The Shaft

I'm starting to get the feeling that Ben is getting the shaft in regards to the blog. And, I know if I don't document everything, I'll forget all the little memories. Like...say...when he had his first solid foods. Or, the time he cringed when eating vegetables for the first time. These sound like little things, but when he's 18 I'll be 48 (God that's depressing) and it will be so deep in my mind, I don't know if I'll be able to dig it out.

I'll have to say, though, Ben's best buddy is his big sister Maya. Let's just say he get his share of screaming in his face. Hey Ben!!! Hi Ben!!! My Ben!!! Here Ben!!! Mouth!!! But he just takes it all in. And, it often results in a giggle when Maya does something off the wall, like...say...leap off of the couch and bounce off of Ben's exer-saucer. Bath time is lots of fun. Or as I like to call it, anatomy class. Maya points. Pee Pee?!? Yes, Maya. Pee Pee!! Pee Pee!! At least she's learning something.
Just the other day, I was watching Sesame Street with Maya and Ben and all of a sudden Ben hiked his leg over and finally rolled over from his back to his front. Below is a pic I caught with my camera after he did it. He was so proud of himself.Now I say that this was the first time he rolled over. But, that isn't entirely true. A few days earlier, Lezlie and I were making a big deal of getting Ben to roll over. And then comes big sister who proceeds to roll Ben like you would roll a barrel. So, I guess that was really the first time he rolled over. Looking back at Maya's progression, she didn't roll over until 6 months. So, I guess he's progressing a little faster. Maybe it's because he's a boy. Maybe it's because he has an older sibling. Who knows?

Ben got baptized on February 28th at our church, Holy Cross. That weekend, Jackie, Will, and Willa came up to visit. On Saturday, we brought Willa to Build-A-Bear and let her deck out a bear for her birthday. On that Sunday, we had a great showing. Susan was his sponsor and we got a great hope chest from the church. I just wish they did that when Maya was baptized. It was great to have everyone come to us and visit for an afternoon. If only the U.S. hockey team would have won the gold, it would have been a perfect day. I was on a diet for a month up until the baptism. And, I was soooo craving my cousin Debbie's cake that she was making. Since then, I have yet to start the diet again. Oh well, at least I lost 10 pounds.
Ben has been doing pretty good at nights. He usually goes to sleep about 8pm and then wakes up again at 1am and 5am. We just wish he could make it a couple more hours so we would only have to wake up once a night. At night, he's drinking about 6 ounces at a time, which is a lot more than Maya did. I'm betting she didn't drink that much until 8-9 months of age.

We have had a couple incidents at day-care lately. Ben's room recently added a "biter" to the room. And, Ben has been a victim a couple times when the teachers have turned their back. But, Momma Lezlie has showed her disappointment and they have promised to keep a close eye on the other one. Unfortunately, during this same time, Maya also fell victim to a biter. This one we don't quite understand. For a baby to bite another is one thing, but a 2-3 year old? I don't understand. Again, Momma Lezlie let her thoughts be heard and we're hoping that doesn't happen again soon.

Last weekend, Ben got his first experience at a birthday party. Susan's family threw a big party for 6 birthdays. And, we all got to see Ronnie and Carolyn's new house. Boy are we jealous. There is just so much space. I don't know how many times we lost track of Maya. At one point in time, Maya had somehow "found" 4 dollar bills. I guess I should start keeping an eye on my wallet.

Anyway, I hope this get me all caught up on everything. I'll leave you with one of my favorite pics I've taken.