Ben's Discovery of Solids

At Ben's four month appointment in November, Dr. Brown gave us the green light to start trying solids. We started out with rice cereal mixed with formula, and Ben figured out the spoon and sitting up while eating really fast. Then we added sweet potatoes. He LOVED them! He would open his mouth really wide and make yummy noises the whole time he ate. After he was doing well with the one feeding a day, we added a breakfast feeding and fruit! Now he's eating breakfast and dinner with solid foods and eats rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, squash, bananas, pears, and apples. The only thing he's had but didn't like was peas!

Some meals are cleaner than others, but he's always happy after!

I have become a little obsessed with making baby food. I have been buying a lot of produce for myself and decided to just buy the Sam's Club size of everything and eat half myself and turn the rest into baby food. It is not that hard and actually kind of fun to learn how to make everything. I had to ask for a food processor for Christmas after my first blender died though...

Our unsuccessful experience with peas. See the full bowl of uneaten peas on the right and the wiped clean bowl of sweet potatoes on the left. He would purse his lips and spit out anything I could get in there! Such a drama queen! (He takes after his mom)

Kamie let us borrow her Bumbo until Ben was sitting up well enough for his highchair. Ben is a chunker and barely fits in the Bumbo. We have to pry him out of it! Luckily he figured out how to sit up and we can use his highchair now!

I can't even tell you how many ice cube trays I've broken making baby food. When it is frozen it sometimes struggles to come out of the ice cube tray and I guess I just don't know my own strength... Yeah a lot of broken ice cube trays. I finally bought the big expensive ones. I've only broken one of those!

It has been so fun watching Ben grow into these different stages. I miss his newborn size, but love his interactions and watching him learn and try new things!

Five Months!

O Christmas Tree

I am so happy that Matt is willing to let me have my way with our Christmas tree. We went to the tree lot on Black Friday and they were just getting set up. Most of the trees hadn't been unwrapped yet, so I had my pick! I picked my tree and it is the most beautiful tree we've ever had! I'm so in love! Especially watching Ben and Ollie, who both love the tree and all the lights!

I snapped a few pictures of Ben with the tree and lights, and here are a few of my favorites!

What Do We Do In The Winter?

Having a baby in the winter has really changed some of our habits. I used to hate going outside in the winter, but now I REALLY hate going outside. So we find other things to keep us occupied...

Trying out new hairdos...

We went for a five minute walk but it was freezing so we came home.

We go to doctor's appointments. Ben had to get his four month shots and I had to get blood drawn.

We take selfies...

We play with the puppy and get sad when she gets in trouble....

We watch the crazy puppy curl up in the corner of her huge bed for a nap...

We snuggle up tight! Ben has always been swaddled at night, but has grown out of his other blankets. These SwaddleMe blankets are the only thing that keep him in, and even then he can Houdini out of them too!

Ollie snuggles up on Matt's hoodies in the mudroom. That's what happens if you leave your clothes on the floor.

We try out some of our cute winter clothes, including winter accessories!

We put on the Christmas stickers from nanny!

We snuggle more and watch movies from Redbox! Matt was swamped through December getting his parents' house finished and then helping them get all moved in. He also works with the young men and coaches the young men's basketball team and Claire's basketball team. Ben and I have a lot of nights together while Matt is gone. We are Redbox frequent customers!

We chew... EVERYTHING.

And not just the dog. I have a puppy and baby who are both teething. Bad timing.

And finally our first tooth pops out! Ben refused to snuggle with me but curled right up in Matt's arms and that's when we found his first tooth! He was a week shy of being 5 months old. His second tooth came through the next week. Two little bottom teeth that make his smile that much cuter!

More snuggling... are you sensing a pattern? Matt is in charge of Ben on the night that I do my shot, which also includes the morning after while I recover. He and Ben definitely get some quality nap time together those mornings.

Ben got to go to his first Jazz game right before Christmas! He was totally enthralled with the game (even though we were up in the boonies). He couldn't stay awake through the whole game though, and whenever he'd fall asleep in my arms, something exciting would happen and everyone would cheer and wake him up. Then he'd fall asleep again...

I loved how he was resting his hand on Matt, reminding him that he was there.

We went to see Santa! This is a favorite tradition of mine from my childhood, so I wanted to continue it with my children. We get dressed in our Christmas clothes and go see Santa at the mall. Ben hammed right up and gave us this darling smile. He was not afraid at all!

More puppy time at home. Ollie has really adapted to our home and life. She does well with Matt at work and comes home and goes crazy. It is a rare occasion to see her sitting calmly.

Ben has been working on physical therapy to help strengthen his neck muscles and even out his flat head. Laying on his right side isn't his favorite so we have to get creative to help him stay occupied and calm.

He's pretty cute if I do say so myself.

I guess staying inside during the winter isn't so bad....