Oh, Benzin

Two weeks after Benjamin's birth and things are slowing down... wait... the only thing slowing down is Ella and I am getting used to the pace of everything else.  We have added one child and about 4x the usual amount of time to leave the house as our oldest has turned into a Class A space cadet.  I used to tell her to do something and she would usually comply without much trouble.  Now she honestly is distracted or in her own world or something and will just sit there or go off and do something else.  Poky, poky.

Ella loves Benjamin and has already gone from calling him "Benzin" to "Ben-za-men" and sometimes she gets the pronunciation correct.  It is a hard name to say, but she says it often.  She loves her little brother and really loves to help out with him.  Wherever he is, she is not far away, whether it is in his crib with her sitting in the jogging stroller nearby, or playing on the floor while I nurse him or more often than not, trying to climb onto or inside of where he is.  We are constantly telling her to give him space and trying to demonstrate for her what it may feel like for him to have her so close -- while supporting her love for him.  She fell asleep this afternoon telling her stuffed bunny, "give me space!"

Last night, we were trying to get out of the house for a trip to Target.  Benjamin was in his carseat and ran into Ella's room to grab a barrette.  For anyone who has been to our house, you will know that this took mere seconds.  I walked back into the room just as Benjamin started screaming at the top of his lungs as Ella was climbing on top of him.  I snapped at her to get off of him, not knowing exactly why he was yelling so loudly (apparently it was self-defense since he stopped the second she left).   Ella started crying, shocked at what was going on and feeling a bit badly, I think.  Later she told me that she was mad at Benjamin for crying... not sure if it is because it scared her or because she got in trouble.  

Overall, Ella is adjusting well.  She lets me know when she needs Mommy Time and I do my best to comply.  She is a super big sister.