Eight Months

Happy 8 month birthday sweet boy!

It's Ben's 8 month birthday today. How did we celebrate? By staying home with pink eye and an ear infection. I picked him up from school yesterday and he had just woken up from a nap and his eyes were gross. Green shouldn't come from any part of your body. I took him to the doctor just to confirm what we already knew and they found a second surprise-an ear infection. You would have NO idea this kid is sick. He's the happiest baby. The only indication was he actually took long naps the past two days which is not like him. So now we're on meds and are still as happy as a clam (as long as you're not giving him the eye drops).

My favorite 8 month old!

We now have two teeth, yay! One step closer to carrots and apples (and steak). Not sure who was happier the tooth popped-Ben or Mommy and Daddy. This one was a little more painful for our little guy. The fingers are back in our mouth so maybe another will so make it's appearance.

Monkey is my friend!


Two guesses what's he doing here :)

Looks like a fat apple in this shirt. They weighed him yesterday. We're up to 22lbs!

A couple weeks ago we came home from work and found his window open like this. The house cleaner (my life saver) had done it. She likes to rearrange things in our house, but it always looks good. We still need to get a 'thingy' to tie the rope on so we can keep his window open without the risk of clotheslining ourselves.

We love this picture because he has food stuck on his cheek from tyring to feed himself and can you guess what else he's doing right now? We might need to work on things you don't do at the table.

First, excuse the messy bed-we never make it. Sorry. Ben can now feed himself his bottle. He rarely gets bottles at home so it was a treat when we discovered this. He also knows what the bottle is now and goes crazy when he sees one. This picture was taken yesterday right before the doctor. Can you see his puffy eyes? Poor baby.

Baby Tad was signing him lullabies before a nap today. Ben didn't want to nap and was trying to strangle the frog.

Here's some naked baby pictures. He loves to be naked. Should we start worrying about this?

I can see this one being played at his wedding slide show. Love ya kid!

Sippy cup practice

Some tidbits about my big 8 month old:

• gives hugs to mommy and kisses to daddy-SWEETEST THING EVER!
• says 'uh oh'
• still loves to look up at lights and fans. I have a feeling when he figures out how a light switch works we're in for some trouble.
• likes grapes, yogurt melts and puffs
• bananas are a no no right now. We've tried 2 separate times and it's not been good. He's got his Mommy's sensitive tummy
• tried guacamole (just a bit)-success!
• loves, loves, loves our bed
• flirts
• CLAPS-my favorite
• waves (or tries to)
• his hair is really long. you can't tell because it lies flat (I'm thinking it will thick like daddy's), but we might need a haircut before June.
• I get a daily sheet from school that lists the basics like when and what he ate, diaper changes, nap times, etc., but also lists fun activities. The other day it said: "foreign language" I read it and couldn't stop laughing. Turns out my kid is learning French. I'd be happy if he'd learn the word Mama.
• loves to touch everything. When he finds something soft he'll rub it over and over like his Mommy
• likes to be sung to. Sadly he has the most musically inept mom ever. I know maybe 3 songs. When he's being a pill about eating if you sing to him he'll start eating.
• he loves it when my mom (Grams) talks to him on the phone. Just lights up.
• crawling is still not happening. I asked the doc yesterday about this-she said not to worry, he's fine. Does she not realize I'm a teacher and expect perfection???
• he's a morning person (like us). I think our favorite time of the day is when I wake him up, bring him down to our room and feed him. Then he plays in our bed and wakes up Daddy. Then it's tickle time for Ben. This is such a special time for us. We're all together and just focusing on Ben. We've found ourselves running late some mornings because we don't want this time to stop.
• Ben is the funniest, happiest little thing. He makes us laugh all the time. We are truly amazed at the miracle he is and the little boy he is becoming.

Daddy is staying home tomorrow with the Monkey so he can get more rest. They're excited for jammy day.

bye bye icky germs

Mommy better - check!
Daddy better - check!
Ben better-CHECK CHECK!!!

Yes, we are all feeling much better. Not sure who was worse-Daddy or Ben. At least Ben handles feeling icky like a champ, Daddy on the other hand... :)

Daddy started to feel sick on Monday, luckily we all the day off. I took Ben in to see Dr. G just in case. He said he just has a bug. We all stayed home again on Tuesday (I think I took more care of Daddy instead of the reason I was home to begin with). Daddy and Ben stayed home again on Wednesday for a final day of rest. It must have done the trick because I have two happy boys now!

The best part of the week-Friday afternoon when I got an email from Daddy saying that they were in the park waiting for me. Our neighborhood park is next to my school. 3:30 couldn't come fast enough. I ran out, put my things in my car and ran to my boys. We took Ben for a buggy ride (he LOVES his buggy) and he got to play on the swings. There are definitely some disadvantages of teaching in your neighborhood, but that is one advantage I am so thankful for.

This weekend we ran around town and Ben was such a trooper. He's started to flirt with some people. Cute, cute, cute! His other new thing-clapping! He loves to clap. Another new (and not so fun) trick-sticking out his tongue and refusing to eat. Dr. G told me to add another veggie and another fruit daily and it's just so much for him. He finds it hysterical and laughs as I get frustrated. What a stinker, but we'll keep him!

Daddy started this at bath time. Ben loves to slide around chasing his duck. I need to get this kid in swimming lessons asap!

Our big boy!

On Thursday we were making dinner and put him in his jumperoo. He was sound asleep within 2 minutes and stayed like this for over an hour.


What happens when Mommy plays with a comb during bath time.

Another new trick-pulling our self up in the crib. We are so close to getting into a standing position. Daddy lowered the crib today just in case. His crib is like a new toy to him.

Peekaboo feet

~~~

Now keep your fingers crossed that Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Tina can come up next weekend to play. Maybe we'll have a crawler by then.

I have another post from this weekend so read on...

An Award

My friend Michelle gave me an award! I'm supposed to write 7 interesting things about myself that you may or may not know.

Hmm, let's see...

1. Unlike Michelle, I HATE to cook. I find no joy in cooking (and very little in baking). My mom and husband, on the other hand, love it! I'm not really a food person and worry so much that when I do cook, everyone else will hate it. It just takes the fun out of it. But-I can whip up Mac n' Cheese or spaghetti (with Ragu) with the best of them!

2. I have a brand new addiction to sweet tea. It started right after I had Ben and is seriously out of control. I find myself wanting food from certain places just so I can get the tea (McDonalds is my favorite). Lent needs to get here in a hurry so I can put a temporary hold on it.

3. I have an irrational fear of electrical shocks. I plug in very few things and cannot touch a door knob without either flicking it, throwing my hand into the wooden part of the door or standing there in fear for a minute first. Getting cans off the shelves in grocery stores is just as bad. I've even let cashiers at drive throughs keep the change occasionally so I can avoid the possibility of their fingers touching mine and a shock occurring.

4. I have an obsession with showers and washing my hair. I MUST take one daily. I don't care where I am, I need a shower. This has put a wrinkle in camping before. And my showers are not now, nor ever have been, fast.

5. I do not like my feet. I have the oddest toes that look like aliens with one eye and nails that barely grow. My pinky nail is bent so you can't even tell I have one. They are also beyond ticklish. Getting a pedicure is torture for me. Even though I hate them so much, I would wear flip flops 365 days a year.

6. I love the color pink! It's probably a very good thing God gave us a boy because a girl would wear nothing else but pink. I have a pink purse, wallet and phone. I will always choose something that's pink over another color. My first car was even a shade of pink (not like Mary Kay).


and since this blog is dedicated to my sweet boy...

7. I have the greatest child in the world! It amazes me how perfect Ben is for us. God knows what he's doing when he gives you the child you have. Ben is becoming my best little friend (and Daddy's too). I think anything he does is the cutest/funniest/sweetest thing. I'm always calling B over to look at Ben do something because "it's just so cute." I talk non stop about him to anyone who will listen. I'm sure I drive people nuts, but honestly, I don't care-I can't help it! Life is so much more rewarding with him in it.


Now I have to give the award to 7 friends with blogs. I only 'stalk' a few blogs and Michelle chose some of our mutual friends so I can't do 7, but here's a few:

1. Ashley
2. Ashlee
3. Katie
4. Tamara
5. Chris
6. Haley
7. Melissa

hey look-I got 7!

Chompers

I know-10 days between posts. There's just not enough time in the day.

But yes, that's right! If you look at the title of this post you'll see we have a new name to go along with our new TOOTH! I noticed it on our snow day during lunch. I must say, it is the cutest little tooth I've ever seen! We started puffs this weekend since we have a tooth. I have no idea if it's developmentally appropriate yet, but Ben likes it so we're good. We love watching him try to get the puff from the bowl into his mouth. So funny. He gets so excited to get them in his hands (picture a lobster trying to grab a cheerio), but then drops them. Bruiser and Bailey have now found the fun of Ben eating in a high chair. When he figures out how excited they get from the dropped food, we're in for a big mess!

So much happens in 10 days. He can now play a piano, recite the Preamble and run a mile in 6 minutes :) So maybe it's not all true, but with his tooth came a bunch of new sounds/words. Bob is still his favorite word to say-all.the.time! I have no idea why? It's not Baba, it's Bob. I have an Uncle Bob who is wonderful so maybe he's calling out for him? But now that we have a tooth we say Dada and Papa. Hmm, what's missing. That's right: MAMA! We only hear that when we have a crying Ben. Not cool!

We've also started 'stranger danger.' He's been a little hesitant to smile at strangers in the store and they said that at school one day he flipped out when someone else came in to help out during a bathroom break. He refused to let her hold him and feed him. But-he also is beginning to recognize friends. Aunt Lucy saw us over the holidays at the store and he lit up for her. She also graciously watched Ben on Friday so we could enjoy a very yummy dinner at Chamberlains and he was so excited when she came over with Becky. His ease with her puts our hearts at peace when we leave.

Here are a ton of pictures from the past few days:

He loves sitting in the cart like this. He looks around and swings his legs. Such a happy boy.

Mommy playing with the camera.

This is a new smile Ben has developed. Such a silly kid.
I also tried putting his hair in a mohawk.

Here we have Ben striking a football pose.

LOVE HIM!

We have a wiggle worm at night. He flips over to his belly and moves to the top of his crib and smooshes his head against the corner. We he wakes up his hair is flat as can be on his head. This was Mommy playing with hair gel.

Like the pacifier? After trying so hard with the Soothie kinds, I think we've found some that will work. Daddy actually bought this one way back before Ben. He also bought a pig nose one (and that is Ben's keyboard in the picture-he tries to play with ours all the time so Daddy got him his very own keyboard. He just might email you:)

Ben took a two hour nap with Daddy yesterday. Peaches still upset his tummy so this was after a period of fussiness from gas. My boys were out.

Ben's favorite babysitters: Family, Lucy and Becky and the DirecTV logo. He sits mesmerized by this logo as it bounces across the screen after we pause a program. He's not into tv at all, just this. It's gone on for close to 30 minutes before. HYSTERICAL. There is no question that he's Pop's grandson.

Such a cutie!

This is a picture for Child Protective Services to use in their case against us. Daddy was fixing his jumperoo today making it higher and Ben was sitting next to him in his chair that Grams and Pops got him for Christmas. His toy fell out of his lap and he reached forward to get it. Check out his eye brow. Big heads = big owies.

He fell asleep in his jumperoo today. The funniest part was he was still jumping while he was sleeping.

He's getting so much closer to real crawling. He moves everywhere, but not in a straight line and not forward. He wants so badly to move around. He's developed another cold. Mommy's on a round of antibiotics for a sinus and respiratory infection so he probably caught it from me. He's also getting straight formula this weekend because of a steroid I'm on. Say a prayer for his tummy.

Another note: Our other baby boy, Bruiser, celebrated his 6th birthday on Friday. I think he thinks he's still 6 months and not 6 years. He'll always be the biggest puppy. He was able to celebrate with Aunt Lucy and Becky. They had lots of fun with him Friday night!

Tomorrow we're all off. Yay for another day of family love!

Snow Day

Today is Ben's first "snow day." We have NO snow, but our school district is closed due to inclement weather. As much fun as it is to not have school, I do NOT want to have to make this up in April. Ben's school is open, but I wanted a Mommy and Ben day so he's home...just where he's supposed to be :) I was thinking that today is the first day since I went back to work where it's just been the two of us at home-no daddy and no school. Love it!

So Ben has had a tough time napping at school this week. For example, yesterday he slept a whopping 25 minutes the entire time he was at school. His poor teachers are trying their hardest, but they say he just wants to play and look around. He also has a new student in his class-a GIRL. She's only 2 months and now he's not the youngest. He finally has someone to show the ropes to. And, truth be told, I think he might be staying awake so he can keep his eye on her. Perhaps there is a little crush going on??? (shhh, don't tell Mayson).

So anyway we're home and so far today he's already slept over twice the amount as he did yesterday. The really big downside of his lack of napping is he is soooo tired when we get home and can barely stay awake to play with US. So maybe God created this snow day just so my prince can rest and Mommy can have her playtime with him.

Tonight is the BIG game! Ben is ready! Daddy told him to sleep all day today so he can stay up and watch Texas stomp all over Alabama (we can hope). We're all ready to hear Grandpa cheering/yelling all the way from Austin (or El Paso-wherever he ends up tonight).
Ben had so much fun at school on Monday, he was pooped when he got home. The poor kid slept just about the entire evening.

Ben spit up on his clothes at school on Tuesday and they changed him into these pants. They're 6 months. I guess I haven't given any bigger clothes to daycare lately. They made me laugh how short they are. We're even noticing that his 9 months clothes are too tight and short. Our 'baby' is getting so big!

Seven Months

Seven months? A new year? Where is the time going? The little man is 7 months today. To celebrate he slept in until 9. Yes, I said 9. I watched him smile and hum on the monitor at 5:45 and said something not so nice to it about it not being back to work yet and then the next thing I know, B's waking me up asking how I want to feed the monkey. Crazy!

It's getting harder to take his pictures. Anything in front of him is fair game for his mouth. We tried...

how can you not love this face???

Ben definitely has a personality. It's amusing to see his likes and dislikes. Some highlights in the personal tastes of Ben:

*CLINGY to Mommy. If I'm in the room, he wants to be in my arms wrapped around my waist (sitting on my lap won't work). This is new. Don't get me wrong-I love it, but B can only get him to turn his head so much so I can zip through to the laundry or kitchen. We think it's because he hasn't spent too much time at school lately-that and I'm just such a fun Mommy :).

*is starting to try to pull up on things (but still won't put the pieces together to crawl)

*scoots backwards

*hates socks and shoes

*loves to eat, even if it's veggies

*makes farting sounds with his mouth the second I take his diaper off to change him. No matter how many times he does this, I still jump thinking the sound is coming from somewhere else.

*loves to sit like a big boy in the shopping cart. Swings his legs and laughs the entire time.

*still no teeth, but judging by the amount of time his fingers are spending in his mouth as well as the drool, I imagine one or two should be here shortly

*doesn't care about his pacifier. We keep trying, but he chews on the edges and throws it down.

*loves to hold sippy cups and his bottle

*gets VERY mad at you if you take away a toy he's playing with

Tomorrow we all go back to work/school. Boo! It's been such a nice, relaxing break, especially having all three of us home together. How long until Spring Break (and the beach)???

Two Thousand Ben

Happy New Year! We can't believe it's already 2010 (or as we are going to call it: 20Ben). It's like it was just yesterday we were ringing in 2000 at B's grandparents' house. Our little party animal did not want to go to sleep last night. I think he was hoping to get a big kiss at midnight. He sat on Daddy's lap and just laughed and played not wanting to go to sleep at all. He woke up just after midnight. I guess he really wanted that kiss. Our monkey has finally learned to flip on to his tummy when he sleeps, but doesn't realize he can flip right back to his back just like's been doing for awhile now on the floor. A New Year's kiss did the trick :)

2009 was an amazing year for us. God blessed us with our prince and we can't wait to see what this year has in store. My very best friend, Kathryn (Ben's 'Aunt' Kathryn), said at her wedding in February that it was her year and decade. Well miss Kate, this decade belongs to Ben (at least until brothers and/or sisters arrive one day).

Here's a picture I forgot to add to his Christmas post. Bye-bye baby tub. He's such a good sitter I thought we could say bye to the baby bathtub, but I'm still so worried about him falling and hitting his huge noggin on the tub so my mom suggested a bath seat. Like just about everything, he likes it!
Happy New Year!