Alarming Fire Alarm

We are really liking our new apartment, the space is great and Bennett warmed up to it right away. There is a bit of a down side, but we were warned ahead of time by some friends of ours who live on a different floor. There are 2 alarms in this complex, one inside your apt and one for the general building located in the hallways. They're very sensitive too, open your door to air your apt out while cooking and it'll set them off. And they can't be turned off until the fire department comes to look into it. So we're careful to not to that.

We were awakened around 4am Sunday morning by the fire alarm. We're not talking about beeps, we're talking about the kind of fire alarms you hear in school buildings. I quickly ran around our apt thinking it was in our apt before noticing the alarms in the courtyard flashing instead of ours. We took Bennett into the bathroom because it blocked some of the noise. He was shaking pretty badly. We bundled up and headed out the door to get away from the noise. As we were heading for the stairs, we came across the firemen. They asked us some general questions but not too many because it was really obvious that their uniforms, masks, axes, and hatchets were really freaking Bennett out. So we took a little drive and waited across the road for about 2 hours til the alarm was turned off and the trucks left. Amazingly, Bennett was able to go back to sleep right away and spent most of the day resting on and off. What a little trooper.

Our Little Cookie Monster...and other pictures

After eating one cookie! As you can tell, he's been a bit moody. I'm just amazed he kept his onesie clean

Me with babies #1 and 2 (6 months along)

Really cute shots during bath time. I love the attitude of the last one especially!

Learning how to use the Spoon

We're in the process of teaching Bennett how to use a spoon. So here's a video of that. Its great because it shows his own unique style before starting to get it, as well as how talkative he is now. He doesn't say many words, but loves to babble on and on and on and on...while running laps around the apartment. He's sure to have a field day in our new place! We're trying to introduce the cup as well. I caught him drinking from a cup that I use to rinse his hair during bath time. Can't be more ready than that! But while drinking tub water is easy, its a little harder to grasp the concept outside the tub. Yesterday he looked at it (I only fill it a little), dumped it on his lap, gasped in surprise, and promptly pushed the cup away. For the rest of the day he rejected the cup. Kind of made me want to laugh, how he "blamed" the cup for the accident he intentionally caused! But that's a 20 month old for you, I suppose.

August Update

Bennett is nearly 20 months old now, and we've been reading the Book of Mormon Reader to him. For those of you who don't know what it is, its basically the Book of Mormon designed for little kids. There are pictures and the text is simplified so they can understand it. Its more designed for school-age children, but he loves it just the same.

Yesterday he got it out and I offered to read it to him. I just read him a short story and afterwards he folded his arms for a prayer. I was a little surprised, partly because we don't normally pray after reading, but more for the fact that he initiated it. We've been teaching him how to pray for a few months now. And normally the scenario goes: We say, "Fold your arms for prayer time." He folds his arms with a smile. During the prayer, we can hear him moving his hands around, then when we open our eyes, he not-so-quickly folds them again. Its funny how he thinks he's fooling us. But now it looks like he's going to be more cooperative during prayer time.

As for nursery, he's doing so much better! He cries when we leave or when I have to take him out to change him, but not when I have to leave for a few minutes. There are 3 other kids, so its pretty small, but plenty of toys for them all. Some of the kids are a year older and play mainly with their imagination. One offered Bennett a "waffle" that they had made and held it out for him. Bennett had no idea what was going on. So he's not at that stage yet, but I'm sure it'll be a blast when he does get there.

We're beginning to pack up, we move in less than 3 weeks to our new 2 bedroom apt. As excited as I am for Bennett having his own room, I think I'm going to miss having him sleep right next to us. But its really time for him to have his own room. Hopefully the packing goes well, that we'll get enough help to move (I'm sure as heck not lifting any boxes when I'm 6 months pregnant!), and that Bennett will transition well. Its really nice that our little girl isn't due for a few more months. It'd be too much for Bennett to have to adjust to the new place as well as a new sibling. Andrew will be starting his fall classes at the end of this month. He's excited to be back in school after a lazy summer. Time off is fun, but it can be pretty boring sometimes too.