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!
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| Ben "helped" us box up our extra stuff to stage our home. We marked this box "Fragile, Handle with Care" :) |
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| "This sitting up is hard work! I just need to lounge a bit..." |
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| "Ok! Done lounging--time to play!!" |
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| Excited Face! |
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| He attacks his sippy cup with frenzied excitement! |
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| Our little bird! |
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| We have no lack of enthusiasm for meals in our house! |
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| Classic messy food face! And no, this was not staged! |
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| 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!
I love his faces!!! Awesome!
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