Winter

Snowed in again, so I thought I'd update the baby blog. Everything goes so fast. We are up to 5 teeth, eating everything big people eat with no problems, and this week Ben stood up and walked across the kitchen. He's had the balance to walk for weeks. He can stand up without holding on to anything, he can squat down and pick things up, he can dance, but until this week he wasn't really interested in walking. I knew that when he decided it was time we weren't in for one or two steps, and I was right. The first time I saw him walk he took 5 steps, at least. And after that he just went. The last two days he's spent more time walking than crawling.

This year we seem to be having record everything. Record rain and now record snow. I'm a little sad that Ben isn't old enough to enjoy it, but I'm sure there will be other snow falls for him to play in.

With Dan at a job with real hours, I've found myself trying to get organized. Planning meals for the week, doing laundry one load at a time during the week so I'm not spending all day Sunday folding clothes, running errands and shopping on Friday afternoon. My goal is that we work toward work free weekends. I'd love to have everything in place so that we could just have family time on the weekends. I know that's somewhat of a fantasy, but that's what I'm working toward.

Hopefully spring isn't too far away. February is super busy and then March we'll be planning a birthday party! Lots to look forward to.

Football and Bodo's

Whew, fall is fast and furious around here. The season is flying by as fast as Ben is growing. In the last month he's gotten two teeth, is crawling like a pro, can clap his hands, pulls himself up and is trying to cruise! I'm in trouble, I know... I know. His crawling used to be contained to the area we set him in, but now he's ready to explore. He wants to see everywhere he's never been. He wants to climb the stairs, get into the laundry room, go under Dan's desk.

We've also stepped it up on introducing new foods. I found myself in a pattern of giving him just a few different things. After reading an article about the need to get as many new flavors into the boy before he turns one, I've made it my goal to introduce two new foods a week. I've made and frozen green veggies and sqash, we have two little pumpkins to roast and this past week we added egg yolks to his diet. He also has a great love for pears, so he is seen around town these days with is "fresh fruit" ring, sucking on a pear.

As a family we now do things we never used to do. We went to the pumpkin patch with the Owenbys and had a great time taking pictures and buying pumpkins. The boys were curious about all the gourds and pumpkins. My Ben did his best to eat dirt and straw, while little Ben was more interested in figuring out what in the world he was suppose to do with the pumpkin in his lap.

And as a family we do things we always do, but now we get to introduce Ben to the fun. We took him on his first camping trip to First Landing State Park with our family for the annual Octoberfest celebration. Ben LOVED camping. I'll never forget his face in the morning after I took him out of the tent. He was grinning ear to ear and had a look of sheer joy. His face read "I can't believe my luck! I'm still camping!". I suppose it's not surprising that he loves it. He's always been happy outside. Camping was a great adventure. He discovered dirt, got to go swimming in October, woke up in the morning and found that mom and dad were sleeping right there too. And best of all he got to spend lots of time with his Grandma and Grandpa and his uncle Sean and Aunt Shauna.

This past weekend was football and Bodo's. Ben was a super baby on this road trip. We planned it perfectly so that he slept for the first hour or so of the ride up. After he woke up he played in the carseat the rest of the way perfectly content to be going some place. We got to Charlottesville and the rain was threatening, but we decided to try it. We met Amanda and Casey and Rae Lynn on the short walk to the stadium. RL is an old pro at football games, but Ben had a mini melt down when we got into the stadium. He was in the bjorn, and couldn't see either Dan or I and freaked out at the noise. Once we had him out of the Bjorn and assured him it was okay, he calmed right down and started to try to figure out what in the world we were doing in this loud place. We made it for about 15 or 20 minutes before the rain started coming down in sheets. We quickly decided that sitting in the rain wasn't going to happen (especially since we weren't playing very well) so we decided to head to Bodo's. Amanda, Casey and RL came too and we had a geat lunch. RL and Ben held hands, poked at each other, made friends with the other diners, and made a mess in general of the entire area around our booth. It was great to catch up with Amanda and Casey and all in all we were glad that we made the trip. And just as we planned we put our tired little guy in the car and he slept all the way home.

I really think the secret to happy baby is the flexible schedule idea that we adopted from the beginning... and not over doing it. Ben was so pleasant on this trip and I'm sure that it's because we were able to work it around his general schedule for eating and sleeping. We are going to try our next road trip at Thanksgiving. We'll see if my theory is correct, or if we really just got lucky on this one.

So Ben's seventh month flew by with our weekends packed with activities. I'm hoping that November is a little less busy, but I'm sure we will be on the go just as we are now, with holiday preparations, parties, travel, family and friends.

Six months old and on the go

Oh my. The fun has begun. Ben is on the go, and he's a fast little guy. He doesn't exactly crawl yet, but with a combination of rolling and scootching he can get anywhere he wants to go. He pushes up on hands and knees all the time, so actual crawling is not far off. I'm not sure we are ready, and I know that our house isn't!

We just took our first camping trip with Ben and he LOVED it! I was surprised how well he did. We took the pack n' play and set it up in the tent, so he slept pretty well. When he woke up Saturday morning he was beaming ear to ear and spent the entire day with the same big smile on his face. This was the first time in memory that he chose not to nap, I think for fear of missing something. Dan even took him swimming in the bay. I thought he was going to get upset because it was pretty cold, but no, he went back in for seconds.

Ben's eating lots of solids now. We've added applesauce and sweet potatoes to his menu. He still acts surprised when you give him something other than rice. But after the first bite he opens his mouth for more. He's just under 19 pounds now. I'm amazed everyday when I get home because he looks like he's grown and changed while I was gone.

Time to get ready for work! Happy Fall.

Five Months

Once the exams were over in July I really started to enjoy the summer. Now it seems to be coming to an end way too fast. The weekends ("Mom and Dad days" with Ben) are too short and the work week is too long. Not enough time to go to the pool, take walks, pick fruit, make baby food, clean up the house, etc. With Grandma going back to work the last week in August we are looking at the start of babysitting.

I'm excited for Ben to go to the babysitter, but also a little anxious. I know that he is going to be very happy there, and he is especially going to love having other kids around. I'm looking forward to him making friends and having new experiences. He learns so fast that I think he will benefit from having a new surrounding. Of course until we have done this for a while I will continue to be nervous, but we really like the sitter and I'm optimistic that she is going to be great for Ben.

Five months old this week and how much Ben has grown. We have started him on cereal several times a day. We feed him with a spoon while we are eating so that he has an active role in our meals. He also started holding a sippy cup with a little bit of water. Last night was our first try at that, and he did really well. In general he really likes to do what we are doing, so this eating and drinking thing has been really fun for him. I've made the first round of baby food (cooked peaches, picked at the farm) and put it in the freezer. I'm thinking we will start him on some fruit and vegetables in September. I'm planning on making apple and pear sauce and some squash and maybe pumpkin for the freezer next month.

I'm also excited that things have gotten into a pattern enough for me to start back to yoga on Mondays. I'm so looking forward to that! My neck is hurting all the time from stiff muscles and tension headaches are my constant companion. I know that just that hour a week on the mat will make all the difference in the world.

Ben continues to be a happy, fun baby. He's so easy going and relaxed that it's hard to remember that he is so little. He adjusts well to change and really enjoys new experiences. We've found a pattern to life and have adjusted to that. It's fun to see him grow and learn and to incorporate new things into our days. I'm sure with the start of fall we will have to find new ways to entertain him, and that process will bring more fun and happiness to our family. Cheers!

Life is VERY good

So many firsts in the last month! His first vacation which also included his first baseball game and his first time in the ocean; His first fourth of July with an attempt to pick blueberries (not quit ripe yet, we'll try again on Friday); and developmentally he rolled over for the first time tummy to back and then back to tummy, he sucked on a piece of cantaloupe yesterday. Nearly everyday something new.

He's already developed quite a strong personality. He attracts people, and seems to be very happy to meet anyone that will look at him. He does it with his smile. We noticed when we take him out that he smiles at strangers, which then causes them to come up and talk to him. He's also going to be very independent. He wants to be mobile so bad, and he's only 3.5 months old. He's figured out how to skooch across the floor with his knees and his head, he can lean way over out of his bumpo to grab anything and everything within reach. And yesterday he thought he was standing on his own against the arm of the couch and really didn't want his dad to help him. He preferred that dad just pick up the toys as he threw them on the floor.

It's amazing how much we find ourselves smiling and laughing when we are with him. He lights up the room with his smile and his laugh is infectious! We can't help but spend hours stacking blocks so he can kick them over and giggle, or fill up his little pool so he can float and splash until he's a wrinkled raisin.

While life was good before his arrival, now life is VERY good!

Growing up so fast

I was thinking yesterday morning that our Benjamin was growing up so fast, and I hadn't done anything to document his progress. At the same time I was reading blogs of friends and new mothers and realized that I too wanted to try a blog. So here I am.

I think it's funny when people say "you can't even remember what it was like before the baby, can you?" Well, yes actually, I can. And I was sitting here this morning remembering how nice it was to get up on Sunday morning and sit by myself and read my book for an hour or so. Sometimes the cat would join me, sometimes not. But this morning I have a smiling, giggling, cooing baby sitting in a boppy next to me, chatting away while I read my book. Those days of quiet alone time will come back again, but for now I'm happy to share my morning with my happy little Buddha.

It's surprising the change in this little guy over two months. My favorite time with him was right after he ate. He would curl up in a little peanut ball and lay on my chest and sleep. Now when I hold him like that he's usually more interested in trying to climb on me like a jungle gym. We still sometimes have our quiet time after he eats, but now he falls asleep - and I mean, asleep. The kind of sleep with arms thrown open, legs spayed, head rolled back and drool coming out. I'm so glad that I enjoyed those moments while I had them, because it seems as he gains independence and mobility those times will be rare.

And now we enjoy different moments. We enjoy watching him laugh for twenty minutes at a mobile with three stuffed bears over his pack and play. And yes, I stood there for twenty minutes spinning that mobile around just to watch him laugh. And we enjoy the smile that he has just about EVERY time he sees either Dan or I, and we enjoy the "talking" he is doing. It's fun to hear the new sounds he is learning and to see how happy he is when we "talk" back to him. And we are thrilled that he loves the water and seems completely happy to float and have water in his face. Everyday there is something new to be amazed at.

And I return to where I started. We remember the old life, but we definitely are having fun with the challenges and joys that this new chapter have. And we remember every day to enjoy the moments with Ben, because they will be changing as he grows and before we know it he will be off on his tricycle and we won't even be able to catch him!