The MacGregor Family

Ben 11 Months Old

2012-02-05T22:28:00.000-06:00

Our little baby is growing up. We can't believe he'll be one in less than a month! Well, actually, we do have some clues that he's getting close to being one. He is heading to the big oh-one as quickly as he heads towards anything - running, not allowing anything to get in his way. It's hard to believe a month ago he was not walking. It was January 7th that he took his first steps and he seemed to put all his energy into perfecting balance after that. While some toddlers toddle about, this kid stands there, arms out, getting his balance perfect, then he moves forward, determined and focused. He can make it to the other side of the room so quickly that it's difficult to catch him on camera. Once you get set up to take the picture, he's already out of the shot or grabbing onto your legs. This negates Rob's method of removing Ben from trouble spots (under a table, by dog food, near schoolwork) - Rob would just put him down on the other side of the room, thinking it would take him long enough to make it back that Rob could get some work done, but Ben is pretty much back where he wants to be immediately. He's fascinated by climbing too. He's climbed onto the Plasma-Car toy the Kemps bought his brother, and even though this car is on wheels and in motion, Ben had no problem getting his leg over it to ride it. He has also been caught standing on it several times. He has no fear. Even Jackson doesn't stand on it. He also uses his balance for climbing and we have only a few bumps to show for it. Bath time is pretty much full on wrestling to keep him from going underwater or over the bath tub wall.

And that's Ben - he's watched his brother and decided that is how he will be. He already trucks along to follow his brother anywhere. He now realizes that to keep what you like, you have to grab hold as hard as you can and scream if someone tries to take it. Ben's grip is strong and his screams are powerful. He's also essentially all muscle, because if you lift him up when he wants to walk or does not want to be lifted, he will try his best to use his legs and back to buck or push his way right out of your hands. Despite the strength, we're keeping a tight hold on him. Jackson is even more firm with him. He's taken some good smacks from his big brother in the past month, and I'd say Jackson has about two more months of Ben being defenseless before Ben starts sweeping the leg or pushing him down. Ben has already clocked Jackson with a toy or two and has managed to pull Jackson down a few times.

But he loves that brother of his. When they play together or laugh together or scream back and forth, you'll see Ben's eyes stay focused on Jackson as he laughs. If Ben sees Jackson getting attention, he wants to get in the middle of the action immediately. Jackson is the same way, of course, always wanting to know where Ben is and wanting to help with Ben when we're with him. (Add in two attention-starved puppies and you have two parents who are getting exhausted giving out attention.)

Then there are the teeth - Ben finally has some. His third tooth just broke through and number four is right behind it. Let's hope this may make it so he'll eat something besides liquified baby food and puffs. Every remotely lumpy baby food is met right now with disgusted looks and his tongue pushing out the clumps for us. He's a quick sorter of food by solidity, in case you were wondering.

He's still a little guy, still wearing some 3/6 month pants today. He wants to be held if he is remotely tired and he will run into our arms now. He's just getting to enjoy waving to people, but he only calls Mama and Dada by name. (I swear the last few days he has started saying no... This would be from his brother.)

Man does Ben love socks and shoes. If you put his socks on his feet, they will be off and in his mouth in less than a minute. If he's moving around, odds are he's trying to find someone's shoe (or its best alternate, a remote control). He also loves to play cars like his brother, but anything can be a car for Ben. He'll make lots of car noises as he moves something around in front of him.

With the constant war for attention in this house, we have let a few dates slip past. The other day, Rob realized Jackson's 1,000th day should be happening soon. He checked, and it was the 1,002nd day. He then discovered it was Ben's 334th day, literally a third of Jackson's age. This means Ben is halfway to being half of Jackson's age. It all happens so very quickly. Luckily, there is a photographer in the house who is happy to capture some of the little smiles we get each of his 341 days.

The Houston Zoo with Gracielita

2012-01-15T20:57:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, we went and played at the zoo with one of Jackson's little friends. They are adorable together!

Bye Bye "Ms. Ita"

2012-01-09T19:56:00.000-06:00

Today Jackson had to say bye to his favorite teacher Ms. Lalita ("Ms. Ita"). I have never seen Jackson so sad. When Ms. Ita explained that she wouldn't be there tomorrow Jackson said, "I will stay home tomorrow." It was hard to watch. He cried.

On the way home Jackson randomly said, "It's okay to cry." We said it depends on why. It's not okay to cry if you want to go outside and we said it was time to bed. Then we tried to explain times when it would be okay to cry. He busts out crying. We told him he couldn't just cry, but he had to also talk and tell us why he was crying. He said, "I am crying because I want my teacher back."

I have a feeling it's going to be a while before he's back to himself again. He doesn't adjust to new people at school well and Ms. Lalita will be hard to replace. He's been in her class for most of his life that he can remember.

As I type this post, I can hear him in the bathroom with his Daddy talking about it. Oh goodness. It breaks my heart.

Busted

2012-01-02T21:52:00.000-06:00

Jackson never really tried to climb out of things. He still sleeps with a baby gate on his bedroom door. He has never tried to get past it. Ben, is the opposite. Anywhere you put him, he will try to get out of it. We call his baby fence the Ben Pen. It was around the Christmas tree most recently, but we started fixing it so it's around the Christmas tree and keeps him out of the kitchen. He doesn't want any part of it. He literally will climb partially up the fence... we're in trouble.

Benjamin Parker - 10 Months

2012-01-01T22:08:00.000-06:00

(pics to come...seriously...)

Baby Ben. You are becoming less and less of a baby every day. You can now stand on your own for short spurts. You have a tooth. You love playing with "big boy" toys way more than you want to play with your own toys.

You are still the baby of two extremes. You are either sooo happy (usually) or sooooo mad. You are already silly like your brother. You all just laugh at each other. It's very cute. Speaking of Jackson, he loves you more and more every day. Although he did kick you in the face today, he also gave you tons of hugs and kisses and brought you lots of toys. We have come to the realization that you are being raised by your 2 year old brother as much as us...maybe more.

You are our monkey climber. You can actually partially climb up the baby gate. You just had to get to that gold glittery ball ornament... You love being outside. You loving swinging. You also love playing silly little games with Mommy. You like to stand on her lap. She counts one, two, three (you bounce on your own each time) and then on three "jumps" you up. You LOVE it and really anticipate it each time.

You are more and more of a little person each day. We love you!

Ben 9 Months Old

2011-12-01T21:55:00.000-06:00

Since we aren't using this on our Christmas card, I will hijack it for this post.
Photo taken by Love & Whimsy.

Baby Ben -

Today you are 9 months old. You are finally starting to feel better and have been off an antibiotic for about a week now (after 45 days of antibiotics). You are starting to eat solids again and maybe you'll gain some weight! You had your 9 month check up a little over a week ago and here were your stats:

Weight - 19 lbs - 32%
Height - 28.5 in - 66%
Head - 18.5 in -92?%
You have no teeth.

We know we shouldn't compare you and your brother, but wow! Jackson was your weight at 4 months. The bonus is that Mommy and Daddy finally found Jackson's 6-9 mo clothes and they will still fit you for a while. Now you won't have to wear the same clothes week after week. Jackson also had 6 teeth at this point.

Your personality is all about extremes. You are either deliriously happy or pissed off beyond belief. Lucky for us, you're happy more than you're not. You still have no teeth, so we get to have your gummy smile a little bit longer.

You are mobile! You've been pulling up on things for a long time. For a while you kept trying to let go of furniture and walk. After a couple of weeks of bruises from banging your head you finally stopped that. Yesterday when Mommy went to pick you up, you walked all the way across the room at school while holding on to the shelves with one hand. Yikes! That came out of the blue and means you just might really be walking soon. Today we had you in the Ben Pen and you were trying to walk again. Jackson and Mommy had a funny conversation about it.
Mommy: Look Jackson! Ben really wants to walk.
Jackson: Ben wants to walk.
Mommy: And after he walks, he'll run.
Jackson: And then Ben will play outside and wear my shoes.
Jackson: And then he'll play with my Legos.

Not sure where the shoes comment came from, but it's a big step that your brother wants to share his shoes and toys with you. Jackson loves you a lot. He'll try to make you laugh when you cry. He will go and get a toy and tell us it's for you. He even went through his room and pulled out all of the "Baby Ben Toys" and just kept the "Big Boy Toys." But, sometimes he is still too rough (like the time he hit you on the head with his Little People Bus) and sometimes he still gets jealous. He likes to fake cry when you get attention for crying. Luckily he's outgrown that and now just likes to run and jump in our laps when we're paying too much attention to you.

You are waking up like a newborn again. We don't like this and must remedy this soon. Despite the lack of sleep due to this new habit, we still love you to pieces. We should enjoy the quiet, but really we can't wait for you to talk so we can laugh at all of the silly things you say.

Neighborhood Halloween Party

2011-11-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

Our neighborhood likes to throw parties. This is the first year that we have had a Halloween one, and Jackson had a blast! We invited Jackson's little best buddy G. They are adorable together! In the mornings when Jackson is sad because we are leaving him at school, she stays right by his side constantly giving him dolls and toys and hugs to try to make him happy. It was fun to see them together at the party as well. They would just grab hands and take off while talking and pointing. So stinking adorable!!

His pants broke and kept falling down. Poor guy.

Past Superman's bedtime...

Benjamin Parker - 8 Months

2011-11-02T20:28:00.001-05:00

The day after Ben hit the 7 month mark, he decided he wanted to be like his brother and walk. He started pulling up on anything and everything. Now Ben will lean on things and let go and he will try to walk. He has so many bruises from his attempted steps. He literally will just let go and try to walk. Every single time he falls flat on his face or bangs into something. It's hard to watch. He will also walk behind something while holding on. We are not ready for this at all.

Ben loves his brother. He watches him with a huge open mouth smile all.the.time. He laughs and laughs at him. Luckily, for the most part, Jackson is very sweet to him. He tries to make him laugh. When he falls and cries, Jackson will run and get a toy to try to make him happy.

On the downside, Ben has been sick for over six weeks. We took him in for one thing and found out he had a bad double ear infection. It hasn't gone away since. That's lead to a lot of antibiotics and a lot of sleepless nights. If his ears aren't better by Friday, we will be taking a trip to the ENT. He's also had lots of tummy issues. We had to switch him to Soy Formula. His tummy seemed better so we switched back. Started getting sick again, so back to Soy. Once his ears are better, and he's off antibiotics, we'll have to see how his tummy is. We might have to test him for a milk allergy. Unfortunately, all of his tummy trouble has lead to him not wanting to eat much. There were days we were lucky if he'd eat 1 oz from his bottle. Luckily, he's back to 4-6 oz (although it's still not enough). He also has been refusing solids (other than cereal). Hopefully things will get better soon. Poor little guy lost some weight at one point, but gained it back. He's now 32% for weight. Keep the little man in your thoughts and prayers.

Uncle Joseph Visits

2011-10-08T17:11:00.002-05:00

This week has been pretty crazy between us working, the boys both getting sick and Uncle Joseph visiting. Uncle Joseph lives near Chicago and has an intense job that doesn't allow for much time off. This is the first time he's met Jackson or Ben. Jackson is IN LOVE. He just can't get enough of Uncle Joseph. Jackson has been stuck at home most of the week from being sick, so we took a trip to the zoo to get him out of the house for a couple of hours of fun and animals.

We fed the giraffes, but it started pouring and they had to shut it down.

Soaking wet Jackson. Great for a wheezing boy...

Sad.

Benjmain Turns 7 Months

2011-10-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Ben is already 7 months. He's growing up so quickly. He can sit up very well, going from sitting to crawling, and crawl crawl crawl. He is definitely more interested in toys now (and his brother!). Jackson loves to make Ben laugh. It's pretty hilarious to everyone else watching too when he does it. He makes this crazy fake laugh noise and jumps/dances around. Ben laughs. Today he flipped us out a little because he started pulling up on things to stand up. We are NOT ready for that! We had to lower his crib tonight because he did it in his crib. He can't stand long, but we fear that isn't far behind.

Ben has a wonderfully huge smile. The kind of smile that makes you instantly smile. The kind of smile where you know it is physically the largest smile he can possibly give. We think that smile is what has won him favorite kid at daycare. There are only three kids in his class, so I guess it isn't saying much. But, we agree with his teacher on that one. We know he's well loved at daycare. It's really sweet; his teacher on Fridays always has to give him one last hug since she won't see him for two days. She always says, "I need my weekend hug!"

Ben is eating solids now. He LOVES cereal, but that's about it. He'll eat other things, but he doesn't go crazy for them like he does cereal. He's currently eating bananas, pears, applesauce, carrots, green beans and sweat peas. Earlier today we read about Jackson at 7 months and realized that Ben is getting a little bit of the "second child" treatment. At 7 months Jackson could drink out of a sippy cup (we've never even handed one to Ben) and Jackson could give high fives. We have some work to do now. Ben, though, can give a pretty darn cute wave.

Ben is also obsessed to crawling over to wherever Jackson's Crocs are to chew them. Yuck.

Finally, Ben has a STRONG personality. He is extremely happy most of the time, but when he's not, he will let you know it. Unfortunately, he's starting to get mad when people leave the room or when he's bored. Although we may not post as much about Ben with our busy, crazy lives these days, he does cute/funny things all the time and we love him!

There are 7 mo pics coming, but it will probably have to wait until another day.

Two Year Old's Apology

2011-09-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

At dinner, Jackson had kiwi fruit and strawberries for dessert. After being fussy because he only wanted strawberries and didn't want kiwi, he decided that kiwi is now his favorite fruit. I asked him to share a piece with me and he proceeded to quickly shove any remaining traces of kiwi into his mouth. This was after offering me a piece and then changing his mind and taking it back.

I told him I was very sad that he didn't share.

After that he went with Rob, took his bath, and was getting ready for bed. I joined them in Jackson's room. He crawled into my lap, looked sad, and hugged me. He said, "Mommy, I don't like it when people are mean." I asked him who was being mean and he said, "Jackson." He said he was mean because he didn't share with Mommy.

What a sweet apology.

Jackson's Ring Finger

2011-09-20T21:29:00.000-05:00

Jackson has been really hurt twice in his life. I am thankful that it's only been twice in his life (excluding illnesses - swine flu etc). The first time, if you remember, was when he fractured his leg. That's right. It was Mommy's fault. He blamed the slide. Good boy.

The second time happened this morning. We came out of the bathroom. I shut the door. After a brief pause, there was a blood curdling scream. Yes, door shut. Finger in door. Mommy fault again. It looks awful. Not as awful as I feel. Yes, I know it was an accident. Jackson doesn't blame me, either. He says the door hurt him. Still feel awful.

Again, thankful that these are his biggest injuries. Not thankful that Mommy caused him the pain.

More Ben

2011-09-15T03:32:00.000-05:00

Carrots!

2011-09-14T22:38:00.000-05:00

Ben tried his second food yesterday. We let Jackson pick out what he would have, and since he's on a big carrot kick - that's what he picked. He liked it okay. He ate about half of the container, but he didn't go nuts for it like he does for cereal.

Brotherly Love

2011-09-14T22:24:00.001-05:00

This boy...

LOVES this boy...

It's adorable to witness the boys' relationship start to develop.

Ben constantly watches Jackson. Jackson constantly tries to make Ben laugh. It's quite a combination. Tonight at dinner, Jackson was drumming the table. Ben watched in complete awe. Then, as soon as Jackson stopped, Ben would repeat it and laugh and laugh. In the car Jackson will laugh and Ben will copy it. It's so cute I can barely stand it. I know this imitation will probably get old fast when Ben starts to copy less desirable behaviors, but for the time being...we love it.

My 6 mo Baby

2011-09-10T22:05:00.002-05:00

More to come.

Benjamin - 6 Month Appointment

2011-09-07T19:58:00.000-05:00

Ben had his 6 mo appointment today.

Forgot my camera. Yay for cell phone cameras!

Height - 26.5 in (49%)
Weight - 17 lbs 6.5 oz (45%)

Otherwise everything looked good. Although he's only been on cereal for a week or two, we got the green light to give him fruits and veggies now. He had a bunch of shots and he didn't like that. Jackson had a flu shot, but did okay. The visit was pretty uneventful.

Benjamin - 6 Months

2011-09-01T22:34:00.000-05:00

Happy 6 months sweet little boy. You are adorable. You smile. You laugh. You love eating. You love your big brother, Jackson. He makes you laugh more than anyone. We love listening to you laugh and laugh and laugh at him in the backseat of the car. He loves you so much, too! You're perfect in almost every way.

We say almost, because suddenly, you don't like to sleep. We know your routine is off because you started school this month, you're teething, you are practicing crawling in your crib, etc etc. But, it's time to get over all of those things and go back to sleeping through the night. Otherwise Mommy and Daddy will end up in the looney bin soon! Don't worry; we still love you.

This month you had cereal for the first time. You went to the beach for the first time. You met the Morris family for the first time. You sat up alone for the first time. I'm sure there are other firsts we are forgetting.

Here are a couple of pictures from today. Mommy snapped a couple between Jackson's swim lessons and a photo session, but you'll get a proper 6 mo portrait session soon.

First Trip to the Beach

2011-08-28T22:06:00.000-05:00

Although we live within an hour and half from the beach, we have never taken the boys. While Penny was in town with the boys, they stayed at the beach with Grandma and Grandad MacGregor (and the motorhome - that is very important to the boys). Jackson LOVED it! Even Ben had fun splashing in the water. One day we will get around to posting the pics of them playing in the water, but for now - here are some from later that night.

Benjamin Eats Cereal

2011-08-27T17:05:00.003-05:00

Benjamin had cereal for the first time today. Jackson grabbed for the spoon a little a bit the first time he ate cereal, but he wasn't too sure about it. Ben, on the other hand, LOVED it. He was obsessed with getting more. And, he wanted to feed himself. We also realized after looking at these pics that Ben looks like a chunker now. I don't think anymore strangers will be commenting on how tiny he looks for his age. Despite the fact he looks chunkier than Jackson did at this age, Ben actually weights about a pound less than Jackson did.

First bite

Not sure yet.

It's a winner

If you don't give me more, I will get it myself.

I want to do it.

Got it!

More. More. More.

Happy Ben.

Wait. My mouth is empty. Give me more!

I said, I want to do it.

Happy, happy, happy.

Just want to make sure you don't pull the food away.

My Sweet Little Manipulator

2011-08-21T20:25:00.000-05:00

While Jackson and Mommy were cleaning up trains in the dining room this was our little conversation...

J: "I love you, Mommy."
M: "I love you, too!!!"
J: "We both said I love you."
M: "We did. Isn't that nice?"
J: "Yeah, it makes Mommy happy."
M: "It sure does. I am such a lucky Mommy. What makes Jackson happy?"
J: "Building trains with Daddy."

What Makes Mommy Happy?

2011-08-15T19:58:00.000-05:00

Last night Jackson brought up the book that he tore...about a month ago...

Jackson: "Mommy, I tore the bus book."
Mommy: "I know Jackson. It makes Mommy sad that you did that. You love the bus book."
Jackson: "No Mommy. No be sad. Be happy."
Mommy: "What makes Mommy happy?"
Jackson (pointing to himself): "Meeeeeeeeeee!"

Yes, Jackson. You are right.

First Day of School

2011-08-15T19:54:00.000-05:00

Jackson returned to school and Benjamin started school today. Ben was definitely the easy one this time. He just looked around at the toys, babies, and teachers and continued to smile. Jackson was a whole different story. He had a hard time adjusting last year. He cried at drop off for two months. It was awful. This morning's drop off was horrible. He cried and cried and grabbed Mommy's neck and wouldn't let go. After we left him and got Ben settled in, we peeked at him again. He was still crying. It makes Mommy and Daddy sad. When we picked him up, we were told he cried on and off during the day for his, "Mommy, Dada, Baby Bens." We were also told, that when he did cry, his friend Sophia went and held his hand. Pretty adorable. One of his best buddies, Graciela, has not yet moved up. We hope she moves up soon! When Jackson saw her after school he gave her a big hug! I love little kids!

Cousins Come to Visit and 45th Anniversary

2011-08-10T22:04:00.003-05:00

I simply did not take enough pictures of Jackson playing with his cousins. They came to stay with us for a night and Jackson had a blast! The only picture I got was of them with the pizzas they made. After the visit Jackson spent the entire next day talking about his cousins.. "My cousins play cars. My cousins brush their teacher. My cousins don't change my diaper. My cousins like trains." It went on and on and on. He constantly asks for his cousins.

We had the rest of the MacGregors over the following day for some swimming and fun. Again, not enough pics taken. We will have to get some from others! That day happened to be Grandma and Grandad's 45th anniversary! We ordered them the world's largest cake that was supposed to serve 8-10. We all had pretty bid slices and barely made a dent in it. In fact, we still have some in our fridge. We always remember their anniversary because it's 8/6 and ours is 6/8.

Benjamin in "real" clothes

2011-08-10T21:41:00.000-05:00

So.far.behind. We are going to attempt to catch up on a few random things. Of course we still haven't posted about our visit to the Reynolds (one day...one day), trip to Sacramento and a few big things like that. But, since they are larger posts, they seem overwhelming. Instead, you get this...

Ben has started wearing more of his 3-6 month clothes now, which means he gets to wear more "real" clothes rather than just onesies all the time. This is the first time he's worn shoes (who needs shoes when they can't walk?!?) and one of the first times he's worn anything other than a onesie. He's on his way to meet Aunt Penny and cousins William and Neil here!