Fall is in the Air

We had a high of 62 degrees a couple of days ago - a wonderful opportunity to dress Benjamin in some of his colder-weather outfits. Here he is hanging out on our rocking chair with his cute blanket behind him (a gift from Aunt Amie and Uncle Doug). Ben is always cute and cuddly, but even more so with a hoodie!

Cooler weather also means snuggling in bed and learning new expressions from Daddy.

Now that school is back in session, it is the start of football!! Yesterday was the first Notre Dame game, which we watched at Grandma Zusman's place. It was a little too close for comfort, but ND won. Benjamin brought them lots of good luck! He has 'been' to a ND game (we went last year, just after we found out I was pregnant), but we look forward to taking him to his first real game! Unfortunately, it probably won't be this year - can you believe that they charge the same ticket price (around $80) for a child his age? Nevertheless, he will be watching all the ND games (and Illinois, MN, and really whoever else is on that Daddy wants to watch).

New 'Firsts'

As you can see, Ben is starting to discover the joys of putting his hand in his mouth. Sometimes it is one finger or his thumb, but usually he tries to suck on his whole hand.

In this video, you can see Ben flipping - sans crying!!

Here is a video of Ben making a pretty successful attempt at getting his hand to his mouth.

A sad event

On Wednesday, August 27th, my wonderful Gramma passed away at the age of 91. She had been on hospice for a few weeks, but it does not make it easier to know that she is no longer with us. She had not been doing well the day before, so we rushed up to MN at 4 am on Wednesday to try to make it. Unfortunately, we did not. Benjamin was not able to meet his Great-Gramma but I will make sure to tell him how wonderful she was.

Included in this entry are pictures of Benjamin with a ton of family members. It was so nice to spend so much time with family during those sad few days.

As Steve had to teach at 11 on that Wednesday, he could only drive me part of the way to MN before he had to turn around to return. My Dad drove to meet us and drive me and Benjamin the rest of the way. Here, Ben and I are hanging out at McDonald's at 7 am waiting for Grandpa Lucken to pick us up. There were a lot of regulars at McDonald's that enjoyed seeing Benjamin while we were there for two hours.

Benjamin on Aunt Jessica's shoulder at Aunt Jessica and Uncle Rick's house. Perhaps it is all the pink in the background that has Benjamin looking so alarmed.

Benjamin is keeping his eye on all the girls in the room. In addition to Aunt Jessica and Cousin Lucy, Jessica's cousin, Tiffany, and her daughter Taylin were there.

Uncle Rick and Aunt Jessica with Benjamin

Great-Aunts Sylvia and Stephanie. Sylvia and Clem just welcomed the arrival of their new grandbaby, Skylar, on August 26th. My cousin Mark and his wife have a website devoted to their new little one. You can check out her website at
http://web.me.com/fatcatstudios/BabyBlog/Welcome.html
She is adorable!

Aunt Natalie and Benjamin (Great-Uncle Clem is in the background)

Cousin Zack doing a great job holding Benjamin

Cousin Trever during his turn holding Ben

Grandpa Lucken and Benjamin

Uncle Rob (I think I can assume you noticed Ben is in (almost) every pick - so perhaps I can leave his name out.) :)

Benjamin, smiling post-bath

Mommy and Ben!

Daddy's Turn!

Great-Uncle Jim and Great-Aunt Sharon, who flew in from California

Grandma Lucken

Ben may be a Cubs fan at heart (and he has the appropriate gear to prove this), but he likes to show his support for the Twins, too!

My friend Andrea dropped by to visit

On the way home from MN, Ben and I hung out at Daddy's office while he taught at Illinois State University (located in Bloomington-Normal, an hour from Champaign-Urbana).

Birthday Party for Colin, Lexi, and Shelley

On August 24th, Aunt Amie and Uncle Doug hosted a birthday party for their two little ones (Colin and Lexi) and for Aunt Shelley. In this entry, there will be a lot of pictures - I included all combinations of people and Benjamin that we took, plus a few others! Here Benjamin is spending quality time with Grandpa Zusman and Grandma Jane.

Here is a cute picture of Benjamin with his Grandpa. I like how Benjamin has his hand on his Grandpa - very cute.

On August 24th, Aunt Amie and Uncle Doug hosted a birthday party for their two little ones (Colin and Lexi) and for Aunt Shelley. In this entry, there will be a lot of pictures - I included all combinations of people and Benjamin that we took, plus a few others! In the picture above, Benjamin is meeting his Uncle Andrew.

Uncle Andrew and Benjamin

Steve and Colin (who turned three!)

Lexi enjoying her smash cake (she turned one!)

Uncle Doug's brother, Brad and his wife Laura

Aunt Shelley and Benjamin




Steve, his two sisters Amie and Shelley, and Benjamin

Aunt Amie and Benjamin

Our family photo

A Strong Grip

Steve and Benjamin spent some time in our bed this morning lounging. Benjamin was so cozy that he fell sound asleep. He didn't stay asleep during the transfer to his pack'n'play though - we are still working on that.

Later in the day, Benjamin got to know his baby rattle - by holding on to it! I was impressed how well he could hold on to it and shake it around. You can see him in action in the video below.

6 Weeks Old!

Our sweetheart is 6 weeks old today! Here he is enjoying some relaxing moments in his beloved swing. He is giving Mommy and Daddy lots of cute little smiles and he has included 'ahh' into his vocabulary (no 'coo'ing yet - I look forward to that!).

Here he is this morning with his Daddy. Daddy, as you can see, has lots of things with which he can entertain Benjamin. You can tell that Benjamin is at the moment enjoying his interaction with a pop-up Triceratops.

Mr. Fat Cheeks

As Benjamin is steadily gaining weight, we have noticed that his cheeks seem to reflect this quite nicely. Steve is very excited about Benjamin's fat cheeks, he finds them very adorable. I definitely agree. You can also tell in this picture that he is getting a little sleepy.