The Early Days

I miss the early days when Benjamin first came home. As difficult as they were with trying to figure out a new baby and breastfeeding not going smoothly and getting little sleep and being in pain from giving birth there was something special about those days.

As ironic as it is going to sound, I had no worries those days. Didn't worry about work or money or the weather or traffic or the future. We got to live in the moment and eat lactation cookies. My one and only role was to take care of this new life that had been dropped in our laps.

Those days were so sweet. I miss them.

Benjamin 9 days old
4-19-15

He's a Keeper!

This weekend Benjamin went to the pool for the very first time in his life! After sleeping for the first 30 minutes after we arrived, he woke up and really enjoyed the pool!

I had bought him a float with a roof and everything but the county aquatic center didn't allow those in the pool... that was a learning curve along with the fact that there are no kind of lounge chairs either which turned into sitting on the concrete floor... quite third world-ish.  Lesson learned for next time.

Upon arrival:

Then he woke up and we had to put a plastic underwear (between the swimmy diaper and the bathing suit... which we had to buy at the aquatic center because we didn't have one with us. How are you supposed to know these things besides coming across them via trial and error?)

He's got his toes in the water!

Now he has his butt in the water!

It was a family affair! Thankfully they had a huge umbrella over part of the pool, so we got to hang out in the shade and didn't need my fancy float with a roof after all. I don't think I've ever been so conscious of shade at a pool ever in my life until this weekend...

There was no crying and no crazies. I'm so happy that my son likes the pool, which is my happy place! We can keep him now.

Productivity

Not long ago, Norm got a new pressure washer because the old one (and by old one I mean at least 20 years old) kept catching fire and that is just not safe.

So today both Norm and I were off and we:

Whenever we have a productive day like this I always think about just how awesome we would be if we were to spend both of our days off together every.single.week.

We mainly focused on the backyard... it is slowly coming along and it is no longer as "fabulous" as it was when we first moved in...

After lunch we moved to the front and worked on Nona and Benjamin kept us company!

Belly Laughs

It is amazing to watch this little baby grow and develop. Sometimes his achievements are somewhat small - like sucking his thumb perfectly - and other times they are quite significant - like learning how to play peek-a-book and laughing on command.

Here is not one, but two, videos of him cracking up laughing from last night. Apparently I never learn how to hold the phone when taking video... please excuse the small picture.

Hope you enjoyed! There's nothing more heart warming than a tiny baby's belly laughs. Well, maybe sitting by the fire on a chilly fall night sipping on spiked cider made from scratch... or maybe not.

Sitting Up

Half the challenge of parenting is trying to figure out what your baby is supposed to be doing at what stage... it's not just about feeding him and changing his diaper.

Apparently Benjamin is already at an age where he is supposed to be doing longer periods of tummy time as well as using this little gyzmo to help him develop his sitting abilities and such. Last night he sat on his booster seat for the first time. He seems to like it! He is so alert looking at everything from another angle (an angle that is not laying down or leaning back).

His legs are a bit chubby so they get somewhat stuck on the way out of the seat - if anyone has a recommendation on how to use the seat with chubby leg baby, please let me know.

He looks so big and grown!!

Tummy Time Madness

Today's tummy time session was quite interactive! Benjamin was having a blast - proof below.

Here they are a bit dysfunctional...

And all of a sudden, tummy time is over.. the face plant is usually a sign:

Month 3

We didn't have it together on month 1 and month 2, so we will just leave those posts that never happened in the past and move forward with month 3.

Today is Benjamin's 3-month birthday! Here he is with that slight grin of his and his hands in prayer mode. Not to mention his curled up toes - his toes are always curled up!

Baby is growing up so quickly! He smiles and laughs and surely recognizes our voices. He also gets startled with loud noises when he is in quiet mode unless he is passed out sleeping. We managed to survive Fourth of July fireworks... He starting to roll over. He has rolled over from belly to back a couple of times... coincidence? maybe. But it is quite entertaining watching his little legs and arms try so hard to roll over from his back to his belly. He is quite strong and likes tummy time more and more each day.

He did his first mischief the other day... he managed to poop all over Nona while she was feeding him. And by "all over" we don't mean that his diaper just leaked onto his clothes. No! We mean Nona had poop on her shorts, on her leg, on her arm, etc. etc.