Strong little legs!

Now that Ben's spending a bit more time in his exersaucer and Jumperoo his legs are getting very strong. He locks his knees and bears weight on them, and can stand for a few minutes as long as he has something to hold onto. And he looks so proud of himself too. He's all smiles while Daddy and I make a big fuss over him. :)

Blankets

Have I mentioned how much Ben loves blankets? Well, he does. He loves playing with them. We play Peekaboo by throwing the blanket over his head, then ask "Where's Benjamin?", then we pull the blanket off and say "There he is!" and he smiles his great big adorable gummy smile back at us. That smile is the best.


Sometimes he actually prefers a blanket to an actual toy. The other morning I put Ben in his little chair and gave him a toy to play with while I was in the shower. Then I hear squeals of delight coming from Ben, and I thought he was really enjoying his toy. I stick my head out of the shower to see the toy on the floor and Ben marveling at his blanket. It was pretty cute.

And blankets seem to be a great source of comfort for him as well. Tonight I gave him a fleecy receiving blanket to hold when I put him down in his crib and he was out like a light in no time. Holding his blanket and sucking his thumb. It'll be nice when he's old enough for me to leave the blanket with him overnight. He's still young enough that a loose blanket can be a hazzard.

4 months old today!

Wow. It's hard to believe it's been four months since Ben joined our family. Well, made us a family, really.

Ben was in a great mood today, despite his poor naps. He also had a few big moments today:

• The Jumperoo: Ben's finding his feet and moving around more in his Jumperoo. He'll be hilarious once he figures out how to jump. He's also discovering more of the toys on it.
• The mouth: Everything is going into the mouth. Everything.
• Possible tooth: I took a look and there seems to be the beginnings of a tooth on the bottom right of Ben's mouth. That might explain everything going into his mouth, although I think all baby's put things in their mouth at this age.
• Interest in food: Ben was really REALLY interested in the crackers I was eating this afternoon. He'd watch me reach for one in the package, follow it to my mouth, and smile like a little fool every time I chewed. Two months to go before we introduce solids.

Ben's really come a long way in four months. I can hardly wait to see what's around the corner. At the same time I really wish I could slow time down, just a little.

Here are a few 4 month pics:

One year ago today

We found out we were pregnant! And I couldn't have imagined life with Ben at that time. And now I can't imagine life without him. I feel like the most fortunate woman in the world. I suppose all mommies do.

It is also our anniversary. :)

Update on Ben's cold

Ben's fighting off his cold like a champ. He seems to be on the mend and slept really well last night. I think he'll be 100% by Friday.

I, on the other hand, still have a sore throat and am feeling crumby. Blah.

My wee man has a cold :(

Ben has come down with a cold. He was a little sniffly yesterday and woke up stuffy this morning. It only got worse. He was very plugged up today, sneezing a lot, and coughing a little. He isn't running a fever, so we've given him a few doses of Infant Dimetapp (which seem to be helping), we propped one end of his mattress up with a wedged pregnancy pillow, and set up a humidifier with Vicks. The aspirator has been my right hand today.

Hopefully he'll get a good sleep tonight. Last night he woke himself up crying and kicking in his sleep. I just tucked him back in and he fell fast asleep again. Poor thing.

I've also come down with a cold, as have Cooper and Andi. We must've all picked it up at the same place, either baby massage class or at our mommy group. I guess we'll be skipping baby massage class tomorrow.

Ben enjoying his toys

Enjoying the playmat (this thing is a godsend... he LOVES it! Thank you Granny and Granddad!!):

Sitting up and playing in the Bumbo like a big boy:
Innovative Mummy combines the Bumbo and playmat ;) And how cute are those feet??

Just starting to show some interest in the Jumperoo (thank you Aunt Josie and Uncle Walter!) I'm sure Ben will be hilarious in this once he gets the hang of it.

And there's that thumb again!
And finally, Ben and Mum chillin' on the couch:

A couple of Wednesday pics

Just because. :)

Here's Ben enjoying a little thumb:

And here's Ben and me (yup, I'm a typical mom... messy hair and sweat pants):

Ben found his thumb!

You can't really see it in this pic, but I assure you it's firmly planted in his mouth.

Ben's hobbit name

This comes via the Hobbit Name Generator: Todo Chubb

Could it be more appropriate?

Tummytime!

Ben's actually tolerating tummytime now and will spend about 5 minutes on his tummy. I suppose it's due in part to him being able to lift his head instead of spending tummytime with his face smushed into a pillow.

Ben being a smiley boy :)

No hairless hobbit feet here! ;)

Ben and Daddy

Daddy hangin' with his two babies on a relaxing Saturday morning.

Pics of Cleo enjoying some salty baby

Cleo says "Yum!"

Ben's three month appointment

Ben turned three months old on March 27th.

Yesterday he had a doctor's appointment. Ben is weighing in at 16 lbs! He's 90th percentile for weight, and 50th for height and head circumference. The doctor wasn't concerned by Ben's weight; he's come down from the 95th percentile, so it looks like he's on his way to thinning out a bit.

The doctor commented on how strong Ben is, and he is. And he's found my hair and is really hanging on these days!

Ben has learned a lot in the past week. He's even more smiley and he's grabbing for his toys now, although only with his right hand. We joke that his left hand is for sucking on so he likes to keep it clean. He also gets mad at his toys now when they don't cooperate. Silly monkey.

Ben has also slept through the night every night this week. 11+ hours each night. Sleep is a beautiful thing.

That's about it for now. I'll close with a photo of Ben showing off his Hobbit feet.