Long Overdue

Sorry about the lack of posting - I can't believe I've missed both the 8 and 9 month updates. Learning how to balance life with a crawling, climbing baby with a serious case of separation anxiety has been harder than I anticipated. I generally nap or clean when he rests hence, less computer time. Here is a bit of a whirlwind of a catch up. (Sorry about the less than photogenic pictures in the rocking chair, he is no longer interested in cooperating with that tradition)

Things he loves: to be naked and to watch the world go by through any baby height window.

On Bennett's 8 month birthday, he officially graduated to being a crawler. And man is he fast and fearless. I had to work that day so the boys went to the pumpkin patch with the Knowles family - mostly fun was had (until posing babies with pumpkins became less fun for babies). He did a little tailgating with us at a sunny Husky game and wore the purple proud. He's quite the "helper": laundry, mail, books, anything he can "organize" and rearrange is fun. I baby proof something new everyday and he finds something else mischievous - like dumping Lola's water bowl over his head!

Our 9 month old loves to stay busy; he can walk along the furniture, wave goodbye, give slobbery kisses, shake his head "no", feed himself finger foods, clap his hands, and dance to the music. Dinner time is messy - He really, really likes to do it himself and will use any means necessary to get the stuff in his mouth! And he just learned how to be Lola's BFF - sharing his foods with her. He loves bath time (thank goodness) and is often plunked, high chair and all, into the tub right after dinner. He was 20 lbs 2 oz and in the 50% for all measurements, right on track! This month we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving, Avery's Birthday and Halloween - lots of fun! And he got his first pair of cowboy boots!

Run Happy

Fall makes me happy. And there is nothing better than a crisp fall run - so we headed to Leavenworth last weekend to run the half marathon. I am pretty sure I had a goofy smile on my face the whole 13 miles...the weather was amazing, the scenery fantastic, the course was lovely, a handful of folks were running in very entertaining costumes, and I had great friends along. And there were beers and brats at the end...score! This is definitely going to be a new tradition - why again did we ever run the Seattle half, up and down the hills through the snow?

Bennett has perfected his army crawl and is working on the real thing. Everyday he strings together a longer combination of crawls before landing on his belly. He's also learned to pull himself to standing in the crib so we made some adjustments to the mattress height. (He won't wear socks for more than 1 minute - and loves to chew on them, hence the sock in his mouth; and he still loves to blow raspberries, which he doesn't understand isn't possible with a sock in your mouth, hence the goofy face). He has two good sized teeth on the bottom now.

Bennett spent his first overnight away from Brent and I (thank you grandma and grandpa!). Our dear friends Marco and Tanya threw a wonderful wedding celebration and we had a fantastic time with all our friends...the next day was a bit painful but we took Bennett to the fair to keep us all upright and entertained.

Happy 7 Months!

Bennett is a rolling machine now...he can get around a room pretty fast. He's become a belly sleeper (I would have bet money he would never sleep on his tummy). He wants to crawl but hasn't quite figured out the details of how to make it happen - he gets really frustrated when he can't get where he wants. He can pull himself up to standing with a little help. He's sporting the first glimpse of a couple bottom teeth - and with that has come a new affinity for sucking his thumb and rubbing his tongue along his gums. He's enjoying more foods so I've started making the baby food and he seems to be expanding his palate nicely. We've been really bad about pictures lately (it's a lot harder to capture a moving object) but here are some cute ones from around the house. Assuming the pose in an attempt to move forward - for now just resulting in slapping of the floor with hands and feet.

Gazing up at the camera from our playmat.

Sitting on the rocker is a little dangerous these days...the series of photos I took is hilarious, between him trying to crawl off and me trying to prevent a fall, there are some "artistic" shots.

Sleeping soundly on his tummy.
The tongue may be for concentration, but I'm pretty sure he's exploring those emerging teeth.

In Motion

Bennett finally found something that was worth the effort of rolling over for (a photo book of his family)! Gooooo....Bennett!!

Camping

It became a tradition a few years ago for Brent and I to take an annual camping/boating trip to Lopez Island - our favorite of the San Juan Islands. The weekend is usually spent drinking coffee, catching crab and salmon, eating crab and salmon, driving around in search of our country home where we will retire and sitting around the campfire drinking good wine; ahh the life. This year was a bit different as we invited along our friends Chris and Amber and had the challenge of learning to camp with babies. Both babies did very well and survived sleeping in the tents on some very cold and wet nights. There were a few lessons learned for next time but I am very pleased with how adaptable Bennett is to new situations.

Taking the ferry across from Anacortes (and both babies being more interested in something other than the camera).

All bundled up and waiting for coffee after surviving the first night.

Cuteness in a camping chair.

Bennett did not love the boat...but I think it's because his life jacket was the size of him and and bit too snug around.

Yum, dinner!

Bennett slept in two pairs of jammies, socks for mittens, a hat and two blankets. Snug as a bug!

Warming up in Daddy's sleeping bag after a cold night.

We also celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on the trip - had a picnic at the local farmers market.

Diaper changes camping style!

Happy 6 months!

Weight: 18 pounds, 2 ounces (25-50%)

Length: 26 inches (10-25%)

Head Circ: 43.5 cms (50-75%)

Everything checked out okay at his 6 month appointment - no concerns. The doctor is convinced he can roll (because he can sit unsupported and reach for things) but doesn't want too = he's so smart he knows if he rolls, he'll be on his tummy and he hates tummy time! He had to get three more shots today but shed only a few tears - he was flirting with the MA as soon as she was done.

Hair-raising

I get this question a lot: "Have you cut his hair already or does it just grow into that perfect bowl cut?" It is virgin hair but it is a lot longer than you may think....here it is after the shampoo, before the style.

We've upgraded bath time - he likes to sit up all the time now but is makes me a bit nervous in the tub (slippery when wet!) so we added a little support/fun.


A new fun game: Blowing raspberries while eating. Messy messy (notice the orange on the end of his eyelashes) I'm just happy he's liking more foods - we now eat prunes, sweet potatoes, peas, pears, and summer squash.

Grandpa Jones was daring enough to let me try on his expensive and very white hat during a dinner of prunes...all for the sake of documenting some cuteness. Thanks Grandpa - yee haw!

When B was born, he was barely the size of this monkey that Aunties Mel and Shauna gifted us. Now the monkey is a favorite during play time.

Today was a long day for me with two babies that didn't think naps were important - but at the end of the day, I could not be happier and more in love with our little man. He is constantly learning and absorbing everything around him and I cherish every moment (even the grumpy ones) that I get to share with him. And he's just so cute (look at those pecs)!