, I called him. No answer. No big deal. He often likes to huddle himself under and between the pillows on the side of the sofa. But he wasn't there. I checked his room, thinking maybe he had followed me down the hall and snuck in there while I was putting Bennett down. Nope. I was admittedly starting to get a little concerned now, but not too much. He must have gone outside to play in the car or ride his bike. Not there. OK, starting to freak out. Maybe he somehow got into Benny's room without me noticing. So, despite the fact that I had just put him down, I went bursting into Benny's room looking for Reeves. Not there either. At his point I am screaming for him and wondering how I am going to explain to Bryant that I lost Reeves. You know how it is in moments like these. Your mind runs through each and every possible worst case scenario. I hate that. I checked every one of Reeves' favorite hiding spots and still couldn't find him. Finally I heard movement from Bryant's closet. My whole body relaxed. I finally stopped holding my breath. He had had a little accident and was hiding in there. I explained to him that he should never hide from Mommy or Daddy like that. If he wanted to hide, he always needed to tell me, and then I would happily look for him. We addressed and cleaned up the accident. All was well, finally. But those were the scariest five minutes I had had in quite some time. Momma don't like to play dat!

The Big PT

It's been over a week, and I am now confident in saying that Reeves is potty trained. When we bought this box of diapera a month ago, I told him that this was the last box of diapers we would be buying.

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May 13...

OK, so I apparently started this post about a month ago now. Anyway, the above remains true. Reeves is potty trained. Of course, he still has some accidents from time to time, but he only wears diapers at bedtime, and he seems to really enjoy this newfound control. Like all little boys, Reeves would rather peepee outside than inside, and, as such has his one little spot in the yard where he prefers to go. I don't mind since I know right where to avoid when we are doing yard work. And besides, anywhere in the yard is preferable to the initial spot he had chosen which was right off the back steps. I had to nip that one in the bud pretty quickly!

Like moving him into his big boy bed, I had dreaded this milestone. I just knew it was going to make my life so much harder. But, like the big boy bed move, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it was going to be. He has, for the most part, really good bladder control, and ever since I have implemented Jodie's policy of no liquids before or during car rides, I don't really worry about it. It's so interesting to watch your little boy wanting and trying to be a big boy. With each of these milestones we check off the list, he gets that much farther and farther from the teeny tiny infant he was less than three years ago.

I'm so proud of how well he handled this transition. And I'm also pretty pleased with the money we've been saving in wipes!

Movin' On Up

Well, we have finally, permanently done it. Reeves is in his big boy bed. It was time. Poor Bennett could hardly move in the bassinett. It looks like we got him out just in time. He doesn't roll over yet, but he spins himself completely around. This morning, he had twisted so that he could look at the things hanging on the crib side. He was just laughing and smiling. It was precious. A happy result of Bennett's move into the crib is that his sleep schedule has improved dramatically. He now goes down around 7 or 8 and sleeps till at least 5. It seems all he needed to srop that 1 am feeding was a little more room to move. What a happy morning that was.

However, as it is with so many things in life, for every yin, there is a yang. Reeves, who is really such a fantastic sleeper, is now adjusting poorly to his new bed. Where before, bedtime was wonderful. We read, said prayers, put him in the crib, and knew that we had at least 10 hours of toddler free time. Now, bedtime is a chore and for the last three mornings, we have had said toddler toddle into our room at 4:30. Not so much fun. We are trying to be consistent and put him right back into his bed, but it is still exhausting. And of course, all the while, I am imploring him to be quiet so as not to wake Bennett. We're getting there. Sometimes he just gives up on the bed. Honestly, most times I don't even care if he's in his bed sleeping, as long as he's in his room and being quiet. Looks like, despite his every attempt to fight it, sometimes sleep wins. At least he has that curled up rug and not the hard floor!