33 Weeks

Our self portrait

A day late on posting again, but these pictures were taken yesterday on Bennett's 33 week birthday. We had another busy night with class, only this time Joel had a meeting until late, so I didn't have any help, but Bennett and I managed our own little photo shoot! On such a beautiful fall day, we couldn't have asked for better weather to be outside, in shorts for Bennett and a tank top for Mommy, in October!

Bennett did a few awesome things this week. The one that melted our hearts was the way he gets all cuddly in the morning. I've been feeding him in our bed before going to work, because we can both lay down and get cozy, and a few days this week after eating he will just lay with me and be cuddly. He likes it when I play with his hair and massage his head. I know this because he'll rub his head with his hand, which is his signal for wanting a little massage. Then when he wants me to stop, he'll gently grab my arm and hold it against him, so then I know he just wants me to give him a big hug and snuggle in close. Then after a while, he'll signal that he wants his head rubbed, then he'll want a few more hugs. Sometimes he'll jabber a little and smile when I chat back. It is the best thing and makes it SO HARD to get out of bed. One morning Joel had to tell me, "Just rip the Band-Aid off and get out of bed!" Because of this, I've been 5-10 minutes late to work a few days, but no one minds (because they are later than me) and I really couldn't care less if they did. When it is happening, I really can't help thinking that some day, he'll get mad when I want to cuddle with him and treat him like a baby, or maybe he'd rather watch cartoons than lay in bed with him mom, so I'm going to soak this up, even if it means I won't have time to make a lunch for work!

He loves sitting in the grass and playing with leaves!

Another awesome thing Bennett did this week is pull himself to standing using the couch. For a week or so he's been able to crawl up our bodies to stand on his feet, and he's quite good at standing when he is holding our hands, but just yesterday, he started using the couch to stand on his own. There've been a few times this week where he's been standing with my help, then I let go and let him balance for a second on his own, and the look on his face when he does so is priceless. He is just so proud of himself and beams with pride. Not only is it surprising to see how quickly he is growing, it's so neat to see his personality shine through and see him get excited for his accomplishments. Plus, it's so cool to see that he clearly has goal for things he wants to do.

The other notable thing Bennett has done this week is become more clingy to Mommy. Wednesday night at Grandma and Grandpa's he really needed to be held by me. He would cry a little when he wasn't around me, but if he was being held around me, he cried to be with me. Then the next night at class, when all of us parents sit around a table and talk, about 30 seconds after I left Bennett, he started crying. Then 30 seconds after that, it turned into a scream... and then after a minute he was inconsolable and had to be brought over to me for the duration of the parent chat time. The teacher said it was okay, that it happens and it's good for him to express that he needs me, and even better that he can have the reassurance that I am there. I suppose... but it's never fun to be the parent with the crying kid who won't play with the other kids. Actually, most of the other kids can walk and gravitate to their parent at some point, so it's not so unusual. Since Bennett is new to crawling, the teacher thought that while he knows he can get to me, he may have gotten nervous and needed me right away. In both cases, I'm hoping he was so clingy because he was tired and not going through the stranger danger phase. But part of me does think, "Aww, he needs his mommy!" and it's kind of sweet!

It's October and Bennett is in a short romper. Amazing!!

 

This week Bennett continues his love of water. He gets really excited for baths, especially when we give him baths in our big tub. You can see his excitement when we're in our bathroom getting the water ready and he gets so squirmy as we're about to put him in the water. Clearly he's his father's son, but Mommy is not a water person. He has even gotten mad when Joel finishes his bath too early and he isn't finished splashing in the water. Bennett also continues being an adventurous foodie. This week he tried peaches and beef brisket, both of which he loved. I'd say his favorite food is yogurt, because he'll actually crawl to get yogurt, then cry when he wants more. Yes, he literally cries when the yogurt is put away and he hasn't had enough. He is also a fan of water, and more specifically, my water bottle. He thinks it's the most fun thing and the water is the most delicious.

Other than that, Bennett seems to be back on his nighttime sleep schedule. For a few weeks, he was getting up at night quite a bit because of the cold, and then because he was just used to getting up. Luckily for us, this week he has been sleeping pretty well. It's really hard to believe it has been 33 weeks. I can't even keep track of the week anymore and have to look to see what week he's on. It was so easy in the beginning. One, two, ten, twelve. Then it got to the twenties and it was harder to remember, and now with the thirties I couldn't even count by week if it wasn't for the blog!

He was probably mad because I kept taking the leaves out of his hands, or maybe he just wanted to do a serious pose.