a full recovery

well ben's sickness last week was just the beginning...we all ended up getting sick. it was not fun! but i think we've all recovered from it. plus, we've switched ben to just formula & bottles, so his stomach is still adjusting to that-which means he loves to leave huge nasty surprises for us in his diaper. gross i know, but oh so true. thanks for the prayers. and if you've gotten this nasty bug our prayers are with you.

ben loves playing rough with his daddy. it's a boy thing i know i'll never get and as much as it makes me nervous sometimes, he loves it! he is as they say "all boy". he's into everything-usually head first-and is so smart. it's a daily battle to find new ways to keep him entertained so he isn't trying to figure out how to get out of his play area. he himself is quite entertaining. :)

bear & ben playing...don't worry ben can hold his own directly after this he pulled bear's ear!

poor baby

little man is sick! say a little prayer for him when you think of him!

i think he looks like his momma...

hair & all!

ben getting into things


...me getting into things

he's been out of the belly as long as he was in there!

we went to the doctor this morning for ben's 9 month check up. he was very observant of everything around him. he played with the toys in the waiting room, watched some of the movie that was playing, and fully explored the room we waited for the doctor in. he also cried when a little girl got too loud and started squealing! guess he'll have to get used to that, especially if we ever have a girl.
to some it all up he is right where he should be developmentally the doctor said. he doesn't have an ear infection like i was afraid of thank the Lord! he only got 2 shots (hepatitis b and flu booster) and a finger prick (anemia) today. the finger prick was the worst just because he hates having his hands restrained. once we got the band-aid on he kept making a waving motion. that's a new trick he's learning so i guess he got lots of practice today.

ben's 9 month stats:
29 inches & in the 75th percentile for length
21 lbs even & in the 55th percentile for weight
46 1/2 cm & in the 80th percentile for head circumference

we've definitely got a big growing boy on our hands. :)

crib escape adventure update: for those of you who haven't heard or seen...last saturday ben fell out of his crib and bonked his head on a basket on the way down. scared us all to death! i was on my way to get him and hear a big smack and see him on the floor next to the crib! he recovered well from his first big fall. it's been a week and you can barely see the scratch and the goose egg has fully flattened back out. good thing those skulls come with holes in them already! lol he's a trooper and i'm sure that's just the very first of many many more to come.

new year's with grammie & grandad

my parents came in for the new year's weekend. it was great to spend some time with them in our world. they brought some gifts and made us great food and watched ben in the morning so we could get a little extra sleep. i think we'll have them visit more often!

a pro at tearing paper up aka opening gifts


drinking some milk with grandad


all smiles with grammie


family picture by the christmas tree

a few pics from florida

observing the christmas morning chaos


ben & nana roo reading his new elmo book! he loves that thing.


ben & auntie kate at nanny's party

thanksgiving to new year's summary

watchout-flying baby!



well it's been 2 months since i've updated & so much has happened so here's a brief rundown...

* ben's first thanksgiving was great! he had turkey & sweet potatoes and CHEERIOS! nana roo gave him his first cheerios. yep he's picking them up and putting them in his mouth. he loves his O's!
* pop and aunt cub & uncle john (rhonda's dad & sister) came to visit for the holiday. we spent lots of time with family getting kisses and playing.
* ben crawls around like a maniace. he's so fast now you really have to watch him.
* i've got a climber! he loves to climb onto anything he can-especially boxes!
* he is a true wild man. his favorite thing is to shake anything he can(even the piano)
* he talks all the time. his baby babble has now turned into specific sounds after i've said something. he makes eye contact when he has something to tell you.
* tooth #9 is on it's way- it's an "i" tooth. OUCH! they say it's one of the worst.
* he started to stand on his own right before christmas. i guess he took a break while we were away, so when we came home he was ready to show off his new trick. i'll find him standing by himself in the middle of the living room clapping his hands.
* oh another new trick-clapping! the boy loves to clap. if you tell him not to touch something or no-he'll fuss and then start clapping! it's hilarious!
* his favorite activity is cruising around the living room. he starts at one end and before you know it he's at the other. then he plops down and crawls back to the beginning and does it all over again. he seriously does it 5-6 times a day.
* christmas was fun with our little explorer. once he finally figured out you can tear the paper and pull at it-he was into it. then he found some boxes to bang on and climb.
* he was a champion traveler-we drove to florida-a 16 hour drive. he was AWESOME! i think he did better than the rest of us :)
* grammie & grandad cook came to visit for new year's and ben had a blast playing with and loving on them. his loves to ride the horsey now! thanks mom!

i think that's it. hopefully the updates will come more regularly now that the holidays are over. i hope everyone of you had a great holiday season with your families.

GOD BLESS YOUR 2008!

i love to chew!