Picking up where I left off

I stopped writing over a year ago. So much was going on, and I felt like I had to document it all, but it was so overwhelming that I just abandoned the task completely. But then I remembered why I blog: to preserve my memories of my children. And they're doing such amazing, hilarious, sweet, inspiring things. I'm afraid if I don't write them down somewhere — and I'm not writing them down anywhere right now — then I'll forget them later, when I really want to remember them.

So I'm just going to pick up where I left off, without filling in any blanks, and just jot down what's important to me on a daily basis.

Today Benjamin is 6 months old. I can't believe how quickly time has passed. The nice thing is that I feel like, this time, I've really enjoyed his babyhood. With Isaac, my firstborn, I was so stressed and worried about whether or not the choices I was making were the "right" ones, that I sometimes forgot to cherish every little moment, and they passed so quickly.

With Ben, I'm not stressed, and I'm not planning his every developmental milestone months before it happens. So much so that I didn't even take a photo of his first bite of solid food (sweet potatoes). I've taken pictures of him eating (bananas today, in fact; his first meal was last saturday) but not his first bite. If I hadn't taken a photo of Isaac's first bite of real food, I would have felt guilty for months.

Anyway, Ben's 6-month checkup was today. It was a stressful time, with Ben crying all the way through his OMT and his shots. But, in the end, it was Isaac who had a meltdown.

I was feeding Ben a bottle before we left, and Isaac kept trying to poke the place in his thigh where he got a shot. I told him over and over, every which way I could think, not to poke Ben's shot.
"Do you remember what it feels like when you get shots?"
"Yes."
"Does it hurt?"
"Yes."
"Do you think, if I tried to poke you in the place where you got your shot, it would hurt?"
"Yes."
"Then you can't poke Ben's shot. It will hurt."
"But I want to."
In the end, I had to threaten him.
"If you poke Ben's shot, you can't have a sucker."
He poked Ben's shot, then proceeded to scream and cry and bed for a sucker.

He has an outburst like that at least once a day. But, for the most part, he's such a sweet boy. He's been working on asking for things nicely. So, when he wants something, his first request might go something like this: "Read this book, Holly."
Sometimes I'll tell him: "Can you ask nicely?" Other times, he'll correct himself. "Mommy, please read this book, please."

We've also been trying to remember to say our prayers before bed. Tonight we prayed together, and then I asked Isaac if there was anything he wanted to tell God or say thank you for or ask for. He said he wanted to ask for candy and say thank you for TV. I told him he could tell God whatever he wanted. Later, I overheard him:
"Dear God, thank you for the TV. Amen.
"Dear God, thank you for books. Amen.
"Dear God, thank you for my water. Amen."