Kalasek Kiddos: Tis the Season

9 month appointment

immediately went into the mouth

Benjamin : Even though he is almost 10 months old I figured I would still list his stats from his 9 month appointment. With his 9 month landing on Thanksgiving week we weren't able to see the doctor til last week. No shots this time although she warned that his 12 month appointment will make up for it... :( Our little dude was 17lb 1oz (8% and still a peanut although we don't feel that way at home with the way he shovels back the food); head size 88% (still wears a big hat but at least we are out of the 90th percentile...lol); height (24%).. Our children are destined to be long and lean.

big smiles and crazy hair 24/7

get out the baby gate STAT

Ben has I have said in the past blogs is our determined child. He is already pulling himself up and trying to take steps although he isn't strong enough yet (thankfully) So baby gates are going up and we are all on high alert lol. He will attempt to climb OVER anything or UNDER anything no matter how high or how low. We bump our head a lot (good thing its so big :) He's still an army crawling machine and has found that he is faster than trying to get up on all 4's and crawl normally. Still no teeth but that doesn't stop him from eating both baby food and table food. We have to portion control bc he will literally stick every single piece set in front of him in his mouth at once. You'd think the child doesn't eat every 3 hours....as well as food he will also put any item he finds in his mouth so he have to be super cautious at home and with Easton about what we can and can not set on the floor. Paper seems to be his favorite thing to stash in his mouth. He is so naughty that he waits for you to look away.

He is still not a fan of sleeping but we have finally buckled down with making him sleep in his crib or at least in his room. Since its the season for colds and coughs that can be tough bc he sleeps so much better if he is elevated so there are many naps and night times when he ends up in the rocker on my chest or sleeping on Brian on the floor of his room. Luckily its also the season of lots of activities so he is playing hard and tired at the end of the day which helps the hours he sleeps at night stretch on a bit longer (happy dance!) He wants to do everything that Easton does or at least be near Easton at all times. That usually is fine as Easton is SO good to him and loves sharing and trying to get him to play with him. There are moments when Easton is watching something or playing a game on his tablet and Benny wants to be right next to him or hit the screen...these are when I hear "Mom Bens trying to play with my "hello" (what he calls his tablet); or "mom can you put Ben over there" LOL. Other than that though I cant complain at all Easton is so sweet to Ben and he just adores him.

2 weekends ago we had our first family Xmas of the season. We went down to Aurora for the annual Morgan family Xmas. Its so nice that we do it this way so that everyone can be there and its not stressful bc its not around Xmas eve or Xmas day. Everyone comes in from out of town and we just sit around and catch up and of course play the gift exchange game that my grandma spearheads each year. Its a silly game that involves stealing gifts and not knowing what you may open etc. I am sure you have all played or seen something similar with your own families. My grandma gets the biggest kick out of people stealing gifts, getting "mad" about having something stolen, and strategizing with their spouses etc. Its pretty funny to watch her laugh til she cries during these episodes. We feel so blessed that we are still able to share Xmas with my grandparents in Aurora and get all of us under one roof (a very little roof). I know it means the world to them and its pretty darn special to us as well. How many kids get to have Xmas with their great grandparents every year, and how many 30+ year olds still get to spend Xmas with their grandparents eating the same food as childhood holidays and seeing the same decorations they grew up around. We had so much fun!

Morgan Xmas....Grandma and Grandpa Morgan

Benny Boo trying to climb onto daddys lap

cutie pie Grayson French

Last weekend we took the boys to the children's museum. They have a new farm/tractor exhibit that Easton thought was so awesome and they also do a Santa program a few times a day. He loved it but didn't want to sit on Santa's lap bc he "already did that" during my Kappa Kappa Gamma Xmas party a few nights prior. Apparently Easton has a limit on how many Santa visits he will do per year lol. We also had the Santa Brunch at Champions. Brian and I recently joined Champions and this is one of their most popular brunch events. Santa is there to take pictures and give the kids gifts and of course the amazing food is a bonus. We brought Brians parents since they had never been and it was a really fun morning/afternoon. Easton decided that he would sit on this Santa bc we wanted him and Ben to do it together. This year no tears....next year with Ben a bit older I'm guessing there may be some so we soaked up the drama free Santa pics this year.

moms of boys this exhibit is awesome!

Daddy and his right hand man

dr office...Ben was a big help

just putting some gas in his tractor

Cant believe Xmas is a week away. I have had the gifts done and decorations up since before Thanksgiving so now I am in operation baking mode. I made some fun treats for Easton to bring to MaryPats everyother day until Christmas. His Elf on the Shelf Chippy sometimes brings him crafts to do at home or leaves notes to bring to his friends at daycare each day. We don't have Chippie do anything naughty like some Elf on the Shelfs I use him more as a way to make Easton behave and sometimes he brings treats, but mostly its to give him activities and crafts to do at home with me, or brings him things to share with others at daycare. Chippie has been such a great bargaining tool for me lately :)