Benjamin has been such a good boy for his Grandma Patty! I have enjoyed every minute of our time together (well, there was that one super messy diaper...)

Today Grandma Vicki came with us to Walmart to do a little shopping and then we went to get Bubble Tea on campus! He was such a good boy. He is taking a nice nap now. Shopping is so exhausting!!


Benjamin was too interested looking around to look at Grandma and the camera!!

Benjamin with Grandma Patty and Grandma Vicki at Walmart's produce area.

Benjamin loves to bounce!!

Hi from Grandma Patty, again. Just a few more pictures and a couple cute videos of what little Benjamin and I have been doing the last couple days.

Benjamin loves to push the ball into the Giraffe's mouth (see video below,too).

Fun with his big truck.

Benjamin put his little gloworm baby in the truck by himself!!

Mailing a letter to Mommy and Daddy. We hope they get it!!!!

The night before Mommy and Daddy left.

Helping Grandma wash some clothes!

Tricky Grandma reading Spot Book (Tricky because Grandma took the picture!)

Ready to go!

Bright sun, Grandma!

Grandma and Benjamin taking a walk.

Being silly with toy piano.

View through the door.

SOOOOO BIG!!!

Trying to call Mommy and Daddy.

Hello, Grandma Patty here. Krisanna and Steve left during the night Friday night for Italy. Benjamin slept through them leaving and till 6am (which was a total of 11 hours!) When I went to get him up, he looked at me, then looked through his door into the hallway looking for his Mommy or Daddy! So cute, so sad! He has kept very busy playing with his toys, bouncing in his bouncer, eating, drinking, going for a walk, sleeping very well, and just being extra specially good for his Grandma!!

Where Does the Time Go?

This past week has been pretty indicative of the entire month for us - it has gone by so quickly and we have been very busy. The bulk of my concern lately is taking some of my students to Italy for Spring Break, which is in three days! I have been busy planning and preparing for that as well as getting everything ready at home for Benjamin (and preparing myself for leaving him for so long!). Since Steve is coming with me, my Mom graciously offered to take care of Benjamin for the whole week we are gone (with Grandma Zusman offering to step in when needed). We are lucky to have such supportive family!

Here are some recent activities that Benjamin has been up to before we leave him. I am hoping he doesn't change too much while we are gone for eight days!

At Sam's Club - he had a good time looking at the people. He wanted to be held for quite a bit, though, too. He is not too used to the cart. It is so cute to see his legs swinging while he is sitting there.

Enjoying our recent beautiful weather.

Steve took this picture! He mastered this skill on our honeymoon.

What a cute baby!

He is getting good at scooting across the room. Also, he is starting to pull himself up on things (almost, that is!). Grandma Zusman also reported that today he started on his hands and knees and slowly worked his way to a sitting position. Still not too much movement in terms of crawling, but he is working on it!

Tried bananas and liked them. We will probably move on to stage 2 foods after Spring Break.

Still no teeth! Don't get them while Mommy and Daddy are gone!!

This video is of one of our walks, where he was saying 'dadada' a lot. It was cute because he was saying it quite loud until he saw the camera, and then gets really quiet.

8 months old!

Wasn't I just talking about Benjamin turning 7 months old?? Up until now I have been fine with him getting older, now I'm starting to think it is going by too quickly! Him turning one is just around the corner. Again, I have to say that we have such a wonderful little boy. I just love seeing him smile when he sees me enter a room, laugh at me doing something silly, and explore his world. He is getting much more vocal about what he wants and doesn't want and more creative when playing with his toys. The last couple of days he has been a little fussy at times, and I just wonder if his teeth are finally going to appear. Yesterday and today, I thought I could see the corner of a tooth, but I think I have been saying this for a month now! One thing worth mentioning is that while we are still working on Benjamin sleeping for more than 6 hours in a row, he has had a very successful couple of nights (last night was 9 hours, 8 the night before, and a record 11 the night before that!).

Here are some images that represent his recent activities:

Still working on crawling, but making good progress (see video below)

Moving across the room - he started near his porcupine, pulled things off the shelf, tipped over his garbage can, and opened the closet door!

Sucking on both index fingers

Successfully tried pears (bananas are next!)

He likes to lean over and smile at me (the mohawk was just for fun)

This video is of Benjamin opening his closet door (to explain why he isn't completely dressed - he rolled over while being dressed in his pjs)!

This video is of Benjamin taking his 'first step' toward crawling (I like his little break in the middle - quite funny):

Spring Clothing

We are currently in another cold front, but at the end of last week and most of the weekend there was very pleasant weather. It was sunny and warm - a high of low 70s! We were able to get out and enjoy a walk with Benjamin in just long-sleeved shirts! It was also fun to dress Benjamin this past weekend in some appropriate 'Spring' clothing, which I had bought while still pregnant with him and thinking at the time that it would be a while before he would be able to wear it. Now almost a year has passed by and he is wearing it - crazy!

Playroom

I finally cleaned up and put up decorations for Benjamin's playroom. It has a 'transportation' theme with a few other things thrown in the mix. Benjamin enjoys going in his playroom, especially to play with his jumper and his giraffe.

Smiling at Daddy who is standing in the doorway

Pictures of Our Family

Here are some more recent pictures of us with Benjamin:

A Busy Week

We have had a very busy week, hence the lapse in time between posts! Benjamin has tried two new fruits - applesauce and peaches - and seems to like them both. He has been babbling lots, clapping his hands, dancing to music, playing peek-a-boo, as well as two new exciting developments. He started to stand next to his changing table while holding on to the shelf (see video of this at the bottom of this post) and he can also (gracefully) go from a sitting position to his tummy by reaching forward and slowly pulling himself to his tummy. He has gone from sitting to his tummy before, but usually by doing a bit of a face plant.

Here is the week in pictures:

Trying applesauce

Touching his rocking horse - still a bit more time before he really enjoys it!

It wasn't a cold night, necessarily, we just bundled him up for fun.

Cuddling with his daddy

Static from having just pulled off his hat

His hair seems quite reddish here!

Peek-a-boo!

Laughing about me appearing from below

Peaches - yummy!

Looking at his grandparents' pictures

Looking at his family picture

Playing with his hedgehog and bear

He has gotten quite attached to his brush (he wants to hold it whenever he sees it and doesn't want to let it go!) and he is sucking his index finger a lot.

What a busy week!

This video is of Benjamin standing next to his changing table: