Shoes

How is it that a 9 month old can be so picky about shoes? For the past few weeks I have been on a mission to get Benjamin a pair of shoes that he will....

a) stand up in and stop pretending like he has noodles for legs

b) not scream like he is being tortured with a hot poker

c) not inhabit him from crawling and/or walking

This is not asking a lot right? HA! So, the only "shoes" that are out there for "pre-walkers" or "early walkers" are the Robeez or some form of Robeez, well my little man can rip those off in 2.2 seconds flat so those don't work for us. So.....off to Stride Rite we go to see if they have a solft soled shoe that is not a Robeez and not a sneaker.

We walk in and of course everyone comments on the red hair and how ginormous he is for only being 9 months old. Yep. Got it. Ok. The rude sales lady continues on about how big he is but is to young for shoes. She asks if he's pulling him self up and walking along furniture, which I tell her he does both. She says, "Nooo! You show me!" Seriously, I am beyond annoyed at this point. Do you have what I am looking for or not?!? We put Ben down and he pulls himself up, bounces and sits back down. Are you happy? Uhhh..no....again I get the "he too young for shoes".

So my mission begins! We hit Sears, Target, Babies-R-Us, Wal-Mart and Kohls. Sears had a couple of great pairs of New Balance sneakers that Ben absolutely threw a hissy fit about having on his feet. All out red-faced screaming, body stiffening tantrum for just putting them on his feet. I'll keep those in mind for when we get to the sneaker phase. So we ended up at 'Oh Baby' in the galleria. If you haven't been there. They have lovely, lovely items. I found what I was looking for!

SeeKaiRun makes these adorable shoes. Nice wide shoe and toe area for developing feet. The soft sole helps keep him flat footed and not on his tippy toes. I LOVE them! And more importantly, so does Ben!

If interested, check them out at the store to see if you like them and then buy online. Cheaper by $15 and no shipping!

The best sound in the world!

The picture is a bit dark. Turn up your volume.

Our trip to Arizona

Benjamin did great on the both the flight there and back! He napped, he played, he giggled...we couldn't have asked for a better boy!

A few of my favorites from our trip:

Daddy and Benjamin chillin after a hard morning of playing.

Benjamin having a giggle fit.

Momma: "Whatcha doing?"

Benjamin: "Oh.....just hanging out on a missile"

Teeth

Look Ma! I got teeth!!!

Benjamin's two lower front teeth have finally made their appearance!

Our 1st Christmas

I have never been one for Christmas shopping....I like to get it all done early to avoid the crowds and the hussle and bussle of the season...rather bah hum bug I suppose. Well this year was another story, early on in the season we picked up a few things for Ben, a couple of book, some jammies and a ball. As Christmas grew nearer, the commercials showing the toys of the season and the news stories of the top 10 gifts of the year got to me and next thing I knew I was out picking up something here and there and poof before I knew it the living room was packed full of fun for Ben!

Christmas Eve we spent with Chad's family in Ramsey. Despite the snow and ice we had a wonderful evening and morning together. We got off to a late start due to the weather so it was a good thing that we had planned on spending the night. Ben knew that there was a party going on and was not about to go to sleep until every last present was opened. He loved touching the wrapping paper and bows! Uncle Mark gave him his first taste of sweetness, a chocolately pudding goody that Auntie Lori made. Ben was a mess head to toe and loved every minute of it! His evening ended with getting hosed down in the kitchen sink!

Christmas morning we headed back to our house and spent the day with my mom and neice. Ben was again a busy little boy. He loved the curly ribbon on the gifts. Over and over again he's pull the tendrels through his fingers. As of late his favorite thing to do is pound. He pounds the floor, himself, Momma, the dog, anything he get his hands on. Santa brought him a set of bongo drums that light up and make noise when you pound on them. He LOVES them! Books were another big hit this year. The hard page books are a favorite as he can "turn" the page. Our favorite right now is a touch and feel book called "I See a Monster". He also got an orange ball that is just about the same color as his hair and he has figured out that it rolls and how to pick it up and drop it!

New Year's Day we had Christmas with my dad's side of the family. It was again a great day! Benjamin had his first taste of Lebenese goodness, baked Kibbee! And boy did he like it!! Uncle John, Auntie Cathie and Auntie Jeanne made all the kids a rocking horse patterned off of a rocking horse that Grandpa had made for my dad when he was 6 months old. I LOVE it!! Ben will love it too when he gets a little bigger. That is totally something that my dad would have done. It was so fun watching the bigger kids playing on them!!

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!