One Year Old!

Happy Birthday to our Benjamin Bug! It's been an amazing year! We love you.

Almost

Just a few more minutes left before our baby boy turns a year old. We are savoring these last sweet minutes of having an infant and look ahead with excitement (okay, and a few tears) as we discover how our son will continue his transition into being a toddler. But for the moment we don't have a one year old. For the moment we have a little little Bug.

Shh! Wipe Banana!

This morning Benjamin had some banana for breakfast and treated his Mommy to the word "nana" for the first time. As the meal progressed he reached out for the baby wipes in earnest. He has been doing a very fast back and forth arm movement for the last few weeks or so, kind of like a low flapping of the arm. Slow Mommy did not make the connection until this morning. He kept reaching out for the baby wipe container until I gave him one. Then he briskly wiped down his high chair tray. He's been a wiping clean freak of a baby this whole time! As soon as he can walk we are giving him a broom. And to top it all off, tonight before bed we were reading one of his favorite books, "How Loud Is A Lion?" and a repeating stanza throughout it is "Shh! Listen!" And twice he said, "shh!" So many firsts in one day.

BENJAMIN'S GOT THE CLAP

...down pat. (sorry, we just watched Dewey Cox--Walk Hard)

Took him a while. He's been trying for months, at first by wrapping one hand around the other and shaking them briskly, more like an up and down motion. Then by hitting a closed fist with an open one. Now it's the real thing- two open hands smackin' together very cutely and emphatically. It's his favorite. And he's ours. Aw.

Enjoy the video of his clapping!

P.S. Friday morning (the day after Thanksgiving) Benjamin actually said the word clap as we were encouraging him to clap. Mommy said clap. And then Benjamin said clap right after. No baby talk involved. Clap. Plain as day and very matter of fact. Like he's been saying it his whole life. Genius.

First Thanksgiving!

Happy 1st Thanksgiving to Benjamin Bug! In celebration we thought he might enjoy his first taste of a seasoning spice. Cinnamon is almost synonomous with Thanksgiving yum so we hoped Benjamin might like it.
















Well, for those keeping up, Benjamin is not very fond of solids overall. And we wondered if he might dig it more if it had more flavor.






















I guess not.




















But he did enjoy playing with the spoon at least.
















On this Thanksgiving we are thankful for all our friends and family, for health and happiness, and most of all, for the miracle of our baby Benjamin. He is amazing and we are humbled by the gift that he is. We love you, Bug.

No No No!

At the doctor's office today (Grandmommy Kim's appointment) Benjamin started shaking his head no for the first time ever. And emphatically so. Lots of head shakes, back and forth. Repeatedly. "No, no no." And he continued to do this while driving in the car, then still while trying to nurse him while waiting in the parking lot of the eye doctor's to pick up Grandmommy's glasses, and on the way to pick up lunch, until we got back home. Haven't seen it since then. But man, he had a lot of no's to say this afternoon.

What's that sneaking up on me...?

It's your Eleven Month Birthday, Benjamin!

And how does an Eleven Month Old Bug spend his special day?
He wakes up nice and early, he takes a trip to town with Mommy and Grandmommy Kim, he takes a very snuggly nap with the aforementioned Grandmommy Kim, he eats some delicious sweet potatoes (mmm! his favorite!), and he learns to eat water from a spoon (we're trying a new sneaky feeding trick).





...And of course the usual running around, laughing, screaming, dancing, waving, chopping and saying "Hey" to all the light sources in the house.


Happy Eleven Months, Benjamin Bug! We Love You!

The Longest Post

On the eve of Benjamin's 11-month birthday there is a lot we have to catch you up on. Again, Mom and Dad have been slow on updating this here blog.
But here's the skinny:

Food: Booby juice is still numero uno in Benjamin's book. He seemed to enjoy doing finger foods (banana, avocado) but we had to eliminate them due to the reaction he had to the avocado. The doctor recently said we could reintroduce banana, which he had this afternoon, and he ate better and was more interested than when we try to feed him purees, although still not a lot. Grandmommy Kim has been here almost a week now and we are pretty sure he has gained at least 5 pounds. She cashes in on his love of water from a straw to slip in some solids--the old switcheroo. He fusses about it, but we can tell he is heftier already. This month he tried peaches, peach soy yogurt, and zucchini for the first time. Out of the three, soy yogurt is his least yucky. Oh, and we found a corn syrup-free organic soy formula we are giving him in his sippy cup as recommended by his pediatrician, to get him used to taking a milk product out of a sippy. He seems to like it okay.



The Bug’s new favorite gesture is the Benjamin CHOP! It’s basically a judo chop, but much much cuter—and it’s not to be confused with his adorable royalty wave (which is all in the wrist; the chop is more of a shoulder/elbow action). He laughs his little butt off at peek-a-boo, and enjoys standing up in his play yard, peeking over the edge (and sometimes chewing on it). Might not sound like much, but it’s crazy cute. He very much likes removing his socks and eating them (or gnawing on his toes, which can be painful now with his 2 little choppers). Other hobbies include kicking, scratching, pinching and spitting on mommy and daddy- especially while he’s got them pinned down, yanking on a fistful of hair (or a nipple, or an eyelid). We imagine it’s not unlike a stay in Guantanamo Bay.






Other favorite things include taking a bath, drinking water from a straw, kicking his doggy, Bum Bum, in the butt (somewhat gently), eating books, reading books, throwing and catching his little grey elephant or a rolled up pair of his socks, watching Yo Gabba Gabba & Jack’s Big Music Show, playing baby in the mirror, peek-a-boo, listening and dancing to music, and playing the little keyboard/piano his Grandmommy Kim brought him.






His least favorite things are eating solids, being sleepy, being told “no” and being ignored. And diaper changes, formerly on his favorite list, are now the most distressing experiences EVER (give or take choking on a green bean, bashing his head on his crib, or being slightly drowned, don’t ask).






We’re still teaching him signs. He seems to be catching on to most, if not all, of them. He recognizes the signs for kitty cat, doggie, night night night, water, bath, milk, eat, and yes. And he totally loves watching mommy fly through the sign alphabet (she’s really fast!). Spoken words he recognizes include all of those just mentioned plus mole, safety pin, belly button, wall, throw, catch, fingers, toes, and wall. Oh yeah, and “no.” But, trust me, you do not want to say that to him (see Guantanamo Bay reference above).

Adventures we’ve gone on since our last post include picking out a little gourd and a big pumpkin for Halloween; going on a PetsMart playdate with his best pal Brennan; visiting his Aunt Newt and Uncle Chard in Wild Wonderful West Virginia, and visiting the Natural Science Museum (especially the tigers! Whoa!).





What’s next, you ask. Hopefully a decent night’s sleep and then, tomorrow, he’s turning 11 months old. Up next, THE BIG 01!!!! Time sure flies when you’re being held captive and spat upon in the face!

We love you, Benjamin Bug!

Happy 10-Month Birthday, Benjamin!

For his 10-month birthday today Benjamin got a second tooth! Yep. One right next to the other lower front. Again, it was Daddy who found it while Mommy was at the orthodontist. *sigh* How could I not know. Again!

Yesterday Benjamin and Mommy went to vote early. All the polling volunteers commented on how wonderful it was that he came out to vote and that he was the youngest citizen to go through the line. And they gave him his very own "I voted early. Did you?" sticker and pasted it right on his little chest.




















The Bug and I spent time chatting and playing before Daddy got home from work today. He played with the camera, holding it from different angles and looking at all the buttons. This is the first time I've let him hold it. I figured he deserved to hold it for all the times it's flashed in his face since birth as he patiently looks in the other direction. I can't wait to get him his own camera!















As I write this Benjamin and his Daddy are asleep in the bed. Very sweet. Benjamin was doing a little bit of everything before he eventually fell asleep on his dad's chest. He bonked his head on his dad's head, made farting noises on Mommy's boobs, cooed at the puppies at the end of the bed, roundhouse-sat in every direction, tried to crawl through the wall, tried to swallow Daddy's entire nose, etc. He eventually exhausted himself and Henry shushed him on into sleep. Good night, Sweet Benjamin Bug. We love you.

First Tooth!

We were visiting Grandmommy and Granddaddy Kivett in Burlington on Saturday the 18th for Granddaddy's birthday and while we were there Henry discovered that Benjamin has his first tooth coming in! Okay, this is exciting for sure, but I was really thinking that I would be the first to find this out because of the constant breastfeeding and all. But I guess I am somewhat immune as Benjamin does chomp down often with his steel-trap gums so that may be why I didn't notice. But, oh my gosh! It is crazy that he has teeth! Okay, one tooth. But still! I am really going to miss his gums though. He has lovely gums.

He has been a tad fussy but nothing too terrible. He likes to bite his fingers and toys to relieve some of the pressure. And recently likes to bite every square inch around his Soothie pacifier. It is a harder silicone than regular pacifiers so it feels good to bite. And he has been restless at night, often forming the letter H with him in the middle and me and his dad as the vertical lines.

Guess we need to go ahead and register Benjamin with the Tooth Fairy because I hear there's a long wait.

Oh Avocado!

I've done a lot of reading about avocado as a first food and it is one of the most nutritious foods out there. Plus, it is melt in your mouth soft--perfect for a finger food. Here is a snippet of Benjamin's first avocado given to him on October 11th. The video clip doesn't give the whole picture. He eventually liked it. You can kind of tell at the end of the video that he is intrigued as he rolls over to me and the plate to get another look. Sadly, he had a reaction to it (skin rash that he still has a touch of), so he won't be able to have it again for a long while. Or other foods related to it like banana, cantalope, pineapple, etc. But most disturbing to me is his potential sensitivity to latex as it is also in the same family as avocado. Is it terrible that I am already worried about how he will protect himself one day and be able to have safe sex? Hopefully this won't be a full blown allergy in his adult life!

Nine Month Check Up

Benjamin had his 9-month check up on _________. His percentages in length and weight has dropped from ___________ to _______________. His head has remained on the same curve. The doctor is not concerned, saying that after 6 months or so their growth kind of redistributes itself. She did comment that his verbal skills are excellent as he babbled away while she went over things with us. And he is hitting all the expected developmental milestones. So yey! The doc does want him to increase his solid consumption. Yeah, okay lady. She said to give him human green beans, like ones cooked for our dinner, cut up into pieces. I told her that he chokes on Level 2 baby food and without teeth how would he not choke on pieces of green beans?? So she said okay, to move up to Level 3 foods and offer them 3 times a day. She is worried that he won't take it well forever if he is not encouraged to do so now. I don't believe that. I think it will fall in line with his tooth development, which, at the time of the visit, he had none. His interest will come when he is ready and I don't feel like posing a choking risk just to press him into some artificial timeline. So there.

The next visit will be the one year which will include a finger prick to check for iron deficiency. Aww, poor Bug!

More Firsts

This past Wednesday, September 24th, Benjamin began pointing. This is not something we've been specifically working on with him so we were a bit surprised to see his cute little index finger gingerly stretched out, with a slight hook to it. But by the end of the day he was straight-fingered pointing, no doubt about it!

His pincer grasp is also emerging. More on his right hand. He's still doing mostly the raking hand on the left side. But on the right side the pincer comes out more and more. Once he gets it down pat we will introduce finger foods!

He also interacted with the telephone like a telephone on Wednesday. Grandmommy Kim was singing "Nabiya" which he loves. But usually he smiles and looks around the room for her while he bats at the phone with his hand. But this time he held the phone to his ear and smiled, looking like he totally got that Grandmommy was INSIDE the phone.

And since we got back from his cousin's birthday party in Charlotte on Sunday Benjamin has been out of sorts. He cried most of Monday which he has never done before. He snorted with congestion all that night which was horrible. Tuesday he began sneezing a lot with clear "ko mul" or nasal drip. And more snorting through the night. And by Wednesday he had a fever that got up to 103.3. Scary. After stripping him bare naked and getting some infant Tylenol in him his temp came down to a more manageable 101.8. Thursday he still had some fever but was able to play most of the day and I'm up now writing, waiting for the time to give him his next dose of medicine. Ah, it's 3:30 am now. It's time. Poor Bug.

Nine Months Old Today!

Okay, so it's been a month since we've posted. Bad, bad, bad!

Grandmommy and Granddaddy from Florida visited for about 3 weeks and we all had a great time. Lots of "Nabiya" was sung by Grandmommy Kim to Benjamin's delight. We miss them and hope they come back to visit soon!

New things since we last posted. Benjamin now crawls FORWARD! And fast, too! He also is waving "hi" and "bye" and can identify his Mom and Dad ("Where's Mommy?" He'll look to Mommy. "Where's Daddy?" He'll look at Daddy). He is still doing well with the handful of signs we taught him. He knows milk, mommy, daddy, kitty cat, eat, and the sign for more. And he loves a good round of Peek-A-Boo. He also loves to get in his walker and chase the gigantic yoga ball around the house, shrieking and smiling.

Things he still enjoys: Airplane, There's a Baby in the Mirror!, Dance Dance Dance Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle, Yo Gabba Gabba, Licky Lellie Lemon Drop, Hand, bath time, toes (his and other people's), looking at EVERYTHING!, and going "grllluurrr!"

Here are pictures from today. Happy Birthday, Benjamin Bug!!!

Where's Benjamin?

Busy At Eight Months

Benjamin is 8 months old today! This has been a week marked with firsts. Monday the 18th we used the stroller without the carseat attached for the first time. Tuesday the 19th he went from his tummy to a sitting position for the first time by using a sideways technique. Thursday the 21st he made his first arm moves FORWARD while crawling with some help from Grandpa Ray. And today, the 22nd, he drank water from the bottom of a bent straw for the very first time. And he's really digging the walker Grandpa Ray and Grandmommy Kim got him yesterday. Benjamin is so busy these days he often forgets to eat. He'd rather be looking, creeping, grabbing, strolling, etc.

In honor of Benjamin's busy-ness we celebrated his 8 month birthday out and about. We went to the Bicentennial Gardens and enjoyed the good weather and refreshing breeze, then went to lunch at the Korean buffet (where the straw milestone happened), and then strolled around downtown GSO and shopped. Once we got back home Grandmommy Kim fed him some sweet potatoes and rice cereal. Then it was off to a much needed bath. Whew! What a day!





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GUINEA'S BACK!
(in all her snake-like glory... she was missing for most of last week. very tragic!)

...and she's taught Benjamin a new facial expression.

He laughs and smiles really big, but then holds the smile waaay too long and it becomes weirdly empty and slightly creepy (but still crazy crazy adorable!). It looks a little reptillian, like a Gila Monster.





And he of course has lots of other exciting, puzzling, and adorable expressions. Take a gander.

First Swim Part Two!

First Swim Part One

Benjamin is a natural in the water, just like his daddy!

Bath Time!

About To Take a Bath!

Finally. We have new video. We've been shooting this whole time but were having issues with exporting. But no more!!! What you've all been waiting for...Benjamin Bug in action!

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

One of Benjamin's favorite things is to spend time outside.






He loves going on walks with Mommy and Daddy, or just hanging out in the front yard, where he stares in amazement at all the critters.






















Mommy's also taken him to the park a few times. Even more stuff to look at... from beneath his super stylish hat, of course.







































And don't forget granddaddy's pool on the 4th of July!