DIY

I love the new popularity of "Do It Yourself" projects. I like to do everything myself. I often sing to Ryan, "Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you!" He knows I will try until I get it, so he doesn't even try to help me when I make up my mind to do anything.

I have a friend here, a fellow missionary, that is expecting a son in September. He and Ben will be right at 6 months apart. Seeing as how we are both missionaries, it will be great to share clothes and toys as much as we can. But, if I have another boy one day, I would like it back. That gets difficult. I have looked into these labels that are washable and dryer safe that I can put in his clothes. They are a pretty good price, but I always imagine I can do it myself cheaper. So, I set out to make my own labels for Ben's clothes. Here is what I did.

Bought some iron-on transfer sheets that are stretchable with the fabric.

Printed 'Carter' a million times on one of the sheets and cut them up.

Big pile of Carter labels.

Ironed the label onto the shirt.

Ta-Da. This is the outfit that Ben wore home from the hospital.

I even put a label in these adorable shoes.

Ben ate Mr. Elephant in his bumbo while I labeled his clothes.

Tonight we helped another missionary family by taking their 6 year old, Ethan to his baseball game, along with his sister Bree (4). Ryan cheered on Ethan as he got 4 hits, scored some runs and even made an out at first base. Bree played with her toys and I occupied Ben in the shade of our chairs while he tried his best to stay up after missing his late afternoon nap. Such a trooper. Then, we all came home and Bree helped me bathe Ben and get him ready for bed. She checked out all Ben's toys while I breastfed him. After I finished, I told her to come give Ben a kiss so he could go to bed. She said, "Oh NO! We forgot to feed him!" I guess she was so involved in the toys that she totally missed the fact that I was feeding him right in front of her. Ha.

She let Ben sit in her pink chair.

New Skills

Ben's friend Hayden just blogged some new skills, so Ben felt the need to blog about his new skills too. Actually, they aren't too new, but I can never seem to get them on video. I have mentioned before that Ben only likes to "talk" to Ryan. When he does talk to Ryan, he immediately stops when I get out the video camera. I have been trying for weeks to get something on video and today was the lucky day! This video is almost 4 minutes long, but I could not bring myself to cut it. If you watch it though, promise me you will overlook the fact that all my ironing is in the background :)

Now that you have watched it, have you ever seen anything so cute? (Those of you with sons have the option to plead the fifth, but all others must answer "No, never, that is the cutest baby in the world!")

Ben is also getting more and more squirmy. I read somewhere that babies feel less inhibited when naked (who doesn't), so I decided to give it a shot. Why not!? I don't think it made any difference in his desire to squirm, but naked baby pictures are just too cute. This video is less than a minute, so enjoy.

Some snapshots from the naked squirming day.

I caught Daddy getting some cuddles just before nap time!

3 Months Old

I can't believe my little baby is already 3 months old! It seems like just yesterday that we began this wonderful adventure of parenthood. Today, I watch him batting at his toys and even pulling them down in his face. He makes noises and even offers laughs when we are just too funny. It seems like he has really changed a lot this month. He holds him head up wonderfully now. He does extended push-ups on his blanket when on his tummy. He is staying awake a little longer between naps, but not much. He still eats every 3 hours during the day and is sleeping through the night. So many changes! (Remember, you can click on the picture below and it will enlarge so you can see it better.)

My mom brought this picture of me when she came to visit (sorry for the bad quality). I was only 8 days old in this picture. I think it looks so much like Ben. My mom brought many others, but I have to get digital copies of them so I can post them.
Grammy - you better bring some pictures of Ryan as a baby so we can compare :)

This picture has been a family joke. I was 7 weeks old. My mom took me to have my portrait made and upon returning to pick from the proofs (before the digital age), the photographer had this picture blow up huge! Can you spot why my mom might have absolutely refused the massive picture of her innocent little girl?

When we were taking pictures of Ben for his 3 month shot, he gave us this out-take. Ha! He is my son after all. Where do kids learn these things at such a young age? He doesn't watch TV or ride the bus yet :)

Great Grandparents

My mom's parents, my grandparents, Ben's great grandparents visited this week. I was their first grandchild and Ben is their first great grandchild. It was so exciting for me to have them in my home. My granddad lived in Wichita in the early 1960s while he worked on the railroad and played for a baseball team. This was his first time back here. The weather cooperated beautifully so we were able to enjoy some outdoor activities.

On Wednesday morning we went to Riverside Park and grilled hot dogs and brats and enjoyed the cool breeze.

My dad took this picture of my Granddad quite a few years ago. When my Granddad noticed Ben had a "floppy hat" too it was decided we needed pictures of the two guys together.
(Sorry for the poor quality. I was trying to get a digital image of a printed picture and haven't gotten a good one yet.)


Ben and Great Grandpa sporting their floppy sun hats!

Great Grandpa giving Ben some kisses.

Laughing with Great Grandma.
(Ben gave some of his best laughs so far this week.)

On Thursday, we checked out the Botanical Gardens in Wichita. We didn't last long, but got some cute pictures.

Since he doesn't sit up yet, this picture was destined to not really work.

Ah, I love my boy!
You can't see it, but immediately after the picture was snapped he let a huge drool out and all down my shirt :)

Carter Family

Ben checking out a butterfly.

The whole gang. Me and Ben, Great Grandpa being pushed by Mama D and Great Grandma. Ryan took the picture.

4 Generations

Playing

Ben is crazy about Mr. Elephant. (Sorry, we weren't real creative with his name.) He will stare at Mr. Elephant for an entire hour. Sometimes, he even talks to him. Today, he was really grabbing the legs and pulling on them.

It's never too early to introduce books if Ben is to grow up and be as smart as his Daddy. We have read a few books to Ben, but he doesn't like to sit still for it much. Yesterday, we bought three new books: a Taggies book that I love, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See board book, and a bathtub friendly around the house picture book. He looks so grown up in his Bumbo reading his new book.

Ben and Daddy spending some quality time talking to each other. Ben still talks to Ryan way more than he talks to me. I have even tried lowering my voice (shameless, I know) to get Ben to talk to me, but he isn't easily fooled.

Baby Blues

Here's hoping they stay this blue like his daddy!

What Ben's Up To

Ben seems to be getting bigger and bigger every day. Not necessarily in size, but in his development. He continues to be enthralled with his own hands. He has been holding our fingers for a while, but is now reaching out and holding his toys on his play mat as well as grabbing his own clothes and holding on for dear life. I didn't get a picture, but he had his thumbs in his jean shorts the other day and often wraps a finger or two around the harness in his carrier. He is getting more and more control over his limbs so that he grabs what he intended to grab.


He is also pushing up higher and higher while on his tummy. He grunts the whole time while on his tummy, but will play for 10 minutes or so before he gets too tired and gives up or cries. When playing independently on his back, he will look up and offer a big smile if Ryan or I come by and acknowledge him. The down side of tummy time is the drool that goes everywhere. He has begun to make bubbles with his spit and sometimes he pulls it back in, but usually it just goes everywhere.


He continues to thrive on his routine. I must admit though, the day after writing my last post about him sleeping through the night, he stopped! I intentionally waited until he had slept through the night for five consecutive days thinking he had established a pattern. But, he fooled me. These past few days he has gotten up between 3-4am and wanted a full feeding. Oh well! It was fun while it lasted. We have a loud, barking dog behind us, so he/she keeps me up anyways. I might as well see my sweet boy if I am awake, right? Back to his routine - no matter what errands we run during the day or what evening plans we have, he somehow always gets back on track as soon as we get home. I have been intentional in letting other people hold him when we are out with friends or at work functions, so he gets used to people other than me. But, it seems that no matter how many times I say, "He is supposed to be asleep right now," the person holding him inevitably says, "Oh look, he is waking up," and immediately holds him out and starts making faces and trying to coax a smile. But, my sweet baby will roll with it and fight to stay awake and show his tricks and then fall straight asleep once given back to mommy. His flexibility sure keeps me from stressing when we are out and about.