we've been busy so here's a picture update

just like my daddy
helping mix the burn album



my teething baby
any and everything into his mouth



brotherly love!
don't worry bear was only in the pack-n-play for the picture :)


little drummer boy
boy o boy does he love banging on those pots!


wearing his horse hat
i couldn't resist!

happy harvest festival day!

hope everyone had fun gathering candy or hiding from the trick-or-treaters or whatever you did last night. we went to the western themed church halloween alternative party. we had a blast! the weather was nice and fall-like cool. matt & i went as "cowboys" and ben went as a cow. there were kids swarming everywhere!

ear infection

well folks it's our first run of a sick kid and boy is it not fun! lol ben has an ear infection from all the drainage of teething. and yes he now has 2 new teeth & i think a couple more coming soon (the snot-nose hasn't stopped running)! so 6 teeth-and yes he has bit me- and an ear infection. he's quite the trooper. he is still getting used to taking the antibiotics by syringe, but he's getting better. he'll go back to the doctor in a couple weeks for a follow up and his flu booster shot. in the meantime pray he gets over this quickly.

oh his 6 month check up was oct. 12 and he weighed 18lbs. 4 oz. and when they weighed him yesterday he was 19lbs. 12oz. guess he's had a growth spurt! i'll post pictures of his first halloween later this week.

officially crawling & climbing

well ben's crawling has progressed from inch-worming to full fledged crawling. he'd done it a couple of times randomly before but last night he decided would be the night for his debut. he's quite the muscle man. and he also loves to climb on whatever he can. now there's no stopping him.

look at me now!

this is ben this time last year...14 weeks pregnant


and this is ben yesterday when he was suppose to be napping. (6 months)


last year we were enjoying vacation and this year we're chasing our little inch worm! my my my how our lives change in a year.

a day in the life of me!

this is what i do in the morning. i smile at my mom & dad. we laugh & play til it's time for breakfast. mmm! carrots!



then i go exer-sauce for a while. i try to wrestle everything into my mouth. it's so much fun!



then it's lunch time!! i love to eat.



then i have some good tummy time. i move around the living like a pro. and now i'm learning how to hold myself up on all 4's. i'm getting the hang of it. watch out mom!



then i fall asleep after playing hard and snuggling with dad. i love to play with his hair.

laughter is the best medicine

ben is almost 6 months & is getting to be tons of fun. he's really got a sense of humor developing. it loves to try to make me laugh at nap time when i put him down. it's like he thinks that if i laugh he won't have to take a nap. this kid is smart. he is so observant and just takes everything in. so he's starting to respond to little games i play with him. i try to "bite" his neck and now he's doing the same. we just have so much fun together.

this is a video from some family hangout time last week. matt & i watched a movie and ben came in and played in his high chair after a late night carrot snack. he gets giggly at night when he starts getting tired.

Ben & Matt playing peek-a-boo

he's a mover & a shaker

he's getting so big! he's got 3 teeth, yes 3! that have cut through. he eats like a champ at every meal. he loves him some sweet potatoes. he gets himself around pretty good these days and i know it won't be long before he's chasing after bear (our dog).

here's a short video of ben's first "crawl" attempt.

big boy food

well after a couple weeks of ben watching us intently while we eat, snatching at our food or whining while we eat...we decided to give him some "solid" food of his own. he had 2 feedings today of rice cereal. he chowed down! in fact i wasn't quite fast enough at feeding him by spoon, so we went to the bottle. he's a big growing boy. for now we'll stick to rice cereal and try out the "orange/ yellow" veggies as suggested by the doc. my meal times will never be the same. but i will say the cereal does tide him over for a little bit longer, so that gives me some "extra" time.

can't believe it! he turned 5 months on saturday...he's got his 2 bottom teeth and now he's eating big boy food. and yes he's trying to crawl but at the moment it just looks like a face planted booty lift! pretty cute. and he can sit up pretty well by himself, but has yet to sit himself up without help.



pictures of our d.c. getaway coming soon...

the "big sunday"

here are some pictures from the "big sunday" a couple weeks ago. ben did awesome :) of course when we took him out of his car seat to go up to be prayed over, we discovered that he had a poopy diaper. and all i could think of was a story of another new mom...her baby had a poopy diaper that leaked everywhere during dedication! i was praying that God would give us help in raising this child to know his word and that he wouldn't get poop all over us :) thankfully we made it through clean.


pastor eric & family praying over ben



baby & his momma


not only was it ben's dedication, but it was also the day that matt was being ordained! i would say our family made a huge commitment to God that day ;) it was an amazing sermon that pastor eric gave directed to matt (of course while speaking to the rest the congregation as well) during which we both had to sit on stage for. yes awkwardly sit there the entire time in front of everyone. but i'm so glad to see others acknowledge my husband's true heart and desires. after eric got done speaking, the elders came and prayed over the both of us. pastor eric invited matt's dad to pray over us too. that was really special. it was an emotional time to say the least.

being prayed over by the elders


the ruckel clan (minus oakley)


thanks to all who came out to the party or attended church just to be a part of it all. it was all a great blessing. and those of you who couldn't make it...thanks for the prayers and blessings.

teeth!

it's official...ben's teething. i can see his little tooth trying to poke it's way thru his precious little gums. but more so than that, i hear his continuous fussing and can't find a pacifier quick enough. i knew it would happen sooner or later, but i was hoping for later.

he's actually doing pretty well with the whole thing. i think it's harder on me than him. :)

love to all!

p.s. pictures of the dedication to come soon...

shots stink

well the little man got his 4 month shots yesterday. he has done pretty good, fussy and tired but that's to be expected. he's still just so chill. we're spoiled :) so here's the stats: 15lbs. 14oz. and 26 inches long. yes, he is a big as we thought. he's above average in height and weight, but is starting to even out. we've had a busy week and a busy weekend to come. shots and appointments and overnight guests :) friends leaving town and the big sunday to come. so i'm off to put ben down for a nap and "work" on the house.

love to all.

4 months old; time is rolling

today our little man is 4 months! craziness has ensued over the past few months...i can't believe he's been with us for this long already and at the same time, it's only been 4 months?! he's growing so fast!

while we were in california ben found his feet. well, he found out that they were long enough to grab and put in his mouth. by the end of the week that task was mastered. so this week he showed off to his daddy and started working on another. he's started to roll over! yep not just an occasional roll, but let's just say he's done it today more than a dozen times on his own. no more just leaving him be to walk away. he rolls from his back to his belly. then he starts fussing cause it's harder to play with his toys that way.

lovin' our boy more and more every day!

lots of love

it was great to see my poppo love on my son. it blessed my heart that poppo got to pass on some of his love to my little one with pats and kisses galore.

and hopefully i'll get the 4 generation picture of the ruckel men up soon too.


the 4 generations.



momma loves baby

freezing in san francisco

we had a long day in san fran and still didn't end up at the golden gate park. the fog had rolled in thick and came with some wind. in other words, the 60 something degree weather was cooler than we all could stand any longer! we did make it to union square and fisherman's wharf for some calm chowder. ben was being nosey and wanted to see all the sights so grandad put him in the snugli and wrapped him in a blanket. he looked like a little papoose. now ben can say he's seen both oceans, and not many people can say that.

i'll try in the next day or 2 to get the rest of the pictures from the trip up. love to all!

p.s. we've made it home safe & sound...now onto readjusting back to our normal schedule.

sonora, cali

the proud grandparents




we ventured out around town on monday and ended up in the small mountain town of sonora. it's an old mining town from the gold rush days. we did a little shopping and walking around the old towns. the boys stuck together during all the shopping :)

snugli time with grandad


the family minus kelli & matt

meeting the family

we're out in california visiting and getting a chance for my family to meet the little man. it worked out that both of my sisters could be here...even if it was only for a day. ben has been the life of the party for sure. saturday we had a family picnic by the river. my aunt judy and cousins jill & karen came up from santa cruz and aunt neva and uncle john and poppo came with us too. we had a great time! it was a long day but well worth the time.

sitting with aunt kelli


kisses from aunt kaiti


playing with grammie kay


hanging out with grandad


getting some love from poppo

it's been a while...

cousin owen & ben 7/07


out for my birthday dinner 5/07


i know i know i got bad about updating with pictures and stories. life has been full! it's been great. we're getting settled into our new house and loving it. but that takes up a lot of time...the normal house upkeep on top of the unpacking and finding places for things. and i have no idea where the card reader for the camera is...still looking.

we still have a lot on our plate for the rest of the summer...matt is going to NYC next week with the youth on a mission trip and i'm going to visit my family. august 12 is going to be ben's dedication and matt's ordination day. we're doing construction on the youth room because we need the extra space (we've almost tripled in size in the past 2 years!) so all this to say just be patient...i'll get pictures up eventually!

ben talks up a storm these days. i think he likes the sound of his voice. it's pretty funny. he also loves to stand up and play in his johnny jumper and now, we have the perfect doorway for him to do that. he is also really exploring things and reaching and grabbing and putting straight in his mouth!




the sweetest smile on the planet 7/07

some pics to tide you over

dontcha just love this face. :)



this is my regular expression of interest



momma/ baby VIP club :)


thanks tess for the great pictures.
it might be awhile before i can update again...we close and start moving tomorrow. so look forward to multiple updates with all the craziness that is our lives.

love to all!!

vacation this week...

we're in florida this week. i'll try to post pictures, but i don't think i remembered to pack the cord so i can download pictures. plus, the little camera is broken again :)

love to all! ...from florida! don't you wish you were here (to those who obviously aren't)

Party Animals

ben sleeping at the church picnic

we were incredibly busy this weekend, but loved every minute of it. we had friends in from out of town, birthdays to celebrate, and 4 picnics...including one at church. it was a little rough on the little guy, but we all survived. he's just kicking and playing and talking so much today. he may be an introvert...just needed some down time to recover from all the socializing. :)

and this weekend is another busy one. bethany is coming in town to visit and it's also the start of graduation season around here. so more parties to go to and people to see. he also has his 2 month doctor visit this week. this means his first round of shots. :( i'm not looking forward to it. and then on sunday evening we leave for florida for the week. phew! yes i know that we're crazy but we're just living life to its fullest.

the home inspection is set for tomorrow and we're still on schedule for a closing on the 15th...yes of june!



ben & mercy at wayne & jada's picnic

an adventure outside

ben's gotten big enough to hold his head up on his own pretty good, so we turned him around in the snugli. he loves to see the world. this is how we walk the dog and he loves to be outside. he's wearing the hat nana roo got him in mexico to keep that bright sun out of his eyes.

we've been busy!

sorry for the lack of updating last week...it was a full one! we had mother's day, got in a fender-bender, found and looked at a house we like, wrote a contract on it, my birthday and a couple of high school baseball state playoff games...on top of our weekly routine.

other than all that, everything is good and well in our house. we wrote a contract on a house last week and they accepted our offer and we're going through inspections this week. we'll let you know how it works out. and in the mean time we are also looking for renters for our condo, so that's been a whirlwind as well. ben's been a champ through it all.

ben has discovered his fists this week. he loves to shove them as far into his mouth as possible. sometimes he would rather his fists than the pacifier. maybe he'll turn out a thumb sucker after all. he's also become quite the vocal child. he'll lay on his back and kick and fail and squeal til his heart's content; then he usually cries and wants to be held. he's becoming more and more lively and we're so enjoying it.

sorry no pictures right now, i'll get some up later this week.

love to all

all about growing me

i've definitely noticed a few things this week:
1. i love him more every time i hold him. it's absolutely amazing!
2. he has huge hands & feet! i pray that this means he's gonna grow into them and be a big boy. i mean his feet are so big that he can't wear 0-3 month sleepers anymore because his feet are too dang big. i find it quite adorable.
3. he has a little forehead and dark thick hair like his papa steve & daddy. it's more noticeable now that his hair is starting to grow back in.
4. he's a big little guy. we have a friend who had a little boy 2 weeks before ben and he weighs a pound less than ben still. matt is praying we have a chubby baby so he can squeeze him more.

and last but not least, he's smiling at us!! he's finally found his smiling muscles. it started this week. at first i thought i was just a fluke and he was still just smiling cause he had just pooped or something. but nope, he knows his mom & dad already. it's the greatest feeling in the world. i love the little half smile he gives with his big lips and toothless mouth.

what a great time for my first mother's day...i'm truly basking in motherhood at the moment. im sure it will fade about 4 am, but i'm enjoying for now :)

love to all

a big week

this week has been busy & full. it started out with ben getting pink eye. how a month old baby gets pink eye when no one has had it is strange. but we got some ointment and it healed up almost overnight. since we took him to the doc, they weighed him and sure enough, he's reached the 10lbs mark. 10lbs. 4oz to be exact. he's now been loving dubbed "meatball" by his dad! :)

ben has been working on the grumpy old man look as well. he is losing the hair on the top of his head but still has all of it along the sides. it's quite hilarious. the new hair has started to come back in but just isn't thick enough to really see quite yet. see picture of the matching sleepy boys above.

and to finish off the week we went to a baby shower yesterday and ben got to hang out with some of his friends. hannah on the left is 2 days younger than ben and sherilan on the right is almost 3 months. we can't wait for the other little ones on the way get here!!

1 month and counting...

it's been 4 weeks so far with our little guy (i know i know the 1st is tomorrow!). some days it seems like forever ago that i was sitting in that hospital room and others..like it was yesterday. we're finally getting out little schedule figured out and learning what each of his cries means. he's precious and can't imagine life without him. God's timing is truly perfect. we've been slow about posting pictures thus far, so instead of trying to play catch up..we're just gonna start from here.

so this week he became the "little pooh bear" extreme light weight boxer! but he eats like a little piggie...i think he's pushing the 10lbs. mark for sure.