Happy Birthday to Daddy

Now as you know, Daddy, me, is the author of this blog. So when I write Happy Birthday to Daddy, I'm writing to myself which may be considered a bit vain. Anyway, yesterday, Daddy turned 33. We didn't do a whole bunch yesterday although Elizabeth cooked me a birthday breakfast dinner, but thanks to my cunning wife, I was surprised by a wave of visitors this past weekend.

This montley crew began arriving Thursday, and we had a great time all weekend long. THANK YOU ELIZABETH and GANG!!!!!

Ben Strikes Back

I didn't move him into this position. He did this on his own. Right you are, the force is strong with this one.

More Eating and Talking

So THIS is solid food?

More FIRSTS!!!!!!!!

I'd bet that few babies are lucky enough to experience their first snow in the morning and their first time swimming in the evening. Ben, however, has had that sort of day.

We didn't brave submerging him completely tonight, but we did splash, kick around, jump up and down, and blow lots of bubbles. Being in the water didn't seem to bother him whatsoever.

More Snow Pictures

Lesson to Daddy--Ben does not like snow on his exposed skin (neither would I). In my quest for a great snow picture, I made Ben really mad, but he's happy again inside the confines of his exersaucer with dry clothes and a bottle on the way.

White Stuff Falling on Ben

Whatever could it be?

Carrots, Grandparents, and Grins....

...these are a few of my favorite things.

Engineer Ben

I hear the train a comin', comin' round the Ben(d). Engineer Ben sitting up and then deciding to lay down.

A Couple of Pics to Tide You Over

With cold weather outside, we haven't done a whole lot this past week, but I figured that you guys might be itching for some new pics. Here are a couple.

High Chair Today--Solid Food Next!!!

Thanks to several gift cards and some money through ebay sales, we were able to get a new high chair for Ben at NO COST TO US!!!!! Thanks again for those gift cards!!! And yes, we do plan to document Ben's first attempt at solid foods on video. Keep your eyes open for a solid food update in the days to come.

Progression toward Crawling

While not yet crawling, you can see Ben is moving around and getting around.

No Need to Imagine Julie

While short, you can hear Ben's belly laugh while swinging.

And now imagine a belly laugh turned into a SCREAMING cry, and that's what welcomed Elizabeth and I home last night. The first attempt at a babysitter was successful for about half the time we were gone, and then not so much the second half. Ben didn't exactly want to go to sleep after his bottle, and instead decided to test out his voice & lungs and the sitter's patience. She did great, and called after trying to calm him down for about an hour. We may need to take a different approach the next time. Plus, we'll now have to convince Elizabeth that there should be a next time.

Enjoy this short little clip.

Sunday Afternoon Field Trip

We took a little field trip to New Bern today (the birthplace of Pepsi Cola--really!). We walked along the water, watched the drawbridge turn sideways inside of move up and down, listened to a band, and saw lots and lots of birds. Here are a few highlights including Ben's first time in a swing. He didn't like it very much.

 

John Deere Photo Shoot

We're thinking about getting Ben into acting, and wanted to get a few head shots today to submit to agents. We were going for the full range of emotions, but we need help with titling them. We've added our own titles, but you can help caption the pictures too.

"The Joey" from Friends "How You Doin'"

"The Arnold" from Diff'rent Strokes "What You Talkin' 'bout Willis"

"The Weasel" from Pop Goes the Weasel

"The Please Mommy" no explanation necessary.

"The Who Me" from the face we will see in the years to come.

Talky, Talk, Talk!!!!!

This video will give you a small glimpse of the motor mouth on Mr. Ben, and he's actually pretty shy and quiet in this video. He pretty much talks, yells, eats, and screams (happily) at the toys on the exersaucer nonstop. And that song, oh, that song you and hear, I get to hear it over and over and over again. So, does it sound like I'm complaining? Maybe so, but I'll have to admit, I love it.

Spring Has Sprung?

Back in July, when Elizabeth, Ben-to-be, and I moved to North Carolina, little did we know that we were actually moving to south FL. I hear that the weather is like this everywhere (except maybe Colorado). Either way, we love it so we can get out with Ben and enjoy the outdoors.

On a side note, we're having stroller issues, and our Eddie Bauer Strollerdition is about to call it quits. You can ask Elizabeth how long it took me to get it open at Steinmart the other day. Anyway, we hope to have pictures of a new stroller soon.

Elizabeth's First Blog Entry

I'm a little nervous because this is my first blog entry. Andy is sitting next to me, and I can feel the pressure to produce a super-fantastic posting. I have no intention of coming up with a witty entry. Instead, I just want to share Ben's new trick. When playing on his blanket, he loves to roll over from his back to his belly. When you put him on his back, he almost immediately lifts both legs up in the air, rolls over to the side, then sweeps his legs around so that he is on his belly. Of course, his head pops up like a turtle and he looks at you with his eyebrows raised. After a few minutes, he cries/whines because he can't figure out how to roll back onto his back. So, I roll him on his back so he can start over again. Andy just told me that I'm writing too much, so I better stop.

editors note: The staff of Ben's blog apologizes for the wordiness of this entry. Our new writer, while quite gifted, also has the gift of gab.

Family Christmas Highlights

For more, be sure to look at Ben's Photo Album.