Funny Faces

Ben's developed some of the funniest facial expressions and has a knack of opening his eyes R-E-A-L-L-Y wide whenever he hears a strange sound or tries something new. I gave him another go on his Jumparoo this afternoon and was able to capture some funny faces on camera as he learned to kick his legs to make the Jumparoo move up and down, and also to slap the toy console to make the lights flash and music start to play.

Posing prior to playtime. Ben really is only 10 weeks old even though he looks about 2 years old here (had to sneak this cute photo in somewhere...):

Getting started on the Jumparoo (ignore the large yellow dog who wouldn't move out of the way of the camera. What a big cheese!):

Serious play, checking this thing out:

Whoa! So many funny sounds and movements!:

Jumperoo

Benjamin has been kicking and squirming his legs like a pro for the past few weeks so today we decided to put his energy to work by setting up his Deluxe Jumperoo. We also set up Ben's Baby Einstein exersaucer but he is still a little short for this one and can't quite reach the floor. We have to wait another few weeks for him to grow into that one. In the meantime, our basement has been invaded with two of the largest toys a baby could ever *need*!

The Jumperoo worked out since it has springs on the sides that allow it to bob up and down as Ben kicks his legs so he is able to just about reach the ground if we put it on the shortest setting. At first he didn't really know what to do in this "big boy toy" but after a few minutes he figured it out and was having a ball! Benjamin definitely held his head steady the entire time and was having a fabulous time kicking his legs up and down. He looks like such a cute, short little man in it that we just had to take some photos!

Just about touching his toes:

Testing it out...a little wobbly...not too certain yet:

Exploring all of the brightly colored toys as he moves up and down:

BebePOD

We bought Benjamin a nifty infant seat called a BebePOD since his neck is so strong and he seems ready to graduate to the next phase in loungers. It's a soft, brightly colored seat with a high back and a little knob between his legs for support. What a neat little thing it is! The POD is so cute and colorful that he likes to look and smile at it while propped up. It's for 3 months and up so he is still a little wobbly in it, but he is able to hold his head steady for a few minutes at least and will get the hang soon enough. Here he is looking so cute, trying to get a feel for his new gear...

Testing the waters, not too certain about this thing:


Getting used to it:

Little pro:

Multi-tasking makes it more difficult (a.k.a. sitting in new seat and being licked by Barney!):

Back in the comfort zone, the good 'ole Baby Papasan swing with ample head support!:

Second Trip to the Portrait Studio

Today Benjamin had his second trip for professional photographs, this time to the Target Portrait Studio. He will be 10 weeks old on Monday and last had his pictures taken at just under 6 weeks. Today he wore one of his nautical summery outfits and brought along some of his favorite stuffed animals as props. Of course since we were on camera, Ben wasn't in his most smiley mood, but we did get some cute shots regardless. The photo session is now viewable online in at www.thesmilestation.com. The user name is Elizabeth Martin and the password is LTT94101028006TAR.

Below are a few photos at home before we headed off to the studio. Socks and shoes are Ben's nemesis so it's amazing that we got these dress socks to stay on his feet for the entire photo shoot!

Picture With Mom

Andrew has been playing softball this season in our church league so tonight I went to his game with the little guy to cheer him on. Ben had a wonderful time flirting with the other ladies on the stands, cooing and smiling at them as they held him. Here's a photo of us taken at sunset just before Ben began to nod off to sleep...

Ready for Summer

Now that Ben has been growing like a weed, he fits into all of his adorable 3-6 month clothing that we got as gifts so we've been having fun dressing him up. Here he is all decked out for summer in his dinosaur print "Polo onesie."

In his matching cap:

NO...

...MORE...

...PHOTOS, MOM!!

Bathtime and Cribtime

After a busy morning and to help combat the cradle cap that Benjamin has recently developed, I deviated from our usual schedule and gave him a bath in the middle of the afternoon today, hoping to relax him and get rid of some of his flakes. It seemed to do both only temporarily but we had a fun time taking some photos regardless!

Here's the little guy cuddling up in his fluffy towel. He's starting to enjoy being naked more and no longer screams when he has his bath. In fact, he even seems to enjoy bathing now, which we thought would never happen...

All done!...

Ben has also really been working his neck muscles lately and has recently developed a new trick where he pushes up to 90 degrees while on his tummy and "rolls over" (a.k.a. falls over to the side). Here are some photos of him in his crib, enjoying the surrounding Alphabet Soup animals and letters on his bedding. Sometimes he smiles at the animals while he is looking at them :)...

Post Pediatrician Storytime

Today Benjamin went to the pediatrician for his two month check-up and had his first round of immunization shots. What a sad experience for us both, especially me :(. Otherwise, we had a great appointment and Benjamin is definitely a growing boy! At 8-1/2 weeks he is 25 inches long (97th percentile), 12 lbs. 13 oz. (75th percentile) and his head is 15-1/2 inches around (45th percentile). No wonder many of his clothes have seemed short on him lately!!

Afterwards he was feeling a little down and was sort of cranky for the rest of the afternoon so tonight we tried to really calm him down with a soothing bath followed by his first official bedtime story. He actually seemed to be interested in Spot going to the farm and watched the pages as Andrew read to him. Here's a sweet photo of the two of them. Hopefully by starting early he'll become a bookworm like his mom!

Best Buddies

Barney and Ben have become quite aware of each other lately and no longer seem totally oblivious of the other's existence. Their blooming friendship - usually prompted by Barney's nosey nature - has lately consisted of Barney trying to lick the baby or smell him in all of the right places (as dogs do...yum, diapers!) and of Ben watching Barney closely, most likely wondering what the heck this big hairy thing is! We expect their friendship to grow even closer once Ben is eating solid foods and "accidentally" drops some on the ground for his buddy :).

For weeks we have tried and tried to get them to pose together and today I finally was able to catch them off guard, lounging around together. How cute!

Eyeing each other surreptitiously:

Relaxing together:

Smile, boys!