6 Months

Benjamin turned 6 months old on Sunday!  I really can’t believe that six months has gone by even as I watch him scooting himself across the floor, jumping like crazy in his exersaucer, and pulling himself to standing when something of the right height is within his grasp!  He is a VERY active boy.  He hates to stay still and loves exploring things.  He is always reaching to grab any object that is nearby and in the last couple of days has started purposely scooting across the floor to get to things that are not nearby (babyproofing - here we go!). 

Of course, to fuel all that activity he eats… and eats… and eats!  He is still nursing and has worked his way through a whole list of solid foods from apples to peaches to rice, avocado, pears, peaches, sweet potato, squash, lentils, peas, and banana.  We have not yet come across a food that he does not like.  We’ll start on a whole new round of introductions in the next couple of weeks as the doctor gave us the go-ahead today to let him have meat, yogurt, cheese, and pretty much anything else except eggs, strawberries, nuts, and honey.  So Benjamin has lots of new tastes to explore!

The pediatrician also suggested that as part of the new food introductions we give him foods that have lots of good fat (avocado, full-fat yogurt & cheese, meat, etc.) because he’s a little on the tiny side!  It hasn’t seemed that way to me - he’s definitely a solid baby - but he weighed in at 14lbs, 5oz which puts him only in the 5th percentile for weight.  He’s also 26.5” long (50th percentile).  So he’s tall and skinny, just like his big sister.  And also apparently has a very fast metabolism!

Personality-wise Benjamin is still pretty laid-back and relaxed.  He is mostly content to go with the flow and almost always has a smile for everyone.  Everyone he meets comments on how happy he is.  When he does smile or laugh it’s with his whole face, his eyes light up and positively twinkle at you and it’s impossible not to smile or laugh right back. 

Happy six months Benjamin Baby! 

At Play

We are definitely still adjusting to becoming a family of four.  Having to share Mom & Dad is not at the top of Julia’s list of favorite things but during moments like this I can see a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Family Photos

A few shots from the last week or so…

More Firsts

We had a couple of firsts here last week:

Julia attended her first week of camp at the Kent County YMCA.  After a rainy first day on Monday, they were able to enjoy the outdoors the rest of the week and she had a great time learning about Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

And Benjamin, proving that he is just as impatient as his sister was to start getting places, decided that he could stand on his own holding onto the ottoman for support!  I think we’re going to have to begin that baby-proofing soon!!

Getting Wet

So Julia is not the only one around here who has been having fun in the pool.  When we were in Maine last weekend our hotel had a pool and we decided it was time for Benjamin’s first swim as well.  He loves bath time so we were pretty sure he would enjoy it and he did.  He wasn’t too sure what to make of it at first but there were no tears only a bit of a confused expression which did turn into some smiles.

Then when we got home, his swimming experience also got upgraded with a float of his own!

He does not like being splashed but he definitely liked being able to keep an eye on and float along with his sister in the pool!

Julia Jumps In

We’ve spent a few afternoons at the pool lately and on each trip Julia gets a little more adventurous in the water.  Last week another kid left a float ring in the pool and Julia decided to try it out.  In no time at all she was paddling around the pool and jumping from the steps into the water.  It was such a success that we got her one of her own and on Sunday we went back to the pool to try it out.  Within 10 minutes or so she was brave enough to try jumping off the side of the pool to me and loved it!  We ended up spending about an hour and a half in the water; only getting out when I insisted because she was turning blue!

Daddy Airlines

Both of our kids (like most others) love playing airplane on Mommy and Daddy’s feet and legs.  Last weekend Andrew took it to a new level – I was impressed!