Rockin' Rudolph

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

William and Ben have developed a routine where William sings a rock beat and Ben dances. This is how we started Christmas morning - with a rockin' Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer.




A few minutes later he got his first present from Santa - a green wooden worm.

And later in the day, we learned that Ben knows how to open presents... since he's meticulous about studying the details of most objects, we're not surprised!

And the man behind the best pictures we have...Grandpa Bruce caught waiting for a picture.

Crawling OR He Has a Mind of His Own

Ben has begun demonstrating his independence! He started crawling last week, a few days shy of his 8-month birthday. Although he's been up in the crawl position for 2 months, he never quite got the hang of forward motion. Early last week, he started crawling, but with his belly still on the ground. He looks like he's swimming. He moves his arms and legs in the right sequence, just not in the typical crawl position. And, he moves fast and has an interest in going places independently... the bathroom to play with his bathtub, to follow me to let the dog out, his favorite un-babyproofed location (the phone jack in his room), to play with our feet when we're standing near by.

Here's a shaky video for your viewing pleasure:



And another video where I'm hoping he'll demonstrate his newfound crawling, but does a lot of spinning on his stomach.

Happy Halloween!

And this is what Ben's up to lately...

Ben is now over 7 months and weighs 16 lbs 10 ounces, 27. 5 inches long. He had his 6 month check up (a little late) last week. He continues to be on the small side among babies, but growing at a steady rate. He now has 6 teeth, 2 on the bottom and 4 on the top. All 4 came in at the same time in the last few weeks. He's a very smiley and social baby. At church this morning, as usual, he spent the whole time either bouncing on my lap or looking around and smiling to see who would smile back.

Since I've last updated, he was baptised and his godmothers were William's sister Jenny and Jen's Aunt Chris. In addition to a nice visit from William's sister (Syracuse, NY), we also had an equally nice visit from William's brother George and his wife Debby this summer.

He's been enjoying solid food and sitting in his high chair. Here's his first solid food feeding with bananas on his face in August.

And last week, eating an appetizing combination of squash and chicken. Look at the lower left to see the spoon slowly working its way toward his mouth and notice the anticipation in his arms and concentration in his face. His arms will start waving any minute (if we had captured this feeding on video).

Rolling is Ben's favorite method of getting around. On the floor of his room, if you leave for a minute he'll find his way under the crib where he likes to examine the bottom of his mattress like a car mechanic. He recently found a basket of bath toys I left under there and now rubber ducks are his favorite chew toy. His other odd fascination are the silky tags on stuffed animal and other toys. He can study one carefully for 15 minutes without a break.

Crawling can't be far off. He's been getting up on all 4s for more than a month now. That's often how we find him first thing in the morning in his crib, rocking back and forth and smiling.

Who can resist a few more adorable pictures of our boy?

And one final picture - Ben's thinking "Who is this?" Why it's my cousin Attica!

Some More Favorite Pics

I've found it difficult to update regularly, so here are some of our favorite photos of the past few weeks. Ben is getting more active, as you would expect. He's pushing up on his legs alot when we hold him and standing up always causes lots of smiling. He's more interested in a variety of toys and grasping objects for long periods of time, rolling over to his side (not to his tummy yet), exploring the world by putting everything in his mouth, smiling constantly. His face and limbs are filling out. He's sleeping better. One night he went 11+ hours and I woke up 3 times to check to see if he was breathing. He also discovered his thumb a few weeks ago, leading us to much debate about thumb versus pacifier.

We had a Father's Day, Part 2 with my dad at White Fence Farm (a family favorite for fried chicken). We snapped this picture of William and Ben while we were waiting for our table.

A few weeks ago, we were lucky to spend a day with my cousins, aunt and uncle, and their families. Here's Hannah (age 9) holding Ben. She's the oldest great-granchild and Ben's the youngest. It's fun to see how good she is with the baby and how much she has grown up!

Having Ben has made both William and me realize how important family is and we've really had some wonderful times over the last few months. So far, it's been mostly with my family but we're looking forward to visits with William's sister and brother and sister-in-law in the next month when they come in from Syracuse.

And the kid photo shoot: Hannah holding Ben, Trevor (age 5), Jessica (age 1) and Mollie (age 8). As can be expected, there were many outtakes - backs of heads, closed eyes looking in different directions, squirming. Even though Ben is about to cry, this is the best one I took.

This is quintessential Ben at age 3 months. He's always dancing when he lays on his back, moving his arms and legs in all different directions and smiling at the same time.

For 4th of July, Ben had a few firsts. We took him to his first 4th of July parade in Riverside Friday morning. We forgot the camera, so no pics. He got lots of candy thrown at him which we gave to neighboring kids who could actually eat it. Every holiday, I think about what we were doing last year and what next year might be like. Last year at this time, we were just about to find out we were expecting and next year, Ben will be walking!

We also enjoyed a barbeque with my dad's family in the afternoon that included Ben's first time in a swimming pool. I wouldn't say he enjoyed it, but he did kick his legs a bit when he was in an inner tube.

And finally, during the barbeque, William took Ben and the camera, and the next thing I know there's a series of pictures with everyone in the family holding Ben. This photo is one of them and really captures how relaxed we were. Gianni is another cousin, almost exactly 5 years older than our little guy. We've been lucky to be able to borrow many of Gianni's baby clothes.

That's all for how now, hope to update sooner next time!

Father's Day: A Visit to the old neighborhood

Father's Day started out with crazy weather and ended with gorgeous blue skies (as you can see from the pictures). We began the day debating whether or not Ben and I should go to church during a storm that blew down many trees in our area including one that fell on a neighbor's garage. We decided to stay home and William went off to work on his first Father's Day.

The day ended with a beautiful drive north on Lake Shore Drive and a visit to our old neighborhood and favorite burger joint - Jury's. It was Ben's first visit into Chicago and bringing him to Jury's felt pretty significant to both of us. Jury's has been a big part of our lives. We found it shortly after we moved to Lincoln Square. At Jury's, we have shared many burger meals, had many big conversations, and been there during all the milestones in our lives - before marriage, after marriage, living in Lincoln Square, living in Berwyn, pregnant, and now with Ben. Pete and Dan, the owners, know us by name. Oddly, we had the worst service we've ever had, but we'll go back. We haven't found a better burger anywhere. We're sure you'll rush right down to Lincoln Ave. to have one now that you've seen a picture!

Cousins

Sorry for the long delay in posting! Life has been very hectic since going back to my kindergarten job. That a few other obligations have kept us very busy. But not too busy to enjoy Ben!

A few weeks ago at his ped. appointment, Ben weighed in at 9 lbs. 9 oz. and 23 inches long. We were shocked that he had skipped right past 8 lbs. without us even knowing it! He also got his first shots. He was terribly shocked but recovered quickly. My reaction to his crying was to cry myself. I don't know what came over me!

This post is titled cousins because Ben's cousin, Attica, is with him in the first two pics. We went to Sullivan, IN (south of Terre Haute) last weekend to visit my brother, Rob, and sister-in-law, Veronica and Attica. It was a wonderful visit and Attica is very clearly excited about her new baby cousin. I also had the interesting experience of trying to explain breast feeding to a 4-year-old. "Does juice come out of one and water out of the other?"

Looking at this pictures reminds me very much of me and Rob. I was just a little older than Attica is now when Rob was born and many of our pictures from his first year look similar. It makes me wonder how mom and dad handled a 5-year-old and a newborn.

Everyone tells us that a baby's personality is evident from birth. Based on Ben's personality recently, we're hoping he's a very happy and contented person. He smiles constantly and is just beginning to learn to laugh - what a delight!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who are reading this, especially my friends who share this first Mother's Day with me and friends who are going through difficult times with their own families.

I had a delightful weekend. Saturday, got to walk to the first Berwyn Farmer's market of the year with William, Ben and Rudy (the dog). This has been a tradition for William and me for years, going back to when we lived in Chicago. Went to visit mom and Bruce with Ben in the early afternoon for lunch and a quick photo session. This was the first drive Ben and I took by ourselves that was a good distance (45 minutes). As a church musician, William had to work Saturday afternoon. The day ended with a going-away party for my cousin Kevin who has enlisted in the marines. It was fun to introduce Ben to family members who hadn't met him yet. Also fun to see both parents in one day (a rare treat).

Mother's Day itself included church this morning, lots of relaxing on the couch, and the three of us are about to go out to dinner. We're very lucky that Ben is good in the car and so far has slept through every restaurant outing.

I've begun to realize in the last few days that I'm getting in a groove taking care of Ben. I have little to compare it to but he is a very easy-going baby. Going back to my kindergarten job last week made me tired, but got us on a schedule. I now have a regular time to take a shower and get myself going and Ben's feeding schedule feels more structured as he gets fed every morning at 6:30 since I have to leave right after that. It also provides additional daddy/Ben bonding time. They spend the morning together while I'm at work. Most of the time when he's crying, I'm able to figure out what's going on. It used to seem impossible before. I'm sure things will change, but I'm enjoying it for now!

Visitors!

Although the subject is visitors, I can't resist starting this post with a picture of Ben's newfound smile! His favorite subjects to smile at are William and me and then his Rainforest Safari mobile. Many smiles happen at a time, but I'm always too mesmerized to get the camera. William is smarter than me though and snapped this one today after church. Stretching is his other big move, so we're lucky to have gotten both at once!



We have been very blessed with visitors over the last 6 weeks. After the fact that we have this little bundle of joy, the best thing about being stuck in the house for me has been the visitors and all the kindness we've been shown. Thank you to all who have sent cards, made meals and stopped by for a short visit. William and I continue to be amazed by the generosity and love in our lives. For those of you who we haven't gotten to visit with, we're getting out more and hoping to pay visits of our own soon. I'm well on the road back to normal, starting to make dinner again and actually going back to my kindergarten job tomorrow morning (3.5 hours in the morning). William will be taking care of Ben in the morning while I work and then we'll switch.



Among the visitors we've had were my friend Kim and her little guy, Ian. Ian is 5.5 months old and was born almost 4 lbs. bigger than Ben. The size difference is amusing and even more amusing is there interest in each other. Of course being older, Ian is more social and curious than Ben is. As soon as we laid them down together, Ian reached out to touch Ben's head and then Ben responded by sticking his arm out. Very sweet! "Hey, there's someone around that's my size."




Grandparents have been our main visitors and they've all been more helpful than I can say. (meals, cleaning, photos, fixing our sink and electrical work among other things) Cousins and church friends have brought meals and friendly visits that have been lifesavers.


Here's Grandma Nelson with Ben a week ago.






And Nana Lietzau 2 weeks ago.

And Grandpa Lietzau...Ben's hair tends towards reddish and my dad is who it comes from. (also Ben's middle name) I think they like each other.

I'll end with one more of Ben by himself. He is one long and skinny baby! He doesn't fill out newborn clothes in width, but he sure does in length.

Our Favorite Pictures From the Last Week

Our favorite pictures from the last few weeks are below. Next time we'll include photos of all the wonderful visitors we've had (and we look forward to more). Ben turned 1 month this week and is starting to get more interested in the world, able to focus on the mobiles we have, smiling from time to time (mostly for no clear reason - he often smiles at the wall or ceiling), looking at our faces, looking at his face in a mirror. He had his first breast-milk bottle and his first formula this week, though we are still breast feeding. He's been on several walks in his stroller and loves the motion of both that and the car as demonstrated by an instant nap.

At the pediatrician, we learned that he's up to 7 lbs. 11 oz. He's in the 20th percentile for weight, but he's in the 50th percentile for his height. I noticed last night that some of his onesies are starting to get too short on him. He also celebrated his 1-month check up by wetting himself and the table below him during his exam despite the diaper he was wearing!

I had to have a D&C this week because I'm not healing as quickly as they want me to be. The procedure seemed to have helped, so no worries. As I was feeling sorry for myself about the procedure, we learned that our friends Ellen & Dave Herman are facing a relapse of Leukemia for their 5 year old daughter, Rachel. Puts it all in perspective, most of our little troubles are nothing compared to fighting cancer with your little one for the second time. By all accounts, Rachel seems to have the biggest spirit and is the biggest fighter of them all. As Dave, Ellen, Rachel, their youngest daughter Sarah and the little one on the way work through this time, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers! They deserve good thoughts, they're some of the kindest people you'll ever meet.

It looks like Ben's playing peek-a-boo, but that's a skill he has yet to master. He's just wriggling his way out of the blanket.




Although a bit blurry, we still love this picture. The pacifier and his shoes seem so big! (thanks for the shoes Aunt Veronica and Uncle Rob -they're a big hit everywhere we go!)




It looks to me like Ben and William are having a very serious conversation and Ben had to get some phone books to sit on to look his dad more clearly in the eye...

Just let me catch a few winks and then I'll eat some more!

A Week of Firsts

Probably many weeks to come will include firsts, but these are some of the firsts we experienced this week...

First bath at home (Grandma assisted): it's hard to tell that Ben's getting a bath, but he is laying in his bathtub.

First time in his swing

We're going to try for some more activities in the next few days - going for a walk with the dog and making it to church and/or choir practice. Mom needs to get out of the house!

We've also discovered that Beanie Babies are the perfect size for a newborn to grasp. After this picture was taken he was holding on tight to the dog's tail.

Finally, it's easy to forget how little Ben is until you put him next to a full-grown adult. We took these pictures on Ben's 2-week birthday, yesterday.