I am just having a ton of fun going back through old photos and doing "Compare and Contrast" with the boy's baby photos. Can you tell?
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| Luke |
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| Seamus |
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| Benjamin |
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
A dog to watch over you
Scientists and doctors are now saying that having a dog in your home
reduces children's risk of developing asthma. Sometimes I think all it
does is increase the risk of waking the children during nap time when
the doorbell rings and the dog starts barking.
But when I look back at all the photos of my babies, what I see is a dog who adores his boys. He charges the door, tail wagging madly, when they come home. He jumps in their beds to kiss them
good-night. He leaps around them while they play their rowdy games. He
snuggles in their blankets while they watch movies. He lets them push him down the slide. He drops his toys when they ask him to. He loves them.
And he deserves a little more credit than just the dog who decreases their risk of developing asthma or the dog who barks at the
doorbell. He's the dog that watches over my boys.
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| 2010 |
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| 2011 with Seamus |
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| 2012 with Seamus |
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| 2013 |
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| 2013 with his Grammy |
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| 2014 with Benjamin |
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| Today |
Dress-up
Luke says, "You look like a boy dressed up to pretend he's a cowboy, Seamus. I look like a real live explorer."
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Boys on a Love Seat
Happy Valentine's Day!
(tomorrow)
We're going to have to get a bigger love seat with all these boys to love.
We're going to have to get a bigger love seat with all these boys to love.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Special Time With Seamus
On Monday evenings, Derek takes Luke to jazz dance class in Morden, which means Seamus and I get some special time together. Sometimes, we admit it, we just watch Caillou for the entire hour and a half. Sometimes we go grocery shopping and get a little treat from the bakery. Sometimes, like tonight, we dandle the baby on our knees, then dress up and ride the horse around the living room. Do we know how to have a good time, or what?
Saturday, February 1, 2014
The fewest parades
Typically the third, fourth, fifth child in a family gets the fewest parades. Benjamin is no exception. I haven't taken nearly as many photos of him as of the other two. I haven't spent nearly as much money on new toys, clothes, gadgets for Benjamin. I haven't blogged adoringly about his facial expressions, the smell of his breastfed poopy diapers, or the nightly terror I have of being woken by a crying baby who can't breathe through his nose (he's got a cold right now...it's exhausting for everyone). All those little details of his babyhood aren't being forgotten though. And Benjamin is not being neglected.
Every day Luke and Seamus take turns holding Benjamin. A few days ago Luke admitted to me that he loves Benjamin better than he loves Seamus. "I love him more because he's newer. And because he lets me hold him. Someday I will carry him around like you do." Today Luke decided he was strong enough to pick the baby up and stood beside the couch picking Benjamin up and putting him down, picking him up and putting him down, for a full ten minutes. Later in the day I came in from the neighbor's house and Luke came leaping up to me grinning and shouting, "Benjamin spit up on me for the very first time! All over me! I'm not even lying!"
I have also felt protective of my time with Benjamin. I don't resent waking up nights with him at all because I get him all to myself in the middle of the night. In the afternoon, during quiet time, I often skip a nap in favor of snuggling with the sleeping baby - what sane person with three kids, one of them a newborn, skips a nap?! I've even taken to sharing my special alone time in the shower with the wee one, just to be skin to skin with the warm little bundle.
Derek and Luke nearly arm wrestled to decide who would feed Benjamin a bottle the other night, and Seamus is constantly stroking Benjamin's head and whispering things like, "You're a sweetheart Benjamin Harvey", in his ear. We often find jam or chocolate or bread crumbs on Benjamin's head because Seamus just can't keep his hands off Benji's soft little noggin. The first thing Seamus says to me in the morning is, "You're a good girl, Mom. But Benjamin's a good boy and you're not a boy but I'm a boy and Luke's a boy and Daddy's a boy, but you're a girl and Benjamin Harvey is a boy like me." Luke refused to go to church last week without Benjamin. "I want to have him with me at church. I want everyone to know he's my new brother!"
Every day Luke and Seamus take turns holding Benjamin. A few days ago Luke admitted to me that he loves Benjamin better than he loves Seamus. "I love him more because he's newer. And because he lets me hold him. Someday I will carry him around like you do." Today Luke decided he was strong enough to pick the baby up and stood beside the couch picking Benjamin up and putting him down, picking him up and putting him down, for a full ten minutes. Later in the day I came in from the neighbor's house and Luke came leaping up to me grinning and shouting, "Benjamin spit up on me for the very first time! All over me! I'm not even lying!"
I have also felt protective of my time with Benjamin. I don't resent waking up nights with him at all because I get him all to myself in the middle of the night. In the afternoon, during quiet time, I often skip a nap in favor of snuggling with the sleeping baby - what sane person with three kids, one of them a newborn, skips a nap?! I've even taken to sharing my special alone time in the shower with the wee one, just to be skin to skin with the warm little bundle.
Derek and Luke nearly arm wrestled to decide who would feed Benjamin a bottle the other night, and Seamus is constantly stroking Benjamin's head and whispering things like, "You're a sweetheart Benjamin Harvey", in his ear. We often find jam or chocolate or bread crumbs on Benjamin's head because Seamus just can't keep his hands off Benji's soft little noggin. The first thing Seamus says to me in the morning is, "You're a good girl, Mom. But Benjamin's a good boy and you're not a boy but I'm a boy and Luke's a boy and Daddy's a boy, but you're a girl and Benjamin Harvey is a boy like me." Luke refused to go to church last week without Benjamin. "I want to have him with me at church. I want everyone to know he's my new brother!"
Benjamin may not be getting a parade with a full marching band and majorettes. But he's got his own little fan club, and we play kazoos that rock the casbah.
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