Rubber Ducky

Bathtime is becoming one of our favorite activities around ye ole Trautman house.  Benjamin is discovering how to splash in the water and eat the washcloth and all sorts of fun things!  So, last night, we decided it was high time to introduce Rubber Ducky to our bathtime routine...

It's a hit!  Plus, he makes a handy bathtime teether, since we're cutting several teeth right now (poor baby!)

or should we say "Poor Ducky?"  Anyway, Benjamin is actually about to outgrow his little infant tub that fits in our sink!  crazy!  We love it for lots of reasons, not the least of which is how it shows up his big, blue eyes :)

I would type more, but my poor teething baby is needing me to give him a freshly frozen pacifier :)

The week flew by...

I can't believe it's Friday already! I guess the warmer, sunny weather just made time fly this week! So, in honor of the soon coming Spring (we hope!), Benjamin wore his "sunshine hat" today (even though today was actually cloudy and cool).

I can't decide if we should call this picture "Mr. Sunshine" or "Little Squash Baby" ... it kinda makes him look like a Veggie Tales character! :)

Five Months!

I can't believe my little boy is five months old today!  To celebrate, he's had several tricks up his sleeve lately...

Yesterday, as Mommy and Daddy were getting ready for church, he dozed off all by himself as he waited so patiently to get his church clothes on...

Then, last night, there was a whole new surprise in his little mouth...

oh, wait...

almost got it! 

stop wiggling!

there, did you see it?

yup!  his very first tooth is poking through!

(A note to our future children:  you should be grateful that by the time you come along, Mommy and Daddy will not have the time to play with you for 15 minutes trying to get a picture of the tiny bit of tooth poking through your gums.  Go give your big brother a hug for having to endure this embarrassment.)

Then today, in a five-minute time span, he managed to soil every piece of clothing he had on in some way or another.  So, when I put him in his crib to hang out until I got the changing table cleaned up, the mischievous look on his face said, "Just see how fast I can get this blanket off of me!"

Thankfully, I was able to grab the camera in time!

 

 

Happy Birthday, Precious Benjamin!  Though it seems impossible, I love you more every single day!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

After enjoying a morning full of challenging reflection at our church's late-winter retreat, the balmy 38 degree temperatures drew us outdoors to enjoy the glorious sunshine. Benjamin napped cozily while tucked away in his stroller, and Daddy and I savored some time just to chat and breathe deeply the crisp air blowing off the frozen lake. Happy Saturday to all!

A New Song

This week's work on sleeping routines has necessitated the choosing of the song ... you know, the song that you sing a bedtime to signal sweet baby that it's time to go to sleep. I have put off this decisions for almost five months, because the miracle blanket and the pacifier worked just fine.

But without those cues, it's now time to pick the song. Golly, that's a lot of pressure... one song to sing at every naptime and bedtime, one song to associate with rest and peace for the foreseeable future ... how am I supposed to pick? oh, the responsibility ... sheesh!

Since Benjamin was born, I have primarily sung two songs to him... "I Am," by Jill Phillips (you can listen here) and "How He Loves Us," David Crowder Band (you can listen here). Then of course, there's our Celine repertoire and the Christmas songs during December ... and January. And the always popular "Wheels on the Bus" to which we now sing 14 verses ... I'm not exaggerating, I counted them - doors, wipers, horn, blinkers, engine, we even have Tennesseans and Jack Bauer on our bus. This is primarily for momma's entertainment; I'm fully aware that Benjamin has no idea what I'm talking about.

Anyway, all that to say, we had to pick a song. And after much internal deliberation (I know, I know, I am way over-thinking this), we've gone with the classic "Jesus Loves Me." The thing is, as I've sung it to Benjamin this week over his screaming, I have been struck all over again by the profound truths ...

Jesus loves me ... just sit and think about that for a minute. The God of the universe came to earth in human form to redeem me from my sin because He loves me ... me, this little speck of nothing yet so consumed with my own importance so much of the time. Jesus loves me, even in my unloveliness, He loves me! And this overwhelming love I feel for my son is just a taste of what love is like!

For the Bible tells me so - I'm not assured of His love by my fickle emotions or by life's changing circumstances. I can cling to His eternal Word.

Little ones to Him belong, We are weak but He is strong - Yes, I sing "we are weak." A good reminder to me that in this whole journey of life, and especially right now, of parenting, I must walk in His strength.

Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!

I think...

Benjamin is officially too tall for this onesie! Sorry, kiddo, after today, this one's going in the save-for-little-brother box.

I also think that I found new favorite cookie, Coffee Toffee Bars. I made mine with whole wheat flour - absolutely delicious! (I'm sure all the butter helps - hee-hee :) but the coffee flavor comes through perfectly and the melty chocolate on top - perfection! Plus they're super easy to make - enjoy!

Eyes of Compassion

I've heard that being a parent brings a lot of fresh insight into God's heart for us, His children. I've been hesitant to do too much extrapolation at this point in my parenting experience, because I know how much of a sinner I am and how much I don't have a clue what I'm doing.

But let me back up ... This week, Benjamin is learning to sleep without his pacifier. That blessed little chunk of green plastic worked like a charm for two months or so, but he is now aware of know when it falls out of his mouth, and since I can't go give it back to him every 30 minutes throughout the night, it was time for him to learn to do without it. So far, it's been going decently well - he's such a sweet, good-natured guy. But it is a tough thing to learn for a little person, and it's so hard to watch (or listen to on the monitor) him struggling to learn to go to sleep (read: screaming his lungs out for 10 minutes).

Last night, as he particularly struggled, I just hurt for him. I know that this is best for him, that he's learning needful skills, that this is going to make life better not worse, that this is not going to permanently damage him but instead make him stronger ... but he doesn't know that. And I just hurt for him.

And then I thought about the struggles and hardships in my life that I don't understand ... and I know God has a plan for my holiness, not my happiness. But last night, I got a glimpse of God's heart for his crying children. Even when He is asking us to walk through trials, He looks at us with eyes of compassion. He is not hardened to our cries, indifferent to our pleas, or frustrated at our helplessness. He loves us, as the perfect Heavenly Father.

I know that sounds basic, but it has been so comforting to me today.

And Benjamin woke up happy as a lark this morning, though in a slightly different position than we put him to bed.