Saturday, December 30, 2006
Baby's First Christmas
Bejamin and Benjimabear finally meet!
A brand new toy! Benjamin's excited.
We had a wonderful Christmas with Benjamin. We woke up and had presents and breakfast at our apartment. Then we drove over to Grandma and Grandpa Cannon's house to enjoy the rest of the day with them. We opened presents there with Grandma and Grandpa, Josh and his wife Anne, Katie, Claire, and their cousin Mickey (shown in this last picture).
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Happy Half-Birthday to Ben!
Benjamin is SIX MONTHS OLD today...and finally tolerating tummy time! But only because he's learned to scoot about on the bed. He lifts his little bum high in the air, legs straightened and head buried in the covers. Then he straightens his body out and pushes his melon head forward. He's gotten a lot more dangerous to sit on any surface because he lunges forward, with full confidence that he can just crawl away. He's a fun, 20 pound bundle of joy!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Go to sleep!
Benjamin has thoroughly enjoyed his Thanksgiving break, especially because he's seen Dad for more than 3 hours a day for a few days now! We've played rolling games and scooting games and Benjamin even got his first taste of sweet potatoes. He usually gives a disgusted face when he tries something new, but this time it was more like a gag...I'm pretty sure he would have thrown up too if we kept feeding it to him. But we thought they were great!
We also decided that the break would be a perfect time to start training him to sleep through the night, since his sleeping patterns have become horrible (imagine a night where you're waking up at least every hour...it's become a little more than we could handle). So last night was #3 (hopefully the last) in letting him cry a little and learn how to fall asleep on his own. I'm a pansy when it comes to letting him cry, however, so I finally found a philosophy that agrees with mine- "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg. She's also a Brit, so it's fun to read, and obviously I can trust her more. :) I put him down now before he's totally asleep, and he's gotten the hang of drifting off on his own. I also wait five minutes once he starts crying before going in and soothing him (not picking him up). We repeat this cycle until he falls asleep. Surprisingly, just after the first night, it's only taken once each time to get him to fall back asleep. So we've already seen great improvements in his sleeping habits.
Oh, so while I'm mentioning this book, I should mention the baby temperment quiz, which was a lot of fun. The five types are: Angel Baby, Textbook Baby, Touchy Baby, Spirited Baby, and Grumpy Baby. I guess I've always assumed Benjamin to be somewhat touchy/sensitive, but was surprised to learn that he was overwhelmingly a "Textbook Baby", meaning he's pretty normal in development and is fairly easy to predict and calm. I'm guessing here, but if I were to decide what his cousins are, I'd have to say that Sarah is Angel Baby, and that Natalie and Andrew are both "Spirited Babies". Of course I don't live with them, so you guys would know best.
We also decided that the break would be a perfect time to start training him to sleep through the night, since his sleeping patterns have become horrible (imagine a night where you're waking up at least every hour...it's become a little more than we could handle). So last night was #3 (hopefully the last) in letting him cry a little and learn how to fall asleep on his own. I'm a pansy when it comes to letting him cry, however, so I finally found a philosophy that agrees with mine- "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg. She's also a Brit, so it's fun to read, and obviously I can trust her more. :) I put him down now before he's totally asleep, and he's gotten the hang of drifting off on his own. I also wait five minutes once he starts crying before going in and soothing him (not picking him up). We repeat this cycle until he falls asleep. Surprisingly, just after the first night, it's only taken once each time to get him to fall back asleep. So we've already seen great improvements in his sleeping habits.
Oh, so while I'm mentioning this book, I should mention the baby temperment quiz, which was a lot of fun. The five types are: Angel Baby, Textbook Baby, Touchy Baby, Spirited Baby, and Grumpy Baby. I guess I've always assumed Benjamin to be somewhat touchy/sensitive, but was surprised to learn that he was overwhelmingly a "Textbook Baby", meaning he's pretty normal in development and is fairly easy to predict and calm. I'm guessing here, but if I were to decide what his cousins are, I'd have to say that Sarah is Angel Baby, and that Natalie and Andrew are both "Spirited Babies". Of course I don't live with them, so you guys would know best.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
a BEAUTIFUL day in provo
Yesterday was a beautiful day, probably somewhere in the upper 70's, so we just had to go for a walk up Provo Canyon. I love Fall! Especially when it's warm. Oh, and this other picture was taken earlier that day near our apartment. Now it's cold again, like regular November days.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Benjamin's new exer-saucer
Benjamin loves his new toy- it lets him STAND (his very favorite thing to do), turn around, and enjoy a variety of activities. It's nice because Sarah can now put him down occasionally!
A visit from Cousin Sarah
The two cousins seemed a bit more interested in eachother this time. Bryan and Jenilee spent the night with us on their way moving from Ohio to California.
Benjamin's Sitting Up!
Benjamin at the pumpkin patch, leaning on the giants.
Benajmin sitting up in his crib, supported by his "Boppy" pillow.
We discovered knocking over block towers is a favorite past-time of his. It's helped him a lot with his balance and general interest in sitting.
And here he is- sitting up in the leaves on his own. A true sitting-up champ!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
the many sides of FOUR MONTH OLD ben
So I took Ben in for his 4 month old exam yesterday, and he's in the 50th percentile for height, but 90th for weight. He's a big boy! This would be the age that we could start him on solids, but the doctor said "he doesn't need the extra calories." So, I guess we'll be waiting for a few months to start him on those...sad, I was kind of looking forward to that!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Personality to Spare...
Benjamin is a delight these days with his very serious, though friendly, personality showing through more and more. He's also growing up very quickly. He's already wearing his 6-9 month clothes. Sadly, his growth spurts these days have interrupted his nights, which in the past have been extraordinarily long. Today, he's been teething with two teeth on top and two on the bottom promising to poke through soon. He's also nearly sitting up on his own, which is kind of odd, since he refuses to have any tummy time and finds rolling over a bore. Benjamin loves to stand, and has for over a month now. We tried him in the "Johnny Jump-Up" the other day to see what he'd do. He did enjoy standing on his own, but just sucked on the bar and looked around.
Benjamin loves studying and observing things. He watches with great fascination as we eat dinner, and loves his stroller rides because there's so much to see. He also loves music, and falls silent, staring towards the source of the sound. He does the same when we read to him, whether it's Nephi, Aristophanes or "The Little Engine that Could".
He seems to be a rather sensitive boy as well. He's turning into a little thumb sucker too. When he gets scared by something (i.e. Paul getting upset over a game of Tetris), he'll stick out his pouty lip and big crocodile tears will start to well up in his eyes as he lets out a shaky "Whaaaa"! He loves his "tubby time", and often that's the one thing that will console him when he's upset.
Benjamin is really happy in the mornings, and "talks" to us for long stretches with his adorable little voice. He has the sweetest smiles which bring us so much joy! We really feel blessed to have such a wonderful baby. He's a sweetheart.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Little Cousins at Miriam's Wedding
Bryan with little Sarah, Rachel with Natalie (and one on the way!), and Sarah with Benjamin.
Benajmin and Sarah are just 15 days apart.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Trip to Virginia Beach
Benjamin's first airplane ride
Benjamin and Dad taking a nap
Just chilling on the beach
A beautiful night
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Thursday, July 06, 2006
The Circle
Paul gave Benjamin a wonderful blessing. In the circle were Sam Sorber (my sister's husband), Chris Cannon (Paul's uncle), my Grandpa Smith, Paul's Dad and Brigham (Paul's brother).
Benjamin's Baby Blessing
My Mom made this adorable blessing outfit for him. In his haste to grow up, however, Benjamin has already grown out of it, and barely fit it on the day he was blessed.