Benjamin is 6 Months Old Today!

Changes...

6 Months Old - 19 lbs 5 oz


3 Months Old - 15 lbs 12 oz


Just Born - 8 lbs 5 oz

Benjamin is 6 months old today! I can hardly believe it...time has flown by so quickly!!! Things change so fast with him. It seems as though there is something new everyday and I'm so thankful that I get to be home with him to experience each thing. His most current "projects" are sitting up and eating solids. He does really well sitting but not well enough for me to leave him by himself unless he is somewhere soft like on the bed. As for solids we are about a week in since starting them and he's still isn't a big fan...but I know he can't nurse forever so eventually he'll like other foods! I just keep trying everyday. I get less gagging and less grossed out faces everyday so I suppose we are making progress!

We've got heat!

Brent doing what he does in our mechanical room...



Brent got the radiant heating system running yesterday! It's not full force yet because he needs to hook up the well to the house, but the preliminary run was successful. He has quite the system set up and I thought it was pretty impressive that 1. he put it all together without help from anyone and 2. he knows how everything works! But of course when I told him that all he said was "that's what I do for a living!". Well sure but I still think it's impressive! I'm pretty lucky to have such a talented husband :)

Ben and Mallory

Ben: Come here and let me grab your nose...
Mallory: I don't think so buddy!


Friends...

Ben got a chance to interact with his friend Mallory when we had her parents, Jeff and Cassandra, over for dinner on Saturday night. It was really fun to watch them interact. Ben kept reaching out and trying to grab her. We are all looking forward to when they can actually play together! :)

Westchester Lagoon

My friend, Cassandra and her daughter, Mallory and Ben and I went walking at Westchester Lagoon yesterday. The babies love their Bob strollers...
It has been beautiful here this past week with everyday being bright and sunny and around the low to mid 50's. Yay for Spring!!!

First painted room!

Our mechanical room is the first to get painted... looks pretty nice!


Brent slaving away...


Jim putting corners on all the windows and closet spaces. This is the office.


Garage...


Kitchen/Dining room/Living room

Right now Brent is working on getting the heating system up and running so the gypcrete can be poured upstairs. I picked out paint yesterday and got samples made. Hopefully Friday I can go up to the house and get the samples on some leftover drywall to see how it looks.
Just to clarify... the upstairs bathroom hasn't been painted green - it is a special kind of sheetrock that prevents mold :)

Learning to Drive

LOL! Yeah right!!!


Yummy seatbelt...

I strapped Ben into the front seat after our walk on Tuesday so I could load his stroller into the back of the car to be ready for our walk in Anchorage Wednesday. He thought the seatbelt was super tasty... kinda gross if you ask me!

Sunshine Man :)

Trying out his new shades...



Ben wore his new sunglasses for about 5 minutes then pulled them down and tried to eat them!

Just like his Papa...

Hmmm...Ben doesn't get this from my side of the family! LOL!

Sitting!

My sweet happy boy



Ben can now sit up very well! He still will lose his balance on occasion and fall backwards or to the side, so he still needs to be watched carefully. I like to put him on the bad to practice because he can be on his own and fall over and it won't hurt! Last night he was sitting on the changing table and I was putting lotion on him, he tipped over and banged his head on the window sill. It made a loud sound and Ben did the open mouthed no sound coming out cry....way to go me... geez!
We started applesauce this morning. He either likes it better than sweet potatoes or is getting more accustomed to solids. He didn't spit it out and didn't clamp his mouth shut. He really likes to chew on the washcloth that I use to wipe his face so when we are done I rinse it in really cold water and give it to him. Yesterday when I was feeding him sweet potatoes he was blowing raspberries every time I would put them in his mouth...not happy raspberries, mad ones - so I ended up with sweet potato in my hair, on my face and my clothes! I had to start holding the wash cloth in front of him every time I gave him a bite!

Yummy! Or maybe not...

Sweet potato face!


I look excited now but that's because we are done!

Ben had his first taste of solid food today - sweet potato - he wasn't to thrilled about it! Watch the videos, you can see him doing a little gagging and mushing of his face. I think the sweet potatoes were a little thick to begin with - I thinned them out after a few little spoonfuls but by then he was over it! We'll be trying agin tomorrow - I'm sure it will get better.

Tubby Time!

Well almost...


This is the wall where the double sinks will be.


The shower...


Jim and the tub

I have to say that our tub is one of the things I'm most excited about. It's a six foot jetted tub that's super deep. It may take 3 days to fill up but it will be sooooo nice to soak in!

Benjamin's Check Up

Ben went for his 6 month check up (a couple weeks early) yesterday. He weighed 19 lbs and 5 oz and is 26 1/2 inches long. We talked about starting solids which I'm super excited about. I know he is ready because I give him powdered probiotics off my pinkie in the mornings and for the last couple weeks he has been opening his mouth for it! So we are starting with sweet potatoes for the first few days then I'm going to add a little bit of kale to it for extra iron... I'm excited to make his food because that means he have more exposure to different foods...has anyone ever seen kale in a baby food jar?... it's also so much cheaper! We are starting on Friday because Brent wants to be around to see his first taste of solid foods. And not to worry it will be fully videotaped and photographed so no one has to miss a minute! Haha!
Everything else went well and he is doing great. We go back at 9 months when he will have his iron levels tested.
We also visited our midwife Chinmayo yesterday. I saw a girl that I know who is expecting her second baby in a few weeks and she said "are you pregnant?!" No way!!!! Just visiting... I will definitely be using Chinmayo as my midwife again for our second - hopefully it will turn out to be an actual homebirth next time! Enough about more babies and pregnancy though...makes me nervous!

Alyeska Trip with Granpa

Outside the Alyeska resort with Granpa Doug


Posing with Mama




Happy Boy!

The last day my dad was here I decided to take him to Girdwood to see our ski resort and have lunch. The drive out to Girdwood is along the Turnagain Arm and is really pretty. We visited the ski resort and hung out a little while on the comfy couches by the fire while I fed Ben. Then we went to Chair 5 and had lunch. Tasty burgers with really yummy fries! On the way out of Girdwood we stopped at a bakery and got huge chocolate chip cookies - yum!
It was fun having my dad out here and it was great having his help with the house too. It will be even more fun when my parents come out in July because we'll get to do more vacationy, touristy things!

Found my feet!

Yay! New toys... feet!


But I think my hands are still my favorite...


Am I cute or what???

Ben finally got a grasp on his feet yesterday. I've been wondering when he would...I guess his little thighs are just so chubby it is hard work getting his legs up that far! He loves "This Little Piggy" and squirms the entire time I do it because his feet are so ticklish!

Comments...

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Trying out the highchair

Since it won't be too long before Ben starts solids I thought I'd get out the highchair so he would be comfortable in it. He loves to sit in it and play. We put him in it while we are eating so he can see us...he loves it!

Hanging with Papa

Just hanging around!


What happened to my ankles???

Ben and his Granpa

I think my dad has had a lot of fun hanging out with Ben. Who wouldn't considering how funny Ben is right now! LOL! :)

Sheetrock is almost done!

Our kitchen/living room/dining room


Brent, my dad and Brent's grandpa hanging sheetrock


My dad

My dad has been up here since March 27th helping to hang sheetrock and plaster. It has been great having him here! Ben has loved hanging out with his grandpa too! Hopefully next time he comes with my mom in July we will actually be living in the house!