Benjamin and his boo boos

This has been an interesting week. Benjamin had to go to the doctor after biting his finger. It turned purple and got really infected. I will spare you a photo. He is doing much better now, and is on day two of antibiotics. We keep giving him a pacifier to make sure he keeps his hands out of his mouth, and so far it seems to be working.

Here he is gnawing on a frozen bagel. He didn't like it very much once the bread started coming off in his mouth.


And here he is again...




He has been distracted from the pain, though. His grandpa Bob came to visit and they went to Entertrainment Junction to play with the trains. Also we got a visit from my childhood friend Heather who was on her way to Boston. Here we are with her daughter Anna.



We plan to enjoy the evening and then head up to Bluffton Friday.
On a side not, Benjamin has finally started babbling a sound over and over. While it might not be ma ma ma or da da da, it definitely is a clear ra ra ra. We will try to get a recording of it soon.

Easily amused

We love having such a joyful baby. Today, after a long day (and week) I plopped Benjamin on the floor so I could check a few websites. As always, I pulled up my niece Logan’s page. There were two videos on there, and Benjamin – who was typing along with me from his floor keyboard – was transfixed by Logan practicing her words. He smiled and laughed and thought she was just so entertaining!

And here he is teething on his bib. We took him to the doctor this morning to check his ears, because he keeps pulling at them all day. I thought for sure he had another ear infection. But, it turns out he might just be teething … or his cold is making his ears hurt or itch. Who knows. Perhaps he just thinks it’s fun. But, whatever the case, he has had a rough two days. I would post more often, but it seems like we get home from work exhausted and there is never enough time to get everything done. My first priority every day is to devote my complete attention to Benjamin. This weekend, Nana and Papa are watching him while Jeremy takes me out for my birthday. I am sure they will take lots of photos for me to post. Until next time…

Oh so cute photos!

Click here to see Benjamin’s photo shoot at Grandma Jan’s this weekend. It was right before bedtime, so I wasn’t sure if Benjamin would be fussy, but as you can see he smiled at all our antics.

It was a crazy fast weekend. We drove up to Findlay Saturday morning to go to a bridal shower for Jeremy’s cousin, and then Benjamin and I visited with Aunt Keri before heading home this afternoon. We just got back from the pool and I am doing my best to entertain an overtired Benjamin before bath time!

Half a year old

I haven’t posted Benjamin’s 6-month blog, so I better get to it before I forget!

We went to his 6.5 month visit to the doctor. His initial date was delayed so his ear infection could heal. At six months and one week, Benjamin weighs 19 pounds and is just shy of 28 inches long.  He is in the 75th percentile for height and weight and the 50th for his head circumference. Benjamin has four teeth now, and is still teething all the time. (If you aren’t careful, he will teeth on you, and he bites hard!)

What Benjamin is up to:

Benjamin sits and plays with toys very well now. He is getting good at fine motor skills, and loves to touch EVERYTHING. If he can’t put it in his mouth, he does his best to lick or bite anything that he can get close enough to. He gets up on all fours, but l isn’t crawling (thankfully!).  We aren’t encouraging movement, because we like him right where he is! I am afraid we will have to lower his crib soon, though.

Everything is funny to Benjamin, who especially loves to play peek-a-boo. Sometimes he randomly laughs at something that catches his attention, and he LOVES to smile at anyone who looks his way. This boy does not know a stranger, and he likes to go to anyone who will hold and entertain him.

Benjamin continues to love music. He calms right down if I sing to him, and if singing alone doesn’t work, Jeremy’s itouch has music videos on it that really grab his attention. He is transfixed by televisions and computer screens, and they could entertain him for hours if I let him (but I try not to encourage it too much.)

Benjamin’s favorite television show is the Nana and Papa show, aka Skype. He loves to smile and talk to them as they make funny faces and amuse him. If Benjamin is fussy, this never fails to distract him for a while. It is especially fun when they come out of the box in the family room and visit in person.

We love to take Benjamin places, because he gets a kick out of his new surroundings. He LOVES to go to the store, and lately he has been trying to grab items from the shelves. I have learned to keep my grocery cart in the middle of the aisle. He is now sitting in the cart like a big boy, and he smiles at everyone who passes us.

Benjamin’s favorite food is still his formula. We have a hard time getting him to eat solids. So far, he refuses to eat fruit, green vegetables and rice cereal. His sole source of solid food right now is oatmeal cereal mixed with sweet potatoes. Occasionally he will eat squash. We hope this is a phase and he will start eating fruit soon, because it baffles us that he won’t even eat bananas!

Splashing in the pool is a new favorite activity, and he continues to love stroller walks around the block. He is sleeping from about 7:30 p.m. to about 5 or 6 a.m. He drinks his bottle and then often goes back to sleep for another hour or two. He naps once or twice a day, typically a very short morning nap occasionally and almost always an afternoon nap that lasts two to three hours. No matter how fussy he is in the evening, he immediately perks up at bath time.

If you made it this far, I guess I will wrap things up to say that this has been a wonderful six months. We couldn’t ask for a happier, more adorable baby.

Dedication, picnic and no nap!

Today was a busy day, and poor Benjamin could not and would not nap for more than 20 minutes. I just put him to bed around 7:20, and he was unconscious on my shoulder after drinking his bottle. So, what made the day so exhausting? Well, here is the rundown.

 

1. Today was Benjamin’s dedication at church! We took a few photos outside before the service.

And then we hung out in the lobby waiting for the service to start. Benjamin had fun “dancing” on a sofa table and admiring himself in the mirror.

After the service, we came home for a picnic with Benjamin’s great grandparents and great, great Aunt Nancy. There are a lot of great people among those greats!

Benjamin was spoiled with some new toys.

After everyone left, Benjamin played in his pool to take his mind off being so overtired.

He discovered he loves to splash and stick his face in the water.

 

It was a hot day and Jeremy had to work, so there was no more yard work. But, the yard is coming along. Here is a photo of Jeremy showing Benjamin the what big boy toys look like.

Benjamin was so excited to watch his Daddy work.

 

To finish out the post, I would be remiss not to point out the bond Daisy and Benjamin formed throughout the weekend. Here she is playing with her toys while he plays nearby with his.

 
Daisy, Nana and Papa went home tonight, so I am sure Benjamin will be missing them when he wakes up tomorrow morning! He had so much entertainment this weekend!

Daddy the digger

Benjamin has been enjoying watching his daddy dig in the dirt this weekend. We decided to finally get our back yard in order. Here it is in its “jungle” state.

Benjamin watched the action while Jeremy cleaned up the yard with a rake.

 

And here is Jeremy moving the dirt to try to fill in the hole where there used to be an above ground pool before we moved here.

And here he is digging a trench to prevent any more water damage.

And while Daddy works outside, Papa worked inside to put a fan in Benjamin’s room.

And Daisy made herself at home…

And Nana and Benjamin played on the floor.

Here are a few more Benjamin photos…

Two more teeth

Benjamin’s teething has been fruitful! He now has two upper teeth. One is much more obvious than the other, but here are a few big smiles showing them off. Also, you will notice he is rearing to move. He has been creeping backward ever so slightly and is rolling much more.