Month Nine in Review

Dear Sniffer,

This month you have grown so much! Hair. Really you have grown in every way, but man!! You're foiling my attempts to wait until you have enough hair to save for your first haircut. Your roostertail is about four inches long now & I'm starting to agree with your dad that it's time to whack it off.
You've become much faster & spend the day keeping me on my toes. Our day normally goes something like:
You wake up, for the next hour or so you EAT. It amazes me everyday how much you eat. Then we watch some pbskids while we play or read & you're ready for your first nap. We dance & rock for a bit, I lay you down, you wave goodbye & that's it. ZZZZZzzzzzz. Yes, you're really that precious some days.


If it's one of those days you sleep for the next two hours & wake up happy & charming. When I go in to get you, you greet me with a huge toothy grin & a wave & bounce (of course you're standing in the crib).
You pretty much eat for the next hour (again -I have NO IDEA where you put all this food)and then you're ready for some serious playing. We either chase each other around on the floor, go to the park, or splash in your kiddie pool. Unfortunately this is cut short because by this time you're ready for your second nap. I told you you were precious.


Another two hours later pretty much the same thing. You usually play by yourself a bit in the afternoon while I try to reassemble the house. We dance, you tempt your fate by going into the one off-limits room, I chase you, I repeatedly take unknown objects out of your mouth (where do you find all those pennies?? I know we don't leave any within reach. Is there a stash somewhere under the couch?) & then it's time for dinner.


After dinner we play Picking Up Toys Is Fun, a game whose rules you don't seem to want to follow. You enjoy pulling toys out of storage much more than putting them in & I can usually occupy at least 30 minutes just putting things up so you can take them out again.

When Daddy comes homes you greet him excitedly sometimes even with a "Hey Dada!!" & much waving, or by quickly crawling over to him. The look on his face is priceless -you fill him with so much joy.

Then it's time for bed. Where you do the whole precious thing over again.

I am constantly amazed by you. Your persistence & bravery on the walking front are about to pay off. You're such an easygoing baby & you make everyone so happy. This has been the best 10 months of my life.
We Love You,
Mama & Daddy

All in a Day's Work

Yesterday Ben learned how to pull thumbtacks out of the wall, blow rasberries, & climb the cat tree. In One Day. Being a mom is tiring.

Month Eight in Review

Dear Ben,
Happy 9 Months!!! You've made it in this world just as long as you did in my womb. It certainly felt a lot longer when you were kicking, but these past nine months have flown by. This month you've abandoned your whining for the much preferred giggles & grins. I would just assume the whine was due to your teething but you managed to slip a fifth tooth in on us without any fuss whatsoever.


You're playing has matured much these last few weeks. You now let me chase you around the floor & occasionally chase me back. You've started peeking during peek-a-boo. These games are accompanied by your peals of laughter that are more precious than gold, especially when you peek from between your fingers & I tell you, "I can see you!"


As for mobility, things have skyrocketed this month. You've learned to walk -cruise to be exact. Gone are the days when I could turn my back on you for an instant. Your new found independence has you dizzy with power. You enjoy standing up, then sitting down over & over & have even perfected bringing your toys with you. Once, a long time ago it seems, you could get yourself up, but not down & that allowed me precious moments of sanity not having to worry about what you were getting into. You can crawl almost as fast as lightning now although you still prefer your army crawl to the more esteemed hands & knees style; both can get you where you want to go but army works faster for you. I like it to because I can hear you coming from anywhere in the house -thudthudthudthudthud.


You've mastered The Art of the Sippy Cup & I'm ready to throw away any bottle paraphernalia I find. Between this & feeding yourself (which you do quite well, messily, but well) all we have left to teach you is how to use the potty, brush your teeth & take a bath. At that point I think I will be ready for some serious vacationing. Feed the cat for us will ya? Really though, if you don't slow down you won't need me at all soon.

We took a trip to visit your nanny in Oklahoma where you had a blast.

You went swimming, had your first barbecue dinner, tried a lemon & a pickle, much to your delight, & played the ENTIRE time. You are the only person I've met that can wear my mom out.

Her cat even let you play with her, a rare treat for you. You still terrorize our cat but she seems to be coming around. She's learned how fast you can move & knows she's faster so she's become brave enough to venture near your grasping hands. You've come a long way with her too. You used to squeal whenever she came close & chase her, trying to get a handful of fur to snack on, but now you seems content to sit, quietly excited & babble at her. She sticks around until she sees that look in your eye & is gone that moment you start in her direction.

On the way home, just hours after you were out of grandma's site, you started waving hi. You've even paired it with a toothy-grinned "HEY" or "HI" depending on how much drool you have in your mouth. You practiced on strangers driving away from rest stops & so far your favorite thing to wave at is other babies & kittens. How cute is that?

Other cute things you do:
wrinkle your nose & sniff

make kissy noises
sit still while I read to you (something I never thought you'd do)
hop out of my lap when you're done being still
roll back & forth like a fish in the morning
poke your tongue out like it's got it's own brain -it's always moving!
make out with yourself in the mirror


Watching you grow & your personality emerge has been awesome. Each day you impress your daddy & I with something new you do or how you react & interact. It's just amazing to see you learn new things & tackle each obstacle you encounter head on. I have a feeling this will be how you handle all of life. Hopefully you will always know that no matter the obstacle we love you & are behind you every step (quite literally right now).
We love you baby,
Mama & Daddy

Crawfish Heads, Colds, Spider Bites & Cakes

Anyone who's known me for awhile knows about The Birthday Curse. Every year something happens (usually) during the week of my birthday to cast a dark cloud on things. This year isn't much different. I have a cold -I've given it to Ben. If you've never heard your child cough then you don't know what it feels like to have your heart pulled out through your mouth & pulled over your head. It is the saddest thing I've ever heard. But. He's already recovering, while I, on the other hand, am going through entire rolls of paper towels trying to slow the stream of snot flowing from my nose.

This is all happening in the wake of one very long, large party we had this psat weekend. Very fun, very messy. I assumed the birds & critters we have hanging about would've helped clean up all the crawfish heads lying about but I think they must be too spicy for there they lay. We also did a pretty good job anihilating the ants prior to the get-together so they're not helping either.

And.
Sometime during the weekend I managed to get bitten by a spider. Ouch! Itch is more like it. It seems to be healing on its own though so I should live.
So that's this years birthday tragedy. But ya know what? I wouldn't change a thing. I've never been happier. Bryan took the day off. We're all together & that's all I wanted. So Happy Birthday to me -tragedies & all. Besides, it's hard to be tragic with a baby this cute.

Month Seven In Review

Dear Ben,
Another month has passed and with each day you've grown more independent. When you started crawling I thought 'Man, what a feat' but now you're actually mobile. You go where you want, when you want to, and you've figured out how to bring a few toys along too. This means two things: 1) I can no longer leave you playing in a pile of toys to do housework & 2) I can't leave you anywhere! Not that I don't enjoy your company although your new habit of whining for several hours is TOTALLY UNNECESSARY.

You play new games that amaze me with your curiosity & intelligence. Peekaboo was once a game I played with you, now, you play it with me by holding something up in front of my face while I ask "Where's mommy??" The giggles this elicits from you are priceless as are the 30 seconds each day towards bedtime when you rest your head on my shoulder. That's about the only time you stay still these days. The rest of your busy life you spend investigating things, finding any dirt I miss in cleaning, trying to find the cat, putting anything that will sit still long enough into your mouth & climbing. Here is an example of the trouble you get into in the time it takes me to grab the camera.

I assumed you would be interested in learning how to sit up on your own but you've deemed that unnecessary & instead have gone straight to STANDING. You're not there yet. What you don't know is that your balance hasn't caught up with your motivation for mobility. It's cute to watch you though. You practice by climbing anything upright, usually your daddy or I, but you're not picky.. the couch, pillows, the screen door -all are your victims. Given something to lean against (most of which you do with your forehead) you can get onto your knees. From there you wiggle & scoot your forehead upwards until you can plant your feet & straighten your legs. Unfortunately this is as far as you get. With your butt in the air your chubby legs wobble & you ultimately topple over only to try again.


Your stubbornness & determination are becoming apparent as well. One of your favorite games is to drop a toy just within reach while buckled into your seat & reeeeaaaaach for it. If you don't get it the first try, you pluck at the buckle knowing that it is the key to your freedom. Nevertheless you reach & stretch & manipulate the toy into your grasp only to chew it, inspect it, and once you've made sure it hasn't changed you drop it again. Over & over & over. It's the one thing I've found that keeps you entertained for more than 2 minutes.

The afternoons around here have gotten to be somewhat.. trying. Your frustration levels have peaked & you're tired of playing by yourself or with me. During this time you like to crawl, climb & especially roll all over whomever is holding you. You'll change positions, then whine a bit, & then roll to the other arm where you aren't any happier. This is usually when I resort to music & dancing. You've developed certain preferences for music with funky beats & most upbeat things in general. Some of your favorites include Bowie's 'Golden Years', Simon & Garfunkel's 'Cecilia', The Beatles 'Ob-la-di', The Tokens 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight', & Clapton's 'I Feel Free'. It's a good thing this works for about 5 minutes otherwise...


You still have your charming moments though. Bathtime has always been fun for everyone.
And you get excited everyday when your daddy comes home because daddy = tickles!!! I don't know what mama = but I notice when you're scooting around & happy you're either making your motor sound (you roll your tongue & it sounds like the Jetson's car) or doing a dadadadada mantra. You say mamama when you're hungry or tired. Give me more credit than that! I understand though. Your daddy can do this to you in a way I don't think I could ever compete with.


Happy Eight Months Ben. We love you very much.
Mama & Daddy

Happy Mother's Day

As many aspects of today that I could choose to write about, the events of the day, the family, my first Mother's Day experience, I really don't have any desire to recount any of those details here. What I will do instead is share some pictures from today:





and reiterate that I love my son more than life itself.

Tri-toothasaurus.. Also known as Cranky-saurus Rex

When Ben cut his first 2 teeth I was pleased & amazed by how swift & side effect free the whole process was. I figured it made sense that the rest would be no problem. Right. Can you tell I'm new at this?? This week has been a monument for mommy-patience everywhere.
I had no idea that Ben was breaking in another tooth. All I knew was my normally sweet baby was trying my last nerve. He wouldn't sleep during his normal nap times, wouldn't play by himself (AT ALL -back to the hold-me-marathons) was just a not happy, cranky, out of sorts baby.
Little did we know our sweet precious son was not just teething but growing a TUSK! This thing is HUGE! Why would a baby who can't even chew something the size of a fly need that huge thing??
So now that the teething is over & done with I recieved a magazine with an article about teething. One that told me that the incisors were nothing compared to the molars.. Help...