1 year old

I can hardly believe that Benjamin is 1 year old! God is truly amazing. Our infertility journey took us 9 years to conceive Benjamin, from the moment that we found out I was pregnant we were thrilled beyond belief! I cherished every movement and vowed to be the best mom I could be. I have wonderful women in my life to learn from. For me, there was no better feeling in the world then holding my son at 2 in the morning and feeling his breath on my chest. While he slept I studied his delicate fingers and breathed in his scent. To go from this helpless little creature to a little boy who on his 1st birthday walks on his own, dances when music is played and terrorizes the dog every chance he gets has been as awesome as I imagined it would be. But watching the pure delight in his eyes as he discovers the world is amazing on a whole new level. He really does take my breath away.

Here are a few of my favorites from the past month

Telling Daddy stories

At the cabin hair.

I can feed myself!

The joys of cake!!!

Height: 30 1/2 inches

Weight: 23.7 lbs

what a little clapping does...

As I sit here and write this entry, I can harldy believe that my little boy is a month away from turning 1! Is motherhood everything I expected? Yes! And more! I am still enjoying every moment of being a mom. I couldn't ask for a better boy. He is the light of my life. One thing that has become astoundingly apparent to me is the affects of praise. What a difference a little clapping and whooping does for my little one's self confidence. I clap and cheer him on just as happily when we're out and about as when we are at home. Boy, does it ever make a difference! Last week Benjamin was having his afternoon snack of oranges and wanted to pick up those little pieces but wasn't quite able to. So I put a chunk on his fork and helped him put it in his mouth and hipped and hurrayed to beat the band, I put another chunck on his fork and helped him again and by chunk #3 he was doing it all by himself! I think that for every piece that went into his mouth we whooped louder then the time before! It written all over his face how proud he was of himself.

Pics from Daddy's birthday

Cherished Treasure

My cousin Joanne is a tremendously gifted artist. For my birthday, she and my mom collaborated on a mother's necklace for me. I love it! Its hard to see the bead because of the shadow but its a beautiful Emerald stone. On top it is stamped with Benjamin's birthdate. I love the mixture of metals and the shapes.

Mexico

We had a great time in Mexico. We layed under the palopas on the beach, played in the sand, dipped our toes in the ocean and splashed about in the pool! Ahhhh....heaven!

Some of my favorite moments!

Mornings. Ready for a new day of adventures.

Underwater. What a neat picture!

So glad it turned out!

I love my floaty!

Ooooo...thats ice is cold! Give me more!!

Did I mention that I LOVE the sand?

9 months old

Our little man is 9 months old now. Look how he has changed!

What Benjamin is up to these days:

• He is crawling all over the place.
• Pulls himself up on everything.
• Walks along furniture.
• Is starting to stand alone.
• Is eating solids. Chicken, peas, sweet potatoes and squash are still amoung his favorites.
• Chomps on puffs like he has been chewing forever!
• Drinks water out of a sippy but not formula.
• Has 2 teeth.
• Is rolling a ball.

Length: 29.5 inches
Weight: 22 lbs
Head: 18.5 inches

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.