ONE...

Dear Benjamin,

You are ONE today!  How did that happen?  The year has gone by in a flash.  It seems like just yesterday that we were cuddling our precious newborn.  And now you are an adorable, fun, active little guy.  I have treasured every day with you this past year...soaking up your sweetness and enjoying every stage. 

In the past few weeks you have started babbling all of the time, and you are taking 4-5 steps at a time.  You'll be walking in no time!

I've said it before, but a year ago I could not have dreamed the amazing ways that you would touch my heart, complete our family, and bring joy to those around you.  You can't even imagine how much I love and treasure you. 


love,
mommy



Benjamin's birthday video (once you push play be sure to change it from 360p up to 720p)

10 & 11 months...

Dear Benjamin,
With your first birthday just around the corner I find myself in complete disbelief at how fast the time is going.  I am savoring these moments and days when I can still refer to your age in months!

The last 2 months have been a blast.  You are learning and doing all sorts of new things.  You are not walking yet, but you are an expert cruiser!  You can crawl with speed, and you can stand without help for quite a while.  I suspect that walking is just around the corner!

You have a few words and use them ALL  of the time.  I think you are going to be a talker because, just like your siblings, you seem to always have something to say!  You say "mama" and "dada," and "no-no," and you point to things and say "there."  You have such a sweet voice.  When you crawl over towards the floor lamp (which you try to pull over) you shake your head and say, "no no no no no no."  And, then you proceed to try and pull it over one more time!  You've got the word, now we need to work on the concept.

You continue to be a great sleeper, and a flexible guy that can adjust to our busy family schedule that sometimes messes with your naps.  One of my favorite things is greeting you in the morning.  You reach your chubby little arms over the crib and just beg to be picked up.   You are also a big snuggler.  You lay your head on my shoulder often and it melts my heart.  I hope you hold on to that for a while.

You have finally decided that you'll eat some real food, but are pretty discriminating in what you'll eat.  You are a big fan of graham crackers, and a bigger fan of throwing food off of your tray!  You have 5 teeth...4 BIG ones on the top, and one little one on the bottom.  I adore your big toothy grin.

You are a blessing to our family and I am so excited to celebrate your first Christmas!  A year ago I could not have dreamed the amazing ways that you would touch my heart, complete our family, and bring joy to those around you.  I tell you this all of the time, but you can't even imagine how much I love and treasure you. 

love,
mommy

Nine months old...

Dear Benjamin,

You are NINE months old!  This month you continued to be on the move.  You are a busy boy!  We are baby-proofing the house, but everyday you seem to show me one more thing that needs to be secured.  You might be busy, but you are happy and content, which makes you very fun to be with!

After a whole lot of drooling, you finally got your first teeth.  But, in true Benjamin-style, you didn't get the typical little adorable bottom teeth.  Nope, you cut your 2 big 'ole front teeth.  They are adorably huge and I LOVE when you flash your sweet smile at me! 

You continue to like baby food, and I'm starting to fear that you'll never eat anything else.  You'll eat  little rice puffs, but really aren't interested in other "big people" food.  I gave you a teeny tiny piece of pasta the other day and you gagged and hacked and acted like I was trying to hurt you.  So, we continue on with a steady diet of pureed fruits and veggies. Yum.

You had your 9-month check up, and as we expected, you are perfectly healthy.  You are 28 3/8 inches tall, and you weigh 19lbs 5oz. You're in the 70th percentile for height, and 35th percentile for weight.    Which raises the question, how fat are the 90th percentile babies...cause you're no small thing?  (no offense to the big fat babies...I've had a few big babies myself.)

When you aren't on the move, you are also a big time snuggle bug!  You get shy when new people talk to you, and I love the way you lay your head on my shoulder and snuggle in.  You've also recently started saying mama and dada.  Not necessarily talking to us, but you'll get there soon.

One of your favorite things is bath time.  You are a bath fanatic!  Whenever you see the bathtub, you crawl as fast as you can to it, and try to climb in.  Once we put you in, you spend the entire time slapping the water, splashing it all over, and laughing about it. 

It continues to be our joy to watch you grow.  We love you sweet boy and are blessed by you everyday!

love,
mommy


Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this past month...

Didn't you get the memo? NO CLIMBING!

This picture just cracks me up!

Waiting for daddy.

Seven & Eight Months Old...

 

Dear Benjamin,

You are SEVEN... no make that EIGHT months old now! 

These have been a VERY busy months for you.  Just before you turned 6 months old you crawled.  You quickly decided that crawling wasn't quite good enough, and just before you turned 7 months old you started pulling yourself up.  You really are an over-achiever!  Since then, you've just been perfecting ways to injure yourself...like trying to crawl up the stairs, or stand without holding on...these are all inadvisable activities...can't you just act your age???  I adore when you crawl.  You have the cutest little behind, that just wiggles along. 

I've officially given up.  At 8 months old, I'm accepting that you are NEVER going to take a bottle of milk. EVER.  You'll drink water from a bottle all day long, but milk...no way.   And, I'm fine with it. You're still a great nurser, and I'll just treasure the sweet time I get with you!  After a bit of a slow start, you seem to really love baby food.  Nothing too flavorful, but you especially like when we mix things like green beans and applesauce...mmmm delicious!  Or even better, pears and spinach! No teeth yet, but I'm sure they'll be coming along soon.

One of the biggest events is that we moved!  You'll never remember the old house, but I will!  It's the house that I  brought you home from the hospital to.  It was the house where you had your first bath, first smile, first summer.  We stayed up many many many nights together in that house.  I'm sentimental, and so these are things that I hold on to.  BUT, I am thrilled for our new house.  This is the home you will grow in!  In our new house you have your very own ROOM!  At 8 months old, you slept your first night in your crib!  I'll admit it, I teared up a little seeing your little face peeking over the crib rail.  It's just so darn cute!  

You continue to be a laid-back guy.  We enjoy you so much!  You have the sweetest little scrunchy face.  You love to go upside down.  I love the way you hold on to me when I'm holding you, and the way that you try to "bite" my chin whenever you're hungry.  You are a bouncing maniac in your exersaucer.   And you have the bluest eyes that sparkle!  You are a sweet baby and I feel blessed by you everyday!

I love you sweet boy!

love,
mommy

Here's a few of my favorite pictures from the last 2 months...

kissing cousins

see how that little hand holds on. 

peeking over dad's shoulder

Six months old...

linking up to Rachel and Paper Mama

Dear Benjamin,

You are 6 months old...what a sweet, happy boy you are!

You have had a very busy month.  Last month you were rolling around, chewing on toys, and generally staying where I put you.  Over this last month, you have started crawling...well army-crawl...but still, you go wherever you want.  I really can't believe it...don't you know you're only 6 months old?  

You also taught yourself to sit up.  I had tried a few times to help you sit up, but instead you just got on your hands and knees and then plopped yourself over to one side into a sit.  So, not only are you crawling and sitting, but you can go from a crawl to a sit.  This is generally terrifying for me.    You are my last baby and I am soaking up every second...but it sure would be nice if you'd slow down a little!

This month you also started eating rice cereal.  You LOVE it!   You aren't a big fan of baby food yet...you gag and shiver, which is actually pretty adorable.  

As far as sleep goes, you are doing so much better.  We finally moved you out of our room and let you cry a little.  Now you are sleeping 10-12 hours at night....AMAZING!   In the morning when you wake up you fuss to let us know to come and get you, but as soon as we walk in the room you give a huge smile and wiggle, wiggle, wiggle with glee!

I can't believe how quickly 6 months has gone by.  We continue to enjoy every moment with you.  Your siblings adore you...and by "adore," I mean smother you with love whenever they get the chance.  You are a happy, smiley, snuggly little guy.

You continue to bless me everyday and I am so very grateful.

I love you,

mommy

Here's a few pictures from this month....

Really?  This was before he was 6 months old.

Loving rice cereal.

Big brother love...

Sweet boy...

I walked into the room yesterday, and found Benjamin sitting up....he did it all by himself.  CRAZY boy!

Five months old...

Dear Benjamin,

I know I say this every month, but I CAN'T believe how fast time is flying by!  You are 5 months old and as sweet as can be!

It's been a busy month keeping up with your brothers' baseball schedules, Luke's birthday, a visit from the cousins, and a trip to the lake.  But you just go with the flow.  Nothing seems to ruffle your feathers.  You just smile, smile, smile...and I can't get enough of it!

This month you perfected your rolling, and you are all over the place.  You spend a good amount of time rolling around on your blanket, and chewing on  your toys.   Sophie the giraffe is by far your favorite toy{mine too.}

Speaking of being on the move, you completely shocked me by getting up on your elbows and knees.  And just a few days ago you started getting on your hands and knees and rocking back and forth.  YES people, I said HANDS and KNEES...as in a pre cursor to crawling.  Now, you might think that I'm bragging here, but don't be deceived...this is NOT my first rodeo.  When baby #1 does things early you get all excited.  When baby #4 does things early you start panicking.  I am not ready to have a baby on the move, so let's work on something else, okay Benjamin?  I'm thinking that we should work on sitting up, long before we think about crawling.

You continue to be an excellent nurser, and the rolls on your tummy, arms, thighs, back, etc show that you aren't missing any meals!  You still refuse to take a bottle, but we're working on that and making some progress.  You've had reflux since you were itty bitty, and even with your medicine you still insist on spitting up all over, when I least expect it.  Just tonight when I was burping you, you managed to spit-up over the top burp rag, and it landed right on me.  How'd you do that???

Let's talk about sleep.  Never mind, let's not.  I'll just say that you are getting to be a good napper and are settling into a better routine and taking longer naps.  As far as nights go, you have a great first stretch.  You usually go to bed around 7pm and sleep a 6 hours stretch.  After that you'd like to have my company every 3 hours...on-the-dot.  So, in the end, I'm the one that needs to toughen up.  Watch out buddy, there may be a few unpleasant nights in your future.

One of my favorite things that you do right now is that you are full-body, arms flapping, legs kicking, body wiggling, huge grin, happy to see me, just about every time I walk in the room.  And it's not just me...you react that way to Daddy, and your brothers and sister.  It's absolutely precious and it's easy to see what a happy guy you are.

You continue to bless me everyday and I am so very grateful.

I love you!
mommy




Here's a few more pictures for your entertainment.

Okay, here's the proof of the whole hands and knees things.  And yes, I know the picture is blurry.  It's really hard to get a clear picture when I'm trembling in fear.

We have a strict baby yoga program in our house.  Not a great picture of him...but WHAT is he doing???

I think he's saying he's all done with the photo shoot!

And, I'll leave you with this picture...which you've seen before...but I love enough to show again!

Four months old...

Dear Benjamin,

You are FOUR months old.  I can hardly believe it.  Time is flying by too quickly.  

You've had a fun month.  You had your first trip to the beach, your first Easter, and many other adventures.  This month you started laughing,  rolling over both ways, and you are sleeping through the night...okay that last one is not true at all...but really wishful thinking.  We've gotta work on that sleep thing...I'm pretty sure if you had a motto it would be, "sleep is for suckers." Good thing you're so sweet!

You are a HAPPY baby.  You hardly ever fuss, and you go with the flow.  You love your play gym and bouncy seat, and you are grabbing and kicking at the toys, which is adorable.  You've decided you are done being swaddled, which breaks my heart a little.  But, I have to admit it was becoming a challenge...like trying to swaddle a octopus...arms and legs flying all over the place.  

As your mommy, I love getting to know all the little things about you...like how when you're tired, I put you on my shoulder you'll fall right to sleep. Or how if you get really wiggly when you're nursing, that means you have a big burp.  Or, how you cry in the car if the kids aren't there to entertain you.  And,  you have a cute fat roll on the back of your neck, and you've got ticklish chunky thighs.  I love how you wake up happy in the morning and give a big stretch and smile to greet the day.  I love you in blue because it makes your eyes the color of blueberries.  I could go on and on and on....

Just yesterday I was thinking about how last May I had no idea what God had planned for our family.  And here we are, a year later, incredibly blessed by the gift he has given us in you.  I am over-joyed to be your mom.

I love you more than you can ever imagine!

mommy

Three Months Old...

Dear Benjamin,

You are three months old!  You have big bright eyes, a sweet smile and I continue to fall more and more in love with you (as if that's possible)!   Your world is getting bigger...you are a very social little guy and are always looking for someone to smile at.  You love to lay under your play-gym and have even started batting at some of the toys.   You have started cooing and babbling and you have a sweet little voice that is all boy.

I am so thankful for you and the joy you bring to our family!

love,
mommy

He loves the giraffe on his play-gym.  It's so funny when I find him mesmerized by it. 

 Love those chubby cheeks.

Two months old...

Dear Benjamin,

You are two months old!  I can hardly believe how fast the weeks are flying by.  You had your check up last week and you weigh 12 pounds.  You are turning into a chunk with the cutest little rolls on your thighs.

Your second month was very exciting.  Just after turning 1 month old you were hospitalized with RSV.  You recovered well, and then got sick again about 2 weeks later with a cold.  It stinks to be the little guy with siblings going to school, sunday school, play dates, etc and bringing all those germs home.   But through all of the coughing and fevers and yucky stuff you started smiling and cooing.    And you have such a sweet toothless grin.

Even as a little tiny thing, you are such a boy.  You slurp when you eat, belch when your done, and I won't elaborate on how loud you are when you poop...but you usually give a big huge smile when you're done.

You are starting to sleep better, giving us a 4-5 hour stretch at night.  You're not such a great napper during the day, but who can blame you...there's always a lot going on around here.

Everyone around here continues to adore you...well except for the occasional moment when Natalie asks over and over why we have a baby.  But don't worry, she'll come around.  Peter and Luke have started calling you Benja-boy...they think it makes you sound like a super hero.

I continue to revel in your sweetness everyday.  And I am so thankful that God gave us you.

love,
mommy

One Month Old...

Dear Benjamin,

You're ONE month old and we continue to fall more and more in love with you everyday!  Peter is especially smitten with you and always wants to hold you, comfort you, and is in your personal space on a regular basis.  You are an excellent nurser, but a little on the slow side.  That's fine with me, it's just more time that we get to snuggle up on the couch.  You love your swing, but prefer to be held most of the time.   When it comes to sleeping, you haven't quite figured that out yet.  At first you had your days and nights mixed up, and now you'd just prefer to just sleep in my arms.  The problem is that you are the only one getting good sleep.  So, we've been trying to convince you to sleep in your bassinet...you're slowly coming around.

I feel privileged beyond imagination to be your mom.  You are such a sweet gift to our family, and I adore having a newborn.  God is so very generous to give us you!

All my love,
Mom