Benjamin loves food. But, the problem with feeding him solid food is that he also loves to play with his food.
Here we are all ready for our meal.
But after the first bite or so, Benjamin decides he wants to help hold the spoon in his mouth (ie teethe on it).
And the, he likes to stick his whole fist in his mouth.
And finally, the whole bib.
So, as you can see, most of the food ends up on Benjamin rather than in his tummy.
Who me?
Benjamin learned to make a joyful noise this week. He also has discovered a new octave in which he can sing (shriek).
If you hear it, you aren’t quite sure if he is upset, complaining or just chatting. Typically, it is a series of high pitched squeaks and shrieks coupled with some ah, ah, ahs at a lower pitch. He says this all while chomping (he looks like he is chewing gum) and wrinkling his brow or raising his eyebrows, depending on the mood. His whole conversation may not sound like words to anyone else, but Jeremy and I know how to translate: “Mommy and Daddy! Are you not listening to me? My gums hurt! And, let me tell you another thing. I am not too pleased that I am stuck here right now. Pick me up so I can see what is going on! If I am going to be miserable, I might as well be on the move and seeing the world.”
(He is a very mature baby with a very big vocabulary!)
Jeremy had to work today, so Benjamin and I took a long nap and then made a trip to Babies R Us to pick up a new car seat. (Thank you Nana and Papa!)
On cue, Benjamin grinned at anyone who looked his way. I keep waiting for him to learn to wave, because I am certain he will hold court from his perch on the grocery cart. He already has the “You may kiss my hand” thing down. Anyway, on the way in the sto9re I heard, “Oh my gosh, look at those huge feet!” Then, “What cute brown hair.” And then, “How old is he?”
Prying him away from his adoring audience, I wandered through the store (a very dangerous store in which to wander) and collected some items with my coupons. Then. a very nice clerk helped me load it all in my car while Benjamin cooed and blew raspberries at him.
From there, we headed to my friend Mary’s house to return some maternity clothes that I still had sitting at my house. We just never get to that side of Cincinnati, so it was a good excuse to visit. Here is Benjamin playing with her two boys.
He had fun, but I think he was quite overwhelmed by the time we left. He isn’t used to quite so much handling from boisterous toddlers. He sees kids like them at Miss Linda’s house, but I don’t think they get quite so close. :) It was really cute to see how excited they were to play with a baby and how confused they were that he couldn’t play back.
We had a busy Memorial Day weekend! Benjamin and I drove up to Findlay Friday night, and spent Saturday with Nana and Papa. Here is Benjamin in his new bathing suit!
He is so big! He looks like such a big boy!
We put on our sunscreen, filled the pool with warm water and were ready to go…
But when we got in the pool…
Benjamin decided he didn’t like this so much. Shaking in fear, he started this high pitched squeaking. It was so sad!
So, we got out of the water and rushed inside to get all dry.
Sunday, we headed to a graduation party for Cory Hilty. Benjamin got to see his cousin Toby, who is starting to catch him in weight, but not so much in length. They sat looking at each other for a few minutes and then just poked at each others’ clothes. Toby liked Benjamin’s pockets!
And here we are with Uncle Brian!
Sunday night we had a traumatic drive home. Poor Benjamin is teething all the time, and essentially is just plain miserable. He cries and fusses from the pain, but laughs at you if you make silly faces to distract him. He doesn’t want to be sad! I had to pull over once to comfort him when he had big tears rolling down his precious cheeks. But, we made it home.
Monday, Jeremy’s dad Bob and his Hilty grandparents came to visit. Here is Benjamin with his great grandma Hilty.
And Grandpa Bob
And Great Grandpa Hilty, who made Benjamin laugh every time he made a noise or a face at him.
Monday night, it was just Mommy, Daddy and Benjamin time. Daddy taught Benjamin a most important skill…
Rewinding a few days, here they are again in their own electronic world. Benjamin won’t eat his bottle without watching television if there is something on the screen.
And even when we face him away from the TV, he manages to spin himself around to get a better view.
Finally, I will leave you with photos of Benjamin from today, Tuesday, as he played in his exersaucer. We have been trying short periods of time in it, and tonight he was thrilled to play for quite some time. He makes this adorable concentrated face as he decides what objects are and if he can eat them.
Look at me Mommy!
I can get it!
Benjamin loves to be in motion. We take him for a walk nearly every nice evening we have. Tonight, Jeremy decided to walk around the block with him in the front carrier pack. It looked hilarious, but I didn’t take a picture until after the walk… and you can see the result of all the excitement.
But after a cat nap, Benjamin was awake and happy again. The neighbor called him a bean pole compared to her baby. I guess you can kind of see it here. He is long and skinny!
And here we are last night after work (before our walk). Benjamin decided he wanted to eat some of my lemon ice and had a fit when he realized mommy was eating and Benjamin was hungry!
So, we ate and went back inside to play.
And here is the typical, “I am teething” look.
And the “Oh no! I don’t know what to do, but I want to stop sitting now,” look.
And,. the “I want to move it” look.
“Look out world! Here I come!”
Jeremy and I went to a wedding this weekend that turned into quite the event. We didn’t realize it was outside, so Benjamin had to sit in the shade with is daddy most of the time. But, at the very formal reception, Benjamin didn’t make a peep except to giggle from under the table where he was playing with the table cloth. He then got to watch the bride and groom take off from the country club in a hot air balloon. I wish Jeremy had taken a photo of Benjamin’s reaction, because he said he was enthralled. I had left already. :(
Here is a family photo.
Benjamin and Jeremy stayed late while I had to rush to a party for a friend, and that went late into the evening. So, we all were very sleepy this morning. Benjamin slept in and so did Jeremy, who was fighting the terrible cold he got from Benjamin. Benjamin has been sleeping in a bouncy seat to keep the congestion at bay, but he sounds awful. So, anyway, Jeremy got up and a was not feeling well. He thought he may be getting a stomach bug, but it wasn’t until he got in his car and turned on the ignition that he realized he wasn’t going to make it to work. He ran back into the house and spent the rest of the day running to the bathroom and eating ice chips.
I took care of both of them, but it was such a joy, because I got to have Jeremy home all evening and Benjamin was in such a good mood (as long as he was fed). I must have fed him every hour to two hours all day long. He ate six ounces and less than two hours later ate eight more…and then had some carrots and cereal…and another six ounces. We are plowing our way through cans of formula at this rate. Good thing I have some great coupons!
Here is a photo of Benjamin this morning with my best friend Amber. She and Katie spent the night after Tricia’s bachelorette party. Benjamin loves Amber and he loves books!
And here he is when he realized he was sitting by himself. Please ignore the horribly dirty and out of season bib. It was his fourth bib of the day. Between drooling and his newfound game of blowing raspberries, we are soaking through them quite quickly.
And finally, I will leave you with the heartbreaking shot that shows how extra big our little guy is getting. He is 18.4 pounds tonight and 28 inches long last time we checked. This photo was taken before Jeremy got sick in case any of your are wondering why he was anywhere near Benjamin. The rest of today he stayed away and I spent the entire day with Lysol nearby wiping down just about every surface. Pray we don’t catch this!
We have been practicing sitting by leaning against things, and he has been getting it for a few seconds at a time on his own. But check out this video to see how long he sat tonight! He also is demonstrating his new talent of blowing raspberries. This has been a busy weekend, so my next post will focus on that. But, I thought this deserved its own post.
