big boy

This weekend we installed Benjamin's "big boy" carseat - something we probably could have done a few months ago.  However, the convenience of the infant seat won out, especially while it was still cold out and he could stay bundled and cozy in the carrier.  But with the weather warming up, there was really no excuse left for letting him be a baby any longer! 

He seems to like his new setup - he can see out the window better, and I think he can also see Daniel better.  Benjamin is rear-facing and Daniel faces forward, so they can actually look at each other pretty well.  They crack each other up in the car on a regular basis, and it always makes me smile when I hear them laughing back there.  I have no idea what's so funny, but I have a feeling that it's only the first of many jokes that the two of them will share that I'm not privy to!

This takes me back to when we installed Daniel's new carseat two years ago - hard to believe it's been that long!

pumpkin carving

This was Daniel's first year to help with pumpkin carving, and boy did he have a good time!  After only slight hesitation, he dug his hands in to help clean out the pumpkins that we had picked out.

Pumpkin goop is fun! 

Unfortunately, Benjamin was not really able to participate in the carving, but he observed from the sidelines. I think he approves!  (Actually, he just thinks anything Daniel does is hilarious.)  I just love this smile!

Messy hands...

Helping Daddy poke the eyes out.

Have I mentioned that Benjamin is teething?  In fact, his first tooth (bottom left) popped through earlier this week!  I'm trying to get a picture of it, but that's easier said than done. It's just barely through the gums, so it's still pretty hard to see.  I'm pretty sure tooth #2 is on the way though, if his constant chewing on anything that comes close to his mouth is any indication. He liked this position for observing the pumpkin carving from his highchair.

Daniel wanted to pose with his handiwork.

The final products, ready and waiting for trick-or-treaters to come tomorrow!

first food

Benjamin recently took his first foray into the world of "solid" foods. First up on the menu: oatmeal! (What? Oatmeal instead of rice cereal? I know, we're rebels.)

Doesn't he look tiny in the big highchair?

"I'm not sure what's going on here. Should I open my mouth?"

"What is this slop you're feeding me?"

"Okay, well, maybe it's pretty good after all. Give me more!"

"You're too slow! I'll just have to feed myself!"

rock 'n' roll

We have a roller!

Tonight I was getting Benjamin ready for bed, and left him on his tummy in the crib for a minute while I went to wash my hands. When I returned, he was on his back! We've been expecting him to roll over any day now, and when he finally decided to do it, no one was there to see it!

I flipped him over again and he proudly gave us a repeat performance, earning a round of applause from Mom, Dad, and big brother.

Also, it seems that we officially have a thumb-sucker. He still likes the pacifier too, but has found that his thumb works pretty well when he can manage it.

introducing...

Benjamin Joseph
May 9, 2009
1:06 AM
9 lbs.
22 in.

The last pregnant picture of Mom!
First photos with Mom & Dad


Wondering what the heck is going on
Meeting Papa for the first time
Sweet sleeping boy
Getting some love from big brother Daniel

Ready to go home!

daniel's new room

With a new little one on the way, we decided to move Daniel up to a "big boy" room, complete with big boy bed, and let his little brother take over the nursery. Of course, we couldn't make this easy so it also involved moving our office (I won't show the before-and-afters of that adventure). Fortunately we were able to enlist the assistance of Papa Joe and Grandma Rita, otherwise we never would have finished (thanks guys!!).

After all the moving of furniture, the next step was painting! We decided to have a little fun and let Daniel get in on the act. He has kind of an abstract, modern art approach.

He's a very hard worker, though!


Daniel also delighted in helping assemble his new furniture.



Here's the final product. We still need some decorations, but overall we think it turned out great!


Daniel has adjusted pretty well to his new bed and the new-found freedom of being able to get in and out of bed himself. We've had a few battles of wills (i.e. putting him back to bed 15 times before he finally fell asleep), and most nights he still gets up once or twice before he nods off. But he seems to like all the space, and has an ever-growing collection of "friends" that he brings to bed with him (currently his dog, snake, and frog are the regulars). He's definitely turning into a big boy!

18 months

Happy birthday-and-a-half, Daniel!

Is it really possible my little guy is 18 months old already? He really is turning into such a fun little person. More and more personality emerges every day, and it's so fun watching the changes take place.

He went to the doctor for his 18-month checkup the other day (no shots - hooray!) and he is 26 lbs. 13 oz. (60th percentile) and 33 3/8 inches tall (75th percentile). He also has a big old 90th-percentile head (he got that from Daddy).

Daniel is such a busy boy - it's go, go, go all day long, but when it's time for a nap, he crashes. Fortunately he's a really good sleeper and still takes 2 naps most days, otherwise I'm not sure how I'd keep up with him! He loves to run around the house, and loves it even better if someone is chasing him (or if he's chasing one of the cats.)

He still eats like a horse, we're definitely going to go broke feeding this kid by the time he's a teenager. He's gotten really good at feeding himself with both a spoon and a fork, and he's getting pretty good at drinking from a regular cup, too, although we still use sippy cups most of the time (less cleanup).

Somehow he's acquired a neat and orderly streak, we're not sure quite where that came from. He insists on going to hang up his coat as soon as we come in the door, and he frequently picks up microscopic crumbs from the floor and hands them to me to dispose of.

His favorite word lately is "uh-oh", which he finds any excuse he can to use, even if he has to throw something on the floor just so he can say "uh-oh!" He doesn't quite get yet that it's usually used for accidents, not when you do something on purpose! He certainly understands just about everything we say, and his speaking vocabulary is growing every day. We suspect he's saying more words than we're able to understand.

Daniel definitely does have a stubborn streak as well (I'm pretty sure I know where that came from). We're doing our best to ignore the occasional tantrum, and so far that tactic seems to work most of the time. I'm sure we have many battles of wills in our future, though.

This is such a fun age, I need to remind myself more often to enjoy Daniel just as he is right now - he changes so fast. I have a tendency to want him to do the "next" thing, but really I need to just savor these days, because soon enough he will be onto something else.

I love you, little man!

first ice cream!

For an ice cream lover like myself, Daniel's first ice cream is a milestone worth commemorating! Unfortunately he's allergic to milk and can't have the real stuff, so he got the soy version instead. (It's actually not too bad, I sampled it to be sure!)

Mmmm... tasty!

Spoons are just not worth the trouble!

There's just nothing like a handful of ice cream.

What do you mean it's all gone?!?

he's walking!

Daniel has started walking! A few steps at a time, and he tends to face-plant if no one catches him, but at least he thinks the falls are funny. Oh, and apparently I annoyingly shriek, "Good job! Good job!" every time he walks. I'm going to have to work on that...

thisclose to walking

Daniel is finally starting to get brave enough (with a LOT of encouragement) to let go of the safety of the furniture and venture out towards Daddy and Mommy. He usually only makes it a step (maybe two) without falling into our arms, but he's trying! We're attempting to get some video, but so far that just distracts him and he tries to crawl after the camera. He also thinks it's a pretty fun game to just let go and fall straight into our waiting arms. Wouldn't it be nice to have so much trust in the world that you knew someone would always catch you?

Anyway, lots of fun and laughter here! I have to admit, though, the first time he let go to head towards me, I teared up a little as I cheered and hugged him - it's yet another reminder of how big our baby is getting! Stay tuned, hopefully we'll have some video of Daniel's new adventures soon.

11 months old...

... and won't sit still!

I've been trying to take photos of Daniel sitting in the same spot on the sofa every month, so I can see how much he's grown. That was really easy in the beginning when he was little and non-mobile. Now, it's nearly impossible because he tries to dive off the sofa as soon as I sit him down. This is probably the best one I managed to get!

Here are a couple of the outtakes.

"Here I come!"

"Well, if you won't let me dive off the front of the sofa, I'll just have to go over the back!"

And finally, this is what he really wanted to do! (Don't worry, Daddy was holding his feet so he didn't fall on his head.)
He just continues to grow and become more of a little person every day! He still loves the cats (too bad they don't feel the same about him), he eats everything in sight (seriously, at some meals I think he eats more than I do), and he knows how to wave, clap, and give a high-five. He's ready to take off walking any day now, and he sure has a lot to say (although we're not smart enough to figure out what he's talking about yet). We're looking forward to more adventures as his first year draws to a close!

going for a swim

These photos are actually from a couple of weeks ago, and I never got around to blogging them. So here's Daniel's first trip to the pool! As you can see he's got a great little float, complete with sunshade to protect his poor pale delicate skin. In addition, he was lathered up in SPF 30, of course. And it was 5 pm. Not taking any chances.

He adores that red ball. Endless entertainment for $1.99, what could be better?

All in all, a very successful first trip to the pool! Hopefully there will be many many more to come.

double digits!

"I'm 10 months old! Woo hoo!"

Yesterday Daniel turned 10 months old. It's hard to believe - only 2 more months until he's a year old - can it be that close already?

We celebrated his birthday by going out for Mexican food. Daniel had fajitas. You think I'm kidding - no, really. Well, actually they were my fajitas, but yes, he did enjoy his fair share. Our boy who used to not want to put anything with any texture in his mouth will now eat anything and everything we put in front of him. So for dinner last night he had tortillas, steak, and black beans (we topped him off with a jar of baby food too, just because he's not quite efficient enough yet to get full feeding himself).

At 10 months, Daniel is a very accomplished crawler and cruiser - he can make it just about anywhere if he has furniture to hold onto. Favorite pasttimes include emptying laundry baskets and drawers, knocking down towers of blocks, and chasing the cats. Cheerios are his new favorite food, he gets excited every time he sees that yellow box. He has also learned to clap and he's learning to wave, too!

We're so proud of our amazing little boy.

first (real) haircut!

Daniel went for his first real haircut today. After attempting a trim at home a couple of months ago (a nerve-wracking experience for Mom involving scissors and a wiggly baby), we decided this was one area best left to the professionals.

Here's a "Before" shot showing the need for a haircut.We had a very nice gentleman who had a lot of patience and was very quick with the scissors. Daniel sat on Dad's lap, while Mom played photographer and tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to distract Daniel.
The hair dryer at the next station proved to be the best distraction, along with the special cape covered with animals that he got to wear (Dad was jealous, he had a plain black one).

Overall, Daniel did great. He was a little rowdy and wanted to bounce on Dad's lap, but he managed to stay calm enough to get the job done. By the time we got home, he wasn't really in the mood to cooperate for an "After" shot, but here's our best attempt. He looks like quite the grown-up little boy now.

It's funny, Daniel's hair seems to be constantly changing color. When he was born, it was practically black, but it's gotten gradually lighter and the newest layers are almost blonde. People pay lots of money for the awesome highlights he has!