So Big!

I wanted to illustrate just how far Ben has grown over these past few months. Here is a photo we took of him at the hospital. This is my hand. And below is a picture I took a few weeks ago. Look how big he's gotten!

Also notice how his jaundice is totally gone! We didn't notice it so much when he had it, but now looking back at the photos, it was obvious!

Mr Popular

So during the summer we work an occasional football game for Rick's mom and stepdad. They own a semi-pro football team, and I work the ticket booth and Rick runs the chains. This year, Ben has to tag along. We hook his carseat to the stroller and he sleeps most of the time. His Aunt Katie and cousin Kaylee come to help. And at tonight's game his Uncle Andy and 'Auntie' Amber came over from Spokane to work too. Everyone wanted to hold Ben. He's definitely Mr Popular. Lots of people stop to admire him and say how beautiful he is. I think we could charge money and pass him around. He'd be rich. This is a picture of Ben with his Aunt Katie (this one was taken at our first game three weeks ago).

Ben's New Toy

So in exactly one week I'll be back to work. It's amazing to think that it's been almost twelve weeks since Ben was born. He'll be eleven weeks old on Thursday. Crazy! In preparation for taking him to the sitter, I've been trying to get supplies to leave at her house. I have extra wipes and diapers to take, and plenty of blankies too, but didn't really have any spare gear. So I've been checking out Craigslist hoping to find some things I can leave at her house. Yesterday we came across a nice travel swing for pretty cheap, so today we went to pick it up. It's Fisher Price's Rainforest line, and it's pretty cute. It plays music that has jungle sounds mixed in, which is a little odd, but babies seem to like it. It's small and collapses down, so we can toss it in the car and just leave it at her house. We have a big full size swing here. We decided to give it a test run this afternoon. I think it was a hit. See for yourself.....

Just Like Daddy

So back before Ben was born, Rick and I spent an afternoon at REI trying on all the different baby carriers that they have. There was no doubt that once Ben was big enough, he'd be out there hiking just like Daddy. Yesterday, Ben and I made a little trip to pick up the carrier that Daddy liked off of Craigslist. Rick was pretty certain which make and model he wanted, so I'd been keeping an eye out for the right one on Craigslist for months now. Everytime one would come up in my search, they'd either be too expensive, or too far away. But yesterday everything worked out perfectly. The lady who had it for sale was only twenty minutes down the road. And this pack came with a bunch of extra accessories. We managed to get over $200 worth of stuff for $75 (the picture is one she took, that's not our house in the background). Of course, Ben can't ride in the pack until he's able to hold his head up consistently on his own. But now we've got it for when he's ready. He'll be an outdoorsman before you know it... it's in his blood.

Cousins

Last Monday, Ben and I babysat his cousin, Kaylee. She is five and this was her first opportunity to meet the baby. She was very excited and wanted to help with everything. It's hard to convince a five year old that they aren't quite big enough to carry the baby, or change his diaper, or feed him. On 7/7, Rick's sister also had a baby boy, Jackson. So now Ben has two cousins. Of course, we'll always be bias and say he's the cutest of them all. :)

P.S. For those who follow our photobucket album, there are a few new pictures added.

So perfect that it's tempting....

Rick and I have been discussing when we'd like to have our next child. Since we're already in our thirties, time isn't on our side. We always said we'd like a boy and a girl, and no getting pregnant after 35 due to the health risks. Ideally our second would be a girl, but if that doesn't happen, we would consider adopting a girl later on. Ironically, the Parenting magazine that just came in the mail has an article about spacing your babies. It weighs out all the pros and cons of different spacing. Rick and I have both read the article. It reinforced what we were already thinking. We'll probably go ahead and try for our second sooner than later. It would be nice to be done with diapers before we're 35 too! Some people will think we're crazy, but I don't think having two under two would kill us. We'd rather be younger parents and be able to keep up and have healthy pregnancies, than to wait too long. Plus, Ben is so perfect, that who could resist the temptation of having another perfect bundle of joy!?!

Benjamin's First Ballgame

On Sunday, July 5th, we took Ben to his first baseball game. Here in town there is a minor league team called the Everett Aquasox. We figured this would be a good test to see if Ben would be able to handle going down to Seattle for a major league Mariners game. It was a giveaway day and the first 100 kids got t-shirts. The lady gave Ben one!

Although he slept the entire game, I think he passed the test. In fact he and daddy even caught a foul ball!So sometime this summer we'll ride the train downtown for a Mariners game. We had a good time, and Ben was a good boy. He even wore a hat just for grammie. And to top it all off, the Aquasox won. It was a nice day for our little family. :)

What a Difference Two Months Can Make!

This picture was taken two months ago on May 7th, the day of Ben's birth. It was his very first picture! On that day he weighed 5 lbs 7 oz and was 18 inches long. Today is his 2 month birthday. And here he is today, 10 lbs 3 ozs and 22 inches long. I can't believe it!
He had his two month appointment today and is now in the 10th percentile for his age. That's the first time he's showed up on the charts! He had three different shots and an oral medication. He did so well, I'm so proud of him!