First Professional Photo Session

Yesterday I took Benjamin for his first official photo session at The Picture People. He wore his little Easter outfit again, since it's so cute and he won't get to wear it too many more times before he outgrows it. All of the girls at the shop thought he looked so cute and sophisticated!

Here are two photos on our way to our appointment. The little bib definitely helped to preserve the cleanliness of his shirt since he's become accustomed to drooling lately!




Benjamin's photo session took about 30 minutes and they were able to capture him in five different poses. He did really well and was not fussy at all (thank God!); we just had the challenge of getting him to look at the camera since he seemed fixated on the wall in the opposite direction! Ben's not smiling on cue yet so all the photos show a serious face...except for the one where they posed him with a teddy bear and he appears to be scared of it!

Below is a link to the online archive of our photos at The Picture People. You can view the five different poses and purchase any reprints or merchandise. To see the photos in full size you will need to create an account; otherwise you can view the thumbnails.

http://www.picturepeople.com/viewsharedalbum.aspx?SharedPictureGroupID=868639&ShareKey=75c2af39c2d44032ad76bec98ba86e72&
EmailID=dc48fa9a36694f719d035067e4b0b1d8

Enjoy!

Gymboree - Tummy Time!

Today we had our second Gymboree class and the focus was on "tummy time," where the babies play on their stomachs to help strengthen their neck muscles. Ben has been practicing at home on his play mat and did really well today! The instructor puts down a large mirror and the babies lay around the edges so that they can see their reflections when they look down. We then roll balls around to stimulate them. He was content for about 10 minutes before he started to get overstimulated. Here are some photos of Ben during tummy time in his "workout" clothes:

And just because it's such a cute photo, here's the whole class this week again. We did some exercises with a parachute and then put the babies on top of it for a photo shoot afterwards. Since Ben's so young, he still poses in the "fencing" position, a reflex where one arm is stretched out and he is looking in that direction.

Cute Photo of the Day - 4/26/06

Cute photo of the day... Ben's grown into another one of his "real" outfits!

Barney and Baby

Lately, Benjamin has been more atuned to the (many!) toys he has and his new favorite activity during his awake time is being on his Tiny Love Play Gym. He really enjoys looking at all of the bright colors and trying to bat the various toys with his hands and feet. Usually he is content for about 10 minutes before he becomes overstimulated, a big improvement from a few weeks ago!

Today big brother Barney supervised while Benjamin grooved to Mozart and swatted at the stuffed jungle animals hanging overhead. What a big, gentle babysitter he is!

Gymboree!

Today Benjamin and I started a class at Gymboree called The Thoughtful Observer: Becoming Engaged in the World. It's for babies ages 0-6 months and their parents. At 4-1/2 weeks old, Ben was the youngest in the class by a few months but he was certainly up for the challenge! He did have some fussiness when he became overstimulated at times, but for the most part was fairly alert and interested. Basically the class involves singing perky songs and using tactile objects and toys to help stimulate the babies' senses. Definitely silly at times but the kids seem to love it!

Here are two cute photos from the car ride to our class. In the second one Ben looks like he's not certain that he really wants to be going to the "gym" with Mom but is mulling over the idea!:

Presenting Ben's class: Jack, Carolyn, Julia, Teddy, Dawson, Ray (not pictured since he was afraid of the Gymbo puppets and was crying in the background!), Isabelle and (drumroll) Ben. The other children were anywhere from 3-6 months old. Most of the activities actively involved mom and baby, but some were solo activites for the little ones. I had a good time interacting with the other moms while the babies explored on their own for a few minutes.

Little Benjamin preferred to be swaddled during his class instead of just being on top of the receiving blanket like the others.

Ben was mesmerized by the silly Gymbo puppets that we used to "sing" to the babies and shake over their heads for visual stimulation. He stared at ours and even smiled once for it (where's that camera when you need it?) Judging from the cries around us, he seemed to like them even more than some of the "big" kids!

Baby's First Easter

Benjamin celebrated his first Easter this past weekend. We spent Friday and Saturday at our house and on Sunday we ventured out to his grandparents' house in New Jersey for a few hours to celebrate his first holiday. It was Ben's first road trip and he did fairly well with the two hour car ride!

Here he is on Friday in one of his new spring ensembles. He tends to get bored when we have extensive photo shoots, as illustrated by the final picture.

We decided to deck Ben out in his Sunday finest for his first Easter and luckily this adorable mini Ralph Lauren outfit was just the right size. We thought that he looked like he was ready for a night out on the town! Note the matching belt and Polo insignia :)...

Naptime is always cuter in little white slacks and a button down shirt...especially when he scrunches himself up into a little ball like this!

Here's our first holiday family photo. Maybe next year Ben will look at the camera!

Here's Ben with his Nana and Pop Caulfield. They especially got a kick out of his little dress clothes!

Uncle Mike and his girlfriend Chang were also visiting for the day and my very good friend Michele also stopped by to see the baby for a little while since we were in town. It was the first time any of them had ever met him. Here is Michele, Nana, and Chang with Benjamin. He always loves the opportunity to be photographed with a group of ladies. We'll get a photo of Uncle Mike with the baby next time!

Life Outside the Sleep 'n Play Outfit

After three and a half weeks in Sleep 'n Play outfits, we finally discovered a pair of pants in Benjamin's drawers that are just right for his size. Even a bigger newborn like Ben is difficult to dress since he is still really scrunched up. So, even most 0-3 month clothing will have to wait a few more weeks but we were glad to find even a few things that will work for now. Here are two photos of him in his first "big boy" outfit, albeit a onesie and sweatpants.

First Real Bath

This weekend marked a major milestone in Benjamin's life - the loss of his umbilical cord and the unveiling of his "innie" belly button. Now we're able to give him "real" baths and dress him in his big boy clothing such as onesies and adorable "mini man" ensembles just like his dad wears.

Benjamin never really cared for the whole sponge bath process (that's an understatement!) so this morning I decided to give him a real bath to see if he fancied this way of keeping clean more :). It started out well but I think he realized about halfway through that he was once again naked and being made to smell like baby lotion so his thoughts on bathing still remain the same. Maybe once he can sit up and play with some bath toys he'll enjoy bathtime more!

Getting ready for bathtime...content as can be:

"Who's that cute baby in the mirror, Mom?":

Afterwards: "This is not my idea of fun and the blue doggie towel on my head will not make me like it, no matter how cute you may think I look!":

Benjamin's Second Week at Home

This was my first week home alone with Benjamin for a few days. We're starting to discover some of the tricks to keeping Ben from fussing and making him look as angelic as he does in the following photos, such as bouncy seats, his cradle swing, and cuddling him a lot.

"Ahh...my Ocean Wonders bouncy seat - fish, music, vibration, the works. This is the life...":

"Ok, I've had enough of this for now....try again later, Mom":

Benjamin has started to really focus on things when he looks at them now. We've noticed that he seems more alert to faces and his toys than ever. We know he's trying to focus really hard when he either furrows his brow or crosses his eyes. Either that or he has gas! :)

On Wednesday Ben's Aunt Michelle came to stay with us for two nights. Michelle and I decided to go on a walk with the baby yesterday afternoon since it was so nice out. Here's Ben not really sure if he likes this idea or not:

"Maybe if I sleep deeply, they really won't dress me in this Winnie the Pooh outfit and take me outside..."

"So much for that idea..."

Benjamin's First Family Visits

Benjamin has been quite the popular little guy these past two and a half weeks! From his first day in the hospital to earlier today when Aunt Michelle left after staying with us for a few days to help out, he has had many people visit to ohh and ahh over him. Of course he's slept through most of these visits :)....

Here's a photo of Benjamin and his nana, taken only a few hours after his birth:

The next day Grandpa G, CC, Aunt Maggie and Billy came to visit us in the hospital:

What good timing Ben had when he decided to be born on March 20. Uncle Kurt and Aunt Michelle already had plans to be visiting from Seattle a few days later for a wedding, so they were able to come and see Benjamin three days after his birth. We're so happy that they were able to see the baby right away. Mommy's so proud of her little planner for deciding to arrive over a week early so that Kurt and Michelle's visit worked out!

After Andrew returned to work, my mom stayed with us for a week to help me out as I recovered. My dad dropped her off at the house one weekend and picked her up the following weekend. Here's a picture of Pop Caulfield with Benjamin at just under 2 weeks old:

Finally, Aunt Michelle was able to visit us again for two nights this past week during her school's Spring Break. She was a huge help around the house and in helping to settle the baby down. Ben's favorite sleep position is on our chests so here he is yesterday with his happy aunt: