Dedication

Last week we had the privilege of dedicating Ben at church.  We stood up in front of the church with Ben and my parents and committed ourselves to faithfully raising Ben in a way that would point him towards Christ.  The congregation joined in the commitment to pray for us and share the charge of impacting his life, in whatever way the church body touches his life, with the example of Christ and His love.  We also prayed over Ben, with our earnest desire that he would choose to trust in Christ as his Savior at an early age and seek to live for Him.  

Standing there, holding this precious boy whom we have prayed for, for so long, my heart just swelled at both the weight and joy of the moment.  I felt like Hannah, coming back to the temple to commit her Samuel back to the service of the Lord in thankfulness for His incredible gift.  I don't know what God has planned for Ben, but I can count on the fact that it is wonderful and includes a hope and a future as He has promised.  What an incredible honor to be included in that plan.  May God grant us the energy, wisdom and strength to faithfully live out such a calling.

Here is the video of the dedication:

Rough Week

One of the great things about parenting is that things are always changing, and one of the worst things about parenting is....things are ALWAYS CHANGING!!!  So last week Ben slept through the night twice without needing to get up and eat.  This week he has been getting up 3-5 times a night needing his pacifier and then when we decided to let him cry it out last night, he cried so hard that he vomited and started choking and could barely breathe.  So there we were, holding our shaking, sobbing little boy, all of us smeared in puke, quivering with panic and adrenaline from watching him choke and swearing to never try THAT again.....at least until we are sleep deprived enough to give it another go.  I tell you what, this parenting thing is not for wimps.

One of the great things that we can always count on, though, is that no matter how horrific the night was, Ben always wakes with a smile and will grin with delight upon seeing us in the morning.  Weeping may last for a night, but joy does come in the morning!  They are such gifts from God, that little toothless grin and chubby cheeks...because otherwise, the sleeplessness, the fussies, the whining and crying....it would be just so much harder to take.  But how can you not melt and watch the frustration disappear when he grins from ear to ear and giggles with bubbly joy?!  Oh how I love that little boy!

Well, among all these adventures, we have discovered a new villain amongst our midst.  You have heard about Gas Vader, the Invader of Abdomens (Ben's nemesis in his early months).....well, a new predator has entered our world, and he has been dubbed, Teething the Terrible.  He sneaks into homes and surreptitiously replaces small children with new models whose "whine setting" is stuck on maximum output.  Under his spell, happy, toothless gums, previously content with simply sucking and smiling are morphed into zones of agony, dripping in drool, compelled to chomp and chew and gnaw on anything in sight.  He steals sleep and smiles and causes parents to look into the future arrival of 20 baby teeth and 32 permanent teeth with despair and dread.  The Tooth Fairy may be all bright and cute and happy as she takes the teeth away, but the deliverer of teeth is a whole other story.  Infant Tylenol and teething rings barely take the edge off....where is a good super hero when you need one?

Despite the teething, the sleeplessness, and whatever else may hit in a day, Ben is still our delight and joy.  Here are a few recent pictures that keep making us smile:

Small Victories

 We've had a bit of a victory in our house the last two nights: Ben has gone all night without eating!  He still gets up around 3 or so, but after I put his pacifier back in, he has gone back to sleep and not needed to eat!!  Hip-hip-hooray!!  Last night I got 5 hours of sleep all in a row, and 6 total.  I almost didn't recognize myself in the mirror this morning (except for the bedhead, that I did recognize).  It is amazing how much easier it is to start the day when you feel like you have actually slept!  I might just take on the world today! :)

One of my projects today is to make some more baby food.  Ben is cruising through anything I give him and it has been so much fun to introduce new foods to him.  I finally sat down a couple days ago to read through all the details in this baby food book I have and ended up spiraling down into the Overwhelmed Failure Mommy Pit.  This book was quite intense and John came home to me with my head in my hands, trying to wrap my brain around all the specific food combinations that I am supposed to be introducing to Ben with perfect matching of proteins and whole grains in order to have optimal absorption of vitamins and nutrients and the proper preparation of each meal in the right proportions and ingredients so that he doesn't develop anemia and vitamin deficiencies.  I told him I was pretty sure I had already botched it all and Ben was going to grow up to have health disorders and be fat and dumb.  All this time I thought introducing baby food was just putting applesauce on a spoon and getting it to stay inside his mouth.  Oh no, it is a full time job with qualifications that some astro-physicists may not even qualify for.  So after that reaction, John promptly told me to burn the book, or at least put it away from sight (what a wise man I married!) and read some other resources to get a bit more balance.  Later that night, after reading another book and some information from babycenter.com (LOVE that website--such a great resource for balanced information on ANY topic), I was re-encouraged and back to smiling and looking forward to making baby food again.

I actually read an article that got me excited to try some new and different things with Ben.  It was talking about how breastfed babies are exposed to all kinds of flavors and spices in breastmilk, and that starting them on food with bland boring mush is really a step back.  Babies in other countries have flavor packed baby food with spices and herbs that are common to their cultures, so why do U.S. babies have to be boring and eat plain porridge?  And we wonder why some kids become such picky eaters and don't want any extra flavor, sauce, herbs, etc in their meals as toddlers.  Could it be because they didn't have it in their baby food and it is just too strange for them?  Could it be that if baby food was introduced with spices and flavorful combinations that their palate would be wide open to new experiences?  As long as salt is not used, a select few foods are avoided til age 1, and new foods are introduced slowly to be able to identify any allergies, there are very few limits on what a baby can taste!  So, armed with this insight, I am kicking things up a notch and planning on introducing Ben to a rainbow of flavors and spices.  There are just so many possibilities!  Chicken with cumin and cilantro, chickpeas with curry, roasted veggies with onions and garlic, apples and pears with cinnamon and cloves (which he tried yesterday and LOVED!), pumpkin with nutmeg and ginger.....chef Mommy is getting excited! :)

And hopefully someday Ben will want to help me make all these treats in the kitchen.  How I would love it if he would share my love of excellent food and all the creative possibilities!  He is off to a good start: he likes playing with the tools. :)  He loves holding my spatula or spoon as I cook, and has found that he especially enjoys sampling my whisk and basting brush.  How else can you determine a kitchen tool's worth but by tasting it? (and slobbering on it, throwing it on the ground to see what kind of sound it makes, chewing on it....oh, and banging in on the table.....very important process of evaluation :)

 

Ben the chef in training, helping me make pancakes

it is ALWAYS a good time to just kick up your feet and smile!

"yay, I am so excited!!!"

"I am not sure why I am so excited, but I have some stylin' white socks on and that is reason enough!"

his new favorite toy: the basting brush!

intense concentration...and a little cross-eyed action (makes you think better :)

"I'm not sure how you are supposed to use this thing, but this is workin' pretty well."

More of the Good Stuff

My mom had some gems hiding on her camera from the last couple of weeks, so without further ado, here are some snapshots of our little punkin'.

Ben is playing with one of MY favorite toys from when I was a baby.  It may have a broken handle, but the Busy Pot still has some game!

the only thing cuter than a little boy in overalls is....

...his cute little bottom and bald head! :)  (I know, I have got it bad!)

Ben wasn't the only one having fun!

what can I say, our son loves technology, and he comes by it naturally!

THIS is Old Man Face :)

He may have three chins and be covered in drool, but he is mine and I sure do love him! :)

Catching Up

My blogs may have stopped, but life sure hasn't around here!  In fact, that is the very reason the blogging has ceased as of late!  About a month ago we jumped onto a merry-go-round that has taken us for a ride and we are just now catching our breath before the next one begins!
A month ago we made the decision to put our house on the market, and for those of you who have done this before, you know the whirlwind that invites.  Projects, packing, staging, decluttering, paperwork, looking for houses, a fair amount of worry, stress and anxiety, and living in a home that must be perfect and ready for showing at all times.....with a 6 month old in the house.  Sheesh!  

Our January was also packed with normal events, a few colds and best of all visits from family.  My cousin Ashley, her husband Rick and their daughter, Bella, visited for a couple days and we had so much fun playing with the kiddos.  Then we got blessed with a whole week visit from Linda (Gran)!  Ben fell in love all over again with his Gran and had so much fun playing with her.  She is a fantastic Gran from a distance, but even better when we get to have her here.  Ben learned all kinds of new songs, got better at rolling over, and filled up on snuggles.  After a week like that, we wish Texas wasn't so far away!

So, needless to say it has been an adventure, but God has gifted us with this adventure and as He always does, has shown Himself to be big and mighty.  
Our house is not the only thing that has changed in the last month.  Our little Ben is now a thriving 6 month old with so many things to show off!  So here is the update:


Stats:   

-18 lb, 2 oz.
-28 inches long
-wearing 9 month everything!  
His height has continued to stay in the upper percentiles (97%) and his weight is evening out a bit to be more average.  We got a compliment from the pediatrician last week: she said he had great dexterity (as he played with her otolaryngoscope and tried to eat it).  Course, he was just happy that someone was paying attention to him AND he got to be mostly naked during the exam. :)


Likes: 

Still loves being naked....he actually fusses when we start putting his clothes on after a bath or his pants on after a diaper change.  Wonder if that will ever change....

Loves singing/songs.  His little face lights up when anyone whistles, or sings and he especially loves it when John and I sing him the "Good Morning" song every morning.  The other night I was singing him his bedtime song and I think he may have been trying to sing with me!

Sitting up!  He sits independently now, playing with toys all around him and you can almost see the look of pride on his face that he can do it all himself!  In fact, the other day he was playing with a toy that makes train noises when you touch specific buttons.  He pressed on it himself and it made the noise and he looked up at me with this look of wonder and excitement as if he was saying "Did you just SEE that?!!!  I made it work all by myself!!!"

FOOD!!  We are full into baby food now and he LOVES to eat!  When we are eating or drinking anything he gazes at us with longing and leans in with his mouth open as if hoping to catch a little of what we are having.  He gets baby food twice a day now and so far we haven't found anything he won't eat.  We have tried bananas, oatmeal, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, peas, applesauce and yogurt.  He actually likes the squash and sweet potato best!  I had been trying to get him to drink water out of a sippy cup, which usually earned me fussing, a face all screwed up and a look of bewilderment at what strange liquid was coming out of that thing.  Then I stumbled upon something and now he loves to drink out of his sippy cup!  He loves ICE water!  Put a few ice cubes in the cup and he loves to try to drink! Of course, most of it spills out, but he sure does have fun with it!  He is just adorable as he chomps down on the mouthpiece, or sucks and he will chuckle and grunt as he does it, then pull away, and look at you with a grin as it leaks out the sides of his mouth.  Oh what a character we have!


Making noise!  He has been testing the upper limits of his voice as of late.  When he gets really excited he will shriek with delight and wait for you to join in with him!  I was at the grocery store the other day and had him in his car seat facing me as we wandered the aisles.  I was making faces at him and he was getting so excited that he would straighten both arms and legs, open his mouth as wide as it would go and shriek!  This of course brought a giggle from me, which delighted him to no end.  Then I would put my finger on my mouth and say "sssshhhh!" and he would stop shrieking but would chuckle quietly like "funny, Mom!"  He wakes up talking and making noises (in fact, right now I can hear him in his crib talking away, probably to the animals on his mobile) and sometimes when I am putting him down to sleep he will try and laugh or talk to try and convince me that he is too awake to go to sleep! :)


Peekaboo!  Ben LOVES to play peekaboo and gets excited when we pretend like we can't see him.  He will giggle even before he gets revealed.

Dislikes:


Strangers are starting to make him a little nervous, especially a big room full of people and loud noises.  He has always been quiet when we are in a setting like that, just looking around and taking it all in, but now he gets a little nervous.  We have had a few instances when he seems to get overwhelmed at first by it all and lets the bottom lip out and the crocodile tears start rolling.  After a bit he warms up, though, and I can hand him to anyone or let him play and he is fine.


Still doesn't like to go to bed or take a nap when people are over--"what kinds of fun things am I missing out on?!"


Honestly, that's all I could think of for dislikes!!  He is just such a happy little guy!


Mom and Dad's favorites:


He makes these great little faces: 
Scrunch Face: he scrunches up his mouth into a pucker face and squints his eyes. Excited Face: he opens his mouth as wide as it will go and smiles at the same time. Old Man Face: he sucks in his bottom lip and keeps his mouth in a straight line (makes it look like an old man without any teeth!).
Cockeyed Face: he turns his head to the side, almost completely horizontal, and smiles at you. 
And of course his wonderful smile, which lights up our days!


Nighttime may have its fussy moments, but sometimes he gets a burst of energy and will kick and pump his legs really fast (we call it "busy feet") and flap his arms and open his mouth wide and make all kinds of fun noises.  It just never gets old!

His playfulness--he doesn't just sit and look at a toy anymore, he loves to PLAY.  So we spend lots of time getting giggles and laughs by singing songs with motions, making silly faces, tossing him in the air or bouncing him around, blowing on his tummy, playing peekaboo, etc.  What a bundle of joy he is!


Snuggle moments--they are fewer now that he is so "grown up" :) and loves to sit and play and do things, but when he is tired he will rest his head on our shoulder or bury his face in our chest and there is just nothing like it!


So here is a month of pictures and video....enjoy!

Ben "helped" us box up our extra stuff to stage our home.  We marked this box "Fragile, Handle with Care" :)

"This sitting up is hard work!  I just need to lounge a bit..."

"Ok!  Done lounging--time to play!!"

Excited Face!

He attacks his sippy cup with frenzied excitement!

Our little bird!

We have no lack of enthusiasm for meals in our house!

Classic messy food face!  And no, this was not staged!

The Scrunch Face :)

 

This one is of John and I singing the "Good Morning" song as we do every morning:

 

This one is long, but full of all the fun energy and smiles that we love, so I had to share!