A visit to Grandma's

We're here at Grandma's house for a few weeks and Benjamin has been great at adapting to the new surroundings. He did wonderful on the flight over. He never cried (except when the toilet flushed - which incredible stand-back-or-you'll-get-sucked-in noise even scares me.) Everyone in the airport and on the plane commented on how curious and alert he seemed. Once we arrived, he loved checking out the backyard with all its trees and flowers since our "backyard" is mostly parking lot. Also grandma's house has a lot more rooms and exciting things to look at, so all in all, it has been an adventure for my little curious baby.

Bathtime is always fun, well, as long as the water is already in the tub. Benjamin is very scared of the sound of rushing water for some reason.


Of course, no visit to Grandma's is complete without trying on some of mom's old baby clothes! Gotta love the 70s!


We've started doing tummy time like this sometimes because he seems to enjoy it so much more. We still do it on the floor, but he's such a perfectionist that when he doesn't lift up immediately, he starts to cry and tummy time is usually over in less than five minutes.

Little Johnny Jumper

Benjamin tried out a new toy yesterday - the Johnny Jumper. I'm not sure why they call it this, but what a great invention! I was at a friend's house and as she held Benjamin she commented on how well he holds up his head and that if he does this well, he's really ready for the Johnny Jumper which was apparently her childrens' favorite thing. So, I went home and tried it. I put a blanket in there with him so he wouldn't bonk his face in case he got tired and flopped forward, but he ended up sideways instead, so it was unnecessary. However, he seemed to really enjoy using his legs to move himself around. He actually managed to bounce some, but mostly he turned in circles. He sat there while I cooked dinner and things went really well. My little boy is growing up.




Every time I change Benjamin, he likes to lay on the changing table with his arms out and his hands in fists. Kelly says he's practicing for the days when he'll own a motorcycle. I really don't know why he does it, but he does it all the time, so I had to take a picture. The other is here just because I thought it was cute and in memoriam to the adorable outfit he's wearing because it is possibly no more unless I can remove the gigantic poop stain it acquired only hours after this picture was taken.

After all, God is a parent too

We invited some friends over for a game night tonight, so I had to make sure my apartment was presentable. However, it was another no nap day for Benjamin. So, that meant whatever I did, had to be done with him and he wasn't interested in cleaning. So, by 3pm, I still hadn't done any. Finally I gave up and took him to the post office where I needed to mail a certified letter. He fell asleep on the way home, but I assumed that he'd wake up again when I got him inside, as he always does. He has never slept more than 5 minutes in his car seat outside of the car. But, not wanting to waste a second, I put his seat on the floor and started moping, hoping to at least finish the kitchen before he started to cry. I finished the kitchen and he was still asleep, so I did the entry way...then the guest bathroom...then the master bath...and he was still asleep!! So I started scrubbing tubs, cleaning toilets and sinks, and dusting the furniture. Finally, as I finished off the very last thing, I heard him start to fuss. It was a miracle! I'd finished the whole place! The only thing I had left was vacuuming (hadn't wanted to make so much noise), so I put him in his bouncer seat and he watched me vacuum, completely contented. Honestly, I don't know what happened, but I can only assume it was divine intervention. Heavenly Father knows what it's like to be a parent and really need your child to take a nap. I've never seen Benjamin sleep so soundly in his seat and I've never seen him sit so long and watch me vacuum! Even when I vacuumed in other rooms, he sat quietly and waited. It was a miracle of immense proportions. Parting the red sea has nothing on this! So, my place looked great and I was all excited. Then the phone rang - our friends weren't going to be able to come. They wanted to postpone until Friday. Oh well, my place still looked fantastic. At least I could enjoy it. :) Now let's hope for another miracle on Friday.

Benjamin in his bouncer seat yesterday. He really enjoys the lights and sounds, and especially the mirror in the middle. He "talks" to and smiles at the baby he sees inside it.


I was in this picture too, but it's a "self portrait" so to speak, and it was far from flattering, so now it's only a picture of Benjamin. He looks very serious in this shot. I think it's cute.

A tall drink of water

That's what the doctor called Benjamin today. Apparently, that's supposed to mean that he's tall and skinny. He's 24.5 inches long and weighs 12lbs 1oz. So, at two months old, that puts him in the 95th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight. Looking at me, the doctor declared that he likely gets his genes from the other side of the family. Thanks doc, so are you saying I'm short or that I'm fat? ;) But he added that at 2 months, it's too early to really tell. In any case, Benjamin is a perfectly healthy little boy and thanks to the shots he got today, hopefully he'll stay that way. Of course, I would have loved to spare him that ordeal. I've never heard him wail with such intensity! Three times they poked his little thigh with needles. I read in a parenting magazine that you shouldn't try to distance yourself from the situation and look like the good guy by saying things like "That was mean, wasn't it?" or "What a nasty doctor to poke you like that!" Instead you should focus on why they're doing it and how you know it may hurt but you want to protect them. So, I tried to remember that and although I wanted to dissassociate myself from that awful feeling, I held his little hand, stroked his head, and told him how important all this was for him and how he'll be healthy and strong later on because of it. Who knows if that really made any difference to him and that's not to say that it didn't still break my heart to see him poked like that. But alas, it's over. Now I'm supposed to go get a flu shot to keep from possibly giving the flu to Benjamin. The problem is that I've never gotten the flu except the one time that I got a flu shot! ;)

Some more tummy time:

How many leaf blowers does it take...?

For some reason Benjamin refused to take his usual morning nap today and so by 1pm he was very tired. I managed to get him to go to sleep and hoped he would make up for the morning, but after only a short while I heard the dreaded lawn care truck arrive. Ugh, these people bug me. Yes, they provide a useful service, but does their equipment have to be soooooo loud? The minute they started working I heard whimpers coming from Benjamin's room. Pretty soon Benjamin was in full-out wailing mode and no amount of white noise makers would help. I got him up and looked outside to see not 1, not 2, not even 3, but 4 guys with leaf blowers walking as a group, blowing clipped grass right under my window. Then, over by my door, a bull-dozer moving dirt from one spot to another for some unknown reason. Finally, a little ways off - 2 riding lawn mowers circling around on the grass and a guy with an edger trimming around the curb. No one could have slept through that racket! Plus, it's now 6pm and they're still mowing and edging and blowing - 5 hours later!! And still, Benjamin has not gone to sleep. So, this is my battle today. Oh, how nice it would be to own a house where you can mow the lawn when it's not nap time and if your neighbor mows his lawn, it's with one lawn mower at a time. Not to mention, if I owned a house, I wouldn't have smoker man's noxious fumes wafting into my bedroom at all hours of the day and night. But alas, we're too chicken for such a huge step just yet, so I must deal with the consequences of apartment living. Though, I sure love having maintenance guys to call whenever anything breaks! :)

End of the story: It's now after 9pm, and for all those dying to know how the story ends - Benjamin finally fell asleep for 30 minutes after the lawn crew left and thus got enough rest that he was his normal, happy self until bedtime. We played his favorite game - the airplane - which elicited the usual excitement. This is where I (or Kelly) lay on my back and lift him above me, in a laying down position, so he's looking down at me. Whenever I do this, he smiles. I've actually been able to stop him in mid-wail with this move.

The airplane game:


Coming in for a landing:



Also, we played on the blanket a bit which resulted in his first laugh while awake! It was so amazing! He has the cutest laugh! He grinned real big and laughed several times as I moved his arms around and sung little songs. Finally, at the usual 9pm, I carried him into his room, swaddled him, sung to him, and laid him down. He smiled at me as I said goodnight and walked out. I haven't heard a peep since, so I'm assuming he's asleep. Why does he do so well at night but have so many troubled afternoons (with or without work crews outside)? I don't know, but I'm grateful it's not the other way around. So there you go, all's well that ends well.

Let's Go Shopping!

I felt out of sorts Friday and Saturday. Kelly was gone all day both days, not to mention the whole week, of course, and I felt lonely and a little depressed. I don't know why exactly, but subesquently I did what every American girl does to make herself feel better - I went to the mall! In all reality, I'm not a big fan of the mall, but I really wanted to get out and walk around and be around other people besides just Benjamin. So, I dressed him up in a spiffy little outfit, complete with shoes (not easy to put shoes on an infant!) and off we went.


I have to say, I didn't look nearly as good as he did, but no one looks at the person pushing the stroller anyway. Benjamin seemed to really like the mall. He was alert and attentive for a long time. He looked at all the people and the multitude of colors. I noticed he seemed to get a little nervous as I passed through a large group of people waiting for an autograph from a Detroit Tigers player, but he calmed down again right after. He never cried the whole time we were there. It was really fun to window shop. I didn't buy anything for two reasons: 1. I'm a penny-pinching miser who feels mall prices are ridiculous and 2. dealing with a stroller in the dressing room was way too much work. I guess it's just like you never notice how wheelchair unfriendly a place is when you can walk. I noticed how tight many areas in stores are once I had a stroller to push around. However, even though I came home empty handed, and possibly even because I came home empty handed (no buyer's remorse), I felt really good after only a short time in the mall. I also ran into some friends who work at various stores in the mall, who hadn't seen Benjamin yet and it was fun to show him off. By the time we went out to the car, he was worn out and was sound asleep before we even got out of the parking lot.



The many adventures of Benjamin:

Putting up with Mommy's love of hats and cuddly outfits:


Exploring my "big boy" toys:


Talking to the fish that hangs above my play mat:


Dressing up for church:


Taking pictures with Daddy:




Also, update on the sleep situation: although his 12 hour night was a one-time delight, he has been a great sleeper ever since. He sleeps from 9 until 5 or 5:30 every night, eats, and sleeps again until 8. He's a terrific little boy. And the best part is, I no longer wake up every hour fearing the worst. I now sleep peacefully until 5:30 right along with him.