Almost Spring!

These pictures are from a few days ago (before we got a snow fall that killed off the blooming flowers.) I came home and found Jeremy and Benjamin on the porch.



Benjamin "picked" a flower for me. :)






It has been a busy week for me at work, but Jeremy has been home on Spring Break. He sends Benjamin to the baby sitter's house until about 3 p.m. each day, so he can get work done and Benjamin won't be too much off his schedule. Then, the two of them play until I get home. So far, they have taken field trips to Lowes and Kroger. Benjamin loves to see new sites, so these were very fun trips for him. The bad thing is he won't nap when there are things to see. So, we often have a very tired baby at night!

Benjamin loves Nana

 

Benjamin got lots of attention this weekend! Nana came to spend a few days with us! They read books, sang songs and laughed at each other while I cleaned the house. Benjamin loves his books, though “Beatle Bop”  is his favorite right now, because the bright pictures catch his attention. He smiles whenever we read it.

I love how he notices pictures. Ever since he was a newborn, he has been drawn to pictures. He recently discovered the ones on his walls, and it makes hanging out in the nursery so much fun!

 

Here he is demonstrating how big he is. His feet rest on my feet and he clears the top of my knees. I have long legs, so this makes it all the more impressive!

Benjamin started teething this week. He had a fit one night when I was at a board meeting. Jeremy thought he was upset because I wasn’t there to feed him and put him to bed. But, when he cried like that a second night, we figured out the problem. Our solution? Jeremy has turned his hand into a chew toy. Jeremy just hopes Benjamin doesn’t bite off his fingers, because he has some strong jaw muscles!

Here they are watching basketball while soothing those sore gums. We have found that basketball, or television in general, makes for a great distraction. :)

I will leave you with a picture of our tired, growing baby.

Go Buckeyes!

Jeremy is getting psyched for tomorrow’s basketball game. He has his bracket all filled out and plans to watch after Benjamin goes to sleep. So, in honor of the big day… here are my favorite boys!

He cracks us up!

This is the first time Benjamin really laughed at us.

Three months old!

Benjamin is three months old today, and weighs 15 pounds. He is wearing nine-month clothes, size three diapers and is at least 24 inches long, though when we measured he looked closer to 25 inches. His new favorite thing to do, besides smile and coo, is to grab onto objects. He especially likes shirts with ties, long hair and anything else around which he can wrap his fists!

We have had a rough week at the Hilty household with lots of sick people. Benjamin has had a very bad cold, Jeremy got it from Benjamin and was sick during finals week. I managed to come down with something that mirrored strep, but we figure is a virus since the test just came back negative. I was pretty sick with a fever and aches all over.

But, we survived and we are enjoying the weekend with Benjamin. He is so curious about everything. One thing we are finding funny, yet not so funny, is his apparent fascination with television. He prefers to watch it more than any other activity. He fusses if we have any object in his line of sight or if we try to face him toward us instead of at the show. I guess that means Mommy and Daddy are going to have to watch less television at night!

Speaking of television, Benjamin loves to watch “Praise Baby,” “Baby Einstein” and “The Wiggles.” Anything with music catches his attention. He even smiles when Jeremy plays the OSU fight song on his itouch.

Here is Benjamin watching the OSU basketball game with daddy. 

 

And finally, to end a very long blog, I will leave you with a photo of Benjamin meeting the Easter bunny. He smiled for the photographer, but he started to get squirmy and hungry by the time I got a photo of him. Still, we thought it was pretty cute.

 

The most wonderful thing about Tigger

I put Benjamin on my bed for a minute while I put on my pajamas. I didn’t want him to roll over and fall off the bed, so I put Tigger on one side.

 

 

My heart just melted when I looked up and saw Benjamin snuggling with, yes I admit it, my stuffed Tigger. My precious baby is learning things so quickly, As he better grasps the fine art of using his hands, he has been reaching for things and testing out how they feel. I told him he can pet Tigger any time he wants, but when he is old enough for stuffed animals, he has to get his own. :)

 

Anyway, here is is sucking on his fist (his favorite pacifier) and he even rolled to his side without help. Of course, he was propped up on pillows, so that made it easier.

Sunshine!

Jeremy and Benjamin have been sick the past few days, and it finally got me! But, we are managing to play a little between naps. The weather warmed up to the 50s this weekend, so we took Benjamin for his first walk.

Benjamin was the talk of the neighborhood. Isn’t he just precious in his reindeer outfit?

Then, since Benjamin wanted to be held a lot this weekend, we tried out his baby carrier. Jeremy and Benjamin hung out like this while mommy went to work. 

 

Benjamin also played with his mobile. He likes to move his legs and arms like he is a little puppet. He gets so excited, he can hardly contain himself.

We can’t get enough of his big, goofy grin.

Benjamin’s Mobile

Nana and papa got Benjamin a mobile for his crib and he loves it. 

Splish splash

Just like his daddy, Benjamin’s favorite time of the day is soaking in the bath tub. Here they are splish splashing in the tub.

All smiles

Jeremy and I love to watch Benjamin when he smiles and talks to us. Tonight, he laughed out  loud again. It is the cutest belly laugh that he mixes in with his giggles.