Peekaboo

Our littlest man is six months old today. Half a year! He is doing amazing things already. He has perfected sitting up on his own and he sometimes seems to wave in response to us waving to him - but I'm pretty sure he is just flapping his arms because he realizes they are his. But after last nights' game of peekaboo I'm not sure.

Up until now, Benny has been a good sleeper. I realized lately though he has been using mommy as a crutch to get to sleep (nursing = sleep). Having trouble getting past that and getting him to sleep on his own, we let him hang out for a bit on his own in his crib the other night to see what would happen. Well duh. He cried! We let him go a little bit and then I gave in. He wasn't happy and I thought maybe he was teething? I brought him into our room to present the question to Leo and suddenly the boy was all smiles. He arched over and made googly eyes at Leo, happy as can be. Leo responded with smiles and eventually the suggestion to just go to sleep, "like this". He put his head down and closed his eyes, then popped up again to surprise Benny. Benny thought it was hilarious. And then did it back! He put hid head in my chest real quick then popped his head back at Leo, knowing how damn cute he was being. This was the first time we have seen him be deliberate with his actions and seem to truly know what is going on around him. This went on for a while until I said enough is enough, you're tired kid! And he was. But he just wanted to nurse to sleep. We looked at each other, weighed the options and decided to try to cry it out. Oh how I wish we could have skipped this part! It sucked when we did it for Nathan but it worked for him then. So we're going for it now. I lasted about an hour until I couldn't take it anymore. It was midnight, I was tired. I cuddled him, rocked him and put him to sleep (no nursing). The upside was that Nathan slept through it. I was so afraid we would have too awake babies. I don't know that we will be that lucky going forward.

Our daytime hours have been just as hectic. A few weekends ago we had Uncle Matt help us take apart our crappy old deck. The structure remains but we have new decking and railing boards waiting for us in the garage. That's this weekends' project. We thought we would wait and do such a labor intensive project on yet another 95+ degree streak. Yuck. It will be rough in the heat but I'm thinking about the final outcome. It will be gorgeous! I can't say I will have much to do with the construction. (Someone has to be with the kids!) but I have been studying for this every day on-line. What type of connections, railings, boards sizes, notched 4x4's or not. Then there's the stain to educate myself about! I spent an hour and a half at Lowe's yesterday picking the brain of every blue-vested man there to get everything we needed to get started. So I consider that my fair share of investment into this project - handing two squirming kids at the hardware store.

Speaking of those kids - they were really great on that trip out. I grabbed a lego/ star wars book at the entrance of the store and tossed it in the cart with Nathan (along with a little bag of cookies and a backup bag of crackers) and we were good to go. I consider myself seasoned in the realm of keeping the kids busy in stores. It's all about preparation.

I think you have to have a good kid too. And cute. Even the old men at Lowe's were oohing and ahhing over my little boys. But really, Nathan, despite the troubles he does cause, can be so wonderful. Yesterday before his nap, he cleaned his room on his own without me asking. I thought maybe Leo told him or he hit his head or something. He just decided it was a good idea. I love him. And he took his nap with minimal whining. Bedtime is getting a tad better too. Maybe we are getting past that three year old hump. He's showing how ready he will be soon for preschool . . .

I'm sure I have tons more to write but I have to go of course. Benny is still sleeping (good) but it's because he was up for hours last night crying it out (bad) and we may be all sorts of messed up today because of it. Fortunately my husband let me sleep in (awesome) since I was up in the wee hours trying to get Benny back to sleep. Where's my coffee . . .  ?

Independence

Yesterday we celebrated our day of independence (mostly Leo's independence from work but also our Country's Independence of course) by trying something new. Although it's been a steady sweltering 90 degrees + outside everyday, we can't keep the weather from keeping us outside. We decided to go to Frankie's in Brier Creek where they have mini golf, arcade games and tons of other stuff we can't enjoy for a while (batting cages, race cars and other big kid things). We braved through Nathan's first mini golf game and it wasn't half bad considering the circumstances. We all have to be patient (us with him and him with what we are doing) as he tries new things. We try to gently repeat the 'rules' or at least the object of the game. And he has to keep practicing and just not give up. This is easier said than done and the creeping heat didn't help. After a few shrugs and huffs of frustration, we all got through it and he had a good time. The reward was running around the cool arcade from one blast of light and sound to another. We played some games and got some stupid toys with the tickets we won at some of the games. Benny, meanwhile, was quite content in the carrier on me and dozed on and off. We must remember this as a good rainy/ hot day activity as there is much to do inside and whiles away a good chunk of time while getting some energy out. A win win for us all. Last night we went to Brier Creek Country Club where you can sit on the golf course and watch nearby fireworks. They had a bouncy house for the kids, music and lots of space to run. A friend of ours piggybacked the whole event with a birthday party for her kid. Great idea! It was a hot night but in the name of fireworks we toughed it out and all slept really well last night.

Last week we had Grandpa Truck and Babci here before they went down to Kerri's. It was Babci's first time meeting Benny. They were brave enough to stick around despite the evenings when I leave and he cries. At least Leo had company for while I was gone. I went out with my friend again for some night shots in Durham and then my class again Thursday. With Grandpa Truck, we went to the pool one of the days and Nathan did a really good job of swimming a little more on his own. He definitely needs someone else (other than me) to teach him. Saturday we joined them again for Logan's third birthday party. (How are these kids three already?) It was hot as Hades for the party but there were water activities for the kids to stay cool and me and Ben laid low in the AC.

Today it's just me and Benny for a few hours. A friend invited Nathan over for a few hours to play with her kids. So we are free to play and do whatever for a few hours. Currently, Ben is jumping in his jumparoo and studying his surroundings. Damn he is cute!