Eternity Is Now: The Happy Things

There have been a lot of happy things in my life lately. My dad was able to be here for Benjamin's blessing. He is deployed at the moment, so we waited until he could come. It was important for me to have him there. He and my mom were here for Thanksgiving and we shared our delicious food with Erik and Mariel. My dad loves Benjamin. He can't get enough of him, but then... neither can my mom. They are now Oma and Opa to avoid confusion in the future.

Benjamin is wonderful. He is learning and growing so fast that I can hardly keep up. He can grab things that are in front of him without help. He is learning to put everything in his mouth. He loves tummy time and will stick his little bum way up in the air as if he wants to launch forward. I won't lie, I don't want him to be mobile yet. Too much work for me =P. He still won't sleep through the night, but I made the decision to start putting him on formula. I agonized over it for quite a while before finally deciding that it is the best thing for me and it is better for him. He doesn't get hungry as quickly which means he sleeps longer. I can get 4 hours out of him instead of 3. He isn't a huge fan of formula and I am still nursing him every other feeding for now, but he is doing just fine and I am doing better too. I never enjoyed nursing. I never felt that bonding that so many women do. I felt like it was just a means to an end. I get more bonding from bottle feeding. I know I could pump and all that, but Benjamin also doesn't handle my milk when I have been drinking cow's milk. He spits-up a lot when I have milk and then he nurses. I am not a huge milk drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy it on cereal and whatnot.

On the eating front, Benjamin loves his rice cereal! He would probably eat that all day if I would let him. He took to it no problem and I can't wait for him to try other foods in a couple of months. He is doing pretty well with bath time again, but he wants to sit up on his own and it makes him hard to bathe. Oh babies, they are just so unpredictable. I sure do love my little boy.

Casey is now working a second job so that we can pay all our bills and have food to eat. He works at Subway in the mornings and the Hut at night. It is hard to have him gone so much, but we are managing the best we can. He is a trooper and I am grateful that he is willing to work so hard to provide for us. This coming week we are taking a trip for our anniversary. Yes, it was on the 24th, but that was not an ideal travel time. His wonderful mom is going to be watching Ben for the time we will be gone and I am looking forward to some uninterrupted sleep.