milestones are overrated...

ben stuck on his stomach.

i have found over the last 5 1/2 months of being a mother, that i'm often thinking of the upcoming milestones that ben is working towards. you know, like 4 months ago, i was wondering when ben was going to start reaching for things instead of just looking at them. and two months ago i was thinking, "roll, ben, roll!" and when the time passes that he "should" have been able to do those things and he's not, i've wondered, "oh no...i hope he's developing okay..." (you cannot laugh at me if you don't have kids) but then he starts reaching. he starts rolling. and of course all is fine.

except now when i sit him on my lap, he grabs stuff on the table so quickly that i sometimes miss and it falls onto the floor. and now when he rolls over, he cries because he doesn't want to be on his stomach but when i flip him over, he immediately rolls back onto his stomach and cries some more. i wonder why i was so looking forward to these milestones and i think to myself, "try to enjoy this stage and don't wonder when your baby is going to start crawling..."

ben falling from a sitting position.

practicing...

so today i practiced having TWO kids. ben's friend elias came over and hung out for the morning and a little bit of the afternoon. elias is 7 months older than ben and it was interesting to watch him and imagine how quickly ben will be there.

in preparation for a crawler, i cleaned my kitchen floor and tried to pick up all things around that i might not want him to pick up. i also cleared all low tables of things breakable/sharp. watching ben rolling around on the floor, sticking his butt up in the air, it made me realize that i should be making these preparations permanent because i'm going to have a crawler on my hands soon.

when kara left and it was just elias and i (ben was sleeping), we mostly just stared at each other for awhile. i was talking to him but he wasn't too sure about me. i started to get a little nervous so i quickly downloaded barenaked ladies' kids cd: snacktime. it definitely broke the tension. and i'd recommend the cd - it's pretty crazy fun.

ben loved having another kid around. he just stared at him without blinking. when elias made noises, ben smiled and made noises. it was hilarious. for a long time they just sat on the floor playing with toys. elias and i did some dancing but ben had never seen his mom dance around like a crazy person so he just stared at me.

all in all, it was quite a success. if ben grows up to be as good as elias, shulba number 2 will be fine. :) but don't worry...that won't be for a very long time.

oh legacy...

great SYTYCD episode tonight. in the words of adam, "i love this show."

favourite dances: jakob and ashleigh's sonja routine & legacy and kathryn's ballroom routine. though legacy's tears at the end? wow. what a guy.

and speaking of sonja - tim's quote of the night: "she's a freak of talent." i love her routines.

is anyone else weirded by the white underwear that the girls sometimes wear under their dresses? like i know it's not their underwear but if it was a colour that went with the dress, it wouldn't be so stand-out when their skirt twirls.

so nigel saying, "oh, not another concept routine." and "i like watching dancing with the stars because it's just dancing." wow. not the usual, "i've invented the greatest show ever." vibe.

who do i predict to go...who knows? these 12 are all pretty great. but predictions: victor and molly.

a ben series: first food

in one word...

a quiz in one word answers...

1. where is your mobile phone? car

2. your hair? cut

3. your favourite food? comfort

4. your dream last night? confusing

5. your favourite drink? diet

6. your goal? lose

7. what room are you in? kitchen

8. your hobby? shopping

9. your fear? leaks

10. where do you want to be in 5 years? home

11. where were you last night? couch

12. something that you aren't? fit

13. muffins? mom's

14. wishlist item? runners

15. where did you grow up? surrey

16. last thing you did? bedtime

17. what are you wearing? lulus

18. your tv? hockey

19. your pets? non-existent

20. friends? busy

21. your life? ben

22. your mood? good

23. missing someone? yes

24. vehicle? 3

25. something you're not wearing? earrings

26. your favourite store? winners

27. favourite colour? green

28. last time you laughed? bathtime

29. last time you cried? grey's

30. your best friend? many

31. one place you go to over and over? grandma's

32. facebook? overexposure (is that cheating?)

other advent calendar ideas...

this one comes with a tutorial.

cute!

these are very cute and could be easily made yourself. also could include a treaure hunt everyday!

a list of ideas for filling your advent calendar...

progress...

advent calendar progress since the last post?

attempting to create decorations for my tree decoration numbers...

tracing circles onto green paper.

beginning to take shape...

baby feet in baby shoes

baby feet are kind of a strange shape. (or maybe it's just MY baby...) but ben's feet don't really get thinner closer to the toes - they're chubby all the up to the toes. this makes it difficult to get them into shoes. so ben had a tiny pair of shoes that he wore when he was tiniest and then i shoved his feet in them for his dedication also. but for the most part, ben's been shoeless. i put a warm pair of socks on those puppies and we're good to go. most often, his lower half is under a blanket when we go out anyways. however, i'd been given a gift from a local baby boutique from tim's cousin and while the outfit was super cute, it was for a long and skinny baby. i have a short and chubby baby. so i kept the hoodie but went to the boutique to see if i could exchange it. i could. and so, i bought ben some shoes...

little high-top plaid robeez. SO CUTE. and yesterday, i wondered if perhaps they'd fit yet. and what do you know? they did. well, close enough. today i was jamming his feet into them as we were heading out the door and i can tell that his heel isn't down inside the shoe and by no means are his toes where the toes should go. is this just how baby shoes fit? or am i doing something wrong. either way, i'm glad they're velcroed at the top because i stuffed his foot in as best i could, velcroed the top and off we went.

ben is styling now.

sytycd thoughts...

yes...it's been a few weeks already and i've had yet to say anything. are any readers here watching? well i have the computer sitting on my lap tonight while i watch (waaaay too much media) and i have many thoughts on th show thus far...

i really didn't love last season and so i reasoned that i must have gotten tired of the show (like survivor, amazing race, etc). and then the opening show to the top 20. no voting - all in the dancers own styles? WOW! what a fantastic idea! bringing adam on as a regular judge - SO smart. yes, nigel - you HAVE created the best show ever bringing dance to the world. i'm love love loving this season - these dancers are such a good mix (once those tappers were out...haha).

but after all this gushing - thoughts on tonight's episode: >nap and tab - it wasn't love at first choreographed sight but man, i really love them now. what a great dance tonight. > and travis from season 2? he is a fantastic choreographer - i hate to say it but he really should have won season2. i couldn't see it at the time but all these seasons later, i'm finally admitting it. the fact that he used the stars' music for the dance of course made it the BEST dance of the season so far!!! too bad it was ryan. it seems to be okay for russians to be ballroom guys but this guy bugs me. he kind of looks like a charicature (spelling?) of someone...but he DID do a good job on the dance. and i lovvve eleanore. > the pasa doble was amazing...not to mention the killer abs on "legs". yikes. when he came out shirtless, i was like, "is he constantly flexing or are those seriously his muscles?" > and wasn't tyce's blackbird routine so emmy-driven? but even though i'm not channing or victor's biggest fan, it was so well done. > now molly and nathan...the babies. i want to dislike molly. but she did so well tonight and many other nights. i think laurieann is one of those choreographers who can pull a lot out her dancers from what it looks like. i was suprised by nigel's kudos to nathan though - perhaps the best dancer to have ever been on this show? huh. is it just my memory or did adam tell every couple that they're going to the top ten? that's gonna be tough.

let's just give a mary-shout out to kat tonight. she's really the best host. her best moment? mocking travis's crazy voice when announcing ryan and eleanore.

anyways...wanted to let you know that yes, i AM watching this season and if YOU are watching...i'll keep blogging my sytycd thoughts.