Sitting Pretty

Ben loves his bigger room at school. There is a lot more to see and do and more friends to play with. He gets cereal at school now around lunchtime. We will keep him on just cereal until we see the doctor at 6 months probably. Then we will add vegetables and fruits! Ben enjoys eating more and more. He comes at his spoon with a big fish face ready to take a bite. He has also started helping Mom feed him by holding the bowl or assisting with the spoon. We have noticed that he really pays close attention to us when we eat now.

Ben's sitting up is going really well. Over the weekend he was able to sit unassisted for several minutes in each stretch. When he got wobbly, we would help him regain his balance and he would go right back to sitting and playing with his toys. He does really well until he sees something to either side that he wants and just leans towards it and topples over. He is not stable enough that I move far from him while he sits, but he is definitely getting stronger and stronger. He has no fear and will lean forward as far as he can when he is in our laps or sitting in the floor to reach for a toy. He is understanding that when something drops it is down on the floor somewhere and he tries to go after it. Mom and Dad are hopeful that he will soon pick up this skill with his pacifier at night! Ben is still working at learning to roll from his back to his tummy. He gets to his side pretty well and either can't make it the rest of the way or isn't interested, so we continue to encourage that.

Ben continues to amuse himself with his shrieking. He loves to start getting louder and louder when a room gets quiet and practice all of his sounds. He will squeal loud several times and then laugh in delight at the noises he has just made. Another of his favorite laughing games is when Dad helps Ben fly up high like an airplane. His face is always expressive and his teachers say that when he takes buggy rides at school he smiles so big they don't think his mouth could open any more.

Ben will be enjoying some NCAA tournament basketball over the next couple of weeks and probably be helping Mommy fill out a bracket. In two weeks the McCulloughs are coming to visit for the weekend, and on the 28th Ben will have his 6 month check up at the doctor's office. I will be sure to update with his new weight and length around that time.

Ben: Five Months

Ben is five months old today! He has been eating cereal a little over a week now and is really enjoying it. In a couple of days he will move across the hall at his daycare. He will be in the same class with the same teachers, but will be on the side with the older babies. We think he will really enjoy being around more babies and having more action during the day.

Mom and Dad got to have a nice outing over the weekend. We went to lunch and then out shopping (stroller free!). Grandma Lyn and Grandpa David stayed and played with Ben. He showed off how he likes to hit just about anything with his hands (including himself). He has also been showing more people how he can shriek at the top of his lungs. We are just waiting for the day that this happens during a prayer in church. Ha ha!

We are hoping to stay well for a while and just enjoy the warmer weather. We have started taking walks around the neighborhood and Ben seems to enjoy being outside. More photos from Ben's fifth month will be posted under the links on the Snapfish site. We hope this finds everyone well! We love updates from friends and family as you are able.

New Experiences

I wanted to write before Ben is five months old because he has had so many new experiences lately. Since his four month old update he has been to his first birthday party for Ava Wynn's first birthday. He enjoyed seeing the other kids, but wasn't too interested in watching Ava enjoy her cake. We went to a trial swim lesson. Mom and Ben enjoyed some water play together and Mom learned some ways to hold and play with Ben in the water. We signed up for a six week course that starts at the end of March. Two of our friends, Ella Smith and Ben Hampton, are taking lessons with us. Ben is pretty cute in his swim trunks. We will get pictures when his lessons start, because Mom forgot to take the camera last time. Dad was excited for Ben's first Superbowl. We watched with some friends from church, but I think that Ben slept through most of it. We celebrated Grandpa Larry's birthday this month when the McCulloughs came in town for Ben's baby dedication at church. The dedication was very sweet and special. Uncle Jeff and the grandparents all got to attend. We prayed over Ben and he received his baby bible with I think 8 other babies. Ben also attended his first bible class and had a great time. He was all smiles! Ben received valentines from a couple classmates and from a couple teachers at school last week. Mom made him a monkey valentine and we gave him a toy camera so he could terrorize Mom with the flash just as much as Mom terrorizes Ben. This weekend we had a playdate with our friend Owen from church. Owen tried to teach Ben to roll to his side, but I am not sure it worked. We will just have to have more playdates to work on it. :) We also started cereal this weekend. The first try was okay. He liked it but had trouble understanding how to keep it in his mouth. The second round was a little better and with practice more and more should actually be consumed. We will stick with cereal for now and probably won't introduce vegetables for another month or so. We will just see how this goes. Ben is just teaching us something new each day. We will try for another update when he turns five months soon. It seems like there is always something new for Mom to gush about. :)