Row Row Row Your Boat!

Jonathan surprised me on Thursday with a trip to the Lafayette Reservoir. Our friend Mindi came from Davis to babysit so we could spend the afternoon "out." It was a gorgeous day, and we rented a rowboat--we had lunch and some wine while we watched people fish and hike around the reservoir. It was fantastic!



As you can see... Jonathan really got into rowing.

Ben is 3 Months Old!

Ben turned three months old on Monday. He's thriving... growing and developing more personality every day. We're so lucky to have him!!

Ben's great-grandmother (Mom Mom) crocheted a blanket for him... it's definitely becoming one of his favorites. Here he is getting ready for a nap with it:

Happy Easter!

New Toys

This week Ben (well, Mommy actually!) bought some new toys... the first is a BOB stroller, which has come highly recommended by a number of cool people. I had my 20% off coupon and my yearly rebate to spend at REI, so the time seemed right! We got it home, only to find that Ben's still a bit small for it:


So... in the meantime, I wanted to get something that would be fun for Ben, since lately his once-beloved bouncer has fallen out of favor (imagine a 3 month old screaming with rage at the plastic fish and bubbles he used to love so much). This baby "gym" thing sounded pretty cool. I set it up and Ben seems to dig it. He has a lot to look at, which is key for him, and he's started pulling on the little rings and toys he can reach, which is great, too!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' Over

Today Ben rolled over! I put him on his stomach for his much-beloved daily dose of tummy time, and within seconds, he flipped over! So I grabbed my camera and tried to get him to do it again... but no such luck for mommy. Here's his protest:

Spit Up Solution

Ben spits up a lot. Like every time he eats and about 3 times in between feedings. It doesn't seem to bother him, but changing him 3-6 times each day is getting to me. So I pulled out one of the bibs he received has a gift... it's clearly meant for an older, bigger baby, but it's doing a great job of keeping him covered!

Happy Morning Baby!

Ben is VERY happy in the morning. Yesterday, I woke to a shriek, and jumped up expecting to find him about to pitch a fit, but instead encountered Happy Morning Baby! He was in his crib, kicking his little frog legs and giggling away... it was seriously adorable. So I took some photos. The blurriness is because of how fast he was moving his legs. Enjoy!

And if these pictures aren't cute enough for you... here's some video of him. Check out his chunky legs!

Not Ready for Shoes!

I had to post again after trying to get a couple of cute photos of Ben in an outfit my mom (Coco) bought for him before he was born... The pants and shirt were fine, but once I put the tiny sneakers (SO CUTE) on, fun time was OVER!

The outfit:
The shoes:
The melt-down:

Sleep, Glorious Sleep!

Our little man slept so well last night... he went EIGHT whole hours (9:30-5:30) and then another 2.5, letting mommy sleep in until 8am! It's incredible what a good night of sleep can do for a new mom's sanity!!

Yesterday I tried some 6 month sized clothing on Ben and, sure enough, most of it fit. He's a beefy little 2.5 month old--check out those chins! He's a cutie though, that's for sure!

We love nature!

Today we took Ben on a short hike. We went to Tilden Park in the Oakland-Berkeley hills, and enjoyed some of the gorgeous weather. It's amazing that there is such a place tucked into one of the most congested metropolitan areas in the country. Of course that close proximity comes with a price. Midway through our hike, the quiet sounds of nature were rudely interrupted by a series of sirens and helicopters. But we had a great day in nature nonetheless!

Here are some highlights:

Heading out into nature...

The boys hanging in nature...

Ben checking out his dad in nature...

Post-nursing-in-nature moment with mom...
Ben, chillin' in nature...

Blog Tag

My friend Mindi recently "tagged" us on her blog, MithicalMindi. What is blog tag, you ask? Here are the instructions, as her blog describes them:

1. Pick the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences. .

5. Tag five people.

Well, I have a number of books here on my desk, but in the spirit of this blog, I'm choosing The Baby Owner's Manual. So here goes...

"Hold the object with the baby during feedings. Allow the object to absorb your scent. Some users place a small amount of breast milk on it."

Hmmm.... Curiouser and curiouser! Not as academic as Mindi's post about Ulysses, but probably as poignant! ;-)
I'm not going to tag other blogs yet, as I'm not sure if many people are actually reading this! But if I get some positive feedback about doing so, then I will.

Not much to report yet today... Ben's having a good morning. I have him in a very cute outfit. He's a forest ranger!

Bedtime

Last night, we all headed to bed early. It was a tiring weekend of sunny days and Moby Dick (for me, not Ben and Jonathan. And YES, I'm still reading it. It's amazing how long it takes to get through a 600+ page book when you're doing so in blocks of about 8.5 minutes at a time!). And the last sentence (before the parenthetical) was meant to be sarcastic, of course! But in any case, we had an early night last night.

As many of you know, we're a swaddling family. And Jonathan reigns as the swaddle king, having learned the swaddle secrets directly from the nurses at the hospital after Ben was born. But lately I've noticed that Ben looks different in his swaddle... he's gone from the uniform burrito-style wrap to something that more resembles (to me at least) a cactus. See illustration:

vs.

After recording this--the most exciting video ever--we decided to re-wrap Ben with his arms out, and he immediately struck a pose:

I guess that's it for the bedtime update.

For anyone out there from Red Sox Nation: if you haven't already seen this, check out the video from Mike Lowell's Dancing with the All-Stars benefit dinner last night. It's totally hilarious!