Benjamin the Big Eater

Ben had his first adventure with "solid" food tonight - pureed green beans. He was surprised at the taste at first but seemed to warm up to it pretty quickly. He finished off his teaspoon of beans in about 3 minutes with about 90% of it actually going in his mouth. He finished that off with 1 heaping tablespoon of rice cereal. Stay tuned for next weeks adventure - squash!

Benjamin also had his 4 month well-baby check up today. Here are the stats: head circumfrence = 16 1/2" (39th percentile), weight = 14 lbs 13 oz (47th percentile), and height = 26 1/4" (89th percentile). Everything else looks good. He had his required shots and he took them like a champ - Mom and Dad had a harder time watching it than Ben had receiving them. He's now proudly sporting three Daffy Duck band-aides on his legs. Time for bed - hope all is well with everyone!!

O Ball

Ben plays with his O Ball when he is sitting in his highchair. He managed to get it on top of his head one day and then seemed content to try and eat it when it fell off.

Learning to Grill

Ben had his first "lesson" in grilling this weekend with Dad. It is so nice to be able to be outside and enjoy our new neighborhood. He and Dad cooked some brats for Mom and Dad for dinner - Ben had oatmeal. Bella thought she should have a brat also, she can be really annoying when food is around. We think she will really enjoy Benjamin when he starts eating food and learning to drop it on the floor. Bella will never leave his side!

4 months old!!

Happy 4 month Birthday to me!

Where's my toy Mom?

I'm sitting nice Mom - where's my toy?

There we go - love my burp rag and my links!

I'm done with these, got anything else?

Today is Ben's 4 month birthday! It's hard to believe how fast these past 4 months have gone by. Chris and I love every minute of being Ben's parents - we canno timagine not having Ben in our lives. His smiles melt our hearts and any noise he makes is music to our ears (not always to everyone elses, but always to ours!).

Ben is going to go to his first home Gopher Volleyball event on Sunday when he attends the annual Spring Tournament at the Sports Pavilion. This is the last event of the Spring Volleyball Season - yea!! We are hoping to spend some time outside tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be nice and Bella needs to get out and exercise. We are going to go visit a boarding kennel for her to stay at while we are in Oregon in May.

Ben's Thoughts in the Morning

Hi guys! I haven't seen you in a while - I have really been working on strengthening my neck so I can keep my head up.

I can also drool to the floor now that I can keep my head up!

I hear we are going to Oregon in May to visit Grandma and Grandpa - I have no idea what Oregon is but Mom and Dad are sure excited.

What an interesting perspective from this angle - the room looks so much bigger.

I see my friend the ceiling fan is still here though!!

This rolling over thing is a piece of cake - Bella, you should try it sometime.

Taking a nap...during dinner!

Our son actually fell asleep while eating dinner last night. Chris was feeding him and all of a sudden Ben's eyes closed and he was sleeping in the high chair. That cereal must taste really good!! We had to wake him up to take a bath and then Ben proceded to sleep for 10 hours straight. It was a nice night sleep for Mom and Dad also!!

Tonight is music class - Ben seems to enjoy himself there for the most part. Usually he shows everyone how he can throw up during the dancing part, its quite fun for everyone. I am going to be spending my first night away from Ben this weekend as I am headed to Ames, Iowa with the volleyball team. Dad and Ben have big plans - some playing, tummy-time, cereal, bottle. It gets pretty crazy around the house!

Rice Cereal

Another milestone for Ben - rice cereal! He had his first taste on Friday night and I ended up wearing most of it as Ben learned to spit pretty quickly. Saturday and Sunday went smoother and by Tuesday he was eating a whole tablespoon!

Just a swingin'

We took Ben to Otsego County Park Saturday afternoon. There are really nice paved trails and a play area with lots of play equipment for kids. We walked with Bella around the whole trail and then thought we'd see how Ben would do it in swing. He seemed to really enjoy himself, at first he wasn't too sure about it but the smiles came pretty soon after he started moving. We ran into my cousin Jenny at the park. She was there with her husband and two kids.

It's raining here today which is OK with us as rain is a lot better than snow!

Wild guy

In honor of the MN Wild clinching the Division Championship last night Ben wore his Wild t-shirt and bib (courtesy of Grandpa) today. I took the pictures as he was waking up from a nap and Ben likes to take his time waking up - very similar to his mother....

FYI - Gaby the Gray Cat is named after the MN Wild's #10 Marion Gaborik who scored the winning goal in last nights game against Calgary. Gaby's comment on the game: "I don't care about hockey, can I have a treat please?"

Figuring out these hands

What should I play with today - Zebra, Turtle, or Blowfish?

I really like your shoes Zebra - where did you get these?

Oh so funny Turtle! Did you hear that one Zebra?

I wonder what's for dinner...

This hand seems to be mighty tasty, as always!

Ben has really "discovered" his hands and is beginning to explore his world a lot more with them. He is so fun to watch him grab things and feel different textures. He has even "petted" the cat and dog - watch out Gaby and Bella!!

Practicing my 3 month picture smile!

Ben had his three month pictures taken this past Saturday. He did so well with having two outfit changes and live bunnies there! He was practicing his smile before we went - what a happy little guy!!