I got to look after my nephew and my friend's son this week, and I'll get to look after my nephew again tomorrow.  It's been a lot of fun.  Benjamin really seems to like having older kids to play with.  It's like having a big brother.  Sometimes he follows them around or plays with them.  He's been trying to talk a lot more.  My friend's son is only a year older than Benjamin, so they had a couple of conflicts with toys.  Benjamin used to not care if someone took a toy away from him; he'd just go get another.  Now he squeals at them and tries to grab it back.  He also copies what the older boys are doing and LOVES playing peekaboo with them.  My Peg Perego Skate stroller is wonderful!  I was able to take two kids to the park in it since I have the jumper seat.  I could still push it with one hand, and the boys were really good.  I did gain a new appreciation for what my other friend goes through every time she leaves the house.  She has daughters a year apart, so now having taken out boys a year apart, I can understand why things take so much longer.
It's amazing how much Benjamin grows and develops in just a month or two.  He walks everywhere now and doesn't fall over as often, he listens to me and usually obeys, and he's down to nursing only once a day!  He doesn't even ask for it unless he wakes up early in the morning.  My husband even put him to bed tonight!  Benjamin's really good with animals, too.  He goes up to them and pats them, and sometimes still opens his mouth for kisses, but not as much.
He's been teething lately; cutting all four molars at once.  Poor boy.  I couldn't tell because he got a fever, but didn't drool.  With the front teeth he drooled but didn't get a fever.  So I've been having to give him Tylenol for a few days to get his temperature down.  He's been more fussy, which is understandable considering the pain, but also more cuddly, which is nice.  He randomly comes up to me and hugs me, whereas usually he puts up with a hug for a second then wants to be on his way.
I haven't had Benjamin immunized except for the one at the hospital when he was born, and I'm thinking of starting at his next checkup.  He's a lot bigger now and I think he'll handle it OK.  I just need to figure out a good immunization schedule for him so that he's caught up by age four but won't have to get too many at once.
I really love being a "stay at home mother," but I really don't stay at home all day long and have all this time to clean and play with the baby and do projects and everything I thought I'd do back when I was working.  I should be called a- well- it's hard to describe.  I do clean- my house, and occasionally help others.  I play with my baby- and often other's too.  I do projects- when I feel like staying up late enough at night.  I still have a mess thought.  I've also been volunteering at an elementary school by be one day a week for 3 hrs.  So that's closer to what I used to do and get paid for, but now everything I do, I do for free.  I really do enjoy things more when I do it as service rather than feeling like I have to do it because I'm getting paid to.
I'm VERY blessed to have a husband who has a good job and can support us on his income alone.  It is definitely a learning experience though, especially since I did work at the beginning of our marriage, right up until Benjamin was born.  For me it seemed very natural, because my mother stayed at home us.  But for my husband, who was brought up by a mother who has always had some job or other, it's a lot more challenging.  I appreciate him being willing to support our family and be the provider in our home.
I feel strongly that if possible, I should stay at home with my children.  I would rather make do or do without than go back to work and leave them for someone else to take care of all day.  I want to raise my own children; being a mother is what I've wanted my whole life, and I love it.  Sure, it can be hard, but it's also fun and great to see children growing and becoming their own person right before your eyes.  I don't want to miss any of it.  That was the hardest part about going away to University; I missed seeing my siblings grow up.  Well, now I'm having children of my own, I'm determined not to miss a thing.  Of course, if something happened and it was absolutely necessary for me work I would, that's why choosing teaching as a profession was a smart choice for me.   Not only do I love teaching, but I can do quite a few things with it and have many options if I choose to pursue my education further.  Well, teaching Sunbeams is good enough for me right now.  I love preparing their lessons and activities, and getting to know them individually too.  Between playgroup, volunteering, Sunbeams, Visiting Teaching, and being a wife, mother, sister and daughter, I keep busy.  This is the life I chose, and it's a good life.  I'm happy with it.