The Little Things

For such a little guy, Ben is so studious! He has started examining everything in great detail and slapping at the things that really grab his attention.







He's such a happy boy when he wakes up in the morning!












The daily walk is one of Ben's favorite parts of the day...it used to be a nap time but now he watches everything as it goes by.

Mo Milk

Ben stays with Grammy and Grandpa ("Grumpy") Shepherd during the weekdays and he never lacks attention!









Can you tell I like milk?? Look at my chubby arms!











My new favorite toy - my tongue!












This was the outfit Ben wore home from the hospital 4 months ago...it's hard to believe he's grown that much already!

Standing

Ben LOVES to stand now! (with a little help, of course)



















We already have a little TV watcher. If I lay him on the floor facing away from the TV, he'll just look up as high as he can to see the screen. It is playoff season, so I can't blame him too much...



















Just hanging out















Playing in his new walker, which took over an hour and some creative engineering to put together. Who knew you'd have to be a bodybuilder to assemble a kid's toy?

First Christmas

Ben's first Christmas was great...I'm not sure he realized it but we all had so much to celebrate this year with a happy, healthy baby joining our family. He got lots of gifts from friends and family (although he needed some help to open them all) and he has new toys, books, and clothes to enjoy. Ben is nearly 14 lbs now and starting to make all kinds of sounds. He's also getting really good at standing in someone's lap, as long as he still has some help balancing. He's just beginning to reach out for toys or interesting objects, like he's figuring out what those hands are really supposed to do. We've started giving Ben rice and oat cereal, apple juice, and even his first taste of green beans. He didn't dislike them, but he sure wasn't begging for more, as you can probably tell from the picture! I think he needs a little more time to accept new things being spooned into his mouth.



Ben is such a joy in our lives and we are so thankful to be able to celebrate his first Christmas together as a family. We hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you all the best in 2007.

Growing Right Along

Ben is growing before our very eyes! He's more fun by the day and getting more talkative. Last weekend Matt and I both heard a very distinct "dada" and while we're sure it was an accident, we're still convinced we have a smart little kid on our hands.

Although Ben has a lot of fun toys to play with, his favorite things by far right now are his fingers! I can hear him slurping away on his little digits in the car nearly every day.

Back to Work

I started back at work this week so Ben is spending his days with Grammy and Grandpa Shepherd now. He's made the adjustment very well but he starts crying every day as soon as he hears my voice, I guess to let me know that he doesn't appreciate being deserted all day, even though he's probably getting MORE attention now than he did from just me! It's hard to pull such a cute little guy out of bed in the morning. Luckily, he usually stays asleep in his carseat for a while after I drop him off so he's not missing out on any good sleep.
Ben loves all the lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree, especially when the cat attacks something and the entire tree moves. I'm sure in the next few years the stuff under the tree will be much more interesting!

6 Months

Ben went in for his 6-month checkup last week and got a very good report. He's nearly 12 lbs now and eating some rice cereal in his bottle every evening. The doctor said we can start him on vegetables anytime but Ben hasn't taken to the spoon yet so we'll wait a little while longer on real food.
Celebrating the last warm day in November with a little Hawaiian shirt action!

Once he discovered his fingers there has been no getting them out of Ben's mouth! Sometimes he manages to get all 10 in there but the first few on his right hand seem to taste the best.