Such joy!

Benjamin did this when Jeremy got home. I love it!

 

Giggles

I love to hear Benjamin laugh. He finds things funny at the most random moments.  I promised to post this video, but Jeremy isn’t here to edit it. So, it might be a little long.

This was taken shortly after returning home from his nine-month well visit where Benjamin  had two shots and got his toe pricked. I thought he would be miserable, but when I got home from filling his antibiotic, I heard belly laughs from Benjamin, who had just discovered a cup and straw for the first time. Jeremy was practically in tears, he had been laughing so hard at Benjamin laughing.  It doesn’t do it justice, but we got the tail end of it. He dragged the straw around the house with him for hours before I took it away. You will hear me say at one part that the zoo doesn’t have straws and lids, because of the choking hazard for animals. That was for Jeremy’s benefit, because he let’s Benjamin play with anything. It usually is pretty cute…as long as he cleans up the mess. One day, he bought Benjamin cotton candy, just so he could squish it in his hands. He promised me he didn’t let him eat any of it. Another time, he handed Benjamin a lime wedge. Poor kid! No wonder he has an aversion to table food. Another day, I came home and discovered Jeremy had given Benjamin a whole tomato! He made the most awful faces, but kept biting it and making a mess. I guess that’s why God made Dads…to make life a little more interesting.

Nine months

I don’t have a photo for Benjamin’s 9-month post. I had a video, but there is no time to upload it! I promise to do better this weekend! :)

We survived the 9-month appointment with only a few tears at the toe prick to check his iron and the two shots he had to get. It had been a total melt-down day for me at work, and so thankfully Jeremy was there for moral support or there might have been two of us crying!

Benjamin weighed in at 21 pounds and is 29 inches long. That means he is in the 75th percentile for height and 50th-75th for weight.

The nurse practitioner commented on his very “intense” gaze. He has a very focused look, but it usually is followed by a big grin.

I had taken him in just two days before, because I worried he had an ear infection. The doctor didn’t see anything, but said it was his 15-month molars popping through and making him miserable. But, at the visit two days later, they discovered he does have an ear infection. This is his fifth in nine months, so they said wait it out for a few weeks and then we will decide if we should see a specialist. I think we may end up getting tubes in his ears, but we’ll see.

So, these are a few of Benjamin’s favorite things this month:

Pulling up on furniture and trying to stand on his own;

Crawling everywhere;

Picking grass and shredding leaves;

Getting mail from the mail box and then ripping the junk mail to shreds;

Testing out new sounds and tasting new fruits…a big victory for our picky eater.

Benjamin has such a sense of humor. He finds many things funny, especially when we do something silly like imitate him crawling. He smiles whenever he sees another child or baby (or any person for that matter) and once he starts laughing, he can go on like that for five minutes straight.

I cherish each morning when I hear his soft voice talking on the monitor. I go in, and he gives me the most precious smile. Then, we start our wrestling match of me trying to change his diaper and put him in clothes. He would prefer to start crawling around the room or diving off his changing table. He sits on the floor and “brushes” his teeth while I brush mine, and he explores the bathroom (getting into everything) while I try to take a two-minute shower. While I eat breakfast, he sits  in his Bumbo seat and flips through magazines or plays with cereal boxes. It still breaks my heart to take him to Ms. Linda’s house, but it gets me through the day knowing I get to see his smiling face again when I get home from work.

 

Well, I better get to bed. I promise to post a video and some pictures ASAP.

Long time no post…enjoy two weeks of Benjamin photos!

Sorry folks! I have been so busy lately, I haven’t had time to spare for the blog. But, you won’t be disappointed with these photos and Benjamin updates.

Our precious baby boy is now saying mama, dadda, rara, yayay and a variety of other sounds. Much to my dismay, he loves to grind his teeth to make a clicking noise. It makes me cringe every time!

He is still the happiest baby around, even though he is sick ALL the time. Here he is playing with Jeremy on the floor.

I also took a few photos to demonstrate his new favorite activity… standing on his tippie toes whole beating on our new soft coffee tables.

Here he is enjoying his new swing. We have been loving the nice weather, and we try to swing at least once a day on the front porch.

We also collect the mail every day. and Benjamin waits patiently while we hand him all the junk mail.

 

Sometimes he insists he can stand without our help. He promptly falls, but it is cute to see him try.

 

The other day I was eating a banana, and Benjamin – who hates most fruit and especially bananas, took a bite from mine when I wasn’t looking. I gave him the rest. He chewed off pieces and then spit them back out.

Bath time is still the highlight of the day. He loves to play with his rubber ducky, the cap to one of my shaving gel bottles and the shiny silver drain and water spout. Oh…and we can’t forget his washcloth, which he keeps clamped between his teeth for as long as possible.

 

 

And finally, here he is playing with the baby boy in the cabinet glass.