18 Weeks

We've definitely made some progress in the past month. Ben is more energetic and dexterous. He gets bigger and stronger every day. 

Some things stay the same though... 

Ben likes to chill with daddy – he’s helping with the Fantasy Baseball Draft (just four months here).

He’s all geared up for opening day!! 

Hot dogs, beer & baby boppy… what else could you possibly need?!

His legs have grown so much in the past few weeks!!

Ben had a good Easter.


We had brunch at Grandma & Grampa's, then lunch right after at Jommy & Pop-pop's.


Ben got a little face time with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Cait and Aunt Margi.  

He was all tuckered out by the time we got to Jommy & Pop-pop's. 

It was a very long day for our little guy. 

Next year will be more fun for everyone. 

  


Just a few random pictures...

Ben has outgrown all of his 3month clothing. He fits perfectly into 3/6 month right now but with the change of seasons, we're riding it out. He has soooo many 6 month outfits to grow into. No one is going to swipe his tittle of "Best Dressed Boy in Audubon"!!

Ben still loves Adele. We've been listening to the Beatles and The Sound of Music (the nuns are his favorite). 


He stares in awe when you sing along... no matter how terrible you sound lol 
I wonder how long that will last?? 

Ben is more vocal than ever. 
For lack of a better description, he likes to sing. 
He produces a lovely array of sounds from a low growl to a hawk like screech. 
Here he is serenading Goldie...

Ben still fights the bottle. He prefers a little snack to a big meal but we're getting there.


He is eating cereal now and it breaks up the meal times. 


Sometimes we dine in the living room, sometimes the dining room and sometimes we dine al fresco. He chills out in his Bumbo seat but it's short-lived.  He is eating two meals of cereal per day so those little thighs are getting bigger by the minute!!! When I peel him out of that chair, the seat clings to his legs like a vice LOL 

I'm getting better at capturing that gorgeous grin now... 


problem is, I like interacting with him more than taking pictures! I was thinking that he gets less camera time now.... but it seems like I have a lot of pictures on here.


We've graduated to a MUCH better schedule. 
He basically takes two long naps and one cat-nap.  He is up more and such a little cutie-pie. Sometimes keeping him up is a challange... 

so we've been taking to the streets for a more stimulating atmosphere than our quiet little home. 


He loves his stroller and well, anything outside. 


He's sleeping through the night more often than not but we're not all the way there.

Ben has full use of his hands now - grasp, grab, pull and swat... everything winds up in his mouth. 


His gums have been active for a few weeks now. 


Lots of drool and a little fuss now and then. 


I think we'll have an upper left incisor popping through by mothers day =)

Oh yea, have I mentioned that I'm an idiot?? 
All that time we were bathing this kid in a roasting pan!! 


His is far too big for it now and I was sizing up his large plastic bath that goes into the real bathtub when I unearthed this fabulous soft bath cozy. 

This thing is so wonderful!! 


It allows the sink to fill up and partially submerge him.  LOL ugh. 


Well we'll certainly store this heavenly device for the next addition.



He has great control of his head and his legs are crazy strong.  He wants to sit or stand all of the time.  What he doesn't want? - tummy time.  He still wails away if you roll him onto his tummy.  No pushing off the floor what-so-ever!  Ben simply wants no part of that business. We've been working on his "sit up" muscles.  He is almost there.

He likes big colorful books... this one is for mommy though.
It's really amazing how fast time is moving now. 
He gets bigger and stronger every day. 
Our next Dr.s visit is May 1st. 
He receives more vaccinations which is always a little stressful. 
He is getting so plump, I'm trying to focus on how fun it will be to weigh and measure him. 

Weeks 13 & 14

Ben has been a little dream. He has officially outgrown his evening grump… or maybe we’ve just conformed to his demands during the day lol. 

He still wakes up around 3am for a feeding but that time has been shifting and growing shorter so I think he’ll be sleeping all the way through soon enough. 

The later we can keep him up at night, the more likely he is to sleep through... though he pretty much taps out at 10:30pm. This is called a sleep burp.

He is still a little snuggle bunny 

but he loves to sit on his own.

I can already tell he will be one of those "technology babies". Ben will look at the laptop with Daddy ...

.... and he is pretty much magnetized to the television. If it is on, you have to completely turn his body in the opposite direction to pull his gaze from the screen. Moving his favorite toy back and forth certainly helps lol. 

Ben still hangs out in his lay-n-play every day. 

He is very attached to mommy so I make an effort to separate and give him a little independent play where he can't see or hear me. 

He still hates tummy time. 6 minutes is our standing record.

Ben received a fabulous new Easter present from Jommy & Pop-pop. 

He is still a little wobbly for this contraption but he really likes to be in it. 

I think mostly because it helps him sit upright.

Ben had a full weekend: He spent Friday night with Grandma, Saturday with the Pechmanns and Sunday night with Bubbie & Zayde!!!

My only concern the past few weeks has been Benjamin’s skin. I swear if we didn’t continuously lather him up with oils and lotions, he’d turn into a potato chip and blow away.  

His face has been particularly troublesome because he is so quick to scratch at it. He looks like he’s been in some street fights this week. We’re systematically trying different remedies but the thing that has worked the best…. Socks on his hands LOL 

We have a whole month until our next well-baby check up but I've done a little in-home measuring. 

Ben is definitely 25 inches now and changing every day. He is such an expressive baby.  He makes all kinds of crazy sounds and facial expressions. He smiles and kind of huffs now. We think he'd laugh if we were funny enough.