Three Muskateers

Ben, Alexandra and Alina having a great time on Carrie's birthday. Notice how Ben is holding the hands of both girls?









He does like his tummy time too.

3 months!

Benjamin might be a musician! Well- you just never know. Music has certainly entered Benny's life and he loves it!
In addition to the daily piano playing with Mom and occasional guitar playing by Daddy- I signed up for an infant music class. I was a bit reluctant at first, but Meredith convinced me it would be fun for Alina and Ben to do this together. So we had our first class last week. The class is a riot. We sit in a circle and sing and dance and play instruments. Benjamin seems to enjoy it- but during the times that all the babies sit on the parents lap- Benny won't sit. He wants to stand... and he is not happy to just stand, he keeps trying to walk across to the other side of the circle. (as many of you know our little Benjamin is quite the walker)
He is so funny!
I met Mere prior to the class at our old walking trail in Redwood Regional in Oakland. Benny is big enough now to go face forward in the Bjorn and he loved it.
Benjamin's other favorite activity is to stand on Jason's lap as they make faces and sounds and laugh at each other. I witnessed Benny laughing so hard that he tipped his head back and his belly contorted. There is nothing better than hearing and watching this.
Benny is officially 3 months old. I can't believe it!

Oh so fast!

We were told that time would fly once the baby was born and we continue to realize this every day. Benjamin is doing so much right now and it is amazing and so much fun! I just can't believe how fast he is growing. I feel if I don't write things down his progress will go by in a blur.

So, to bring you up to speed... we got a baby walker and Benjamin is able to sit upright and he just loves it. His toes just barely touch the ground but he is able to push backwards a little. I don't think he really realizes what is happening yet. He is really grabbing toys and studying them which is fascinating to watch. He wants everything in his mouth.

Benny rolled over at his 2 month doctor appointment and I was so excited. The doctor confirmed that he is absoutely healthy and eating very well. He weighed in at 14 lbs (81st percentile!). He is still trying to master thumb sucking. Right now he seems happy to have his entire fist in the mouth- but it keeps him busy working at it.

I continue to see Meredith and Alina every week. The exciting news last week was that Alina and Benjamin finally noticed each other for the first time. They actually smiled at each other and it was so cute!

Gabrielle hosted a play date lunch which was so much fun. 4 babies and 4 mommies. The talk was nonstop and we decided to make this a regular event.

We had a wonderful holiday. I feel so blessed for this baby and blessed that we have such wonderful friends and family in our lives.

Back to school

Break is over but that doesn't mean the fun is. Carrie has taken to training Benjamin on the piano. And I can't help putting Benjamin's stepping reflex to work. Maybe we will just home school him? LOL! Not a chance!

Christmas fun

Baby steps and baby reindeer. This kid is so much fun!

We are having a great holiday thus far. Nona arrived on Christmas Day and Grandma and Pop arrived on Thursday. Here are a few fun pictures....

Christmas Time

It's hard to believe that Benjamin is 10 weeks old! I haven't updated the blog since before he was born. The time has been wonderful but going by oh so fast! Everyone warned us about this- so I am not surprised. All we can do is take in every single moment and enjoy it... and we are doing just that!

We are currently working on mastering the art of napping. We have Aunt Meredith aka " sleep consultant" to help guide us in the ways. Meredith is graphing and researching and lucky for me- she gives me the condensed version of what we should be doing. I have to say that things are going fairly well so far and we seem to have crafted a pretty regular routine. (yes, I am using Meredith's charting graph and Jason thinks we are nuts)

Part of the overall routine involves the evening bath which we have dubbed the "Willard Spa". Ben loves his bath time! We dim the lights and Ben gets to splash around in the warm water to relax. So much fun! Bed time falls around 9-9:30 and he will usually sleep until about 3am. Jason is off until Jan 7th and so he has been taking the 3 am shift which is absolute heaven for me. Benny is then up again around 6 and I pull him up into bed for that feeding. Oh the life of a little baby! Did I just say little? Benjamin is weighing in at 13 pounds! He is a little chunk! I can't wait to see what the dct says at his appointment next week.

I am feeling much better and just got the green light to start exercising. I have been walking and just started taking Ben in the bjorn which we both love.

We have a Christmas tree and it is beautiful. Jason put up outdoor lights as well. (a strand of red, white and then blue) which our friends are jiving us about. We are very excited for Benjamin's first Christmas- even though he won't really remember any of it, it is fun for us.

So much to be thankful for!

I go to Vallejo usually every week to visit with Mere and Alina. This week I took up matching outfits and we put Ben and Alina together and it was hysterical. (see the pics below)

This will no doubt be the first of many photo sessions with the 2 of them together.