Walk This Way

First-I’m in complete denial that my precious baby boy will be one in just over two weeks.  But that’s another post for another day…

Big Ben has been walking up a storm.  He is getting faster and farther.  It’s so much fun to watch him.  He can cross the room now.  He’s also into EVERYTHING, but he’s perfect so we’ll keep him!

 

A few pictures of my favorite ALMOST ONE YEAR OLD:

Who knew a box could be so much fun!

 

Posing with Haley, my adorably sweet neighbor.

 

Oh kid, I love you more than you know!

Hanging out on his new musical chair (it plays music when you sit on it).  He thinks he is SO cool sitting in chairs.

 

I just kind of like this picture.

 

Ben won’t let us feed him anymore, he insists on doing it himself.  Daddy made enchiladas last night.  This picture was after he saw me throw away the empty blueberry yogurt cup (he loves it).  He does let me feed him yogurt.

 

Who says chairs are for sitting?

 

Our little daredevil wants to give Mommy a heart attack.

Movin’ On Up

That’s right, sweet baby is moving on up…at school that is. Last Monday, Ben started the transition from The Growing Room to Discovery 2 (D2).  And since Ben is a star student, he did the two week transition in one week!  He’s officially a D2 kid this week.  They generally wait until the babies are 1 before they transition, but Ben is a good 6 months older than the other babies and it just wasn’t fair to him.  I’ve been discussing it with the directors for a few weeks and after seeing Ben play with Austin (who moved a few weeks ago), it was a no-brainer.  It’s been a little hard adjusting to the schedule of D2, but we’re managing.  The biggest downside-only 1 nap.  This was tough last week.  We’re making it work and throwing in a little nap when I pick him up.  But he’s really happy and I’m happy he’s with other babies more his age. 

 

this week in pictures:

Daddy offered to feed Ben.  The picture doesn’t do him justice, but he was a MESS!

 

I was talking to my mom outside and this was my view of Ben looking out the window…

 

 

 

Ben’s two week long cold has developed into a sinus infection, but now we’re on antibiotics.  He stayed home with Daddy today for a little R&R (and video games).  Yesterday I got to celebrate my first Mother’s Day and it was wonderful.  Breakfast, shopping and lunch out (again they were shocked at how Ben can eat).  I am blown away that God chose me to be this little prince’s mom: 

Eleven Months

What?  11 months?  There is no way my precious baby boy is just one quick month from turning 1!  Ben is such a gift and makes us laugh and smile every day.  He’s getting bigger and bigger and growing and exploring all the time.  On Thursday he took a few more steps and this weekend practiced over and over.  Slowly he’s getting it!  We’ve figured out the dinner situation and now he’s back to eating it like a champ.  Last night I gave him some chicken and told him that once he ate it all I’d give him a few bites of mac n’ cheese.  I think he understood because 5 minutes later his tray was clear so I gave him a few bites.  When I picked him up, chicken came pouring out of his lap.  He hid it all where I couldn’t see.  Such a little stinker!

 

A few pics from the week:

 

First let me explain:  I was doing all the random laundry (towels, sheets, rags, etc.) so I had to use our laundry baskets.  I dumped our dirty clothes onto the closet floor.  Ben was playing in our room and crawled into the closet.  Next thing I knew he was lounging on Daddy’s shirts happy as a clam.

Saturday night we went to see Daddy’s guitar teacher play.  I went to get us dinner and saw this as I was walking back.  My boys…LOVE THEM!

 

Okay so the next two pictures are hysterical to me.  Yesterday our neighbor brought us over some bday cake from Ryan’s birthday.  When I got home today I got it out (long boring day of meetings = hungry Amy).  I ran upstairs to get something and saw this as I was walking up the stairs.  I guess he thought when I said “happy 11 month birthday” it meant cake time.  He pulled it closer to him and was going to town.  His face and hands were covered and he was the happiest little guy. 

 

Just one more month buddy!

He makes my heart sing

My fabulous Aunt Linda said that about Ben today and I couldn’t agree more. He is truly amazing. He had another fun weekend. He has learned what lions, tigers and bears (oh my) say: ROAR! It is the funniest sound. He’s a hit on youtube. He is getting so much closer to walking. B says he took a step yesterday, but I won’t let it count since I didn’t see it. He’s also just getting kind of picky with his food-not so much fun for Mommy. He loves, loves, loves to play with his friend Austin at school. I went to pick him up last week and waited another 15 minutes because the boys were chasing each other and laughing. A happy Ben = a happy mommy!

Saturday we took him for some bluebonnet pictures. For 10 years now I’ve seen people parked on the side of the road snapping away while their kids sat in a field of flowers. I’m proud to say I’m now one of those parents. Ashley told me about this place (she neglected to tell me it’s also a cemetery-creepy). Thank God for digital cameras. When we pulled away I checked and had taken almost 200.

I love, love these pictures. They need no explanation. He is full of joy.

♥♥♥♥♥

On Saturday he went to another birthday party. This one to celebrate Rylee’s first birthday. Rylee’s mom works with me. Happy Birthday, Rylee!

Ben and the ladies at Rylee’s (l-r: Addie, Rylee, Cora and Ben)

Poor baby was so tired. He was out within 2 minutes of leaving Rylee’s and stayed asleep for an hour on his favorite person.

oh- We took him to the doctor on Friday because he had some congestion in his chest. It was the end of a cold, but they weighed him. He’s now 25 lbs! I told B he’s like a quarter pounder (but then he explained how little he would weigh if that were true)-but you get the idea.

Have a happy week! And Aunt Tina and Grandma-you better come visit or Ben’s finding a new favorite aunt (love you)

6 Flags

I wasn’t going to post anything this weekend, but Grams is insisting on pictures so here ya go…

 

We started our weekend on Friday by taking Ben to 6 Flags.  Yes, that’s right, we took our 10 month old to an amusement park.  Just like almost everything else, Ben was great and enjoyed himself.  His favorite-riding Titan and Batman with the big kids.  Okay, so maybe he got to wait while Mommy and Daddy took turns on the roller coasters.  We ran into some friends from Daddy’s work so luckily we didn’t have to fly solo on the rides.  Eventually we told them to go on and we took Ben to Looney Tunes USA.  We tried to wait in line for a family friendly ride, but it was too long and Monkey wasn’t going to last (or Daddy).  Ben was a great trooper and never cried once.  He didn’t get to bed until 10, but he slept til 10 on Saturday-YAY Ben, thank you!

Ben might have been too small for all the rides, but not the train.

 

I love how this picture looks like we're going really fast and Ben is holding on tight.

 

This picture is for Grandpa (he works for a competing construction company).  Balfour Beatty sponsored the family night at 6 Flags (it benefited Children’s Medical Center).

 

On Saturday we took Ben to finally get a haircut.  I’ve been going back and forth about this for awhile now.  He’s still my little baby and I’ve felt like with a haircut he won’t be anymore.  But, I’m not a fan of boys with long hair and it was getting really long in the back so off we went.  He surprised us and never cried until the end when he was done.  He made the cutest faces when she was using the razor.  We told her to go short since it seems to grow quickly (he lost it all at 4 months so it grew a lot in 6 months).  The lady was so nice and so good with him.  He even got a toy car when he was done.  I was the typical mom filling a bag with hair and snapping a zillion pictures.

View Full Album

Click on ‘view full album’ to see his silly expressions

He was DONE and not going to smile

“Mom, I’m done!  Let’s go home!”

He looks like he’s about to enlist in the army, but we love it!

Take me out to the ballgame…

 

Ben has a been a busy boy lately.

Friday night he got to experience his first of MANY baseball games.  B’s company rented out a patio at the Rough Riders game.  Ben proved he is part Michalson-he loved it!  The Cubs come in town next month and we’re thinking of taking him to that-we’ll see!

 

 

Saturday Ben went to another birthday party!  This one was for a friend from his school, Austin.  Ben and Austin are best friends and love to play together.  They play chase at school and have such a good time.  It’s a huge bonus that Austin lives on the street behind us so as long as we all stay living where we do-they will grow up together.  Austin’s house has EVERY toy imaginable including not one, but two bounce houses.  This was Ben’s first time in one.  He liked it until he took a header.  Some other babies from his school were there as long as one of his teachers.  I think Ms. Dana loved not having to change the diapers.  The kid was exhausted when we got home.  I’m excited for lots of play dates with Austin.

 

Austin has a ball pit that Ben loved.  We can’t let Austin have everything alone so today Daddy took Ben to Toys R’ Us to buy some play balls.  750 balls later we have the start of a ball pit.  Mommy likes it, too.

 

Sweet picture even though he looks sad.

 

Ben and his buddy Bailey.  He crawls over to her, pulls up on her and then lets her kiss him.  Gross yes, but still so cute.  We’re working on no kisses.

 

And this is how he gets kisses from Bruiser.  Bruiser is still a little scared of Ben so he generally keeps a close distance.  But today Ben was giving him kisses through the window when the dogs were outside.

 

Today Ben also had a first-his first kid’s meal.  We stopped at Christina’s Mexican Restaurant for lunch (just for you Aunt Tina)!  He made a HUGE mess, but our waiter was in awe of how much he can eat.  He couldn’t believe he’s only 10 months. 

 

Have I mentioned that I love this kid????

Ten Months

Sweet Ben is 10 months today. We’re into double digits now! It’s also Addie and Wyatt’s first birthday today, which a HUGE reminder that my sweet boy is just two short months from his own birthday (and yes I tear up each time I think about that). Again Ben continues to amaze us each and every day. He’s such a joy and we love him more than words could ever say. He loves to be crawling and moving EVERYWHERE! Baby gates are up and it’s a constant battle of how to keep him from leaving the room we’re in. We’ve introduced the word “no” to him. Ya, that’s a fun battle. Table food is a hit for him! It should come as no surprise that the kid loves to eat. I’m struggling with what the right portion size is. I worry so much he’s going to be fat. We’ve had some diaper rash issues and we’re hoping we’ve figured it out. Tonight was also the last night for Ben to have “mommy milk.” I made it 10 months and am really proud of myself. I kept with it because it saved us so much money-I think Daddy should give me the money I saved and let me get a brand new wardrobe! Isn’t that fair??? Today we noticed Ben starting to stand on his own for a few seconds. This boy is getting too big, too fast!

Ben and the birthday girl, Addie B. She had a birthday parade and Ben loved hanging out with some friends.

Some of Ben’s friends (their mommies work with me at school). What stud surrounded by the ladies!

I.LOVE.THIS.BOY!

We have a new fun activity. Ben crawls to his bookshelf, pulls himself up and then pulls down each and every book one by one. Mommy cleans it all up and we do it all over again.

He loves to pull down books, but he also loves to read them. This picture is very special to me. Noisy Nora was/is my most favorite book. Grams got this for Ben. He enjoys opening books, pointing to pictures and being read to. He also enjoys pounding on books and trying to eat them.

Working on our mess for Mommy to clean.

The weather has been amazing lately and Ben and I have taken walks almost each day. We walk to the park and then swing on the swings. My favorite is when he sits in my lap and we swing. I love the quietness and the feel of the wind. He holds on so tightly and smiles the whole time. Do you think he’ll mind swinging in my lap when he’s 12?

Happy 10 months sweet boy!