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!