Happy Birthday Ben!

I cannot believe my sweet baby is a year old. He survived his first birthday and his first massive intake of sugar (donuts and cake) and is snug as a bug in bed.

At one year old Ben:

• weighs about 19.5 pounds. Yes, if we travel back to month 11 our little piggy weighed 20.5 pounds. The poor guy had a bad bout with a stomach virus last week and lost some serious weight. It was an unpleasant experience for all involved.
• wears size 3 diapers and 6-12 month clothes.
• has 5 teeth. Three on top and two on bottom. He also loves to show them off with a huge smile.
• is super verbal. He can mimic almost any sound we make. His favorite is "thank you."
• may be a yogi (yoginni?) when he's older. His gigi is so proud.
• bear crawls.
• was baptized.
• likes to hang in his crib after his nap and read books. I love the extra time it gives me to get a few more things done. Thanks B!
• had his first day at Gymboree and loved it!
• has changed our lives. Neither Nate nor I (and probably Cooper) can imagine our lives without Ben. He makes every day exciting and I love him more than I could ever say on a silly blog. He is our life. Happy Birthday little man!

And for a trip down memory lane, here is the back of Ben's first birthday invitation showing his monthly picture for the last 11 months. Funny enough, the kid started life looking exactly like dad and at one year looks exactly like his mom (minus the eyes- those are 100% daddy).

Cooper and Ben celebrate their first year of brotherhood.

At Eleven Months...

Note: Yes, I realize it is 2010 and not 2009. My bad.

Ben:

• weighs 20 lbs. 8 oz. He's definitely a little chunker!
• wears 6-12 month clothes.
• has four teeth. Two on top and two on bottom. He also hasa new silly smile he likes to do to show them off. Unfortunately said smile has gone undocumented but I'm working on it.
• was lucky enough to get many beautiful and fun new toys for Christmas though his favorite thing to play with is a drum stick and old measuring cups (he does love all his new toys though).
• loves crawling up the stairs.
• is getting a pretty great sleep schedule down. Finally.
• is a snuggler (is that a word?).
• can say dada, mama, gigi, and bye. Mostly he just says mama when he's crying but whatever.
• has such a personality. He loves attention and thinks he's pretty funny. He loves playing games (especially with daddy) and knows how to get attention when he thinks he deserves it!
• has a sad mommy! While it's so fun watching him grown and learn, I want him to stay young forever! I can't believe we will have an actual toddler in one month!

At Ten Months...

Ben:

• is 19.5 lbs and 28.5 inches. I was shocked that he is so long! He's still only 20th percentile for weight and 40th for height but you'd never guess that looking at him. He has some serious cheeks!
• wears 6-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
• says go, go, go! He specifically says it during football games. It's possible he's learning this behavior from his Gigi (she gets quite wild during sporting events).
• is one fast crawler. He has taken off and really needs to be watched at all times. It is going to be quite exciting around here when we get our Christmas tree up!
• can cruise around furniture.
• finally has two teeth! His two bottom middle teeth have finally popped through. I was pretty sad about losing that cute toothless baby look but Ben with teeth is pretty darn cute too!
• no longer enjoys wearing hats. This is unfortunate because it is colder than cold.
• loves to read and turns the pages in his books.
• feeds himself little dry things (like paper or small toys and sometimes Cheerios).
• drinks from a sippy cup.
• is very excited for Christmas!

At Nine Months...

Ben:

• weighs a lot more than he did at birth! We think we must be around 18.5 to 19 pounds but we don't go to the doctor until the end of the month.
• wears size 6-12 month clothes and size 2/3 diapers (sometimes size 3- they are cheaper).
• has learned so much this month! It's just incredible how quickly he is picking things up. He may have gotten off to a slow start but we think he's pretty amazing.
• is a great mimic.
• can crawl! He started about 2 weeks ago (so 8.5 months). He is very fast and does the typical baby crawl- hands and knees.
• can pull himself up on most things. He can also get back down. For awhile he could only get up and then he was stuck. One angry night he pulled himself up in his crib, got stuck and fell asleep standing up (disclaimer: we kept going in to put him back down and he'd stand right back up so we finally figured he just needed to learn on his own).
• plays a game with himself where he drops something, bends over to pick it up and drops it again. It is quite like the "bend and snap" scene from Legally Blonde.
• waves "ba-ba." He first did this on Tuesday as his godmother was leaving. We were all shocked. We hadn't even been trying to teach him this skill. His wave is very elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist (must be the Texan in him).
• claps!
• still has zero teeth. The kid seriously has gums of steel. He has like 5 or 6 teeth that look like they are about to burst through his gums at any minute.
• plays peek-a-boo. He pulls his blanket up over his head and then yanks it down when you say "where's Ben?"
• shakes his head "no" when he doesn't want to eat.
• chooses his books. At bedtime I hold up two books and he picks which he wants to read (it's the little things people).
• is the sweetest baby ever.

Here are three more pictures from his 9 month shoot on Monday.

At Eight Months...

Ben:

• is wearing size 6-12 month tops, 3-6 month bottoms (poor shrimp) and size 2 diapers.
• is about to get his first tooth! It looks like it's just about to break through. He has been such a good baby during this time. He's not fussy but is having trouble sleeping!
• is about to crawl! He's up on his hands and knees. He rocks back and forth. He pushes up on his feet (he's into yoga). It's going to happen any minute!
• says "da da." He has no clue what he's saying but he's making the sounds!
• has a re-occuring date with his lady, Anna, every Wednesday. They love talking to each other and their mommies love it even more.
• constantly has the "cough." He may be the best fake cougher ever born.
• is growing some serious hair. It's light so it's hard to see but we think it may double every night.
• loves Cooper and "uncle" Brady. He grabs onto them and tries to pull himself up. They are two very tolerant dogs and they love him too!
• is a regular at baby library time. He really loves listening to his mom make a fool of herself during the songs. He particularly likes "My Little Red Wagon."
• has the biggest smile. He smiles with his mouth wide open and does it frequently. He's definitely not a serious baby (unless anyone with facial hair is around, then he's uber-serious).
• talks constantly.
• makes the funniest faces. He is a very expressive child.
• loves being near all his cousins and family. He's such a lucky boy to be loved by so many!

At Seven Months

Seven months has hit me much harder than 6 months. Six months seems like a baby still while at 7 months Ben seems well on his way to becoming a toddler.

At seven months Ben:

• weighs 16 and a 1/2 pounds. He is in the 25th percentile for his age.
• is 27 inches long (50th percentile).
• wears 6-12 month clothes. It's strange that these clothes should actually span an entire 6 months!
• wears size 2 diapers.
• can sit up! He mostly props himself up on his arms but he's up!
• loves jumping in his jump-a-roo. This may be his favorite place.
• is beginning to need his mommy. While very sweet, this can also be quite the pain in the a**.
• spends much time in his "office".
• eats solid foods.
• has quite the little personality and is very much a ladies man.

The evidence.

Here is Ben in all his 6 month glory. We were at Black Butte for these pictures and the quality isn't great.

And another cute one just because.

At Six Months...

I cannot believe how fast Ben's first 6 months of life have flown by! He is more fun than ever and learning new things every day.

Ben:

• is definitely not the petite baby he once was. Ben weighs close to 16 lbs this month!
• wears 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers. Some of his clothes are getting small and he can manage in some bigger things as well.
• sleeps in his crib and all night long! He catches on quickly. We let him cry one night and he pretty much figured it out. It is a dream to get so much sleep again! He also naps in his crib. It's amazing how much I can get done when I don't have to hold the child.
• sleeps on his tummy. Yes, I should win Mother of the Year for this one, but I tried to keep him on his back and he rolls immediately to his tummy. As long as he's sleeping, I'm okay with it!
• loves laughing at his Gigi and Papa.
• is ticklish on his tummy. This also makes him laugh (as does throwing him in the air- I know, Mother of the Year).
• got his first owie. Poor Ben slammed his head against the side of the tub. It bled. It bled a lot.
• is the next Michael Phelps (minus the whole bong thing).
• immediately rolls onto his tummy when he is set down. This makes getting him dressed and changing his diaper harder than getting Jillian to invite you to the Fantasy Suite.
• grabs things intentionally. He loves playing with his feet!
• has been to the beach, Black Butte and the Nordstrom sale.
• is able to get his car seat toy and jumper to play music by pressing the buttons. Seriously, he's a genius.

Stay tuned for 6 month pictures (on location in the BBR). Here is a picture from Ben's 6th month to hold you over.

At Five Months

Ben:

• is big. We are sure how much he weighs and aren't sure where we can take him to find out. I will get on that and let you all know (because it's bound to be good).
• wears 3-6 month clothing (however still fits in a few 0-3 month things and wears a Run DMC shirt that's 6-12 months. Go figure.)
• wears size 2 diapers.
• lives in Oregon.
• can almost roll from his back to his stomach. He gets all the way over but can't get his arm out from under him once he's over.
• can turn the music on on his jumper.
• chews on everything in sight. It looks like he has a little tooth just about to break through.
• still isn't sleeping well in the night. We miss the days of ole' when he was sleeping through the night.
• loves hanging out with his cousins. He has many great male role models now.
• has been to Vegas. Really just the airport but he loved the slot machines so much we were told we had to leave.
• loves fireworks! The noise didn't bother him at all and he would fuss between fireworks.
• Is the sweetest baby ever!

At Four Months

Ben:

• weighs- Nate and I are guessing b/c Ben has his 4 month appointment on Monday and we will find out then. There is a prize for whoever is closest. Stay tuned... (Nate guesses 13 lbs 9 oz; Lindsey guesses 13 lbs 14 oz) Update: Ben weighs 14 lbs 5 oz.
• is about 24 inches long (we will find this out for sure at his appointment as well) Update: Ben is 24 1/4 inches long.
• wears 3-6 month tops but still 0-3 month bottoms. Poor little guy has short legs!
• wears size 1 diapers. 
• has blue eyes.
• has taken 2 showers. One with mom (he loved it) and one with dad (he didn't love it so much). He's still a much bigger fan of the bath.
• has taken his first bath without his newborn sling. He loved being under the water more and it made a much bigger mess for mom to clean up!
• holds his head up very well.
• loves sucking on his hands, his blankie, spit-up rags (pretty much anything he can get in his mouth).
• has been to the zoo.
• is grabbing things. He likes to hold on to the side of his car seat and will grab at some of his toys.
• loves watching So You Think You Can Dance. He is really into music (and watching TV). Put those 2 together and you have his perfect Thursday night. He also enjoys long walks on the beach and dinner by candle light.
• does not sleep in until 9 or 10 anymore. Sad for mom and dad! We have been starting our days between 7 and 7:30 now. (I am thankful for the time we had together sweet bed. We will be together once again.)
• has taken a road trip to Dallas and met a real live Texas Longhorn.
• is learning things so fast! 

We love you little Ben!

At Three Months

* A few days late.

Ben:

• weighs about 12 pounds (we are guessing). On Tuesday, April 28th he weighed 11 and a half pounds and we haven't been able to weigh him since.
• is approximately 23 inches long. 
• wears 0-3 months clothes though some are too small. We are also putting him in some 3-6 months clothes though they are big on him. 
• fits comfortably in size 1 diapers.
• still has blue eyes. They are a gorgeous steely gray and we're pretty sure they are going to stay that way. A big surprise for his two brown eyed parents (Nate's dad has blue eyes and my parents both have the gene- my sister also has blue eyes).
• loves sticking his tongue out at us. He thinks he's quite the comedian. 
• has a best friend. Its name is "the fan". He loves the ceiling fan and will lie on the floor or bed for hours staring at it and smiling.
• laughs and smiles all the time. I know I've said it before, but he is seriously the most laid back baby I have ever seen (and I've been around a lot of babies).
• has grown a few chins.
• has flown on 4 airplanes and in first class.
• is starting to grab at things. He tries to grab the octopus hanging from his play gym. He also grabs Cooper's favorite ball.
• has met all his aunts, uncles, and cousins.
• usually only gets up once during the night (however the last few days it's been twice). He still sleeps until at least 9 most mornings. We are counting our blessings.
• is also napping in his crib! We do swaddle him for naps and he sleeps for 1-3 hours.
• has finger nails like razor blades. Ouch!
• is growing up way too fast!

Our healthy baby boy (check out that gut)

At Two Months

Ben:

• weighs 9 lbs 14 oz. He's up 4 lbs from birth (and 2.5 lbs from a month ago) which puts him in the 16th  percentile for his age.
• is 21 1/4 inches. Poor guy is only in the 7th percentile for height. 
• wears size 1 diapers though they are quite huge. He could really benefit from a size in between newborn and size 1.
• wears 0-3 months clothes.
• still has very blue eyes. They have gotten lighter but we are still expecting them to change. It would be pretty amazing if they stayed blue.
• loves to be held. He is the stage of not wanting to be set down (I'm wearing him in the Baby Bjorn as I type).
• sleeps well. Yesterday he slept until 10 am. Last night he slept from 10:30 pm until 4:30 am. He does sleep in bed with us at times, but mostly sleeps in his crib.
• finally loves his swaddle blanket.
• has had two bottles.
• does not help his dad with chores (Nate wanted to be sure I included this).
• loves watching TV though I try not to let him. 
• goes to Story Time at the library with his girlfriend, Elise.
• has been to the Alamo.
• is starting to grab at things.
• loves being outside (thankfully we live in southern Texas).
• really enjoys being in the bath. We have only had one peeing in the tub incident and one falling asleep in the tub incident. 
• is starting to smile.
• rolls onto his back or falls asleep the moment we set him on his tummy.
• is about to take his first plane trip to Oregon!

At One Month

Ben:

• weighs about 7 pounds 5 ounces
• still has his umbilical cord 
• hates sponge baths
• is looking more and more like daddy
• has very blue eyes but we will be surprised if they stay that way
• loves to sleep and usually has very good nights
• sleeps in our room but in his own bed (his nursery is upstairs and we are downstairs)
• gets up 2-3 times per night
• will sleep in until 9 or 10 each morning
• loves his binkie
• has rolled from his stomach to his back 3 times
• has rolled from his back to his side 
• doesn't like his arms to be swaddled
• is very, very mellow
• is wearing newborn diapers
• is wearing newborn clothes (and some preemie clothes)
• loves driving in the car
• enjoys being on his newborn lounger, in his bouncy seat, swinging in his swing and the vibrations and white noise in his Pack n' Play
• is great out in public and at restaurants
• has his parents wrapped around his finger