The Big 1-0

That's right Bennnett is 10 months old today. It's official, he's been out longer than he's been in. Since I just wrote the 9 month post a couple of weeks ago, not much has changed. Bennett is still busy. We finally put baby locks on the bathroom cabinets so that he can't play in them while I am getting ready for work. Although it kept him distracted, he was getting too good at pulling everything out.
On Father's Day, Eric installed Bennett's swing that he got for Christmas from Nana Rhonda. He absolutely loves it! I think he could stay in for hours. Unfortunately, it has been so hot that he only gets to be in it for 10 minutes at a time.

Here's Bennett with his Papa on Father's Day. I made them matching shirts : )

Yesterday, in an effort to cool off, I filled his baby pool with water and let him splash around.



His new best pal is Marley. He tries to play with him all the time and Marley has actually started putting up with it. I think Bennett has even gotten the concept of being gentle well kind of). He no longer pulls Marley's ears or pinchs him. He does, however, pat him not so gently on the back. Marley has a blanket that he carries around with him. It's kind of a security thing. He typically doesn't let anyone take it away from him but occasionally he will let Bennett take it away. Luckily, Ben gives it right back. Today at dinner, Ben was chomping on a piece of naan (Indian flat bread) and of course Marley was hanging out like a piranha. Ben would drop his hand down with the bread in it. Marley would come close thinking Ben was giving it to him then Ben would snatch it back and laugh. It was very funny to watch. Poor Marley.
While on the topic of food, I must say that I am so proud of Bennett's eating skills and habits. Around the time we came back from vacation, Bennett wasn't really into eating his purees. I had introduced some finger foods and he was doing really well with those so I decided that I was no longer going to force him to eat the purees but let him lead the way by offering him foods that he could feed himself. After an adjustment period, he is doing great.

Even with just two teeth, he can eat just about anything. There has been a couple times that he scared me with the amount of food he shoved in his mouth but somehow he gets it down. Some of his favorite foods right now are bagels (with a smear), peas, cantaloupe, and pasta.
Bennett has started to say a couple words. I'm not sure he knows what they mean yet but we have heard him say "baby" a few times. He's also said "hi" and "dada." He goes through phases that he is very talkative and then won't say much for days. One thing is for sure, he will let out a piercing squeal at least once a day : )
I am amazed by my little bear on a daily basis. One of my favorite things he does is in the midst of playing he will stop, crawl over to me, stand up and give me a hug. It's the most incredible feeling. He's not much of a cuddle bug so those are moments I cherish.
Sweet Bennett, you bring a smile to my face every day.

This moment-Love

Teeth

Bennett had his second tooth poke through the gums last night. It was almost exactly a week ago that the first one poked through. I still haven't gooten a picture of those teefers : ) I can barely catch a glimpse of them but they are there. I hope we have a break from teething before the top one's poke through.

This moment- Pals

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

9 months (and 15 days)

The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind so I have fallen behind on alot of things. Including updating this bog : / Our little man is officially 9 months and has been for a couple weeks. The day he turned nine months, we were down in Salvo, NC enjoying a week long beach vacation.

As of his 9 month birthday, Ben did not have any teeth but a few days ago he had his first little tooth break the surface of his gums. We can still barely see it but you can definitely feel it.

Ben continues to be busy. He crawls so fast now that if you blink he will be out of your sight. He has perfected the dismount from standing up. This makes for a much more relaxed mommy since I don't have to follow him every where to catch him as he falls to the ground. This month he started sitting himself up. He will crawl then stop and sit to look around and then go back to crawling.

Ben still loves emptying drawers, boxes, whatever he can. He also loves the "open, close" game. Be it a cabinet door, bedroom door or the baby gate. He loves opening it and then pushing it closed and then opening it again. He loves that game almost as much as he loves playing peek-a-boo.

He is still a very easy going little guy. We've had a lot of people comment on how good he is and how he never fusses (if only that were true). We are very lucky to have such a good baby.

However....he started something new while we were at the beach house. A couple of times he had a toy he was playing with taken away (sometimes by the older kids and sometimes by momma because he took it away from someone else). He would not be happy about this and he would show it by bending forward (while sitting), hitting his head against the ground and fussing a little. I think we have the beginnings of a temper tantrum. At this age it's cute but I am worried about what the future holds.

This pretty much sums up his personality:

Summer Vacation

Last week we went on our first family vacation. We headed down to Salvo, NC to spend a week at a beach house with friends and some family. Our friends, Tricia and Joe and their daughter, Addi, organized the whole thing. The first half of the week, Tricia's family was there as well as a family that Tricia and Joe know from Roanoke. It was quite a full house. Nine adults and five kids! Luckily, the house was huge so it never felt crowded.
Ben loved having all the kids around to play with. He loves hanging out with Addi. She is so good with him.
Here she is reading Bennett a book:

We spent our days either at the beach or at the pool. Ben absolutely loves the water. He loves being in the pool, in the ocean and even loves the shower.
I think I'm going to have to look into some swim lessons for him because he loves the water so much.

Inga, Dave and Gabe came down for the second half of the week. It was so nice to have them there. Dave got all the kids kites and it was nice and windy at the beach so we were able to fly them.

Overall, it was an amazing week. We were so sad when it was time to go home. We are already planning next year!

This moment- story time

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.