Benjamin and Daddy

Benjamin got some quality time with Daddy this week, because I had to work some insane hours and wasn’t home a whole lot. In my absence, he made sure to document their time together.

One day, Jeremy decided Benjamin might like to play with this.

Yes, my dear husband gave our son a glass root beer bottle to play with. Such a safe toy!

But, he got a greater kick out of the photos … I am sure you can tell why.

After our library visit, we decided Benjamin needed a bead toy. So, while I was working this weekend, Jeremy and Benjamin took a field trip to Ikea. This toy was only $10! What a deal! The only catch…you have to put it together.  But, Benjamin didn’t mind. He enjoyed helping, especially with the shiny parts.

 

I forgot to mention that at the store, Benjamin tried to take off with the toy. He didn’t quite understand that the box Jeremy picked up was the actual toy. So, he liked hauling it around the house, knowing that he didn’t have to give it back.

 

After Ikea, they went to Panera to pick up dinner. They brought me a half a chicken salad sandwich and a bagel. Benjamin then ate the other half of the sandwich when they got home. He is such a good eater, and is eating nearly everything we give him. Tonight, he ate my bean soup.

Benjamin has another ear infection. He is still struggling with that and cutting his second canine tooth, but as you can see here, Daddy makes it all better.

The only problem was that Daddy had to leave for work this afternoon. Benjamin wasn’t too pleased with that.

He ran to the door (and I mean ran) to get one last hug.

And then he tried to convince Daddy to back up into the kitchen and stay a while.

 

But, alas, he had to leave. So, we decided to play.

Benjamin loves his books, and this one was $1 at Target and so cool.

 

Here he is implying “Come on Mom! Let’s go! Can’t you keep up?”

He loves to play with his magnets on the refrigerator and is getting better at putting them in the correct slot. He has been improving a bunch on his fine motor skills. He is now able to drop “letters” in his mail box and put shapes (with occasional help) into his shape sorter. He is so pleased with himself when he accomplishes these things!

Speaking of new skills, today I was on Skype with my parents, and Benjamin blew them a kiss goodbye. He has never done that before, so I did a double take. Later, in the bathtub, he made kissing noises at me. I was so pleased. All my efforts are paying off. Now, if I could just get him to actually give me a hug or a kiss on the cheek! Speaking of hugs, he still HATES when Jeremy and I hug. This morning, he grunted and grunted while trying to push us apart. It was hilarious.

 

One more random photo…

Since it was 38 degrees (a heat wave) today, we decided to take a walk outside before the ice storm of the century hits tomorrow night. OK, maybe not ice storm of the century, but if we get hit just right, my sources tell me we could get more than an inch of ice. That would be a disaster. So, pray we don’t get hit with much and we don’t lose power! If we do lose power, then pray people up north don’t ,so we can take a trip to see Nana and Papa.

Well…make it one last photo…promise…

I was just reading my sister-in-law’s blog about how my niece Logan loves all things dolls. Well, Benjamin could care less about dolls or anything stuffed…unless it is soft and he is tired. Here he is cuddling a stuffed bear that I handed him to rub against his cheek. He loves to rub things on his face, and he sleeps with his blanket against his cheek rather than covering him. Night Night!

TV

I am tired and need to get to bed, but I couldn’t resist posting one more blog. Benjamin and I spent a wonderful day together, and it including several episodes of “Praise Baby,” since we had to do two breathing treatments. But, in between, he kept going over to his chair and looking at me, then the TV expectantly. He gave up on me turning it back on, and this is what he did.

 

Come on mouse…work with me! I see Mommy do it!

It’s not working!

But I have another idea!

One of these should work!

Look. I just pressed a button…

Which one is it?!

 

I must need to be back in my chair for it to work.

On! Turn On!

It worked! Maybe???

Enter Mommy…Yes. I did cave at this point since he did manage to turn on the TV and DVD player. I let him watch a few extra minutes knowing full well I am creating a monster. At least it is positive music, right?

Library visit

Yesterday, we decided to take a short outing to get our of the house. Benjamin hates to wear a hat, but when I promised Daddy and Mommy were going to go bye bye with him, he humored us (just as long as we didn’t leave Daddy behind!)

 

OK guys! I’m ready!

So, off we went, with Daddy and Benjamin giggling in the back seat while I drove. We often take turns sitting in the back to entertain Benjamin and get some extra quality time.

When we arrived, we gave Benjamin a puzzle to try. We also gave him his pacifier so he wouldn’t put germy pieces in his mouth, nor would he spread his cold to other kids.

But, he quickly noticed something he wanted far more.

He dragged this toy off the table with a “GRRRR” and tried to haul it away with him so no one else would try to take it. We humored him for a while. This video is the best I could do to help you see how truly funny it was seeing him heft this thing around.

 

Eventually, he got distracted by…you guessed it…electronics. To top that, the electronics were being used by other kids, which just enthralled Benjamin.

 

We distracted him with another puzzle. But, then, our little hoarder tried to take as many pieces his little fists would hold and carry them to who knows where.

He kept dropping one or two, impeding his progress while he picked them back up.

Finally, he went back to the bead toy and tried to haul it away once more. We had to pry puzzle pieces and beads out of his hands as he struggled to free himself from our arms. The only consolation was that he got to play with the book scanner at the self check out, since Mommy picked up a few books to read in all her spare time.

Freedom

Benjamin loves the freedom to walk where he pleases. He takes off at a near run now, though it usually ends in falling on his face in a dramatic wipeout. My parents suggested borrowing their gate to block the stairs, so now we can leave our two gates open for Benjamin to do laps around the house. He LOVES this freedom, and often opens and closes the gates just because he can.

Here he is using the Swiffer on his way through the gate. Jeremy shortened it to Benjamin’s size, and he played with it all morning. It isn’t as fascinating as the vacuum cleaner, but still pretty cool.

 

We all are feeling pretty bad with colds. Luckily, Jeremy and I have been able to take turns sleeping, so this morning while it was Jeremy’s turn, I watched “Praise Baby” with Benjamin. He loves those videos so much, and he will sit still and cuddle for 30 minutes without budging. It is amazing. We watched the movie during  his morning breathing treatment to try to clear up the congestion in his lungs, and then cuddled. It was wonderful!

I don’t have a lot of photos, but here is the video I promised last week and never got to. Jeremy helped me edit it today while Benjamin was napping. You can see in the background how he likes to spread his toys from one end of the room to the other. And, he likes to raid the cereal cabinet and dump all the oatmeal packets on the floor.

 

He has BOUNDLESS energy.

 

 

 

This next video is Benjamin dancing. He loves to dance, and so any time music comes on, he starts to bounce. He likes this toy from his Aunt Christy and Uncle Mike. because he can dance and play at the same time.

 

 

Finally, just a quick update. Benjamin is eating us out of house and home. He eats a whole banana for breakfast. He eats more than any other child at his babysitters during lunch and snack time, and then he gets home and eats like there is no tomorrow. The other day, he ate an entire slice of pizza an hour and a half after his last snack at Miss Linda’s house. We took him to a BBQ restaurant where we met some friends, and we should have ordered him his own sandwich, because he devoured so much of ours, we ran out of food to feed him! Thankfully, he likes a lot of variety, and he always eats the mixed vegetables and fruits I send with him. Blueberries are still his favorite and he eats about two to three containers a week. He also LOVES cheese. Sharp Cheddar and Colby Jack are his favorites.

We haven’t weighed him lately, though we should. I am sure he is getting heavier. He says several words now. The other morning, I got him up and dressed, and when we walked by the bathroom where Jeremy was brushing his teeth, Benjamin said “Hi Dada.” It melted our hearts. He also says “hi,” “Bye,” “All done,” “Mama,” “Dada,” “No” and “Uh” (which is uh oh) and “Ball.”

Whenever we pick up the phone or say “Hello,” Benjamin holds his hand up to his ear and smiles. He also is very happy he now can tell us when he is hungry, which is all the time.” We might have to work on a sign for thirsty, because he uses the same signs for multiple things.

He is sleeping well and napping great. We typically just have to set him in his crib and he lays right down to sleep. We still have to get up around 4 or 5 a.m. to feed him, but then he usually goes back down until 6:30 or 7 a.m. which is nice for us!

 

Well, that’s all for now! Have a great week!

That bites

Benjamin isn’t a happy camper when he is teething. He really could have used some pain medication when he was at his babysitter’s house yesterday. Apparently, his teeth hurt so bad, he bit himself in his sleep. He woke up screaming and with a full-mouth tooth impression on his hand.

As you can see, we are up to 12 teeth with the bottom canine breaking through to make 13.

 

We cope any way we can.

 

On a side note, tonight we took Benjamin to Olive Garden, and he was a champion! He was so well behaved, and he ate like a bottomless pit. He downed half a breadstick before I cut him off. Then, he ate half a chicken breast. He barely made a peep the whole time, except to complain if I wasn’t sharing fast enough.

Speaking of eating, Benjamin eats nearly every meal like he is starving, and often he shovels food in with two hands. He likes to cram several bites into his mouth at once, and he usually adds more as soon as he has made room. It is a good thing Jeremy is trained in first aid in case he chokes!

Last night, he kept signing to me that he wanted food and he wanted more. It took me a minute to realize that was what he was doing, because we didn’t teach him to do it. Turns out, a little girl at daycare signs, and he learned from watching her. Apparently, he noticed she was getting more food than him, and he decided to try a new strategy. We think it is hilarious. Not only does he tell us more and food, he also has taken to signing “all done” whenever he is done with a certain food group and starts dumping it over the side of his tray. He thinks if the tray is clear, we will give him more. And, he keeps hoping it will be something different. When he  wants something else, he points in the direction where he thinks it originates. So, he points and points at the snack cabinet when he wants crackers. It is tough to distract him when I don’t want him to eat crackers and snacks all day. Last night, I ran out of ideas, and starting piling frozen peas on his tray. He demanded more of those until he ate half a cup…literally…  a measuring cup of frozen peas! Now, he doesn’t want to eat them thawed and dumps them on the floor if they aren’t frozen. Can you tell we have a character on our hands?

Tomorrow, I will post a video of some of his antics. I have the day off, and I plan to run many errands, and then I am getting a hot stone massage! I have never had one, but I thought I deserved it after working so hard the past few weeks.

Don’t take my itouch away!

Benjamin is obsessed with watching his movies on TV. He also loves to watch them on the itouch. Now, he has figured out they both offer the same entertainment, and he gets frustrated when we don’t turn them on upon command.

 

 

And, here he accidently turned it off.

He also loves cell phones, so if you get a call with silent breathing on the other end and hear a bunch of buttons being pushed, it is you know who. He also likes to delete people from our address book, take random photos and scroll through ringtones.

Catch all…

This blog is going to be a hodgepodge of events, because I haven’t even gotten our Christmas photos up here, and it is almost time for Benjamin’s 13-month blog!

We have been up to quite a bit since I last posted. We took a trip to Michigan and had a wonderful two days with Jeremy’s sister and her family. We saw where Aaron works at the Coast Guard and were absolutely amazed by the beautiful view from their house. The area is filled with vineyards and cherry orchards. I am sure it is so beautiful in the Spring!

As soon as we returned, I had two days to catch up and then I repacked my suitcase for Washington, D.C. It was an amazing opportunity to get a taste of what the national media experiences daily. I sat in the front row of the press gallery in the Capitol, and if you look closely on some of the photos of John Boehner getting the gavel passed to him by Nancy Pelosi, you can see me leaning over the railing! I will have to find the one online where I spotted myself and zoom it in sometime.

This is on top of the Capitol.

 

This is outside the Speaker’s office. It has the best view in Washington!

 

And, inside the Capitol. He spent three days in D.C. and I practically lived in this building or in the tunnels underneath!

While I was working far too much to play tourist, I did get some exclusive tours via my press badge. Boehner’s press secretary took me on a tour of the new office Tuesday evening after most people were gone for the night and the building was closed to tourists. There is something about walking through those old hallways and hearing the echo of your footsteps that gives you chills. Our country’s forefathers walked those hallways and deliberated in those offices.

 

My other awesome tour was of the Capitol dome. Only a handful of people in Washington ever will get that tour, and John’s press secretary got me a spot along with our photographer. Only Boehner’s closest supporters got to go. I must admit I was a little nervous as I got near the top, and I had to hold onto railings with both my hands. I could barely look over the edge.

I was up really high!

When I got home, I felt like my baby boy had grown so much in three days! He is toddling so much more, and it is so cute to see him grin in satisfaction when he makes it across a room. I swear this morning he said “OK” twice. He hasn’t done it since, so I have no proof, but it was precious. His new favorite game is to empty something completely and fill it back up. So, his basket of diapers gets dumped out many times, and he enthusiastically flings them over his shoulder. He also likes to throw his blocks out of the basket one by on and then drop them back inside. We caught him doing this with his wipes and had to put a stop to it, since those aren’t cheap!

Tonight, Benjamin played catch with us. He kept throwing his ball to us every time we bounced or rolled it back. He was so pleased. He also has been Mr. Monkey. He LOVES his chair, and he especially loves that he can climb on it. After several dives over the edge, he hasn’t yet learned that it hurts to fall. We are working on that.

Benjamin always is teething, so I am sure it comes to no surprise that he again has been rather miserable with those darn teeth. He now has all his 15-month molars and the canines are popping through. His poor gums are bright red, and he is constantly trying to find relief, even if it is gnawing on his own fist.

Benjamin still loves to dance, and music of any kind makes him smile. He sings…or at least sounds like he is singing to me… and he babbles non-stop at times. I love to hear the inflection in his voice as he tells us all about his day. Tonight, he read some books to me. It was precious.

We have always found this funny, but Benjamin has been making us laugh so much this weekend with his insistence that mommy and daddy  refrain from PDA. Jeremy and I were cuddling on the floor of Benjamin’s room while he played. He looked up, crawled purposely at us, and tried to separate us with his hands. Later, I was holding Benjamin, and Jeremy came over to hug us both. Benjamin kept pushing him away. I handed him to Jeremy and tried the same thing. He pushed me away! Someone doesn’t like to share! Benjamin will always know how much his mommy and daddy love each other, and I am sure he will be that kid going “aww Mom!” or “Aww Dad!” as we totally embarrass him in front of his friends!

OK. Here is my photo dump of all things Benjamin!

Our crazy warm day at the end of December when it hit 65 degrees!

Look at me walk!

My television junkies…Benjamin gets more excited over Praise Baby and Baby Einstein videos than anything else. He jumps up and down screeching and pointing at the screen. He laughs out loud whenever something strikes him as funny, and that just melts our hearts…so we let him be a TV junkie at times just to hear that.

 

Here he is when we first gave him his chair.

 

Here he is watching story time with Nana. We also have these on our ipods so he can watch when we need to distract him.

 

Still don’t have all the b-day and Christmas photos, but here Benjamin is with his Grandpa Bob Hilty.

 

Until next time…I need to get my camera out tomorrow for a few updated shots with all his teeth. We also have some funny videos of him walking and also of him laughing hysterically. We will get those up soon. I am hoping things will be calmer for the next few weeks. My boss said to take Monday off, so I plan to get a massage and relax!

PS If you notice typos in this blog, I apologize. I am writing it in a hurry and I can’t see the screen well enough from my couch to tell exactly what it says.