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!

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.