10 Months

His birthday will be here before I know it but right now I can’t believe that Benjamin is 10 months old!  Its been a little while since I’ve posted an update on what he has been doing so here we go:

He loves:

• his Dad!
• his blanket
• following Julia around
• climbing the stairs
• eating (doesn’t really matter what the food is)!
• baths
• playing peekaboo

He dislikes:

• having his diaper changed
• not being allowed to play with electrical cords or outlets or toys with small pieces
• being away from Dad or being held by anyone else when Dad is within his sight or hearing

He tolerates:

• being in the car
• being called ‘Ben-Hen’ by Julia (I think she better watch out when he’s a little older)

He continues to be a very easy-going, laid back (although very active) little guy.  He pretty much goes with flow and is only really fussy when he’s sick or teething or over-tired.  He is working on pushing through his 8th tooth and on walking without any assistance.  He can take several steps between people or from one thing to another and I’m sure will be chasing his sister very soon! 

Benj is also saying a couple of things – mostly mama and baba (bottle); but once in awhile I hear dada.  He can sign that he’s done with a meal and he’s good at waving and clapping (not that he’ll ever do them when I ask him to!) and pointing.  He’s starting to make his wants known in ways other than fussing which is a nice step for all of us!

Another of this favorite activities these days (shown in the picture below) is taking things out of a container and putting them back in.  This morning he was putting blocks in and taking them out of the mailbox on his play house.  And then he decided a better idea was to store the blocks in the hood of his sweatshirt!  He got them in by throwing them over his shoulder.  very cute. 

It’s beginning to look…

a lot like Christmas!

even Ben got in on the action!

Thankful cont.

My other two blessings!

Thankful

One of my blessings this Thanksgiving!

Cooking with Julia – Noga Bars (aka Granola Bars)

Yesterday, at breakfast, Julia was explaining to me how to make chocolate granola bars and I thought I should share:

part 1

And here’s further clarification on a couple of the details:

Part 2

Florida October 2012–Part 2

The second part of our Florida vacation was spent in Vero Beach, FL visiting Andrew’s parents.  While we were also visited by rain and lots of wind from Hurricane Sandy we kept busy and the kids ended up having a great time!

Julia and Benj created their own choo-choo train!

Playing together!!

We picked out and carved pumpkins:

We fed giraffes and met lorakeets at the zoo:

We watched the sand cranes in Grandma and Grandpa’s backyard:

We even got in some putting (Julia actually golfed 3 days in a row!) and a walk on the beach!

And, of course, there was plenty of ice cream (because it’s not really a vacation until there is ice cream)!

Florida October 2012–Part 1

We spent the last week in October in Florida, enjoying a couple of days in Orlando and then a visit with Andrew’s parents in Vero Beach.  It was a great trip and while the weather wasn’t exactly what we had hoped for, we managed to pack in a lot of fun.

We started in Orlando at a great Marriott hotel that was right across the street from Sea World.  We had not originally planned on staying there but fate was on our side because the hotel was fabulous.  It had a great pool area complete with a little water park for the kids!  Julia and Benjamin spent most of two afternoons splashing around.

It took Julia until the second day to try out the waterslide but once she started she was hooked! 

Julia’s first waterslide!

While in Orlando we also visited Downtown Disney and Sea World.  We were amazed at the Lego store in Downtown Disney – just incredible sculptures made entirely from Legos, like this one of Woody and Buzz Lightyear:

We also had a special treat because there is a Babycakes bakery there.  Babycakes makes only vegan (so egg-free) and gluten-free baked goods.  It made me so happy to be able to go in somewhere and tell Julia that she could chose whatever treat she wanted.  And she thoroughly enjoyed her brownie cupcake with orange icing!

Sea World was also a hit.  We all loved the dolphin show (Julia and Benjamin both sat mesmerized the entire time), walking through the shark tunnel, and seeing sting rays up close.  It was a busy couple of days but a really nice break and a great way to start our vacation!