And just like that, we have a four-year-old. He’s come a long way, our oldest baby. Low-res proofs from his fourth-birthday photo shoot:
Updates from March, 2010
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Four - He's a Jolly Good Fellow
Stacey and Alex
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Three. Already.
Dad
So hard to believe it, but Benjamin’s three already. It’s just insane how fast time is flying!
He really is a fantastic kid. We’re so very proud of him and how nice a job he’s doing growing up, even if it seems like it’s all moving way too fast. He’s a great son and an awesome big brother.
If you’re at all interested in a shot from his past, here’s a post from his very first birthday that includes a pretty cute picture of him:
We’ll have some three-year portraits here to look at, soon, so keep an eye out for those.
Benjamin’s transformation so far has been amazing, and continues to be amazing. And not just the changes in him, but also the changes in us as adults and parents; Stacey and I have also really grown tremendously since he was born; it seems like he teaches us as much as we teach him. And it all feels very, very right.
Love you, buddy!
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Happy Holidays!
Stacey and Alex
Benjamin wrote his first-ever letter to Santa to put out with the cookies and milk last night on Christmas Eve. Or, rather, Dad asked Benjamin what he wanted to say to Santa, Benjamin told Dad, and Dad wrote most of it, except for a couple of bits Benjamin insisted he write himself; he focused so very hard writing the bits he did, and it was incredibly cute…
Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas!
Hi. I’ve been a good boy this year. My brother Zachary was a good boy this year, too.
[Benjamin scribbles, saying each word out loud as he slowly, carefully writes...] (”It’s a good cookie.”)
Mommy has been a good girl, and Daddy was a good guy. Owen and Ollie and Laura and Lydia were good, too. Nana and Papa were good, too.
Merry Christmas.
[Benjamin scribbles, saying each word out loud as he slowly, carefully writes...] (”I was a good boy.”)
Santa, thank you for the presents.
We love you, Santa.
– Benjamin, Zachary, Mommy, Daddy and Yoda… (and [long list of cousins, aunts and uncles here])
Bye!
Awesome, right? :)
We hope you had a great 2008…and we hope you have an even better 2009. Take care, everyone–we love you all.
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An Angel Was Here...
Stacey and Alex
Benjamin’s first snow angel, created 20 December 2008, in our front yard.
Image manipulated slightly to enhance the imprint.
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Christmas 2007 Seems Like So Long Ago
Stacey and Alex
This is a picture from their 2007 visit with Santa. It was Zachary’s first Christmas, at only 4 months old. It was Benjamin’s second; he was not quite two years old here. They haven’t been to see Santa yet this year; we’ve not (yet?) made any specific plans, so who knows. Zachary took his first Santa visit here a lot better than Benjamin did his first time at 10 months (B. was basically terrified).
It’s worth noting (again) that Zachary is pulling really, really hard on Santa’s very real beard in this picture. Poor St. Nick… That look on his face? Pure pain. We apologized, of course, but it was pretty darn funny…
It’s strange looking at this picture, as both kids have grown up so much since it was taken. Zachary’s walking now. Benjamin’s in gymnastics classes, knows all his numbers and letters… Their growth this past year has been pretty amazing.
More holiday pictures on the way as we get them processed and uploaded. Those of you that end up with our photo Christmas card–going out Any Day Now™–we hope you enjoy that, too. Happy Holidays!
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Zachary Still Sucks His Thumb While Eating... But That's OK
Stacey and Alex
When Benjamin used to suck his thumb while eating, we initially got annoyed by it, because it generally ended up creating a huge mess of baby food everywhere…more on the baby than in the baby. It was pretty frustrating for us as parents.
Eventually, he stopped doing it, and we were relieved.
Zachary, on the other hand, is a regular thumbsucker…but only when he wants something. He doesn’t suck his thumb unless he is hungry or tired…or, well, both.
He sucks his thumb while he eats his cereal or whatever, too, but we think this falls under the “hungry” category. With each new spoonful of food, he follows it in with his thumb and sucks, and it appears to help him ingest the food. And yeah, it sometimes makes things a bit messy. But it also seems to help him get the food in and down, and he pulls his thumb out when he’s ready to take in more spoonfuls of food, so we just don’t worry about it.
The net result of basically letting the thumb sucking while eating thing go is that it’s less hassle than it was before when we were constantly trying to control it with Benjamin. It’s proven to be one of those choose-your-battles things that we’ve decided to just let go.
We’re not experts of any sort, so do whatever you want with your own children…but from our perspective, if your infant can’t stop sticking their thumb back in their mouth after every spoonful of food, well, just let him or her do it. Engage with your baby–talking, smiling, etc–and you’ll find that all that thumb-related hassle was mostly created by you and not your little eater.
For us, everyone–everyone–is soooo much happier in the end.
And of course, you still need to watch your baby and see if they’re engaging in extreme sucking of thumb or pacifier that might affect their development of new teeth or jaw, etc. Zachary isn’t strong or frequent with his sucking, so we’re not worried…and like Benjamin, we anticipate the thumb need will eventually just vanish on its own.
