Thanksgiving Getaway

Having all our family so far away makes it hard to get together for all the holidays. This Thanksgiving we stayed in a state park cabin just an hour and a half from Wichita. Ben is generally a terrible car traveler, but he did alright. We made it there without much fussing and Ryan sat in the back with him the last 15 minutes of the drive home. I have to drive or I get so car sick in the back seat. We had a fantastic time just getting away from everything. Here is our trip in pictures and captions. Then, some Christmas preview at the end.

Our cabin. It had two bedrooms, a loft with two twin beds and a futon in the living room. We were able to put Ben in the back bedroom with a space heater, away from the noise, and then we slept on the futon close to the heater. It worked perfectly.

Gorgeous Sunrise (I wish I slept in, but I have a baby so I got to see the sunrise.)

It was pretty cold there. Aren't we a cute family (of coats and hats)?

Hat hair!

We took a 1 mile hike and found this great cave.

This was taken to recreate one of my favorite pictures of Ryan and Ben from our first vacation.

Taken in August

Family Fun

Sink bath that he loved!

Ryan built us a raging fire both nights. The temperature was in the 30s, but with the fire and our coats and hats it actually felt warm. Ben wasn't too sure about it, but it was close to bath and bedtime.

Apparently the water level was up very high. This is supposed to be a boat dock/fishing pier.

This was supposed to be our hiking trail. We had to cross the bridge to start the hike. We just found another trail instead of swimming across.

Playing around.

This picture didn't work, but I still thought Ben looked really cute.

Camera timers are great, but babies will look away before the 10 seconds are up.

Clapping at the playground.

Our shadows.

We really needed a photographer to get this picture, but I have seen so many great shots like this and I just had to try it.

Can you see Ben's tongue? He is discovering it more and more. He keeps it out often.

Ah...

Puppy dog Ben.

He is a great help with unpacking! (Notice the tongue again!)

This is our tree this year. Hopefully, safely away from the pulling-up little boy. The cloth is well secured so he can't pull it down.

He isn't so sure he likes Frosty. I will keep introducing them until they become friends.

Christmas time is here! Ben requested to wear his Christmas jammies tonight.

8 month stats

Ben went for his 8 month check-up last Thursday.
Weight - 18 lbs 8 oz - 25%
Height - 28 inches - 60%
Head - 17 3/4 inches - 45% (Yeah, average)

His latest trick is clapping. When we say "yeah" he puts his hands together and claps. So cute! We are working on waving, but without any success yet. He also recognizes the word daddy. If I ask "where is daddy?" he will turn and look to the front door if Ryan is expected home soon or he will turn and look at him if he is around. He is starting to make much more recognizable sounds. We have heard ba-ba even though he has never taken a ba-ba and da-da just today!

Ben loves cords (and knows he isn't supposed to have them) and hates the vacuum cleaner. In this picture, I was cleaning one of our hospitality apartments and Ben climbed under to get to the cords, but also to get away from the vacuum cleaner. I moved the cords and moved him and he went right back to it and just sat under the tv until I finished vacuuming.

He pulls up!

He tries to stand at any chance he gets. In this picture, he was very angry with me for putting up the gate. He knew Ryan was on the other side of the gate and he desperately wanted to get by.

This is how I am greeted after most naps. He is such a big boy already.

Grandpa and Nana Visit

Before I begin with this post and the many, many pictures I must say...it snowed here today!! Nothing stuck, but lots and lots of flurries. That probably means lots of ice tomorrow. On to the post...

Grandpa and Nana (Ryan's dad and stepmom) came to visit us this past week. They treated us like royalty, doting over our adorable son, treating us to wonderful dinners and giving early Christmas presents. Ben is so much more active and responsive since their last visit, so they had a fantastic time getting to know him all over again. It was a wonderful time.

When they were here we had beautiful weather. We took a trip to Botanica and sadly, there weren't really any plants to see, but it was a gorgeous day to be outdoors.

Ben found a small stick and carried it around like a toy. He is showing it off to Nana.

Grandpa and Nana with squirmy Ben

He is pulling up and beginning to prefer the standing position to sitting.

Our Family

Cute baby found on lonely path

Isn't he so handsome?

He goes anywhere now. I love the shadow.


Ben went swinging with Daddy, Grandpa and Nana while I was at bible study.

Standing
He even took a couple of steps.

Love! this picture

Reading time with Daddy
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

Nana made this sweet sweater for Ben. It was way too warm for him to wear while they were here, but Sunday morning was very chilly so Ben wore it to church with the hat that another person made for him.

More standing. He is finding more in his kitchen cabinet now that he climbs in.

Ben's new ride. He got a big boy car seat. It must be comfy because he fell fast asleep last week after running errands with us.

Happy 8 Months

Once again, much has changed as Ben grew another month. At 7 months he was starting to crawl, but not really going anywhere. Today, he follows me all over the house and gives me no privacy. He is getting pretty fast too and good at mastering the little steps up and down throughout the house, like this one.

He crawled up to the door after we waved Bye Bye to Daddy in the morning.

He is eating like a horse these days. His diet is like this:
Nurse and 1/2 C cereal and 2 ounces of applesauce for breakfast
2 ounces of fruit or veggie for 10:30am snack
Nurse and 4 ounces of green veggie and 4 ounces of fruit for lunch
2 ounces of fruit or veggie at 3:30pm snack
Nurse and 4 ounces of yellow veggie and 4 ounces of fruit for dinner

I discovered his need for snacks in an unfortunate way. He was napping for maybe only 30 minutes and waking in the night again. Ugh. I offered him a snack one day before his nap and he slept 2 hours. So, I have continued to offer snacks and he continues to nap well. Poor kid. I felt horrible because I didn't know he was hungry. He is still pretty skinny and long though. We go to the ped next week and I am anxious to see what percentiles he falls into now - my guess is low on head size, low in weight and high in length.

And of course, I already told you that he got his two bottom teeth this month. I think he might be getting another one on top right now. He has started to refuse food and keeps that lizard tongue of his going like crazy.

Banana Boy - He still isn't too crazy about finger foods except for the baby wagon wheels and puffs, not real foods yet.

This is a little blurry, but a good example of some Mommy loving from Ben. He leaves round, wet spots everywhere if you let him.

I know I already blogged about Halloween, but a friend took this picture and sent it to me. This is how Ben and I ended Halloween night. He was so cozy.

The weather here has been up and down. We had a few days where we didn't get out of the 30s and then we have had days that almost hit 80. On a recent warm day we went down to the nature center and enjoyed the sun for a short while.
Notice Ben is in the same pose. If we get on the ground with him he thinks we are mountains to be climbed and proceeds to climb over us again and again.

Ben's friend Lincoln.
I got to keep Lincoln for a morning while his family was moving (sad, they are 2 miles rather than 2 minutes walking distance from me now). Lincoln was born 2-9 and Ben 3-10. Isn't the height difference funny? They actually did this pose on their own. Lincoln can pull up very well and cruise the furniture. Ben can pull up, but doesn't go anywhere. In this picture, Lincoln's paci was in the stroller seat, so he went looking for it and Ben wanted to check it out too.