Happy Father's Day!

Today we celebrated Jonathan's first Father's Day! Last week I had Ben fitted for a life jacket so we could take him sailing--I figured it was a good present for Jonathan, and I was right! He was psyched. Here are some of the day's highlights:

The first mate ready to go!
A quick stop for sandwiches.

Going aboard Spindrift...

Daddy and his first mate!

As soon as we left the harbor, Ben feel asleep. He HATED his lifejacket, but fell asleep in it while sitting in my arms...

We sailed for an hour or two, and then returned to the slip. Ben and Daddy enjoyed some time hanging out in the boat...

It was a great day... and a memorable one. Ben's first day at sea!

Food, Food, and More Food!

Well, Ben has definitely mastered eating. He has sampled rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and peas. This morning I gave him a frozen peach slice in this mesh teether thing I bought... it's supposed to allow babies to "chew" on foods without the risk of choking. They can only get small pieces through the mesh. I'd read that frozen foods work well for teething babies, and since Ben's still trying to cut his first tooth, I wanted to give it a try. Success!! He's happily chomping and sucking on the peach!

Here are some recent photos of his favorite foods. Enjoy!

Finishing off some oatmeal:


Trying sweet potatoes with Dad:



First taste of peach!


Lastly, here are a couple of photos of Ben taking a nap. The quilt was a gift from Tom and Jerri Branca--Jerri made the quilt! We love it so much.

Feet and Sweet Potatoes

Lately Ben has been sucking on his feet... strange, but very cute! I took a few pictures during yesterday's naked tummy time.



We've also started him on sweet potatoes. He wasn't too thrilled with them, but seemed to enjoy them when mixed with oatmeal. Here's a video of him finishing off the last few bites.

Yesterday he was playing on his gym mat and pulled so hard on one of the toys that the whole thing collapsed on him. He didn't cry or complain, but just kept on playing! So cute!!

Sitting Up!

Ben has been working hard on sitting up. Recently, he's pretty much been doing it on his own--though he often wobbles and tips over after a few minutes. Here's a sampling!



He's also obsessed with the cats. Every time one of them is close by, he reaches out and GRABS onto whatever he can: tail, ear, fur... Here he is trying to get ahold of Special:

Bye Bye Bug!

The big news around here is that we've said good bye to the Bug! Auntie Amanda and I are trading cars, and the Bug left for Georgia last week. It's exciting (and a little sad) and we'll have her VW Golf in a short time. We're doing this so that we can have a car with 4 doors... making it easier for Ben (and me) to get around town--and in and out of the car. Here's a photo of Ben next to the car right before it went away.


We just got back from a nice walk in the hills... Ben fell asleep 5 minutes before we walked in the door! So cute!!

Food Glorious Food!

Last night Ben had his first "solid" food. It was actually very liquidy rice cereal (mixed with a lot of breast milk). He was pretty grumpy before we started, and he seems to have a love-hate feeling about the cereal... Enjoy the video!

Big boy stuff!

Ben has been growing and developing in leaps and bounds... most recently, he has begun teething in full force. Which means that we're not getting much sleep around here. But it's definitely hardest on him, so I won't complain!

In the meantime, Ben has started to enjoy his BOB stroller (which I love). He even napped in it the last time we went out!! So cute...


Ben likes to sit up at our level, so we bought a booster high chair. He seems to enjoy it... and it might not be too long before he tries his first solid food!


He's also interested in picking things up and getting them into his mouth--I think this has to do with the teething, too. Here he is sitting in the Bumbo on our bed watching me fold laundry.


We attempted a walk recently... but about a minute after I took this picture, Ben freaked out and we turned around!


Finally, and best of all, Ben is noticing the cats! It's really cute. And he has even had a chance to pet Chubby. Here's my attempt to capture the interest Ben shows... the picture is a bit staged, but he really just stares and watches whichever cat is closest.


Here's my latest favorite shot of Ben: