Fun with Food

Ben is loving getting to eat what we are eating. Tonight we had grilled chicken with pasta and veggies. He almost cleaned his plate and ate very nearly a whole chicken tenderloin. (granted, the one I picked for him was small.) He let me feed him his pasta for a while, but it turned out that what started out as sauce clumped together, and he got to pick that up and eat it, too (thank you, pasta-roni.) He also had corn, which he loves, and got to eat spinach tonight. He's had it before all pureed up with other things in baby food, but tonight, he got to eat just spinach. I DID have to spoon feed him that, for the most part. As dinner wore on, though, he'd had enough of the spoon.

Turns out he's a camera hound. I got it out, and he immediately stopped what he was doing and smiled at me. It was really hard to get the "action" shots of him actually eating. Bibs are also a must now. Why does feeding yourself have to be so messy?

Here's one of those smiles for the camera. Click this one and look at those teeth!

This is when I gave him spinach to pick up for himself.

Another giggle fit for the camera.

Squeezing some more spinach.

I'm strong to the finish cause I eats my spinach.

Edit: I wonder if the spinach didn't give him gas, though. So far, he hasn't slept well tonight. I've always been a spinach lover, but I don't ever recall it making my belly hurt.

Friday's Play date

Last Friday Ben and I went to Morristown for a play date with Aunt Angie and Abby, and Treva and Emma. Our first stop was Chick-Fil-A (which is where the pictures are from.) Ben is loving this new "table food diet". It's all the rage with the babies. He had 2 chicken nuggets, a couple of manadrin orange pieces, some strawberry, a few bites of the baby food I brought "just in case", AND I think he stole a waffle fry or two when I wasn't looking.

The Chick-Fil-A Cow was running around on Friday, and he really caught Ben and Emma's attention. Ben in particular watched his every mooooove. The kids got balloons and got to spin the prize wheel. Everybody got a stuffed cow. After all that, the kids played in the playground area. Pictures follow.

Then we went to the mall for some more indoor play. We thought about the splash park, but it was just hot, and mid-day, which is never good for all our fair-skinned babies. Upon arriving, the first person we ran into was Mamaw Debbie! She's getting ready for a trip to Texas to see Uncle Bob. We had a pleasant little visit, and she, of course, got to say hello to all the kids. We then proceeded to the play area where the kids had some more good times. Sorry there's no pictures from the mall, but the camera was the last thing on my mind with all the too-big-kid hoodlums running around in there.

Ben enjoyed his day, and we hope we can get together some more before Ms. Treva has to go back to work!

Ben had never been in the play area before. When we first arrived there were some big kids making noise. I think he's looking up at their shadows in the tunnels.

Abby had lots of fun. I love her little hair fountain! In the back, Ben has found the wheel. Emma gave him lots of help with it.

Emma is showing us the clogging moves she learned on vacation. She's really good!

Ben loved all the visual stimulation in the play area.

He hopes to ride the slide someday!

9 Month Check-up!

Yesterday Ben was 9 months old, and today was his 9 month well-baby visit. He's been a big talker all day and even charmed the other kids in the waiting room (which, of course, made me nervous. WHAT IF THEY WERE SICK!) He was so good that the doctor even commented that he smelled good!


He's a big ol' boy, but is right on target for his age. He weighed in at 21 lbs 8 oz and is now 28 inches tall. He's half a pound and half an inch away from outgrowing his car seat! Ben was also pretty much cleared for table food. With the exception of the common allergens (nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, etc.), he can eat anything as long as he can chew it or it's small enough to swallow. (Swallow comfortably, i would guess. I don't think I'd give him a bite-size raw carrot or anything.) In honor of that, he ate a cheese Krystal for dinner last night, along with an extra patty from one Daddy didn't eat. We're taking cues from Angie and he had green beans as his side. Greasy hamburger is enough without adding greasy, salty french fries. As I expected, he loved it. I didn't give him the pickle (it was too big), but he did eat the onions that were embedded in the cheese, and seemed ok with what mustard he ended up with. Turns out, a steak probably isn't so far away, as long as it's tender, and tiny.

(He had blood drawn today. Notice his little bandage on his left arm. He was a trooper, though.)

Say "Hello" to Summer!

The older and more active Ben gets, the more time slips away from me. I find myself not having as much time (or gumption) to look through everything and make blog posts. I like these "month in review" posts, though. They're a nice way for me to look back and remember what we've been doing. So, here we go for June!

June 2, 2008

Uncle B came over to visit and play some xbox with Daddy. It was a long time in the making, but Ben is finally pretty comfortable with B (Bryan). Here, they play xbox together before Ben has to finish getting ready for bed. (Don't worry, Ben had on a diaper, and no one got pee'd on)

June 4, 2008

Ben and I visited with Abby and Aunt Angie the day before they left for their big beach trip (which Abby ADORED, I heard). Ben, Abby, and Angie had a ball playing in the toys. Angie and I had a ball reminiscing about "the good old days" (the late 80's and early 90's) when New Kids on The Block were "it". We're very excited about their reunion. You can see them on the TV in the background.

I just had to include this one. When we arrived, Abby was just waking up from a nap. What a nap it must have been. Her hair has it's own shadow! We love rhino-head Abby, though.

June 7, 2008

Another boat trip with NanNan and PopPop. Ben stayed up past his bedtime (as is evident by the beautiful sunset), but he had a good time and slept well in the car on the way home. He still doesn't "love" the life vest, but it isn't so bad.

DO NOT WORRY! I checked TWRA guidelines and he can take the vest off if we're anchored, aground, or moored. Here, we are anchored. The boat has nice high sides with doors that lock and open inward, as if anyone's hands were off him the whole time, anyway. Click this picture to see his face better. This is a boy who is very happy to have his vest off. He hated putting it back on so we could move again. In this picture, he is walking with PopPop.

June 8, 2008

Ben had a very busy weekend the 7th and 8th. First the lake, and now Pepaw and Nono's. They had just gotten back from vacation in Texas, and we all gathered to welcome them back. Aunt Tonya's family was there, as well as Letti and Tori. We had dinner (Ben had some really good homemade Spanish rice and soup beans without the soup to go with the rest of his dinner. He loved it!) Here, he is so excited to meet Pepaw and Nono's new kitty, Dingleberry. Dingle is only 8 weeks old here. He didn't mind Ben a bit. He actually played with Ben, and was very gentle. Ben practiced lots of new skills trying to get at Dingleberry. He crawled across the living room, then tried to use the doggy to pull up (which he can do very well), but we were afraid the pup wasn't very steady. He settled for staring...

Ben was enthralled with Dingle for quite a while. He's a happy little dude!

Ben wasn't the only one taken with Dingleberry. Kenzie and Dyl loved him, of course. If you'll notice, Dylan has thought of a new way to "Save Gas."

June 12, 2008

This is just a random night when Ben was playing. Here you can see he has pulled up to a stand, AND has pulled toys out of his toybox. He picked his frog (his favorite love).

You can see frog fell to the wayside for a time. He wants to see what else he's got.

Wow, this box is DEEP!

June 20, 2008

It's bathtime! We're getting ready for a big day out with Aunt Angie and Abby. Abby had to be quarantined from Ben for about a week after her vacation. Her cousins came down with hand, foot, and mouth and we wanted to make sure Abby hadn't caught it, too. It's very contagious. Luckily, she was fine.
Lauren and Megan, we're so sorry you guys got sick! Hope you feel better now.

I thought this was too cute. Click the pic to see a larger version. I couldn't not take this picture with the bubble on his head. I was just hoping it wouldn't pop before I got my hands dry enough to touch my camera. I can't believe how independent he's gotten since that first sponge bath on the kitchen counter!

It took some doing, and some distraction, but Ben finally put his hat on for our trip to Ijams Nature Center. We didn't stay long because we had never been and didn't know what to expect. Next time, we'll be prepared to start early, while it's still cool, and see more of what there is to see. Maybe someday we'll be able to take an unpaved trail.

This is a view of the pond in front of the visitor's center. It's hard to believe this place is right in Knoxville. It was quiet, beautiful, and best of all, free! (Donations are graciously accepted.) To learn more about Ijams, visit their website here!

June 22, 2008

There is no picture to go with this date, but Ben FINALLY got one of those upper teeth to cut through. Obviously, it's so little I can't get a good picture of it yet, but never fear. The 2nd top tooth is still trying, and I just KNOW it'll be close behind, but as of now, all I can see of it is a tiny white dot, rather than the whole width of it. Before we know it, he'll have a whole mouth full of teeth! I wonder how it'll change the way he looks? I guess there's nothing to do but wait and see.

Well, that's the month of June, so far. Tomorrow we visit with Angie, Abby, our friend Jennifer, and her two babies, Mia, who is 3, and new baby Reece, who is now getting close to 3 months old! We are excited to meet Mia. Jennifer has told us a lot about her! Some other things that are coming up, that I will try to write about in a timely fashion, are the 4th of July, Daddy's birthday, and turning 9 MONTHS OLD!! It's so hard to believe, but that is another post for another time (like, 2 weeks away!) Until then...

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day, Ben went on his first boat ride! We originally had thought we would go the day after because I was worried about boat traffic and it being a holiday, but there was virtually no other traffic on the lake on Memorial Day. (weird, huh?) Charlie (aka Pop-Pop) said it was because it was a little windy, which made the lake choppy. Good thing we were on a pontoon boat because that thing was good and steady! As for Ben, I think he enjoyed his lake excursion, but would have more so if he hadn't had to wear that darned life jacket! The life jacket wasn't ALL bad... except that he tried to eat a cheerio, but his hand wouldn't reach his mouth, and it came up under his chin and lifted his head a bit. When he gets taller it won't be as uncomfortable. Ben also drank a whole cup (6 oz.) of water during his boat ride. He typically only plays with his sippy cup, but the breeze must've left him parched. He hasn't shown quite as much interest since then. All in all, I'd say he had a big day. On to the pictures!

Shortly after getting out of our cove, Ben got a driver's seat view with Pop-Pop.

I have no idea what he sees here, but I think it's cute that he looks like he's really driving the boat.

He's makin' raspberries here, I think. He does that a lot. Like the new sunglasses?

Making motorboat sounds with Daddy!

Playing in the floor with Mama.

Notice the little red marks around the eyes? No wonder he doesn't like sunglasses.

Playing in the floor with Daddy.

Looking at the water. Don't worry, that door won't open very easily (I couldn't even get it to.)

...from a different view. Mama took pictures from the lounge deck.

Such a tired baby. We were only out on the water for maybe an hour or so (not much longer, if it was).

He really wasn't quite sure what to make of everything, so there's not tons of smiles like usual. That'll change as he gets used to his life vest, and grows into it a little better.

Until next time...

What's "Ben" Happenin'

Even before I was so gently reminded, I DID realize it had been quite a while since I was able to update the blog. Sorry it's been so long. Ben has kept me really busy, plus Mike has had my computer wrapped up in a project that none of our others would work on. Without further ado, here is a photo journey through Ben's past month.

April 23, 2008
We went outside to weed one of our flower beds. Ben swung in the swing and ate toast. He got it easy.

May 1, 2008
This was just a random day. I checked on him during his nap, and he was hugging his blanket. He's been doing this ever since and has recently wanted to take it everywhere.

May 5, 2008
Uncle Bob came in for an early Mother's Day. We had lunch with Mamaw Kerr, Mamaw Debbie, Uncle Bob, and Aunt Tonya. I ended up only getting pictures with Mamaw Debbie. There IS a pic of Tonya, but I don't think she'd appreciate me posting it. She looked less than pleased.

May 8, 2008
On a trip to the grocery store, Ben grabbed the cool whip out of the cart and decided it made a nice cold teether. Here he shows me the cool whip.

And here, he shows me his big smile and red mouth from the cold.

May 16, 2008
We went to the mall with Aunt Angie and Abby to meet baby Reece. Reece is our friend Jennifer's new baby boy.

I have so many pictures of Abby smiling, I couldn't resist taking this one. I forget what she's doing, but I thought it was a funny face.

Baby Reece Todd. He had been to the doctor after getting over his first cold. He slept the WHOLE time. Remember when all Ben did was sleep?

And Ben has added some words to his repertoire. Here he says DADA, which was the first and only thing he said at the time. He has since added baba, byby, nanana, and EVERY NOW AND THEN there's a mama.

May 19, 2008
This was a big day. We were getting ready to go out, and since we were already prepared to be having a bath, Mama tried an experiment with some oatmeal and a bowl. He actually started out doing quite well, as long as I was there to make sure he didn't dump his bowl. When I moved away, he dumped the cereal in his diapered lap. It was a HUGE mess, but was really fun. After our bath, Ben got to do some special stuff...

He was a research subject at UT's Infant Perception-Action Lab. They were doing a study on infant brain activity. He wore an EEG cap and looked at pictures on a computer screen while they measured his brain activity. Pretty neat. I thought he was extremely fidgety and didn't pay enough attention, but they said he did about the same as all 7 1/2 month olds.

Ben in his cap.

Afterward, he had all these little marks on his head that looked like an octopus had got hold of him. We sat on the sidewalk outside for a minute and took some pictures before they went away.

May 23, 2008
Mamaw Debbie's school let out the day before, so with all the kids gone, we went to visit. Mamaw wanted to show Ben to all the teachers, but wouldn't ya know, they got the heck outta dodge, too. There were a few left, though, so Mamaw DID get to show him off a little.

That brings us almost up to date. Yesterday was Memorial Day so we have LOTS of pictures, but that'll be a separate post.

Ben Update

Ben has kept me pretty busy, so I thought I'd just write a quick update. Sorry, I don't have any more recent pictures than what's up, at the moment. I'll do a bigger, more visual post later.

Ben is loving cheerios and anything he can feed to himself. He's doing great with them, too. Only about half end up in the floor and high chair!

For about a week now Mommy has been sleeping in her own bed! In an effort to keep him out of our bed, I actually ended up sleeping in his room with him when it was needed, and it became a bad habit. (But it made things easy for lazy Mommy.) I recently started going to bed in my own bed, but ending up in Ben's day bed when he'd wake in the middle of the night. It's just SO hard to stay awake for those middle of the night feedings. Well, finally, I was able to stay awake to nurse him and go back to my own bed. This has led to a break-through for Ben! So far, for two nights (not in a row) he has slept ALL NIGHT LONG!! Granted he's woken up pretty early after a full night, but he'll nurse and go right back to sleep. YAY!

More later. I'll try to get the camera out and get some pictures.