Coos & smiles

Wow, it seems like I just posted but it's been a while. Our little boy is two months old and weighs around 12 pounds now, & he's going to grow out of some of his three-month outfits soon. The most amazing thing recently has been his communication: he has the sweetest smiles and is starting to vocalize a lot. Here's an example... Benjamin likes being carried around the house like this & often talks and smiles at the carrier. He and Daddy have been having lots of fun time this past week. Who wouldn't be amused at a face like his daddy's?
An action shot on the changing table. Benjamin seems to love having his diaper changed, I think because he likes the close face time with us. Daddy likes to take him "running," as seen here. Benjamin could stare and coo at that wreath for hours.
More Daddy fun time. Notice the excellent paint job to the kitchen, courtesy of Nanna at her last visit.
The family's first walk on base together. The trail goes right past the lake, a great resting point. Nice weather and lots of birds this time of year.

Quick, while he's napping...

Finally, a chance to post some pictures! It takes so long to load them from the camera to the computer that I run out of time to actually get them up here.

Daddy & his little Yankee pal. Still haven't figured out how to get rid of the red-eye.
Benjamin is mesmerized by this playmat. Unfortunately, he loves it most when someone is shaking the toys hanging above his head, so it takes some effort from Mommy & Daddy. The adorable overall outfit was a present from friends here in Georgia.
Our little conductor. The bouncer has colorful blinking lights and plays a bunch of songs, but a lot of the time he ends up looking at the TV that's to his right (even when it's not on).
Daddy loves to prop him up like this on the couch. He looks so little beside the pillows. Such a serious face!
All tuckered out. It's amazing to look at earlier pictures of him in this pack & play to see how big he has gotten. We think he's around 11 pounds, & my arms are feeling it. It didn't take him long to get bigger than Calvin. He's also starting to coo & looks ready to crack a real smile any day now. He had his first walk on base earlier this week, but it has been to cold to go out again. Hopefully this weekend we'll hit the trail again.

Daddy's first trip

Since Mike had to go on the road, he could probably use some recent photos of our little guy...

Nanna is here while Daddy is gone & has been sharing feeding duty.

Benjamin is focusing more & more on things around him. He really seems to like this activity mat, especially when Nanna shakes the whole thing (known as a "hurricane").

Benjamin taking a nap after a dinnertime feeding. He likes being on his side. This outfit is labeled for 3 months but almost fits him. He has grown out of most of his newborn clothes but can still wear his teddy bear coat.

Aunt Kate arrived today & we'll be having a girls' weekend. Finally, less testosterone than estrogen in the house!

Catching up on photos

Sorry for the delay in posting; when I was told that feeding a baby would take up most of my time, I didn't understand that that's not an exaggeration. These are a couple of weeks old, I've got more to post soon.




This sums up how Calvin feels about this new thing in his home (curious but REALLY scared).

One of Mike's favorite pics.

This is an example of what Benjamin has been doing lately, a lot of riding a rollercoaster or putting one arm straight up in the air. Mommy & Daddy have been wacked in the face several times. Check out the adorable ouftit (pretty sure it's from Aunt Kate).

One of many mornings where my boys let me sleep in after a long night.

Taken while Nanna & Grandpa were here around the New Year.

One of our first trips out. It was unseasonably cold for a few days.

Benjamin absolutely loves his bouncer (sponsored by Aunt Becki). You can't tell in this photo, but now he's starting to focus on the dangly sun & dragonfly. He even hit the sun by chance a few times.

Our early Christmas present

He's here! Benjamin Patrick was born on December 23rd at 2:37 pm, 10 days before his due date. There were some pregnancy complications, and when I went to the hospital for some tests, my doctor said I needed a c-section that day. Luckily, Katie was visiting for Christmas & Mike already had our bags & infant seat in the car. Instead of a three-day stay, the hospital discharged us on Christmas day. But enough talk, everyone wants pictures...

Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Kate & Uncle Brian are here for the weekend, so Benjamin is getting lots of attention. I'm sure there will be many pictures soon!

Three weeks, but who's counting...

We had a great baby shower on Saturday. It was a group effort: Kara was recovering from arm surgery, our friend Sarah was trying to recover from a cold, & our friend Kate has a 15-month-old, but they still did an awesome job. We are very fortunate to have such friends. People were very generous, plus I got a bunch of gift cards that I can't wait to use. Now I'm washing everything & organizing the nursery.

Hey Rachel, thanks for the card & the post on my birthday! It was kind of a non-birthday because there was so much other stuff going on, so it was nice to hear from you. We ended up going out to dinner on Sunday. I had asked Mike to get me a bathrobe for my gift, & he chose the EXACT robe I had been looking at - same brand, same style, same store. Kinda creepy. I asked him if he was having me followed.


This picture was taken yesterday. Lately I have been hearing the phrase "you're ready to pop" a lot. That's what it feels like. I had another doctor appointment today, & I had to have a quick ultrasound to make sure the baby isn't breech (he's not). Apparently our little guy isn't so little - the doctor said he has a "rather large head." I'm gonna blame Mike for this one. When I asked if this would increase my chances of a c-section, he said said there's no way of knowing yet, but babies' heads are soft enough to squeeze through most of the time. Great. A friend at the shower offered to give me a ride on his motorcycle to get labor started, but that was met with a big "NO" from daddy-to-be. I don't get to have any fun anymore...

We finally put up a Christmas tree yesterday. I still have to decorate it. Strangely enough, Calvin is more interested in trying to eat the fake pine decorations than the real pine needles. I don't really feel like decorating for the holidays because it's REALLY warm (at least eighty degrees). I haven't started playing any of our Christmas CDs because Mike has been rehearsing a lot for the Christmas concert the band is having on Thursday, & I think he's pretty sick of Christmas carols right now.

Off to do more laundry! Mom, I promise the nursery will be ready by the time you arrive. But you can clean & reorganize anyway.

Four weeks & counting

Yesterday we went to my 36-week appointment. Apparently that's when the fun starts - swabs, checking my cervix, etc. Modesty is out the window. When the doctor measured my uterus, instead of telling me the length in centimeters, she asked how much I weighed when I was born. Uh oh. When I said I was over 8 pounds, she said our baby would be, too. Mike was a big baby too (when he was born, not at the appointment) so I can blame it on him.

We went to another childbirth class last night & had the pleasure of watching a video on c-sections. I think Mike was more freaked out by the discussion on cord prolapse than the video. Sorry, Mom, he didn't turn green. Next week we get a tour of the women's center where I will deliver. The instructor did say that labor, delivery & recovery happen in one room, postpartum in another. I still need to think about packing. It hasn't hit me how close I am to possibly delivering. Maybe after the shower on Saturday it will seem more real.

I have been bugging Mike to get his own screen name so he can do his own posts. He has had a bunch of baseball news lately that is kind of lost on me. He talks to me, I stare back at him pretending to understand what he's talking about. Something about the new Yankees owner being an idiot, some guy named Santana, it's hard for me to keep track. Baseball season is never over in our house.

Hey Rachel & Beth, that would be great if you came to visit this winter! I think the next time Mike & I will be able to get up to Pennsylvania will probably be around July. I know that's not soon enough for "Nana" but it will have to do. We finally found a way to get people to visit us in Georgia!

Yeah, I know, no recent pictures (of my profile, at least). Maybe next time.