Ha ha da-da

My hubby is funny.

That is perhaps his most endearing quality to me (maybe tied with his ambition, good looks and modesty. OK, he isn't known for his modesty).

Last night we were talking about classes for Ben, as I mentioned, and today I get this message:

"I think Ben and I will also take karate classes, along with Spanish and sign language."

It's funny to me on so many levels I won't even go into it, but start with picturing Ben and hubby in karate uniforms. Today. Ben can't even stand, what type of moves do you think they'll practice?

Classes

Looking for recommendations on classes (Wiggle Worms, Bubbles Academy, etc.) that you've enrolled your little ones in and enjoyed. There are so many options and as winter appears to be decending on us this week, I'd like to find some good ones for Ben and Paula to get out of the house. Much appreciated.

Schedule?

Seriously (little) dude...by the time I left for work today at 8:10, Ben had already been up for his morning feeding (5:10am), played, took a bath, went down for his nap and WOKE UP AGAIN. Geez. What is going on??

As you can see, I still refuse to get on board with this new schedule and continue to hope it is a fluke. It has to be.

Dadada

Lots of exciting action this weekend...Ben started saying da-da. Not in association with dad, but I think it counts none the less. This video doesn't really do it justice but it gives you the idea. 

He also found his feet. They haven't sparked quite the love affair that he has with his hands but they've only just been discovered, we'll see how things develop. 

For some reason he loves water. I can't drink a bottle of it near him without constant interuption and grasping for a try. I loaded up his sippy cup today and we gave it a whirl. He seems confused by the fact that it isn't milk but kept coming back for more. We need a no-spill cup while were learning, big mess right now. 

And, most exciting of all is that he is learning how to move around on his belly. Today he did a complete 360, using his favorite toy (his keys) as the motivation to spin around. As with everything, it takes awhile but with practice he has shown to be a quick learner. He completely mastered sitting up last week so I can't wait to watch where this new move takes us. 

Enjoy!

Beautiful Sunday

Fall is in the air and I feel even more compelled to spend every minute outside to enjoy what is left of the warm days. We hit the farmers market this morning and Ben held on to this (sweet) pepper until it was time to take his afternoon nap. 

Think I'll make tomato sauce today with all the ripe produce from the garden, herbs, sweet onions and peppers we picked up. 

It is such a pretty day, I wish there were a hundred Sundays to follow...

Deep Thoughts

What do you think these two are talking about? Looks important. 

Boys Club

We got the gang back together today for the first time since Ryan was born - he is on the far left and they get older as you move to the right, Ben, Daniel and Gage. Ryan is about 5 months, Gage is 11 months. Hilarious to see them all together at various stages. 

Conducting nightly ritual of staring at Ben sleeping on monitor and wondering when he got so big?

Healthy Check Up

We had our six month appointment last Friday (a little late, he is actually 6 1/2 months now), and Ben checked out across the board. Here are the stats:

Weight: 18.13oz (almost 19lbs); Length: 27 inches; Head: 18 - this puts him 75%, 75%, 90% percentile respectively.

It's funny how they quietly encourage parents to get crazy about overachieving at this early age. I'm just happy he appears to be evenly balanced, and of course healthy.

He got immunized for a ton of stuff, three shots total b/c they combine them, including the flu vaccine. We have to go back for a second flu and then potentially H1N1 as well next month. That alone (H1N1) could scare me sleepless but I'm trying not to think about it. He was a rock star and took them like a champ. Hubby came with and coached him through it, holding his little hands.

We also have successfully (so far) eliminated the 9:30pm feeding, though I'm personally meeting it with mixed emotions. I almost always love this feeding, it's 30 more minutes with him and I still count minutes! But he is getting up at 5:30 am and it would be nice to get some extra sleep when needed. And occasionally we do go out to dinner (crazy!), and I still really only trust Paula to wake/feed him, which isn't practical during the week.

So we took advantage of his extreme fatigue following the Toledo trip and tried skipping the feeding. And he slept through. Sat. Sun. Mon. It's a streak. The doc says we can let him cry it out if he wakes, and frankly he has proven that he doesn't need the extra food (his big thighs concur).

It's hard to complain b/c others I've talked to aren't getting this much sleep from their babes and metabolically he can make it through the night, but I miss him. It's hard to say goodnight for good at 7pm.

I'm a loser, I know. I just love the little guy. And I still worry about him, and it was a nice assurance to see him one more time before I went to bed. OK, enough. That is the report. We are going out for mexican and margs tonight so hopefully somehow I'm achieving balance.

But I already miss him, until tomorrow...

Ben and his ladies

Just a couple other great shots from the weekend. There is no shortage of love for Ben. Here he is checking out grandma Carol and enjoying some yummy dinner with grandma Es. XO 

Congrats to My Awesome Sis

A big CONGRATS to my sis who organized the 4th annual Ryan Serber Classic 8K race this weekend.

Negotiating the details of an event of this magnitude is stressful enough -- add into the mix the emotional elements surrounding the race, having family and friends in from near and far, coordinating countless logistics, hosting house guests, (not to mention co-hosting a baby shower the same weekend) and an ordinary person would be balled into a corner in tears.

Yet she handles herself with such grace and poise throughout, I continue to be in awe of her.

She hands out race packets. She knows everyone's name on the course, and thanks them personally for volunteering. She welcomes the runners and conducts the post-race ceremonies. And she does it all with a genuine smile and gratitude.

Congrats my sis. Ryan would be so proud. I love you.

For more on her story, check out this great article in the Toldo Free Press

I love you and good night

Much more to come on our awesome trip to T-town this weekend for the annual Serber Classic, but wanted to get a couple pics up for everyone.

I hadn't given much thought to the concept of "pride" as it relates to a baby. Makes more sense to me when you consider making a football team or doing well on a test. Yet this weekend I was overcome by how much pride I felt introducing the little guy to everyone. Not just because he is the cutest baby in the world (UO - unbiased opinion), but because he was such a ROCK STAR.

Traveling in the car. Sleeping in unfamiliar places. Not sleeping at all. Making the trip down to see great grandma in Lima. Lots of change for a boy who lives his life on a pretty tight schedule.

Yet he continued to deliver smile after smile, belly laugh after monster growl. He caught a couple cat naps when he could, but overall delivered the performance of his lifetime. And pride seems the most accurate way to describe how I feel.

Everyone was happy to get home tonight, perhaps most of all Ben. Who laid down in his crib and was too tired to even talk himself to sleep as he usually does. I love you buddy, and good night.

Why Ben?

My perfect, can-do-no-wrong, ray of sunshine has now hit the one-week mark of waking up at approximately 5am. Today it was actually 4:30. I'm not sure what is going on with him, but I am going crazy. Seriously, delirious from the lack of sleep.

Nevermind that I haven't worked out since HTC and can't get back into the groove b/c morning was my time to do so (in truth this isn't all Ben's fault but I had really committed to getting back into my routine this week).

And of course he is delightful, inspite of the early hour (it's still dark out for crying out loud). When I get down there he is smiling and laughing. But as the days go on I find I'm too tired to even talk to him. Ugh. What is going on Ben??

Six month birthday

Ben celebrated his six month b-day yesterday by downing an entire jar of applesauce. He loves his food, check him out...

Happy Belated Birthday

Happy belated birthday to uncle Gaston who turned 21 on Saturday. We've been celebrating for about 10 days straight. Here's to you and many more 801 sandwiches in the coming year. XO.

Enjoying Labor Day Weekend

Is there anything more glorious than a holiday weekend...we took Ben to the horse track on Saturday and had an awesome time. Daddy's lucky baby delivered a win, both on track and off. He flirted with anyone who gave him the slightest glance and made friends everywhere. Didn't really get the horses, likely b/c there were people much closer who wanted to hold and snuggle with him. Parties continued for mom and dad all weekend and I'm actually excited to get back to our quite lives this week. It has been non-stop since OR and I've fallen out of practice with this pace.

Off to Miami tomorrow for a turnaround and then looking forward to a nice week at home. A few pics from the weekend, glorious weather in Chitown. Hope you had a great holiday. Cheers!

Spoiled Ben

As mentioned, Ben was watched by my parents while we were in OR. My mom really pulled the heavy duty - arriving Wed night in time for our departure Thurs am and staying through the following Wed morning. My dad came in for the weekend, to keep her company and get in a few giggles -- you can see from the photos who the picture-taker was. They had an action-packed adventure, including swings, walks, and apparently some naked time wearing his madras hat :)

Ben of course, hammed it up for everyone. Enjoy!

An update amid the chaos

When you're attempting to take on the world, inevitably something drops at some point. This week it was the blog. Apologies for the lack of content. Pictures of Ben to follow tomorrow (that is all anyone wants, isn't it?), but a quick update in the meantime...

The trip to OR was awesome. Awesome. If the pictures don't communicate it, the race was an amazing experience. So many logistics and elements to content with, but at the end of the day I'm impressed with how we all outperformed our own expectations. For me it was a lesson in how much I underdeliver when it's just me out there running. When I have a team counting on me, I'm suddenly able to go faster and harder than ever before. Let that be a lesson on my next run (I've yet to lace up the shoes since...)

Ben was FABULOUSLY taken care of by my mom (and dad). I returned to a fatter, happier baby which I didn't think was possible. Honestly, it was surprisingly good to get away. We played as hard as we ran, and our schedule was so jammed that I didn't even have the luxury of missing him until Monday morning. But when it hit, it hit hard. I was dangerously close to taking a taxi from Seaside to the airport and actually shed a tear upon waking up (admittedly it also could have been a result of sleep deprivation, combined with dancing for six hours straight, and the after-effects of mass alcohol consumption).

That said I had taken the day off yesterday and was delighted to spend the day making out with him and snuggling as much as possible. He is truly the light of my life and the time away only reinforced that.

Pictures to follow tomorrow, and then a long, lazy weekend ahead. So excited.