Eight Months

Ben is an official “clinger” LOL. 

He has always been a sack of potatoes when you pick him up but now, FINALLY he is wrapping those little arms around us and really holding on. 

I can't get enough.

Liam and I have had quite a few dates without Ben. He is such a big boy, he's stayed overnight at all of his grandparents houses. As much as I love the adult time, I think my favorite dates are the ones where he joins us. We've gone out for breakfast, brunch and a few dinners with our little man. Ben get's lots of attention... and we're happy to say that it's the good kind. He is such a sweet little boy. He sits in his high chair and plays with his toys & eats his cheerios. It's so much fun to spend time as a family. 

Well, so much for the oatmeal. Ben loves it… but it’s not loving him back. I’ve tried giving him every fruit I can and upping the anti on veggies too but nothing can counteract the "binding" effects so far.  

It really isn't a tragedy, it just means I have to put a little more thought into the combinations I give him and put on my patient pants when he buttons up his lip and and fusses.  He has had some delicious table foods: Some of daddy’s amazing baby back ribs and of course some mashed potatoes. He’s also had cheese and yogurt but sour is his least favorite flavor, so they were not so exciting. New this month are whole peas, sweet potato chunks and penne and let's not leave out the addition of MEAT. Ben has been eating the baby version of chicken soup and beef stew. Next on the list is broccoli. He'll have to learn to love it because it's mommy's favorite veggie. I'm sure he'll just be wishing it was cheerios. 

We pretty much end every meal with a fist full of cereal.  I don’t have any experience (Ben is the first baby I’ve ever fed) but I’m gonna go ahead and say he is a really good eater. lol I hardly ever have to fight him to eat. He doesn't seem to be picky about the food as much as the temperature and texture. Ben definitively prefers warm food and will not touch anything slimey.

Ben sits up without any assistance now. 

It’s fun to just sit him on a blanket and let him chill with some toys... 

... or a mustache... 

...or a cat!!  

Of course Goldie thinks Ben is her baby on her blanket so it's a real challenge to do this at home.

That just makes blanket time more special at the grandparents houses.

I had been putting him on countertops and tables but he has recently started “scooting”. 

He doesn’t travel far but it gives me heart palpitations to see him moving at all. 

I imagine he’ll be mobile very soon.

We’ve got the tent…. We are ready for the beach!!

Long Beach Island - here we come!!

A real family vacation with Grammy Gramps (Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Margi, Aunt Caitlyn & Goldie too). 

Ben is teething and whines pretty much the whole time he is awake so it was a little stressful lol

But we still had lots of fun. 

Our hosts were so gracious and the house was great. 

We all really loved Ship Bottom. 

I liked the beaches and the quaint little town, Liam liked the doughnuts, Goldie liked having all of those people around and I think Ben’s favorite part was an empty box to play in. 

It was our first time traveling as a family (overnight) so I was a little frazzled myself. 

I hardly took any pictures of the house. 

Our fist day was a perfect beach day. 

Ben absolutely hated the cold water LOL he cried his little eyes out. 

He chilled in a chair under the umbrella...

...in the tent with Daddy for a little while  

... and a blanket with mommy. 

Then went back to the house with mommy for a nap (aka an hour of crying). 

Day two was spent on the bay. 

There is a little baby pool sectioned off right at the end of our street!! 

It was not as pretty as the beach but perfectly catered to all of our baby needs. 

Ben splashed around in the bay with daddy for a very long time.  

There were a few hiccups but all and all, I think the trip was a great experience.  

We'll can't wait to travel as a family and hopefully we'll get to go to Ship bottom again. 

Whenever possible, we'll be taking the dog with us … Goldie is part of the family too…

Now this just cracks me up. 

This is something that I do. I don’t know if this is genetic or he is copying me, or it's something that all babies do.

All I know is that it is super cute!!

Ben will fuss in his high chair but if you free him up, he’ll lounge back with his foot up. 

He does it in his crib,

on the changing table, 

and in the bath tub… 



What was that? 

Did someone ask for more bath pictures?? 

No problem – we’ve got’em!!

Ben has a bunch of toys. 

We used to use the pac-n-play like a toy box but now that he really plays in it, it doesn’t seem right to throw him INTO his toy box lol. 

I have taken most of the toys out now but these two pictures made laugh. 

The first one is like a Where’s Waldo and the second illustrates “new toy” perfectly. 

Out of all the fun things, he wants to play with the hanger because it’s new. 

Other favorites are plastic cup, spatula, medicine dispenser and tupperwear lid.

I think he might really skip the crawling. 

Ben still hates tummy time. 

I try and force it on him but he’s not trying to move around and get out of it, he just freaks. 

And frankly, the boy complains enough without me putting him into a position that makes him cry lol. 


So we’re just working on his pull up and stand skills.

We celebrate Aunt Margi’s Birthday. 

Big time fun with cousin Gavin. 

Seven Months

I really cannot believe how quickly the months are passing. It’s been such a magical time and I’m so lucky to be home with Benjamin and be part of all the little (and big) changes. Now that returning to work is a fast approaching reality, I am getting really sentimental about every moment with my son.

I know it is an overused phrase but we are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family. Our 4th of July brunch was so much fun and we hope it grows into a tradition for many years to come. Thank you all for coming!

Liam’s first Father’s Day was a success. 

He received a tasty surprise and a card with lots of love inside.  

Later we went to a concert with friends.

Ben still loves bath time and is just as cute as a little button. 

I know, I know... I have way too many bath time pictures.

I am still bathing him in the sink...  so I will spare you repeat images. 

Seriously though, this kid is cute.

SPOILER ALERT - I will be posting more bath pictures in month eight!

These are more to capture the "foot play" benchmark, anyway.

And .....


Ben's very first boo-boo.

I thought he had nicked his toe by kicking a sharp edge of that wipe container.

After it got MUCH worse than pictured, I realized it was not that kind of cut. 

He had actually worn away the skin of his pinkie toe by jumping like a maniac in his activity center outside!! 

Woops.  Socks outside... even in the heat. 

Ben loves to eat. He especially loved the sweet potatoes. After eating them for a few days, he threw a crazy fit when I tried to feed him anything else. It took a full week for him to accept some more greens. He likes zucchini, string beans, peaches, carrots and peas. Oatmeal is by far his favorite thing. Whenever I’m introducing something new, I just throw it into some oatmeal and he eats it.  In a few short weeks, he’ll get his first taste of meat. Can’t wait. Something tells me he’ll be eating his meat with oatmeal.

Ben started waking up in the middle of the night crying and having fussy spells during the day. From all of the books, I was sure he was teething but I couldn’t see or feel anything. When he got a little diaper rash I was convinced. Day after day, I rubbed his upper gums and found nothing… then it I dawned on me to check the bottom and there they were! Not one but TWO little teeth had already broken the surface. 

He’s been waking every night for a few weeks now but he is such a sweetheart, I really don’t mind. He snuggles in, takes a bottle and drifts right back off to dreamland. Unfortunately, he still wakes up at the crack of dawn so losing that hour and a half makes for a very tired mommy.  You can tell he is adjusting to the sensation of teeth – he is constantly biting his bottom lip.

There are not too many changes in Ben’s vocalization. Some days he is quiet and other days he is a little song bird. He does say a number of “almost words” now like mama, dada and gaga but definitely no association. He is just making noise. He absolutely will look at your mouth and try to say what you are saying. It’s amazing. He is developing so nicely. I have no fears of deafness or blindness. We eat outside a lot and his head is on non-stop swivel motion. He searches for cicadas, birds, lawn mowers and especially cars. He would watch traffic all day.

We have been working on sitting up.  

I really can't let him go without the boppy there and he seemed to be kind of dependent on it so we are trying another tactic... 

I'm sitting him up in his crib (with a little support from his buddies) or just padding the area with pillows so it's cool when he topples.  

He is getting stronger every day...

.... and cuter.

Ben prefers the jumper anyway. 

This thing is a riot. Ben absolutely LOVES it. 

He’s kicking up a storm, stopping and spinning like a pro. 

We all had a great time at Grammy's birthday party! Ben was living it up with a pile of toys on the floor. Finally mother nature decided to give us a beautiful day to party on the deck in style.  Obviously, the best part of a birthday party is the cake =)

I have said it before, and I will say it again: This boy loves the laundry.

Is your baby teething and crying?? 

Throw him in the laundry basket lol