The Holidays

What a busy time of year! As many large, blended families do, we have decided that to get together on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day is near impossible and that its not the day that is important but simply that we all have a chance to get together. Which for our large extended family means that we have a Christmas get together every weekend the entire month of December! I love this time of year!! Especially this year!! Its been amazing to be able to share our blessing with our many aunts, uncles, siblings and cousins. I never thought it would happen and here we are, packing our to-go bag making sure that we have every last thing he could possibly need. When will it sink in that he's our's?? He's really our's!! Its been almost 8 months and I still feel that way! Through the sleepless nights, the crying fits, the getting thrown up on, the smiles and the laughing I still think this at least once every single day.

It has been a very long time since my last post so let me give you the low down on what's been going on.

The last 2 months has proven to be a huge growth spurt in Benjamin's development. Each stage has lasted about 2 weeks.

• Stage 1: (Thanksgiving) Ben started to sit upon his own.
• Stage 2: (1st week in December) He could get himself from the sitting position to his hands and knees and then to his tummy.
• Stage 3: (Christmas) As soon as he was able to get from his butt to his tummy he was on a mission. He started to get up on his hands and knees and rock but wasn't able to coordinate all 4 limbs and the brain yet. But he could swirm all over on his tummy.
• Stage 4: (New Years) Benjamin was crawling backwards on his hands and kness.
• Stage 5: (January 6th) Benjamin is an offical crawler!!

Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Ben was a little overwhelmed at first but seemed to get a kick out of being passed around between the family members. Which was great so Momma could entertain and cook all while the baby was perfectly happy cooing with Grandpa, the Grandmas, the uncles, aunts and cousins! Yet, no Thanksgiving would be complete without a little drama but the little tyke topped the night off with a little fever. Pretty sure it was all the activity, the lack of napping and his teeth bothering him but that night he slept like a rock!

6 Months Old

Its hard to believe that Benjamin is 6 months old already!! He is 28 inches long and weighs in at 19lbs 10 oz!! He is in the 95th percentile for height and 85th for weight. We hope that he is going to be tall like his Grandpa Larry and Great Grandpa Clarence! Happy and healthy is what we like to hear!!

Momma loves cuddle time!




Benjamin is mastering sitting up, digs his lightup music ball and loves to look at himself in the mirror.

5 Months Old

Chad, Ben and I spent a lovely afternoon at the apple orchard and pumpkin patch and spite the chilly temps and wind we had a great time! Who wouldn't with this adorable boy!

Ben is working on rolling over from back to front, however right now it looks more like the back crawl. Using his head and his legs, he arches is back up real high so that his butt is off the ground and does a kicking motion that skooches himself backwards. A little more umph and he'll be over! In the mean time the poor boy is wearing a bald spot on the back of his head with all this back crawling action. :)

He is just starting to really enjoy the exersaucer. When we put him in it the first time he wasn't too keen on it. Now we set him in it and throws himself from front to back, back to front, side to side, up and down. I get the feeling that we are going to have a rambunctious little one on our hands.

4 months old

My little boy is growing like a weed! He's weighing in at 16 lbs 5 ounces and is 25 1/2 inches long!

Genetics are a funny thing. Most children suck their thumb or a pacifier, well, not my husband. He sucked on 2 fingers upside down so that his finger tips were on the roof of his mouth. Check out this picture!

Like father, like son or what?!?

Our favorite time with Ben is the morning. There is nothing better that seeing his face light up when we come into his room to get him up for the day. Everyday is like this but on Saturday and Sunday mornings after he eats, we bring him back to our room to play. He lays between us kicking, swinging his arms, smiling and giggling as we tell him stories and sing songs. Eventually, he wears out and we all take a little nap.

At 4 months old, Benjamin:

• lights up when he sees Momma and Daddy!
• loves to splash during bath time
• loves to talk and be talked to. He gets frustrated when he doesn't have a chance to answer
• Waits for you to say "fudish" after he sneezes and "saha" after he caughs. He even fake caughs just to get you to respond. little stinker!
• is switching his toys from hand to hand
• is putting absolutely everything in his mouth
• has discovered his hands and is starting to be interested in his toes. Can't wait until those go in his mouth too :)
• Has tried carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas and pears but his absolute favorite ..... peas! I can't figure it out but am not complaining!!
• has his first tooth starting to poke through

Beautiful boy

Could he be any cuter??

A weekend to remember

We spent a wonderful Labor Day weekend up north. Benjamin experienced lots of firsts. He had his first pontoon ride, which was lovely and so relaxing that he slept through most of it.

He went in the pool for the first time for a little swim. He wasn't so sure about it at first but he quickly got the hang of it and before long he was kicking, splashing and squeeling with pure excitement until he splashed himself in the face and that was the end of the fun.

There is definitely some truth to the fresh air tiring you out because that boy slept for 13 hours straight both Saturday and Sunday!! Wooo hooo!! Ben is in full teething mode. He is a drooling machine and cannot seem to chew enough on his hands. His gums are swollen and there is a little bit of a tooth starting to poke through. For hurting he had a pretty good weekend.

Made with love

My first attempt at knitting something for the boy was a hat. I decided that I would do the 6-12 month size so he could wear it this winter. I followed the instructions and did a sample to make sure that my gauge was right so that the hat would turn out properly. Well...this is the outcome....

Look Ben, its fits Momma!!

I have since made another hat, the 3-6 month size and it fits the boy like a champ.

Awe...

Is this not the cutest sad face ever??

Smart little boy

We have learned that Ben has Grandma wrapped around his precious little finger. Over the last week Ben has developed this pattern of little to no napping at Grandma's during the day. He's in a good mood, plays and smiles a bunch for her but in turn, she gets little to no break. He loves the undivided attention. I figured that I would get much of the same over the weekend. Well, not so much. He napped like a champ! The morning nap was about what she gets, an hour. But the afternoon nap was almost 3! And that was unswaddled! Need to figure out how to get this boy to nap at Grandma's!

Ben is learning how to giggle. He squeels and belly laughs with his whole body. He thinks its especially funny when Momma sticks her tongue out at him.

No doubt they are related

As I sit here at diligently working this beautiful Friday afternoon, I can't help to glance at my cubicle wall to stare at my beautiful baby and my beautiful neice. I put these pictures side by side and they look identical! On top is Ben at just under 3 months and on the bottom is Anna at just over 3 months. Not only is the hair color the exact same but the shape of their noses, eyes and mouths are almost identical. So cute!!

Happy 3 month birthday

Ben turned 3 months old this past weekend. He amazes us every day! His favorite toy is still his bouncy seat. I think because he gets a kick out of looking at himself in the mirror. When he catches his reflection he stares and then gets a huge smile and lets out a loud "gaaa!", kicks his legs and swats at the hanging rattle toys which makes him smile bigger and "gaaa" louder! Its a never ending circle of fun!

At grandma's this week, Ben said a full "sentence"! Well not so much a sentence but put 3 distinct sounds together.

We are loving every moment!

Back to work

My first week back to work is over and done with. Whew! We all survived! Grandma and Ben seem to be doing well. He loves his new crib and aquarium light and sound show crib toy. It seems to mezmorize him and he is asleep in minutes. Ivy(grandma's dog) loves to give Ben kisses and is super interested in everything about him. Ben hasn't been quick enough to get the death grip on her fur yet but I am sure that is coming. She won't be so interested in him then. LOL! We are all still figuring out the drop off/pickup/sleep schedules but that will come. Daddy is also enjoying his alone time with Ben. I am looking forward to my weekend with the boy! How many hugs and kisses can I fit in in 48 hours??

Doesn't he look like a little old man?

Can you believe its August already??

Where has the time gone? I can hardly believe that I am going back to work in 2 days!! It makes me so sad to think of all the things that I am going to miss out on but at the same time it makes it a bit easier going back knowing that he is with my mom who will give him her undivided attention. We are soooo lucky that she is willing and able to have this time with Ben.

Finally a smile caught on camera!

2 months

Many have asked where the red hair comes from. In order to have a red head, the red hair gene must be present in both the mother and father.

On my side: My mom's grandma had the skin coloring of a red head(pail and freckles) but my mom only knew her with white hair so we don't know this for sure. We assume that is where we can link it to on my side.

On Chad's side: Chad's Grandpa(Pat's father, Glen Perdue) was a red head(the red lineage goes further back but we'll start here). The trend in this family has been only 1 red head in each generation.

Ben is the only red head of the family in his generation on Chad's side of the family. Ben is the second red head of his generation on my side(Anna is the first).

Did you know...

• Approximately 1% to 2% of the human population has red hair
• Redheads make up approximately 4% of the European population
• Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads, as 13% of the population has red hair and approximately 40% carries the recessive redhead gene
• Ireland has the second highest percentage at 10%. It is thought that up to 46% of the Irish population carries the recessive redhead gene.
• In the United States, anywhere from two to six percent of the population is estimated to have red hair. This would give the U.S. the largest population of redheads in the world, at 6 to 18 million, compared to approximately 650,000 in Scotland and 420,000 in Ireland.

At 2 months old, Benjamin:

• Weighs 13 lbs


• Is 22.5 inches long


• Smiles all the time


• Not only coos but is finding his voice in different volumes with his excitment level


• Has been sleeping through the nights for weeks: average 8pm - 7am


• Is holding his head up on his own. Still gets a little wobbly when tired though


• Uses his hands and arms to life his head and chest off the ground during tummy time


• Loves his bouncy chair


• Is rolling over from his tummy to his back


• Started rice cereal

5 weeks old.....

and is sleeping through the night!!

For the past 4 nights in a row my boy has has slept from 8pm until 5 or 6 am!! YAY!!!

Lets hope this continues!!

1 month old

No doubt about it, that first month is a challenge to say the least. I remember saying I am never going to do this or I am never going to do that. HA!! You break out all the stops at 3 in the morning when the baby has been crying for what seems like an eternity and its been fed, changed, burped, rocked, swayed, anything and everything that the damn book said!! Give me that pacifer that I said that I was never going to give my child!! Ahhhh...relief.....

But seriously, yes the past month has had its difficulties but all in all has been great. The best parts of my days are when I am just holding Ben and he is staring at me, it truely is a love like no other. Then there are the times when Chad is holding him and I watch as he interacts with his son and I catch myself day dreaming of what life will be like in 5 years watching them play t-ball and catch in the back yard.


Life is so much better with Ben in our family.



At 1 month old, Benjamin:

• weighs 10 lbs


• is 21.5 inches long


• holds his head up when he's on his tummy


• likes to try to stand and bounce on Momma's lap


• smiles


• coos


• eats 4 oz at a time


• sleeps 4-5 hours at a time - no complaints here!!


• doesn't take particular interest in any of his toys but loves Momma and Daddy's faces


• likes the swing (at times) but not for too long


• is sleeping in his big boy crib!

My first entry

Hello everyone! With our family and friends scattered all over the United States, I have decided to try my hand at blogging. I will try to keep you up to date with some of our favorite pictures of Benjamin, new milestones that he reaches and how life with our little man is going.

Benjamin Michael Matson

Born: May 16th, 2009

Time: 10:04 pm

Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz

Length: 21 inches

Proud Daddy!

After the delivery the nurse guided Chad to the nursery where Benjamin was introduced to Grandma Becker.

Ben with the Matson clan!

From left to right: Uncle Ryan(Chad's younger brother), Grandpa(Chad's dad, Larry), Uncle Mark(Chad's older brother), Daddy(Chad), Grandma(Chad's mom, Pat), Ben(the baby) and Auntie Lori(Mark's wife)

Our first thoughts when we got home were "Okay...now what??" With no nurses to help we adapted quickly to the throws of parenthood. I am pretty sure that the hospital gives you the pee, poop and eat charts to take your mind off of the sleep that you are not getting but mostly to reassure new parents like us that as long as he pees and poops according to their guidlines that he must be eating enough. I have to say that it did put my mind at ease.

Our neice Anna, nephew Cole and nephew Jack holding their new cousin Ben!

A few of our favorites.

Tummy time is hard work!


Ben at 1 month old.

Our first family picture.