Some Ben Fun

Ben really does seem to learn something new every day, sometimes every hour of every day. I feel like I can barely keep up. I have had to get a bigger blanket for him to play on because he can scoot or roll off the other one in an instant. But, the bigger blanket isn't big enough either. I am constantly finding him far from where I last saw him. He can roll places, but also scoot.

I put him down where the X is.

After what seemed like 2 seconds, I came back to find him here. And, this was just while I was eating breakfast before he had even gotten dressed for the day.

Once upon a time, Ben did tummy time like this.

Now, his tummy time mat is a tunnel.

Thanks Koogs for a totally fun toy!

Here is a picture of a Ben scoot in progress. He does crazy things with his arms and legs to get where he wants to go.

This is 4 videos combined into 1 - 4 minutes total. Here is a brief explanation of each part of the video.
Pulling out toys: We sat and watched him for 7 minutes while he tried to get that book and another toy that was next to the book. Once he got it, he really wasn't as excited as I might have expected.
Ride that horsey: This is self-explanatory - fun times with dad.
Rock and hard place: He is definitely stuck and I hear this same holler all through the day. I think he is trying his best to say, "Mom, I need a little help here!" This holler is so different from a cry. I always know it just means he has frustrated himself somehow.
Creeping: So, in all of your professional opinions, how long do I have before he really starts going somewhere?

Finally, some fun family pictures we took tonight just playing around.

Grabbing Daddy

Grabbing Mommy

Acting silly

Giving Mommy some love.

Giving Mommy a lot of slobber.

Totally our favorite family photo!

Information Superhighway

Thanks to Yahoo News I learned today that I am no longer allowed to say World Wide Web or Information Superhighway. Those words are so last decade. Honestly, I don't know that I have ever used those terms, but this is just a segue into a semi-sappy blog.

I was at an appointment today with Ben and I was asked about my support system for being a new mommy. As pictures of my friends flashed through my mind, I was reminded that they all live so far away, multiple states away. I was in a Bible Study last week where we were talking about people that we go to for advice or accountability. Again, these far away friends flashed through my mind. On Monday, I was reading a blog of a friend of a friend that I have never met (remember the blog about the sweet mom that sent me the fun cloth diapers) and her adorable son was wearing the same outfit that Ben was wearing that very day and they have the same boppy cover that we have. So, I had to send her a picture of Ben. Here are our two sons on Monday.

So, why all these vignettes (I think that is a fun word) you may ask? In being away from all our family and all my friends, I have found great comfort in blog reading, email and facebook spying. I don't know how many times I emailed some of my girlfriends during my pregnancy to ask "is this normal?" And they always said, "yes!" I don't know how many times I have laughed out loud while reading a blog (what would I do without stories of Kenzi?) or even cried while reading a blog (especially as new babies have been born that I haven't been able to meet).

The Information Superhighway has become a great source of comfort for me while we are so far away. The group of people here at World Impact are fabulous and will probably be life-long friends. But there are only a few people that know what it was like to support a husband through Dallas Seminary and then there are the care group girls from our church in Dallas that still consider me a member (I am honored). And, there are so many other friendships scattered around that are great sources of comfort and encouragement for me.

4 of the 6 care group girls in Dallas were pregnant at the same time early last summer. Lisa, the one next to me, sent me this picture last February demanding I photoshop myself in when I was pregnant. So, while I wasn't actually able to enjoy pregnancy with them, I kinda feel like I did through all our emails, blogs and of course, this picture.
So, if you read my blog randomly or faithfully, be sure and leave a comment now and then. I love when the conversation goes both ways!

Photo Shoot

Ben and I took some pictures this evening. Like always, I can't narrow it down much, so here are many pictures of my adorable son. And, at the end there is a video of Ben getting up on his hands and knees and just looking really cute.

Drool gotee.

Sneaky Face

Huh?

Do you see anything in my nose, Mom?

I'm gonna get you, Daddy!

I got your glasses.

Mid-sentence.

Another sneaky face.

Too handsome for words.

I still love my toes. (which makes diaper changing very difficult these days)

Goodbye

Few Pictures

I just couldn't resist posting a few more random pictures.

Mr. Cool
Mama D sent him these shades today!

Watching and smelling the rain.

He refuses the bottle, maybe the sippy cup with work. He is totally into it when he can hold it and gnaw on it, but he isn't too sure when liquid hits his tongue.

Mommy's Little Helper

We tried green beans mixed in the rice cereal tonight. He didn't seem to notice the difference.

Vacation Cont.

I couldn't get this video to upload to the other post, so it gets its own post.

This is a slide show of the pictures we took on our trip. The music has dual significance. First, we were in Oklahoma. Second, I have a weird habit of bursting into this song at strange moments. Just ask Ryan.

Vacation

We are back from our little vacation to Osage Hills State Park in Pahuska/Bartlesville, OK. We left Sunday after church and came back yesterday afternoon. Ben is not a very good traveler. He fussed and cried quite a bit in his car seat. Ryan was driving there, so we stopped and I got in the back with Ben. Ugh. Not a good idea since I get car sick easily. I was very relieved to get out of the car. On the way home, I drove and Ryan tried to entertain Ben. He did nap for 30 of the 150 minutes.

We stayed in a fabulous cabin, probably our favorite yet. It did rain quite a bit, but it was a blessing in disguise because it kept the temperature down. Plus, Ben still had to take his naps, so Ryan and I had to stay close to the cabin anyway. I was afraid the thunder would wake Ben, but apparently I was the only one awake to hear it all.

Ben was a wonderful trouper as we hiked 1 mile after dinner on Sunday night, another mile Monday morning and about 3 miles Monday afternoon...all with Ben in the front carrier. He seemed to like it and would look around at the trees.

I almost never put shoes on him since the boy can't walk yet, but he wore shoes almost the whole time we were there. We brought his walker so he would have a contained place to play but I wanted him to have shoes since the floor was a hard tile. And, our patio was a rough rock, so he had to have shoes to stand on that. He looked so cute, but grown up in his shoes.

Ben was a little off his routine, but I didn't care...it was vacation. He seemed a little off once we got home yesterday afternoon with some intense fussing, but he went to bed at his normal time and we will see how the rest of the week plays out.

Other than hiking, we played in the cabin, ate some fabulous chicken fajitas and steaks on the grill. We always eat great on vacation.

I have put together a video of some little snips from our time away. We aren't big at videoing yet, so it isn't too much.

Enjoy!

I got it!

I finally got Ben laughing on video!!! We think he sounds like a baby velociraptor, or our giggle-sauras. He laughs a lot in the morning when I take him to swing in the tree. I finally decided to bring the video camera for it. But, he was fussing this evening, so we tried to distract him with laughs. He kept a good mood long enough for me to set up the camera out of his line of sight and keep laughing for us! Enjoy.

He is interested in anything within his reach. He was grabbing for my cup of water tonight and Ryan grabbed the camera. He wasn't too sure about it, but kept reaching!

Ben is finally getting some length to the strawberry blond (where did that come from?) hair on the top of his head. The little boys around here have sported mohawks a lot this summer, though they are gone now that school is starting, so I thought Ben should join in. I used a little of Ryan's hair gel and ta-da, a baby mohawk.


A friend gave us this big boy bath seat, so we tried it out tonight. Ben was fascinated with the water coming out. He seemed to like sitting up much more than the sling.