Three Months Old!

Today Benjamin is 3 months old. Here's a few highlights:
1. He's trying desperately to roll over.
2. He sucks on his hands and fingers like they are chocolate candy. I try to give him a pacifier and he usually spits it right back out. "No thanks, Mom. I want to slobber all over my hands if you don't mind."
3. He peed all over Abby's face a few days ago. We put his blue tub inside the regular tub. Works great to get them both bathed at the same time. She leaned over him and it was the perfect angle to let 'er loose. It was way too funny. The look on her face was priceless.
4. He is one happy boy. This kid smiles and coos and belly laughs A LOT! I do not remember Abby doing that so much at this young age. The minute he locks eyes on your face, he just starts grinning from ear to ear. And those belly laughs are quite contagious.
5. He got his first haircut.
6. He took his first airplane ride(s). And he was a trooper...that white airplane noise put him fast asleep.
7. He is quite the "talker." In the last week, he has started doing a lot of baby talk. He's loud and goes on and on like "I have something to say, people!" I just talk right back to him and we have many a lively conversation.

Our 3 Year Old Shoplifter

After getting home from our trip, we had to go out for some groceries and a wedding gift. There was a wedding shower at church last night...so I just dropped off the gift without staying since I was a zombie from traveling. We go into Bed Bath and Beyond to grab the gift before heading over to Stop and Shop for a rotisserie chicken and groceries. Jason is pushing Ben in the stroller with Abby walking with him while I get the shopping done. While in BBB, our sweet Abby was grabbing fun looking items within her reach. We did a lot of "No!" "No!" "Put that back now!" The kid had been traveling all day and had not slept for more than 15 minutes. We finished quickly there and walked over to the grocery store. Got our stuff and headed back to the car. While putting the stroller away, Jason found 2 stuffed toys that Abby had snuck into the stroller when we weren't looking. He was not a happy daddy. I finished loading the groceries and Ben into the car while he hauled her back into Bed Bath and Beyond. When they got back to the car, he said Abby was very remorseful and said she was "Sorry" to the people in the store. Jason said the lady he was talking to just smiled from ear to ear the whole time and "she wasn't helping me out much with that grin!" Part of me thinks she doesn't quite get the whole concept of buying something to own it. But we did know that she knew we said "No" to the toys she was touching and she decided to sneak some in anyway. Needless to say, she fell asleep on the way home (around 6:30 p.m.) and we took her directly to bed because she was completely gone. And the girl slept soundly until 7 this morning.

Our Big Adventure

Here's some of those goody Chiodo stories....We got home yesterday from a long week of traveling to Colorado and Oklahoma for my brother's wedding. Let's just say the week was a big adventure, and we'll leave it at that. We survived Delta losing our bag with ALL of our toiletries in it (hello...wedding). We survived driving all night long through boring ol' Kansas in an all night long pouring rainstorm to get to Oklahoma. And we survived sleeping with Abby who thinks the entire bed is just for her. And we survived the lack of naps that Abby (didn't) have.
We finally got our bag back from Delta...way after the wedding was over. Thank goodness for the bounty of Walmart Supercenters in Colorado.
And I proved I'm much better at driving all night than my husband is. Maybe it was the years of working nights as a nurse?!? I would drive for about 3 hours and finally say, "Honey, I really need a break." Jason would get behind the wheel while I slept. After 45 minutes, he would say, "Honey, I'm exhausted. I really need a break." Seriously?!? Yes, that was our night. Me-driving 3-4 hours. Jason-a whole 45 minutes. And then we would start all over again. I chomped on so much ice that night that I think even my teeth were frozen. I love that man, but I think roadtrips in the future will be taken under serious consideration.
And we are now home and so thankful that Abigail has her own bed. You know, she never sleeps sideways in her bed. Just when the two of us have to bunk down with her. One of us gets the butting head in our back; the other gets the kicking feet. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Night after night.
Our schedule of naps got a bit off course too. Why is it that when you desperately want your toddler to nap before a big fancy wedding that they absolutely refuse to do it? We thankfully saw the signs coming and left the wedding about 15 minutes before not one, but two kiddos had meltdowns. So after the wedding we get back to our hotel and want them to rest before we get some dinner for the night. Jason and Abby are in one bed, Ben and I in the other. And we had about a 2 hour 3 ring circus. Ben would fall asleep only to wake up to Abby having a hissy fit. Then we would finally get Abby to calm down just to have Ben make a fuss. We went around and around for 2 hours. Finally we said, "Let's load them up and get dinner anyway." Of course they both were knocked out before we even drove out of the hotel parking lot. So our dinner that night consisted of us sitting in the McDonald's parking lot eating a chicken sandwich and a salad. With a vanilla ice cream cone afterwards just cause we needed it. But we had two sleeping beauties and that was all that mattered. Oh-and then Abby peed all over Jason while he carried the sleeping girl back into the hotel later. See? A big adventure.
And yes, we have some more stories of our big adventure. But that is for another day. I will say for the most part that my children were wonderful travelers. I love getting the compliments after a flight from people telling us our children were "amazing" on the plane. Except for that one flight home yesterday where Abby screamed in my face, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" while kicking and hitting me. She wasn't happy that we had to turn off Dora on the Ipod (a real treat) for takeoff. Needless to say, I gritted my teeth so hard I thought I would chip one. And as soon as that seatbelt sign went off, I hauled her butt into that tiny bathroom and gave her a good ol' spanking. But it worked and she was a dream the rest of the way home...even with no Dora to watch due to her earlier behavior.

Ben's First Haircut

We are quite thankful for our dear Sal (Grandma's beau) who is a barber. He has given the Chiodo family many a free haircut. I'm not sure he knew what he was getting himself into when he and Grandma got together...but we are forever indebted to him for his skill.
Sunday night, I had Sal whip out the scissors to give Ben his first haircut at 12 weeks of age. The boy was born needing a haircut. You know it's bad when you have to tuck your son's hair behind his ears. So I requested a "clean cut"...mostly just trimming around his ears. After a full belly, Ben was sound asleep on my shoulder and Sal went to work. He got one side done, and then Ben decided to wake up. He wasn't too fond of us messing with him during his beauty sleep. So with a slightly firm hold of the head, Sal was able to get to most of the other side. We didn't get a picture of the finished "clean cut" look though. But I was quite happy with the end result...no more hair tucking. Thumbs up, Sal!
P.S. Besides the most often heard question of "Where did the red hair come from?"...I get "Will Ben have curly hair like Abby's". Abby's hair was red but stick straight until she was 10 months old. Her hair clung to her head for the longest time. I used to glue (very gently) the bows to her head because it was so fine and straight...so not the case now. Around 10 months old, she was a bit sweaty one day and I noticed a very tiny curl. Within 2 months, we had the full-blown tight "Shirley Temple" curls. So for all the wonderers...stay tuned for another 7 months.

Chiodo Family Get Together

The whole family (except Jenn in Jerusalem) got together for some good ol' lasagna and meatballs at George and June's on Sunday night. George has now started having a craft or activity for the older girls to do. One time they painted t-shirts. Sunday, they all made the dessert (dirt cake, I think?). Chocolate cake, vanilla pudding, pistachio pudding, candy bar pieces...all layered together with a yummy Cool Whip topping. They all wore their "How Sweet It Is" aprons (Jason's parents used to have ice cream stores in Connecticut called "How Sweet It Is"). They all get a kick out of it (George more than the others) :). So here's some pictures of our night together. I tried to get one of all the grandkids...not so easy to do.

A Day at the Zoo

We had a free family pass for the Beardsley Zoo last weekend (love those public library passes!). So we packed a picnic lunch and met up with Dennis, Veronica, and Anabel for a fun day together. Silly me told Abby the day before that we were going. So, of course, she is up and ready to go at 4:30 A.M.! I won't do that again. The weather was nice and cool but sunny. We probably only made it through 1/2 the zoo before we were all starving (including Ben). There was a carousel inside one of the buildings there...that was a big hit with Miss Abigail. After lunch and the carousel ride, it was time to head home for naps (for all of us!).

Abby's Goose Egg

One morning last week was a typical morning for us. Jason's getting ready, I'm trying to suck down my cup of coffee in record time, Ben is swinging away, and Abby is running around being goofy. I was sitting in one of our dining chairs and had my back toward the living room (where Abby was). In a split second I heard her feet trip, my chair shake, and my heart stop. Abby had tripped over her feet and fell HARD (forehead first) into the back of my chair (the part of the seat that sticks out a bit in the back). Scared the livin' daylights out of me! She was really hurting and jumped up clutching her head and crying while I was moving at lightning speed to get to her. Her forehead was black and blue immediately and I was yelling for ice. After lots of crying and cuddling and the ice pack bear giving her "kisses"...she was all better. I was just thanking Jesus that it wasn't a trip to the emergency room. So here's some documentation of the fall. It's now still bruised and noticeable but nothing like before.