Egg-xciting Easter

2013

Easter 2014 got off to a great start for us after we had the first good night of sleep in about a week. (We've been battling raccoons in the attic and Ben's middle-of-the-night two-hours-of-unhappiness teething troubles.)

After a breakfast that included dyed pears and deviled eggs (Garland-Cannon family tradition), Benito had his first Easter egg hunt. I was afraid he wouldn't understand, but he got the point right off and had a fantastic time. Hurray for holidays that our kid is beginning to understand! What a difference a year makes: this time last year Ben wasn't even crawling yet.

A eulogy for our cat

Our cat, Lucretius Catmanuel, died today.

Luc was a cat of specific tastes. He enjoyed the odd belly rub, he loved to tap dance on our full stomachs, he desperately wanted to lick our arms ad nauseam, and took a great joy in holding loud dance parties in his litter box in the middle of the night.

May 2002 (the day Luc came home with us)

He was our soft, white, furry companion for twelve years, and a slightly-bullied brother to our other cat, Oz. Luc always preferred men to women, and would often dash into the living room if we had a male friend visiting. In fact, when he started wanting to cuddle with me when I was pregnant, we joked that he was the first one to be sure I was carrying a baby boy.

Clay's furry friend

Luc was an incredibly kind, patient and loving cat to our son. Both Luc and Ben loved their semi-daily squash-fests, with Ben plopped across a loudly-purring Luc.

Ben probably won't remember his loving white kitty, but we will remember for him.

Christmas kitty

Luc went into cardiac arrest this morning at the vet's office, after being diagnosed with a pretty bad bladder condition yesterday.

watching over Ben

early lessons in "gentle"

Houston, we have a rally

in a helicopter!

We spent last weekend in Houston with my brother, Matt, and sister-in-law, Sandy, for the H-Town Scootdown. While we were not able to get Clay's scooter to Houston so he could ride in the rally (we really need to buy a little trailer), we had a fantastic time doing some of the scooter meet-ups with the rally crew. The rest of the time was "Unk" (Uncle Matt) and "Siiindy" (Aunt Sandy) fun time.

Ben got his first taste of running through the water sprinkler on a hot day (as first demonstrated by Uncle Matt), we took a fascinating tour of The 1940s Air Terminal Museum where Ben got to run around under the wheels of vintage airplanes and press some buttons in an old flight simulator, and Ben even got to taste his first fried oyster (cue weird face, but then wanting more).

learning to fly

@ a food truck park

"see you!"

learning the mechanics of a sprinkler

the ride back to SA (thoroughly tuckered out)

It's that time again

It's wildflower time again in central Texas, and I was not surprised to confirm that getting a dashing toddler and flowers into the same photograph was a bit trickier (and more fun) than taking last year's pictures.

Also, I've lately come to the (probably pretty obvious) conclusion that one of the reasons transitioning from nurturing a helpless baby to raising a happy, well-mannered toddler is so difficult is this: babyhood is all about trying to figure out and provide exactly what the baby wants. Toddlerhood is all about helping this growing human being learn that he can't always have exactly what he wants. This sure makes a mama re-arrange her mind, and get ready for some gotta-just-get-through-them upsets!

On the wild side

NOT interested in horse kisses

Ben and I had an incredible, animal-filled week with his Auntie N ("Nic"), who was visiting from Ohio. Then his Uncle Matt ("Unk") and Aunt Sandy ("AnSan") joined us from Houston for the weekend. I don't think Ben has ever seen as many animals up close as he did this week. We all visited the San Antonio zoo, Fiesta Farms (a farm animal petting zoo), and the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (a drive-thru hill country safari). It's going to be hard for Little Bit and I to go back to hum-drum every day life after last week!

first carousel ride

"elfint!"

In other Benito news, Ben said his first sentence last weekend: "dog go woof" he also now says "truck go noise." He is getting better about telling us when he is done with his meals; instead of throwing his plate/food on the floor when he's done, lately he hands me his plate and says "all done." This is a pretty fantastic skill! We've been trying to work on manners, too. Having him say "please," "thank you," "excuse me," and "you're welcome." All of these, except "you're welcome" have worked out pretty well. He's gotten "thank you" and "you're welcome" mixed up, so that when we ask him to say "thank you," he now proudly says "welcome." Ahh well, Ben's development is definitely a wonderful, long-term work in progress.

safari kisses

petting zoo action

I will probably jinx his sleeping habits just by saying this, but Ben has now slept two whole weeks without needing a night-time bottle. This means, that for the first time since before I was pregnant (and having to wake up and go to the bathroom all the time), I have gotten some solid sleep. INCREDIBLE!

best way to view animals

"Unk" swing!!!!

backyard dance party with "AnSan"

watching the fishes with his best bud, Audie

trying to escape the park

& some mornings we all just lay around

... and his sense of humor is developing a bit more too :)

I wanna hold your hand

Ben is developing all sorts of interesting and slightly frightening talents lately. His newest favorite words are "elfint" (elephant), "arpane" (airplane), "cumber" (cucumber), and "move" (which he tells to our cats all the time). He no longer uses a high chair at home, and at restaurants he can use a booster seat just fine (especially if the food doesn't take too long to arrive!) He is FINALLY getting compliant with holding my hand when we are out and about, so now he walks (very proudly) from the house to the car, the car to the store, etc. I keep having to adjust how fast and where I walk with him though because "obstacles" like curbs are exciting challenges he wants to stop and conquer with joyful zest. 

Speaking of challenges, Ben loves climbing play equipment ladders and often wants to climb much higher than I am comfortable with (for example, the other day he climbed to the top of the red ladder in the playground picture below--with me standing underneath and trying not to have a heart attack). Another not-so-happy talent he's developed is often refusing to nap during the day and then being very cranky when when Clay gets home from work. I'm hoping that is just a phase! However, over all he's such a pleasant, happy little guy these days.

the scary red ladder Ben climbed

artful madness

first time sitting in a booster seat

dapper Ben

wanted his "baby" to eat breakfast too

floor nap