A Big Week

A lot has changed in 7 days for Mr. Alex. He is finally rolling back to front, has cut his first teeth, and pulled up to standing for the first time today. Wow! Alex just showed interest in pulling up for the first time last week after an activity we did at gymnastics and I guess he suddenly realized he could try to do it on his own. I left him sitting up in his crib playing with toys for just a second and when I walked back in the room he was calmly standing at the edge of his crib. It was still on the middle height setting so his head was several inches over the railing. I freaked and Alex was surprised, let go, and bumped his head. As soon as I lowered the crib to a much safer level, I let him try again (with a little help this time since he can't reach the rails) and he's loving it. He has a little bump on his right brow but that's not too bad for such an exciting week. I'm really happy that his two bottom teeth have finally appeared because I'm hoping we'll get a little break from the teething for, oh, a week or so until the tops ones come in. It's almost impossible to get a good look in his mouth so I don't know how close those are yet.

Here's the big guy looking so proud of himself.



And here's a look at the rolling (with a little look at Ben, who didn't want to be left out!)

Mr. Independent

I think the most commonly heard phrase around our house now (besides "no") is "let Ben do it!". He wants to do everything himself. Some things I encourage, like eating or dressing himself, but other things I'd rather him wait to learn, like using saline nose spray or turning on the lights. I can't believe how fast my little Ben is growing up.

Ben apparently thought Alex needed more toys. I think Alex was a bit overwhelmed but he stayed happy in that spot for almost an hour so maybe I should dump out the toy basket every day and let him go crazy.

This is Alex's preferred stroller position this week. I'm not sure if he's trying to reach his toes (which he just discovered will fit in his mouth but spring back the second he lets go) or if he likes looking down at the floor. He has recently discovered the joys of throwing toys off his highchair just to watch them fall.

He's also trying to pull up to standing and the stroller is the best place to do it at the moment.

Here's Ben saying the blessing at lunch today. I'll translate - "God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen!" or something along those lines...

These little guys are so much fun. I can't remember what life was like without them. I imagine we slept a lot more but we couldn't have laughed as much on a daily basis.

Funny Boys

We haven't done much exciting lately but that hasn't stopped the boys from making their own fun. Ben loves to paint these days but stopped in the middle of his masterpiece to wear a baggie on his head. It actually goes to his little portable potty that is to be used in emergencies when we're outside, but it's still unused meaning we've had some serious accidents. Mostly involving pee, which is easy to clean up and only involves changing clothes. Unfortunately, the only accident that happened outside the complex here was a big job and it was no fun trying to clean Ben up in the bathroom at a hawker stand. Ben is doing a great job of peeing in the toilet but we're still working on the other....hasn't happened in the potty yet and I need to be more careful about taking him out without a diaper!

Alex is into everything he can get his hands on. He had a great time tearing up my magazine, which are considered luxury items around here since they're ridiculously expensive. I only treat myself to one once in a blue moon or whenever there is a big story in People that I've heard nothing about. Gotta stay current on my celebrity gossip somehow.

This guy LOVES to eat! I'm still having trouble getting him to sleep through the night (I consider it 7pm-7am or thereabouts) without eating. I'm slowly dropping the late feed before I go to bed but Alex insists on waking up between 5-6am most days and usually stays awake after he eats. In my opinion, if it's still dark outside there is no reason to be awake! That's easy to say here because it gets light consistently around 7am and dark around 7pm year round.

Alex loves eating cereal but still can't get the hang of feeding himself so he appreciates some help here and there.

The boys and I spent the afternoon at the botanic garden yesterday only to get caught in a thunderstorm as soon as we got there. Ben could have cared less because we stopped and ate french fries and he got to color while we waited.

And this is their first game together - push little brother around in the walker! They both seem to enjoy it although Alex gets a little scared when Ben goes to fast or runs straight into something. It reminds me that one day they'll entertain each other and I might get some free time again!

Matt and I spent our Valentine's evening with some good friends over dinner and a wine tasting. We all moved here from Houston so it's fun to share the experience of living in Asia with people who understand how much we miss Freebirds, HEB, and Bud light!

All the ladies...

Videos

Here's Alex in real time. He's quite the laugher these days and loves to play peekaboo. We seem to have made it past the worst of the teething, for now anyway, so our good-natured smiling boy has returned. He is an absolute joy.

And this is as far as I can get him to roll. I have no doubt that he's physically capable of rolling all the way but I haven't found enough incentive yet. He happened to be in the middle of an outfit change when I took the video and I love seeing his fat belly!

Maybe if I start putting food just out of reach he'll be more willing to roll. He's figured out how to get the cereal in his mouth now, which is a huge bonus for me because he's happy sit in his high chair and nibble on cereal while Ben takes his sweet time picking at his food. It's pretty obvious which kid eats like Mom (I took hours to finish my dinner as a kid) and which one takes after Dad (who can swallow his entire dinner in about 3 bites).

Ben just amazes me with the things he says and does every day. His imagination is working full-time now. I saw him put a toy truck upside down on the couch the other day and asked what he was doing and he told me to be quiet because the truck was sleeping. Two nights ago he wrapped his foot in his washcloth after bathtime and told me it was a "foot present". Interesting...and cute enough for a picture. He did the same thing last night and then told me to go get the camera!

Here is the video I was told to make. Nothing like having a 2-year old barking orders! At the end, he says "wrap it tight!". I have no clue where he gets these ideas but he never fails to surprise me or make me laugh.

Latest Adventures

It seems like we've gotten really busy again, which is very nice because it means life is getting back to normal - both from having a second child and from being gone nearly 2 months. Alex no longer eats overnight and now naps pretty reliably twice, sometimes 3 times a day. That has really helped me make plans and get involved doing things outside the house again so I feel like I'm getting a life again. It's nice knowing I can take both kids to an afternoon playdate and not be depriving anyone of a nap. And it's fun to get out with Ben while Alex takes his morning nap and know I'm not missing out on any time with him.

We have enrolled Ben in the Little Gym to help him run off some excess energy and hopefully build up his coordination. He's been so fortunate never to need physical therapy after being in the hospital for so long as a newborn but I won't say he's the most coordinated kid I've ever seen. After two sessions, he LOVES gymnastics. It's also a fun activity he can do with Daddy since his class is on Saturday. In the picture below, most of the kids are doing the activity on the mat and Ben is the blur on the left on the little parallel bars.

Check out our little man in his undies! Potty training is still going with good and bad days but we're definitely making progress. We had no accidents today so I'm very encouraged. I'm not above bribery with jelly beans or M&M's and just the mention of candy can send him running to the bathroom.

I was trying to get a "before" picture of Alex with his first teething biscuit but the big ham had to get in the picture, too.

Alex wasted no time gumming that thing down to crumbs. He has been pretty miserable with the teething (at least I think that's what it has been) over the past week so I'm hoping to see some teeth poking through any day now so we can all get a little relief. At least the biscuits make him really happy!

Another attempt to get a cute picture of both boys....this didn't seem to work out....on the left is Whiney and on the right is Grouchy.

But this one came out pretty cute! When did his legs get so long?

Training Days

Both boys are doing some serious training this week - potty training for Ben and sleep training for Alex. I can't say we've had a ton of success with the potty training yet but Ben did stop playing, pull down his undies, and pee on the potty all by himself today so that's a huge step. That's after several accidents but I'll take any progress we can get. And thank goodness for tile and clorox. I've just been letting him run around in underwear so he knows immediately when he's had an accident.
And Alex has been sleeping training but it's been a lot easier than I anticipated. He's always been tough to put down, especially for naps, and I really want him to learn to settle himself to sleep in his crib so I've been letting him cry it out. To my surprise, most of the time he cries or fusses for just a few minutes and goes straight to sleep. And the best part is that he's been napping longer and sleeping better at night all week. Hopefully it's not just a phase but the beginning of him really sleeping well.

Since Alex has been napping better, both boys have been eating meals at the same time for the past few days and they both seem to enjoy it.

Ben and I took advantage of one of Alex's naps and enjoyed some time at the botanic garden. Ben was very proud of himself for catching and spitting out most of the water in the fountains.

Unfortunately just a few minutes later, he tripped and got his first double skinned knees. Ouch! (I didn't sit him down just for the pictures...we were waiting on our french fries to help him forget about the knees and I figured I might as well capture the moment)

Ever wonder why I don't post many pictures of Ben and Alex together? That's because it takes about an hour and 100 shots to get a decent picture of them! Here's an example. Both boys were sitting on Ben's bed before naptime looking adorable so I ran for my camera. Here's the rundown (but only about half of the pictures):

Looking cute, but Alex is way too close and his head looks twice as big as Ben's!

A little brotherly love....

Starting to lose Ben...

Ben's gone and the blanket has turned into lunch...

Ben's back but looking possessed...

Now Alex is eating the kitty....

And then everyone falls apart...

Their first wrestling session...

And I think Alex won! He pinned Ben under all that weight.

So off they went to their separate beds for naps. Only Ben never napped...I heard lots of noise coming from there for an hour and a half but I didn't have the energy to tell him to get back in bed. This is what I saw when I finally opened the door. I think Ben was pretty proud of himself for getting away with not napping. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end because it's becoming more common for him to skip a nap at least once a week.

But one thing will never change - this boy loves to dance!


And this boy loves to eat! I let him play with some cereal and he immediately grabbed them and put his fists to his mouth, but he can't figure out how to let go and eat them...it's hilarious.