Noodles

Ben is (finally) showing an interest in some textured foods. It seems the addition of the top 4 teeth has helped in this regard. Mommy is being a real sport and holidng back her cleaning impulses, letting him have some fun with it.

Ben's 2nd Christmas

Ben had a great 2nd Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with Steve's family and as always, Ben loved playing with all his cousins. Like most 1 year olds, he preferred playing with the wrapping paper and boxes to the actual presents. He stayed up way past his bedtime (10:30!!) and slept well in his Pack and Play, which I had been a bit worried about because it was basically our first night away from home. We headed back home on Christmas day and celebrated again with my mom and dad. More presents, more boxes, more wrapping paper, more food, more egg nog. It was a great Christmas! I wasn't as diligent as some years about taking pictures, mainly because there was a lot going on for me to keep up with, and because I was still recovering a bit from a stomach bug the day before. But here are a few pictures of the festivities.

1st Soccer Ball

Lately Ben has been into kicking things along the ground: leaves, his blocks, etc. So we got him a mini soccer ball. Instant hit. He only goes at it for 5-10 seconds at a time at this point, but he is decidedly left-footed, which is interesting. (He seems to be right handed). Maybe he will take after his cousin Jared.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great time visiting family. Ben loved playing with his cousins, especially now that he is up on their level (i.e. standing). We tried to get a picture of all of them together, but something upset Ava so we didn't get a prefect one, but we'll try again at Christmas.

Since Ben's birthday is next week, we went ahead and celebrated it at Thanksgiving since everyone was together. He made a pretty good mess with his smash cake but didn't figure out that it was edible. He loved opening all his presents (and being the center of attention...he's definitely got that part figured out). And the Cowboys won. What more could you ask for? Hope you all had a great day too!

Ben on the Move

Here is a short video of Ben walking. He walks more than he crawls now, and usually will only crawl when he falls down, so he can get to something to pull himself up to standing again. And he is into EVERYTHING -- it's exhausting, but he's also more fun than ever. Still no words yet, but he is getting more creative in his babbling. It probably won't be too much longer. Tonight he found Boo's collar on the coffee table and wanted to put it on her. She was very good natured about it.

Kitchen Aid

Whenever I go to the fridge now, I have a little helper at work on the bottom shelves. He loves cold things.

Happy Halloween!

We had a great first Halloween! Ben went as a Rhino and Cousin Lance went as Pooh Bear. They boys were excellent trick or treaters, the weather was perfect, and a good time was had by all. Ben fell asleep in his Halloween PJs in his carseat on the way home -- completely and utterly exhausted. Always a sign of a good night. Oh, we carved the pumpkin with two bottom teeth in honor of Ben, who still just has those two.

At the Pumpkin Patch

Ben the Rhinoceros. It had to be 95 degrees.

Nap Time

This made me smile. I believe it's called "not a care in the world".

First Steps!

Ben took his first steps yesterday! This isn't a picture of it...this is him standing while I tried to entice him to do it again. I wasn't present for said steps, but apparently he was at Nana's house, and was standing up holding onto her leg when Steve came in for lunch. When Ben turned and saw Steve he broke out in a big smile, let go and without even thinking about it, took 3 steps towards him. Then he sat down and hasn't done it since. But still -- first steps! And I'm really glad his daddy could be there to see it...he's so, so crazy about his little boy and it's nice that Ben's first steps were toward him.

God Bless Texas

The University of Texas - 45
Oklahoma - 35

'Nuff said.

Love at first sight...

Ben is in love -- with his new tricycle! Great Aunt Margaret came to visit this weekend, and she bought him the most awesomest, funest toy ever -- a red, yellow and blue tricycle. We weren't really considering it as it is for an older child, but when he saw it at the store he reached out and grabbed the handlebar, and the pair have been inseparable ever since. Since it is a bit too big for him right now, we have to push him around while holding on to be sure he doesn't fall off or tip over. He loves it and will ride around for 20 minutes plus with a big grin on his face. Mommy and Daddy are taking ibuprofen every night for back pain.

First Shoes

Every soon-to-be-walker needs a stellar pair of first shoes. Here is Ben modeling his new size 5's. He must have felt grown up when I put them on him, because he suddenly started going after everything he knows he's not supposed to go after. Maybe it was the increased traction.

The Bookshelf

In a new variation of the beloved "take everything out and watch mommy put it back" game, Ben now loves to get all his books off the shelf when he's in his room. This weekend I decided to move them from the top shelf to the middle, so that it wouldn't hurt too much if he drops them on his tiny toes. So far so good.

A Visit from the Cousins

We had a nice visit from some of Ben's cousins who were in town this weekend. Technically, these are his 2nd cousins, but they are closer to him in age. He really enjoyed playing with them and was not happy about going for a nap after they left -- he wanted to stay and play more (see previous post about I'm not sleepy yet).

In the last picture, from left to right: Ava, Ben, Dylan and Ana

But I'm Not Sleepy Yet...

Lately Ben will use every trick in the book to extend bedtime. He is clearly tired, but he doesn't want us to know that. On a Friday night, we'll sometimes humor him, and let him come back out with us for 20 minutes or so. He gives us big grins when this happens, like he knows he pulled a fast one.

9 Months!

Ben will be nine months old tomorrow. We had our well-baby checkup today, and he is doing great. His stats, for anyone interested in such things, are:

Weight: 20 lbs 13 oz (55th percentile)
Height: 30" (94th percentile)
Head: 18" (70th percentile)

He does a regular crawl now and is FAST. You can't look away for more than a second or two, and the dog bowls are a favorite target. This creates quite a balancing act between remembering to pick the water bowl up when Ben is in the kitchen, and remembering to put it back down when he's not, so as to not dehydrate Boo. Life, as we are learning, is all about compromise.