Nicole and Xander Visit

Nicole and Xander Hoishik visited this afternoon so that we could see how our sons interacted with each other - Xander is 8 weeks old and Ben is now 16 weeks old. Nicole is a good friend of mine who I used to work with at GHR Systems. We always seem to have so many things in common from the same birthday to our pink iPods to our sons who are only weeks apart. So, we had the best time watching our little boys observe each other and flail their arms and legs while cooing on Ben's activity mat. It was so cute! Here are a few photos we took of them on the activity mat...we loved the last one where they were "holding hands."

First Swim

Today our Monday Morning Play Group decided to go to our town pool in the afternoon instead of doing our usual walk followed by playground time. It was such a nice day out today and so hot last week in the sun that we decided a dip in the pool would be a nice change. This was the first time that Benjamin had been in the water and he seemed to like it when he wasn't being splashed by the many "big kids" as they jumped off the edge. He had his serious "bath time" face on the entire time as he got used to the water and so much activity going on around him. I got to dress him up in his fish-print Hawaiian swim trunks with a matching logo tee-shirt so that made me happy :).

The pool area has lots of grass surrounding the concrete around the actual pools so our group was able to snag a shady corner to set up our blankets. The baby cabana I bought for Benjamin was also a great investment, as it protected him from the sun and turned out to be a great resting area for him to play and dry off. There is a huge 1-ft. deep kiddie pool and an even larger "regular" pool in the complex and we went into both. Here are just a few photos of us right before we went into the kiddie pool:

After a tiring afternoon in the two pools, Ben actually fell asleep for 45 minutes in his cabana. This surprised me since he usually is not a real sleepy baby in public...he must have been wiped out from his big pool adventure!

Martin Shore House Weekend

This past weekend we traveled to the Martin Shore House in New Jersey to spend some time with Grandpa G, CC, and Uncle Dave, Aunt Loretta and Jordan Martin who were visiting from Buffalo. We arrived in time for dinner on Thursday and stayed until yesterday evening. It was a beautiful weekend with lots of sun so we had a great time spending our days on the deck, grilling, and (for some of us) going on the boat and jetski. All weekend it was sunny so we kept a big sunhat on Ben and sometimes put him into his baby sun cabana while on the deck so that he would not get sunburnt. Here's a photo of us all cleaned up and showered after a long day in the sun:


Some photos of Ben with Grandpa G and CC. In the bottom photo, Ben is watching Charlotte, the new French Bulldog "baby" in the family:



Benjamin loves to play with his dad since Andrew makes silly faces at him and "rough houses" with him a bit more than I usually do. I'm the one he goes to when he wants to cuddle and relax and Andrew is the one to go to for fun and games. Here are some photos of Ben with his dad:


It was the first time that the Buffalo Martins met Benjamin so they had fun seeing the little guy and all of his baby paraphernalia that we managed to squeeze into our car. Aunt Loretta even managed to put Ben to sleep in his stroller when we took walks around the neighborhood on Saturday and Sunday. This is definitely quite a feat since Ben isn't too fond of being in his carseat (to put it lightly) and is so nosey that he hardly ever goes to sleep while out in public since this requires missing out on the action! Here's a great family photo of the Buffalo Martins with the baby. It was just before his bedtime so he was starting to zone out...

Aunt Loretta giggling with Benjamin as he tries to suck on her hands...

...and here she is swaddling the other "baby" - Charlotte - as Barney laughs (sorry, couldn't resist these!):

Sticking to Ben's schedule, he needed a bath while we were away so we brought along our travel tub and used it to bathe him while the Paparazzi (aka CC and Aunt Loretta!) took many photos of him looking cute and naked! He loves his bath and just seemed a little nervous because once it is blown up, his travel tub is so much bigger than his regular infant tub at home. Here he is getting soaped up by his mom:

After his bath, we cuddled him in his froggie towel to dry off while the ladies had a photo shoot. Here's Ben with his "Oh no, I've been caught on camera" look on his face. Andrew and I look like we could use a bath, too, after our long day in the sun!

First Step Towards Mobility!

On Monday Ben rolled over for the first time after many futile attempts. So, after 15 weeks the days of placing the baby down, being able to walk around to do something and return to find him in the same position are over for the Martin family! Now we will place him down on a blanket or his activity gym and immediately he turns on his side and rolls over. We've also gone into his bedroom after a bout of frantic crying to find Benjamin on his back - he usually sleeps on his tummy - and completely out of sorts because he doesn't quite know how to get back to where he started. Only a few times he's done a complete 360 degree roll; he usually stops after 180 degrees at this point but we expect his rolling technique to only get faster before he takes the next step and crawls.

Here are some photos of Ben on his activity mat and also on the couch rolling over. First, he bends his legs and rolls onto one side. Here, he is going after that hanging monkey, hoping to put as much of him as possible into his mouth (like just about anything lately!):

Using the monkey as leverage this time, although he also can roll entirely on his own as well:Almost...there...just needs to get that last arm out from underneath himself:

Ta-da!:

Next we moved to the couch and when I placed him down, that was his immediate cue to roll over again!

Of course I can never resist taking an irrelevant photo or two of Barney and Ben together, so here are the latest. In the first one, Barney is surrepticiously coveting Ben's plastic keys and has slowly inched closer and closer to them in hopes of stealing them unnoticed. He has even stooped so low as to lick Ben's hands and nuzzle up against him in his efforts!!

Finally, a photo of the two "brothers" after Barney was reprimanded for trying to steal the baby's toys. Don't let the glum face fool you; he's smarter than he appears and will surely attempt this again very soon!

Rolling Over....Soon!

At 14 weeks old, Benjamin has been on the verge of rolling over for the past few days. He has been trying to "get over the hump" with such persistence that we have a feeling he will be rolling over very soon. Currently, he gets about 3/4 of the way there and then gives up in frustration (poor guy!).

Laying on his froggie blanket. His toy parrot is out of reach but he will soon spot it:

He sees the parrot and starts to try to roll towards it:

If only it weren't for that pesky other arm in the way of a complete roll!

Stuck on his side as he self-soothes by sucking on his hands (favorite pastime activity!):

Defeated again!:

Here, Barney has brought his own toy over to Ben's blanket so that they can play together...and then Barney is leaning out of the way of Benjamin's flailing legs as he tries to roll himself over...finally, not having succeeded, Ben cries out in frustration as Barney watches!

Fun Time Playing

Benjamin has been having so much fun playing with some of his toys now that he realizes that they exist and life isn't just eating and sleeping! This week we tried out his Baby Einstein activity center and he has been enjoying it so much. He's still bordering on a little short heightwise to use this big toy, as his feet barely scrape the ground, but he is certainly determined to play in it and for the first time showed some disappointment when I took him away from a toy today! There is so much activity on it that he goes from giggling to pure frustration instantly and it's hilarious to watch. Here are some photos of him exploring:

Very serious; checking this thing out, furrowed brow and all. Benjamin definitely has a very serious side to him when he is introduced to something new. It looks like he is pondering his new world quite deeply at times and we've come to learn that both Andrew and I were the same way when we were babies!

Loving the "smiling sunshine" toy. He would go from intently staring at it one minute to smiling, cooing and babbling to it the next. He just couldn't get enough of it!

Benjamin was really catching on to many of the toys and was imitating me as I showed him how to use them. Here he is rolling the colored rattle wheels around. After a few minutes he seemed to understand how to make them spin on his own and was furiously wheeling them around!

There's a thick plastic "book" on the activity center that has actual pictures of animals on it, including a Labrador Retriever. We've been teaching him "Barney" whenever he looks at it to familiarize him with his pet. Imagine if he says this before Mama or Dada in a few months! Ben likes this book but was getting exceedingly frustrated as he tried to turn the pages, almost to the point of losing his patience - ha ha! Here he is furrowing his brow and biting his lower lip as he attempts to reach for the book and figure this thing out...

...and here he is turning a page finally!

Finally, a cute close-up photo: