The Cuteness Continues...

I know I'm becoming one of those obnoxious mothers who constantly says "you'll never believe what my kid did today..." BUT, seriously... Ben does the most amazing things everyday, and I just have to share!! At least by putting them on a blog I give people the option of not having to look if they don't want to.

So here are the latest wonders from the land of Ben...

First off, bath time! He loves being in the tub, and is pretty active in there these days. He likes to have a washcloth on his head and to read his bath book (thanks to Karen and Tom Dubow for that great gift!). Here are some highlights:



The best part about this second photo is that if you look very close, you can see Ben's two bottom teeth!


After his bath last night, Ben's hair was uncharacteristically wild. Check him out:

Ben Loves Cheerios

Ben's consistently favorite food these days seems to be Cheerios. He loves them, and gets excited whenever he sees the box! The other day, he crawled over to the recycling bins in the kitchen and, lo and behold, found a Cheerios box there!

You can see his initial excitement...
"Wow! Look what I found!!!"


"Wow, I wonder if I can eat the whole box before Mom notices!"


"Wait a minute... there's nothing in here..."


"Could it be?... Are we out of Cheerios???"

"Hey... Dad... is it true? Are we out of Cheerios?"


"Well, at least now I have an empty box to play with!"

More Videos (I know, I'm crazy!)

Here are a couple of other videos that are just too cute not to share.

The first is of Ben pulling himself up on the chair in his room. You can see how hard he's been working on standing up!

The second is of him playing with Jonathan tonight. The two of them have a game they love to play in which Ben "steals" Jonathan's glasses off of his face. Jonathan always exclaims with surprise, "You've got my glasses!" And Ben laughs his butt off. This particular round of You've Got My Glasses is cool because Ben claps at the end, prompted only by me saying "clap clap clap." We've been working on clapping, and today for the first time he clapped just when I said the word! Before, I'd have to clap first and then he'd imitate. It's so great to see him learn words that we're saying!!

(For those of you who don't know... Jonathan's voice does not normally sound like a crazy old woman's!)

Tooth Count: Two

Ben now has TWO teeth!! The two bottom middle teeth have come in... they're cute little white nubs. But I still haven't been able to get close enough to get a picture. Though today, I got Ben to come pretty close in this video... but you'll see that he never once opens his mouth!!

Enjoy...

My Review of Baby Safe Feeder Starter Kit

Originally submitted at Leaps and Bounds

Give baby fresh food — without risk of choking. The Baby Safe Feeder was invented by a dad whose baby nearly died choking on a biscuit. Its patented mesh feeder allows you to feed baby fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats safely (while teaching baby how to chew). Makes a terrific soothing teet...

Baby Safe Feeder Starter Kit

Great for Teething

By Katie on 9/14/2008

5out of 5

Pros: East to Use, Washes Easily, Portable, Sturdy Construction

Cons: Difficult to Clean

Best Uses: Snacks, Travel

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

I LOVE these as teethers. I give my son ice cubes and frozen fruit to chew when he's fussy and he seems to get relief from his teething pain. I have found that soaking the mesh pouches in a small bowl with dish soap and a little bit of non-chlorine bleach is the best way to clean them--and keep stains and odors away.

(legalese)

Uncle Joe's Toy Box

After Ben was born, Uncle Joe started work on a toy box. A few weeks ago, it arrived as a half-birthday gift from Cousin Tommy. It's made of the most beautiful wood, in blue and natural colored sailing stripes! We all love it, and Ben has recently discovered how great it is to pull himself up on.

Thanks, Uncle Joe!

Homemade Baby Food

When I found out I was pregnant, I *knew* that I would be the kind of mom who would make all of her kids' food from SCRATCH. Well, here we are, eight months into mommyhood, and I just made my first real batch of baby food! I don't want to sell myself short... I have prepared fresh foods (and even cooked ones) for Ben before, but this is the first time I've actually followed a recipe especially for him.

It's potatoes, onions, peas, and spinach--all sauteed with butter.


Here's Ben's first taste...


Thinking about it...


Success!!

Ben's First Tooth (Finally!!)

Yesterday Ben cut his first tooth. Many of you know first-hand that he's been actively teething for more than two months. It's been a long (and sometimes loud) road, but he's finally there!! Last night he was very fussy so I put some teething gel on my finger to rub on his gums... when I did, I felt a little sharp bump on the center of his bottom gums. The tooth right next to it will probably be in soon as well, I think. But in the meantime, Ben's been pretty miserable at night! Poor guy (and poor us!).

I don't have any pictures of the tooth yet, as Ben won't let me near his mouth, but here are some shots of him in the backyard this evening after his bath. SO CUTE!

Lots of Catching Up!

It's been a few weeks and so much has happened!

First off, Mr. Ben has successfully mastered crawling! (See my post about "musical pacifiers" for a video that shows him in action.) He'd been able to scoot backward for awhile, but over Labor Day weekend he finally figured out first gear. I don't think it will be too long before he's speeding all over the house. In fact, Jonathan and I are scrambling to (finally) baby-proof the house before Ben gets into trouble. Just the other day I found him sucking on the end of my cell phone charger. The other end was PLUGGED INTO THE WALL. Minor heart attack on my part, but we've since fixed that problem!

Ben has also greatly expanded his diet to include lots of new and exciting foods, especially frozen blueberries, bagels, and Cheerios!



Next up: Ben is now using a sippy cup. He still gets most of his feedings with a bottle, but he's mastering the sippy cup for water and juice. It's cute.



In the last 36 hours, Ben has started pulling himself up to standing on EVERYTHING. Starting with me. Yesterday he crawled over and pulled himself up and just stood with his hands on my leg. I just stood there in awe, convinced yet again that he's a total genius, and then just to prove me right, he casually dropped one of his hands and continued to stand there as if to say, "Yeah, here I am. Standing with just one hand for support." It was so great. Here he is this afternoon--can you tell he's proud of himself??


Last but DEFINITELY not least (and I'm almost afraid to jinx us by writing this for the world to read) I think I saw the very tippy top of a tooth finally beginning to make its way through his gums. He's been in full-blown teething mode for a couple of months at least, but still not tooth. So here's hoping we're now just days away. More on that soon!

Ok, that's it. But it's a lot, right??

Musical Pacifiers!

I took this video of Ben last night. If you watch closely, he switches his pacifier 3 times... the last time is hard to see, since he's under the coffee table, but if you look carefully, he goes under with a white one and comes out with a green one! So crafty he is!!!

(Sorry the video is kind of dark...)