Happy First Birthday!

One year ago today Ben was welcomed into our family and we're thankful to the Lord for him!

He had two tries at birthday cake this week. First with Pop & Gran in Brooklet, GA:

Then at our family party here over the weekend:

You might say that the 2nd time was not as much fun - he was over it.

He's scooting around like crazy, doing a few crawls here and there, finally pulling up on things, trying to climb the stairs, saying "no" and "wow", and putting Mommy to the test with some temper tantrums. He loves playing with anything on wheels! His gag reflex is still strong but he has managed to eat a few solids like noodles, peas, carrots and sweet potato pieces - and Cheerios have become a staple! Unfortunately he also caught a cold, so we've been wiping runny noses for a week now. No new teeth that Mommy can see. We go for a 1 year checkup tomorrow!
We've had a busy few weeks and there are many fun photos to post, but with Daddy's birthday only a few days away Mommy has been busy....so stay tuned for more next week!

The Heat of Summer

We've been plugging right along, trying to find fun ways to fill our summer days without being out in the heat too much. Here's a few of the latest happenings:

Ben pretty much fills his time scooting around the house and, lately, pushing trains or cars as he goes.

Reading with Papa (we've been lucky to have Nana & Papa visit us twice in past few weeks!)

Painting wood with Daddy. Our screen porch is finished now, and we can swing and play in the sand without being eaten alive by mosquitos!!

Eating ice cream cones with our cousins.

Building tall lego towers on the playroom bench! (P.S. Mommy got the playroom windows washed the other morning. Little Miss "C" had gotten a wet washcloth and a dry fabric napkin and was giving all the little square windows a good cleaning! She fell off the bench about 6 squares into her work and that was the end of the fun!)

Ice Cream Dinner

The ice cream truck came by yesterday evening. Little Miss "C" had never seen an ice cream truck in person before, so I figured it would go by unnoticed. BUT...our friends and neighbors were staked out waiting. The result: I had to let her get something....the smallest thing they had in the truck. And it took the place of dinner. (But hey...it's the beginning of summer, right?)

Little Miss "C" started her adventure in a white shirt... which was promply taken off when blue and red started dribbling down her chest. Thank you, Jennifer, for introducing me to the wonders of oxy clean spray!

Baby brother had to hang out in his walker and act like he was having fun.

Much of the sugar-induced hyperactivity was run off in front yard with the "crazy daisy" sprinkler. It was a great "official" welcome to summer and we all enjoyed a few moments of fun on the warm, breezy summer evening!

11 Months

It's really unbelievable - even more so when you know it's your last baby who is about to have a full year under his belt! In 29 days we'll celebrate one year...and I'm blessed with a son who is beautiful inside and out.

The child has chosen not to crawl yet. In fact, when he is placed on all fours he pushes himself back into a seated position and proceeds to SCOOT - everywhere. That's a first for me, but I guess as long as he can get around... The most telling part of scooting all over my hardwood is that the appearance of the bottom of his clothing at the end of a day clearly reveals the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of my floors. Ugh...

He is being pretty stubborn about eating. He's graduated to cheerios, but won't even open his mouth for pieces of soft cheese, carrots and pears that I've placed on his high chair tray. He just swipes them away. In the same light, he won't consider drinking his formula from a sippy cup. Water is OK...but don't dare put formula in the cup! Funny...he's so laid back and able to entertain himself for hours, yet when it comes to some things he's picky and stubborn. Hmmm...guess I'm not stressing too much about the food thing because I don't know many boys who don't eventually eat you out of house and home!

Ben loves is big sister and follows her everywhere. He gets so excited when she comes into a room! She, in turn, trys to close doors to get her privacy. Ben has taken on the challenge and become very interested in pushing doors open and closed. The only problem is when he closes himself behind one (like closing himself in my dark closet and sitting behind the door so I had to push him across the carpet with the door to get him out). Never a dull moment!