Difficult Weeks...

...Yet we are still plodding along! Praise be to God! I mean that - it's been tough and we are doing well only by His grace! So I have no humorous stories of poo or any other messy mishaps - we are just tired. Bryan has been working long hours, along with a few classes for work, and Ben has been suffering from allergies and teething, which also means suffering for Mommy. And with Bryan's long hours at work, it makes for long days for Mommy and Ben at home without Daddy. So we are all tired and ready for a break. We are really looking forward to Thanksgiving in a few weeks - we get to go on a real vacation! Visiting my family in Kansas, which will be so nice.

We had family photos taken a few weeks ago - and have now realized that Ben is a FULL-FLEDGED TODDLER!! I think he has entered the "terrible two's" about a year early. He about threw a fit during the photo shoot. Arching his back, writhing around, whining, barely smiling or even looking at the photographer. And God bless that woman -- she managed to get some good shots anyway! Here are a few:

So yes - Ben is now a toddler, nearly completely out of the baby stage (we're still working on weaning him off the bottle - hey, he's only 12 months right now). He walks around the house, toddling around with his little hands up to keep his balance. He loves to open cabinets and drawers and pull everything out that he can reach; he loves opening doors and seeing what's on the other side (especially the dining room door to the garage); he loves to throw things and see what kind of noise it makes and what will happen -- balls, food, etc. One of his favorite things is to throw balls through the kitty's door in the garage door, then open the door and go into the garage to retrieve the balls. Then he gets distracted by the can of paint thinner (which he's been curious about ever since the scorpion trap incident a few weeks ago)...and if Mommy has locked the door and he cannot open it to retrieve the balls...well, let's just say that my darling little Benjamin has a temper! A short one at that.

One thing that he really enjoys is pulling out my stamp sets and strewing them all over the room. (see picture below of a recent mess) Also, he is always discovering a new sound - this week it has been "Kaahh!" He found out in church on Sunday that it made a jolly echo throughout the sanctuary; I was so thankful that it was during announcements, not prayer.

And just tonight he finally clapped his hands! I've been trying to teach him that for months and he's finally got it! It's so cute. So yes - we can find much joy in all of Ben's new accomplishments and discoveries, despite the exhaustion of chasing him around and constantly having to re-direct or discipline. I am trying to learn how to balance the discipline with the play. I don't want to be the kind of mommy who says "no" all the time and is only frustrated (which is very easy to do at the end of the day, especially if he decided to only nap for an hour) - I want to be a fun mommy! But one who teaches him well.

And so I must currently sign off - for he has become interested in what Mommy's doing at the computer and wants to "help" me type! Oh thank you, Ben. He just handed me one of my baskets. He enjoys re-organizing them, along with my stamp sets.