being helpful

Since the last post, we've been pretty busy. You made your first trip to Kansas. It started off very rough, but the trip was overall a great one. You had severe diarrhea on the airplane the entire flight which caused seven trips to the bathroom to change diapers, lots of screaming, and a pretty bad case of diaper rash. Of course as soon as we get to KS, we take care of all the discomfort and you were a happy boy.

You are growing up so fast, and I am trying to enjoy it. At the same time, I forget to document the great things you've been doing.

You LOVE your big sister and call her sissy and are constantly carrying things around the house saying, "Here sissy." You hug and kiss a stuffed bulldog and a set of mom and baby horse most of the time. Reminds me of someone else I know at that age. However you will play with a ball or truck for hours. You can throw like a champ and make lots of vroom noises.

Your vocabulary is growing too and books have become more popular finally. You are starting to memorize the words and sounds associated with the pictures in your books which is pretty cute. We've also found that you can be motivated to do anything as long as it leads to us going bye bye. You will grab socks, shoes, your hat and fully cooperate with putting on a coat and even mittens if it means you will go outside. Such a boy, but such a sweet boy!

going with the flow

Your second Halloween was more exciting for you than the first, but it still ended the same way. You had fun for the first half and slept the rest of the time. You fell asleep at Boo at the Zoo after trying to pry your adorable mouse eared hat off your head.

You collected candy and treats while you slept because you were such an adorable little sleeping mouse.

You enjoyed trick or treating and charmed every person that tried to get you to take a piece of candy.

There have been many people that have commented on your silly little hat, but I don't know how much longer dad will let me keep putting it on you.

wait is over

We've been patiently waiting for you to start using more words and you've definitely starting vocalizing. The fact that most of what you say are animal noises, we are still very excited. You love trumpeting like an elephant and making monkey noises.

Your vocabulary has expanded too and you now say thank you, up, sissy, goldfish, choo choo and a few others. You even pointed out the firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars on your pajamas were choo choos the other night. Even if you were entirely accurate, I gladly praised your observation. You love cars trucks and roll them around making car and train noises and bringing them to mom to make the noises too. You spent some time pushing the big trucks around at the Building Museum yesterday and had fun with the big kids.

Swimming has become one of your favorite activities as well as going to the park. You love jumping off the side of the pool and splashing. You can go down the slide all by yourself (somtimes you forget to sit down first though so we keep a close eye on you). You love throwing balls and can spot anything spherical with an eagle eye. Crazy how despite being surrounded by purses, necklaces, and pink, you naturally go for the stereotypical boy toys. Never a dull moment little man.

Poo Eater

Just for posterity, I wanted to record the fact that you ate poo today. Eve pooped a little in her panties and you grabbed it. Later your mom noticed some poop on your mouth. How can you be such a picky eater then pop a turd in your mouth? Gross boy.

what's he into now

You are quite an explorer and getting into many things now. You love splashing in water and these ducks were great entertainment for you. Fortunately we were able to stop you before you joined them in the water. You will splash in a toilet or a dog bowl it doesn't matter as long as there is water in it.

You are also a climber and when our backs are turned you usually try to get as high as you can before we can catch you which ends up in many crashes and bruises.

I walked into the bathroom the other day and you had climbed onto a chair and opened dad's saline solution and were drinking it from the bottle. Guess there are worse things to get into.

You've started using more words and will say Thank You (di-doo), all done, up, light and doggie. Every now and then you will exactly mimic a word mom or dad says, but we're getting there. Eve is loving that you can play with her, but gets upset because you always want to knock down the barns she builds. The kisses you give her make her forget about all the destruction and love you even more.

ALL BOY

Hey not so little man!
As you grow, so do your dimples! And oh, how you like to show them off! Even though you are all boy (always wanting to climb, run, and eating everything and anything), that smile of yours melts everyone's heart. You are also quite a loving little boy. You will just run to your momma and give her a hug! I have tried talking to you on the phone and you usually just push all the buttons but I am sure you said "Grama". I guess you are quite the daredevil and the Family Room and the park. You climb on everything! I am just glad you haven't masted the ladder on your sister's bed yet!
Eve is being a great big sister. All you want to do is to be just like her and do everything she does. You two will be great friends forever! I will be visiting you in the spring and I am sure we will go to the park and play, read animal books and run down the hallway. Until then, keep on smilin! Love, Grama

another doggie lover

You have developed an immense love of dogs. As soon as you see one you scream and try your hardest to get near it to touch it. That usually isn't a problem since we live in a pet friendly building and most of the dogs are willing to sit and let you scream at them, follow them around, and pat them. Sometimes at the park, you will take off following dogs though and won't turn around no matter how many times your name is called. When you are scooped up, you usually scream at whomever is holding you because all you care about it petting the dog. Instead of imitating a dog by barking like many children you pant.

Your second favorite animal is the horse and you will carry around your stuffed horse and make giddy-up noises while bouncing it around and even give a little neigh at times. Of course you enjoy visiting Michaelangelo when your sister is feeding him a carrot, but mostly just love the toy horses that we have in the playroom.

You enjoy sleeping in and sometimes won't get out of bed until 10 a.m. You still have a very happy demeanor and smile all the time. You love jumping on mom and dad's bed with Eve and swinging at the park. You freely give mom kisses and hugs and occasionally other people. You've been pointing at and noticing lights, ceiling fans, firetrucks, and most animals. You like to play with your toy cars and make vroom noises and recently have been loving to ride on your pull along car up and down the hallways. You pick up leaf after stick after leaf at the park and wave them around until you find a better one to pick up and carry. You love goldfish crackers and have a munchie mug full of them wherever we go. You made your first trip to the Air and Space Museum last weekend and enjoyed the kid's room and the hands-on activities they had. Mostly you just climbed on the stairs and displays, but liked watching the other big kids do the hands-on activities. You love your dada and get very excited to see him every day when he comes home from work and run to him to get a hug which is very sweet. You've definitely discovered how to make yourself heard and have resorted to screaming fits when you don't get what you want.

We've been working on talking, so hopefully there will be news soon on all the new words you are saying!

What up stud!

So I want to apologize for not writing sooner!! I thought I would have more time this summer but it flew by so quick! I have just started my second year of graduate school and have been staying busy as ever. Your mom has become quite the photographer and quite frankly I think you and Eve have a future in modeling! I have enjoyed seeing you grow and boy are you! You are so different from your sister at that age, you are into throwing and running and just doing boy things, except for that high pitch girlie scream you have. Man sometimes I have to hold the phone away from my ear when you get upset!! It seems that there is never a dull moment at your house between you unrolling a complete roll of toilet paper to Eve dressing you and herself in every piece of clothing she can find! Well kid I sure miss you and hope to see you soon!
Love you,
Aunt Jill

current event update

Looks like the presidential candidates are getting ready to announce their VP running mates. Michael Phelps won an outstanding 8 gold medals for swimming at the 2008 Olympics in Bejing. A truly amazing feat. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have twins without in-vitro to increase their total number of children to 6. Gas prices reached an incredibly high price of $4 for the national average.

Just trying to make sure you get updated on what's happening in the world since there's so much going on.

That's all for now.

tiny dancer

We have frequent dance parties in this house and you are no stranger to breaking it down once in a while. You've been really enjoying dancing to "The Little Mermaid" soundtrack with Eve and mom. You particularly enjoy spinning and are quite an adrenaline junkie. You even spin by yourself to get dizzy and just smile.

You've been frequenting the garden with mom, dad, and Eve and love picking cherry tomatoes. We try to keep you from eating the green ones, but they are too tempting and we usually end up prying them out of your mouth since you can't pierce the skin with the few teeth you have. You love eating the ground cherries, plums, figs, and blackberries.

Your favorite toys have become balls and cars and you will make car sounds whenever you play with something that has wheels. You've also recently discovered that looking at books is fun, especially the animal books because you like trying to mimic animals sounds.

You also notice and are aware when you want something you cannot have. You use an incredibly high pitched scream (thanks to Eve) to make your presence known. We've been trying to teach you that screaming is not allowed, but not much progress has been made yet.

You're still charming the ladies with your big dimples and if they are lucky, you stick out your little tongue and give them a head tilt.

birthday boy

Happy 1st Birthday Little Man!
Love you.

All grown up and quite the charmer

Baby Ben, you are the happiest little boy ever! You flash that big smile and those dimples pop in and no one can resist you! You change daily and seem to be the type of person that will be up for any adventure! You are daring and definitely all boy! (Except for that very high pitched squeal you have) You can pick up a football and then you just hurl it! Uncle Dustin will fix you up when you are older! You don't just walk now - you RUN. you run so fast that you usually end up flat on your face. But that doesn't stop you; it's up again and 100 miles an hour. Even though you play hard you are a very loving baby. Grama even got a kiss from you!!!

You love going to the park and swinging. There you go again! Simply irresistible! You also love animals (just like your big sis) If you see or even hear a dog barking - you smile and start barking too. Don't worry about playing with Eve. Right now you want to do everything she does and play with her toys. Sometimes she lets you but a lot of the times you end up crying. I know you will be the type of brother to watch out for her and be very protective and be the best of friends. She sometimes is a little rough but she loves you so and calls you her little buddy.

Like I said you may go down but you always get back up! I think this can be attributed to the amount of fruit you eat. I have never seen a baby eat like you. You polished off at least 1/4 of a fresh pineapple, if not more, in o ne setting.

You and your Aunt Teen became fast friends! I know you will have no trouble in any social settings. My visit was not long enough, and I cannot wait to spend more time with you. Keep smiling and stay just as sweet as you are! I love you, grama

the machine

You really enjoyed your grama and Aunt Teen's visit last week. You did so many shocking things that your dad missed while he was in Boston for two weeks. When he returns tomorrow, he'll be surprised at how independent you've become. You have discovered that you know what you want and can assert yourself. It has been a fun experience.

First of all, you had your first trip to Chuck E. Cheese and had a blast. You loved the tiny carousel and teacup rides and wore yourself out so much that you passed out on mom's lap for about 45 minutes during the Chuck E. concert. You had your first trip to IKEA and loved exploring the model kids' rooms. You and Eve received a new tent to play in that has been a total hit. You run full speed into it and fall on top of Eve and squeal in delight when she shuts you in and lets you back out the door again.

If someone comes to the house to visit you, it's a safe bet that you will be carrying a wooden screwdriver around the house. It seems to be your favorite toy and you love it. There are a few others that you frequently tote around as well such as Eve's fairy baton, a ball (any will do), or your glow worm.

There's no doubt that you are a fruit fan, but it seems your favorite could be watermelon. Aunt Teen and mom were shocked at the amount of watermelon and hot dogs that you could put away. You can consume portions of both of these that seem unhealthy for an adult let alone a one year old at one sitting.

You definitely charmed grama and Aunt Teen with your happy demeanor and turned them into total suckers for doing things like bounce you over and over on their laps singing Byo baby byo.

You've been sleeping full nights, which is much appreciated, but that could be because you go about 95 mph all day on your fat little feet. I say that because I had to buy you another new pair of shoes because of your little Fred Flinstone block feet. You seem to like them and will even carry them around when you are ready to go bye-bye.

I look forward to reading what grama has to say about her trip to DC. Now I should probably start planning a birthday celebration for you and your sister. Love you little man.

so many changes

You have been trying staying very busy lately, exploring every single thing you can. All of a sudden the garden, the park, and even the lobby in our building are fantastic places to be. You even enjoy the bathrooms at home because you've discovered that you can throw things into the toilet.

We had to buy some new shoes for you because of your fat little block feet, but it took no time to break them in since you are constantly on your feet. I guess it isn't constantly on your feet, because you fall down a lot, which could be why there are bruises covering your little forehead. The combination of having a huge noggin and learning to walk have lead to a temporary purple polka dotted head. There is still no hair on your head which only makes the goose-eggs more visible.

You are learning how to climb stairs, which is scary since you don't quite understand what it means to fall further than from standing to sitting/lying down. Hopefully this phase will quickly and painlessly pass.

Last night at dinner after you were through eating your noodles, cantaloupe, and carrots, you actually signed that you were all done repeatedly. Since I was so excited and laughing about it, you kept signing it and we were able to show dad that you understood you were communicating too. It was fun and I even dug out my sign language flash cards so I can really work on teaching some more signs if you're picking them up.

Your sleeping habits have drastically changed recently. Last night you went to bed at 9 p.m. and woke up at 5 a.m. It was great and would've been even better had I not concussed myself chasing after you at the park yesterday. I followed you under the playground equipment where you were stuck and pulled you out. I stood up and hit my head to hard that I almost blacked out. I could hardly lay my head on my pillow last night. Thanks for sleeping anyway. I don't think it was a fluke either because your sleeping has been consistently improving. We've even braved hiring a babysitter for tomorrow night, so we'll see how that goes.

You attended your first birthday party this last weekend. You didn't even need to have a piece of cake to thoroughly enjoy yourself. There were new toys and big kids and a kitty cat to chase around.

You've discovered hot dogs and macaroni & cheese which are both very popular with you. You definitely favor fruit still, but we're working on the veggies pretty hard. You like couscous as much as Eve does and between the two of you, a box is gone in two meals. Insane.

It's a fun time for everyone. Dad and I are constantly entertained and Eve has a new best friend in her little brother. Love you little man.

little man

little man-

So I finally got to meet my big dimpled little nephew for the first time on your first trip back toKansas!!  You and Eve are definitely city kids!  Kansas is a bit different than D.C.!!  Besides being sick and getting new teeth you were sure a pleasure to be around.  You are one of the happiest kids I have ever met, and did I mention one of the most handsome!!  I was happy to get to be a part of your learning to walk.  That is all you wanted to do so everyone took turns walking you around as you got licked in the face several times by all the dogs!! You even walked down the aisle at Aunt Erin's wedding.  You were pretty funny at the wedding too.  You kept laughing and pulling my hair during the ceremony!!  I wanted to say thanks for keeping me up on my exercising there too! I think I took you on a few walks because that was the only thing that would keep you from being upset while your mom couldn't hold you!!  We got to bond a little then!!  Well I sure look forward to seeing you again!!  

Until then!!

Love you bud!!

Aunt Jill

just like your big sister

There are many things that I appreciate about you being like your sister. One is that because she isn't aggressive by nature, you seem very calm compared to other younger siblings I know that have an older brother. You know how to sit calmly and attempt to entertain yourself. You think jumping on the bed, singing, and dancing are about the funnest things to do in the world. You aren't a picky eater (still keeping our fingers crossed). The one thing that really gets us is that you've taken to screaming like Eve did. When she gets really excited or tickled, she does a very high pitched scream that you have taken to. Every time you see a dog, every time you get hungry, every time you get excited, every time you want anything at all you do the same high pitched scream that Eve does. It's actually painful.

You are a full-time walker now and need no help getting anywhere. You really enjoy being in the lobby of the building and walking from table to table trying to grab the plants and flowers before I stop you. It's all a game. We've found a park where you can run around all by yourself and scream as much as you want at the Friendship House. It's miniature and has 3 inch steps that you like to step up. It's been fun.

You have been eating an entire bowl of oatmeal for breakfast every day and have been sleeping very well at night, which is much appreciated.

You now have 5 teeth which really changes your smile, and fortunately you have not been biting.

many firsts

Your trip to KS was full of firsts and I will list some of them here and hopefully embellish some once I've had a chance to catch my breath.

First airplane ride
First ear infection
First trip to the ER
First antibiotics
First severe diaper rash
First tooth on the top
First time meeting the majority of your extended family
First wedding
First oreos
First taxi cab ride

Obviously some of these firsts didn't come at the most convenient time, but it was an enjoyable visit with all the family. You were a champ and now that we're home and you are well, you are like a different person. I'll leave it at that for now.

father jerry's prayers have been answered

Erin told me that Father Jerry was praying that you'd be walking by the wedding. His prayers have been answered and after some coaxing you will take steps on your own between dad and I. Of course, if we don't catch you when you fall you get mad and fuss. There have been many cheers, but you are still so frustrated that you can't quit fussing because you want to be going all the time. Here is a preview for all the family that will be seeing you in a few days.

walking man

Well, it looks like you are going to make a grand entrance in Kansas! Yes, you are officially walking now. I saw you take 3 and 4 steps on the web cam over the weekend. Just in time to impress your whole family when you take your first plane ride to Kansas. Your Aunt Erin expects you to bring up the rings at her wedding on your own two feet! Even if you can't manage this, you are definitely going to make a huge first impression to all! I can't wait to see you and I am counting down the days until I pick you up at the airport! (Thanks for giving you momma a break...her back was killing her allowing you to walk holding both of your hands. Now you are a one handed walker!)
Love you,
Grama

so close

This week you shocked us by actually going to sleep at 7:30 p.m. and waking up at 4:30 a.m. That is a first. We've been having a rough go since you are sleeping in our closet and all with letting you cry. Dad loudly sighs and conveniently rolls over and hits me with his arm or something similar when you wake him up at night crying, as if I'm not lying awake hoping you will just fall back to sleep. After a week or so of waking up every hour and a half or so, I decided it was time to try something new, so I let you cry it out once (it only took about 30 minutes) and you slept for 9 hours. Unbelievable. Dad used earplugs.

You are also crawling now. Woo Hoo! It's not your preferred method of getting around, but you tolerate it. You'd much prefer to grab my hands and sprint, but my back can only handle so much of that. You will attempt to pull up on about anything and are finally mastering that as well. It's a fun stage and we're enjoying it.

Dad decided to take you and Eve out last weekend without me. He didn't take any milk, just a bag of snacks and when you returned about 5 hours later fast asleep I asked how the day went. Dad reported that you ate an entire roll of Ritz crackers. They have since become your favorite food and will satisfy you under almost any circumstance. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad, but at least you are happy.

Of course you now say dada. Maybe if I had tried Ritz crackers instead of the more traditional pureed vegetable, you'd be saying mama right now, but there's no way to tell. You are clapping your hands and cheering for yourself when you pick up your own finger food and dropping anything you have in your hands while you're in your high chair just to hear the words Uh-oh which you think is funny. Your first two little teeth are like small razors that almost break the skin when you manage to bite down on my finger and the drool is a constant flow at this point. All those things make you you.

on the move

Someone is a big boy now. Eating crackers is your favorite thing to do these days. As long as we have them, you will keep eating them.

This all started because when I took you to your last doctor's appointment you had dropped from 95th percentile (at 2 months) in weight to 75th (4 months) to 50th (6 months). The doctor told me to up your intake of solids, so we've done that and you really took off. You are eating a ton of food now and have a bottomless stomach for bread and crackers. You'll eat any fruit that is offered, but as for veggies you like to stick to the orange ones, like sweet potato, carrots, and squash. Your dad like to tease me that I've been starving you all this time. Since we've starting feeding you, you now pull yourself up, cruise along the low furniture and even have your own version of a crawl. All of this has happened within the last two weeks, so it's been fun. Today you even said dada.

You are a much happier boy now that you can get around. We're happy that you're happy. Those dimples are still charming all the ladies, especially your mom and sister.

Too short a visit

Hey Little Man,
I had a wonderful visit with you and your family! We went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade, went shopping, went to Eve's dance class and of course, went to the park. You are game for anything! You just have to keep moving. Grama made you and your mom and Eve late for things because I couldn't keep up with DC's fast pace. I have found out that you love to play with things that light up and make noises! I don't think you will ever crawl - you will just stand up and walk when you are ready. Eve didn't give me much free time to spend playing with you -
I did get to feed you an entire jar of baby food when your mom went to her photography class, but it was too much for you and it came back up later. I can't wait for you to meet your aunts in May. You will charm them and be spoiled by the time you return home. Just by giving them one of your big grins will melt their hearts! Next time I see you will be at my house. You will get to meet Harley the Cat and Amos. All of us are excited! Keep laughing and playing with big sis. Love, Grama

ready to move on

I think you are tired of this baby stuff. All you want to do is be a big boy. You watch your sister and her friends run around and play and jump and you wish you could do the same. Every time Eve starts jumping you bend your little legs and try to copy, but it doesn't quite work so your dad and I lift you up like you are actually doing the jumping yourself. You laugh and laugh and Eve really enjoys it too. You want to stand all the time and instead of walking you just lean to where you want to go and don't realize you have to move your feet. Hopefully you'll figure it out soon, but until then we'll all just keep pretending you're a bigger boy than you really are.

Grama and Erin have decided to make you look like a little Dutch boy for her wedding wearing black shorts with suspenders and a pink T-shirt. I'm sure you'll look like a pimp.

getting no attention

Of course that's not by choice, but because your sister wouldn't let grama have any Ben time while she was here. Whenever grama held you, your sister would find a reason that she needed grama and try to lure her away from you. You've been wanting to stand full time and get very frustrated that you can't get anywhere on your own. You've had a few long days in the stroller, but don't seem to mind as long as it's moving. You aren't sleeping very well, but still have a cheerful smile on your face almost all the time. You were happy to see dad when he returned from London after a week away. You smiled and reached out to grab his face. You've also been much more vocal and have even added a few more sounds other than baba to your conversations. One of your favorite things to do is sit in Eve's room by yourself and play with whatever toys you want. That's probably because Eve is constantly touching and hugging and kissing you. You also really love bath time and rubber duckies.

Sorry to tell you but aunt Erin has decided that you have to wear pink to her wedding. She is making all the big boys wear pink and you as well. She has picked out a black shorts with suspenders outfit to wear over a pink outfit for you. You'll look like a little dutch boy, and we'll have pictures to laugh about for a long time. Eve tries to get you into pink all the time anyway, so you know she'll be happy that day!

It looks like we may have a tooth in the near future, so I'll keep you posted about that. Love you little man.

prunes and poop

This may be one of those things that you look back on and say mom why did you write that, but this is what is going on. You have started eating solids now and can't get enough. You really love your rice cereal and would keep eating it if it were offered. Unfortunately, rice cereal has a bad way of clogging up the pipes and making you a cranky boy. I have found that you like prunes well enough that I can keep feeding them to you in order to keep you smiling. It was a rough few days of trying to remedy the situation, but I think we have found something that works for us.

You've developed a new love of being outside at the park watching the older kids run around screaming. I don't think it will be long before you are jogging alongside them. Eve and I spent a while watching you throw yourself forward repeatedly this morning on my bed and just wondering what comes next. Eve thought it was hilarious that every time I would sit you upright you would immediately throw yourself forward again.

Now if we could just get you to sleep a little longer at night!

bathtime is the best time

You get so happy when we walk into the bathroom and the water is running. You lean toward the tub like you are ready to dive in. If Eve is already splashing in the tub you get even more excited which is what is going on here. Too funny.

Almost mobile

Hi Little Man,
I hear you are almost mobile. You can now roll over whenever! And you are getting up on your knees - hold yourself up on your hands.....just not at the same time! Don't worry, you will master crawling soon enough. Absolutely everything is going straight to your mouth! Even the telephone! Big sister Eve sometimes tries to play a little rough but I have a feeling you will be able to take care of yourself. I am coming to visit in about 3 weeks and am worried. Your momma says you won't let her out of your sight. I hope you will let me hold and play with you!!! You are very special and the rest of the family can't wait to meet you. Get ready to be passed around alot in May (at Aunt Erin's wedding).
See you soon,
Love, Grama

what's next

I guess you've decided to give big boy foods a thumbs up now. You cry if anyone is eating and you don't have something to eat as well. You've eaten rice cereal, mixed vegetables, peach/banana granola, applesauce and plain bananas (your favorite). You can't seem to get enough bread or puffs. You still absolutely refuse a bottle, which makes it tough for mom to take her photography class when dad watches you for three hours. He just makes due and definitely needs a break when I get home.

You've started saying baba which is exciting and you laugh whenever I try to make new sounds for you, especially mama. You've also started throwing yourself forward onto your belly while sitting up and rolling and reaching for more toys. It's like you are waiting for crawling to just happen, which I'm sure will happen very soon. You still love baths and are trying to get out of your baby bathtub into the big tub when Eve's in there. You want to be a big boy so bad. Every time Eve runs by you start leaning like to just want to run alongside her. It makes me so happy to see it, but it also makes me sad that you will be doing the same thing so soon. This is all happening too fast for me to keep up with.

You had your first cold and a pretty bad cough. You mostly laugh after your coughing fits, pretty much like to do all the time. It's hard to find anything that makes you unhappy except of course when you are offered a bottle of milk. Who knows, you may be walking by the time we make it home for Erin's wedding after all at the pace things are going now!

You also love to watch dad play the guitar and sing you songs. It's one of the ways that only dad can chill with you. Notice the camo. Eve received a new camo dress and you got a matching shirt so you've been wearing it every day with Eve because that is all she will wear at the moment and since yours matches, you are forced to wear yours too. She digs them out of the hamper every day. Thanks for making us laugh with your huge toothless grins. Love you little man.

that boy is hungry

Okay so we thought you were ready for solids a few weeks ago so we tried oatmeal and rice cereal. You were indifferent at first and then decided you were no longer interested. In fact when I would hold the spoon up to your mouth you would snap it shut and look away and refuse to open it, so we thought we'd try again at a later date. It turns out you only want to eat big boy food. You were in pizza hut last week and decided you wanted a piece of pizza. Fortunately, dad was holding you so got a taste and didn't let go of your pizza until you had sucked it to a sliver of mush. Since then you have been very anxious to get your hands on anything that is solid to chew on. Of course tonight while I was trying to feed you some butternut squash that I made especially for you, Eve starts choking on a carrot so I rush to pick her up and slap her back to get her to cough it up. In the meantime you reach into my salad bowl and grab a handful of lettuce and stuff it in your mouth. You must not have realized that I had a parmesan vinaigrette dressing on it because you started howling when you got it into your mouth. Needless to say, it was an exciting dinner.

You are sitting up all by yourself these days. You still smile and laugh and almost anything. You try to keep your eye out for me at all times, just to make sure I'm not trying to go anywhere without you. You love watching your sister especially when she is jumping up and down or talking to you. She can make you smile almost anytime. You love rubbing dad's hair when I hold you close to him which is sweet.

You are already determined to master the toys you can get your hands on. After watching your sister play with a toy tonight you tried and tried to do what she had done to make it flash and play music and got very frustrated when it didn't happen.

You did fantastic riding in the car on our way to Pittsburgh this last week and grandma Rita loves little boys (she had 5 of her own) so she tried to spoil you rotten. Too bad you weigh over 20 pounds because she has a bum shoulder and couldn't pick you up. You brought smiles to everyone's faces and continue to entertain us every day. Love that sweet giggle.

Christmas 2007

Grama came to visit and celebrate your 1st Christmas and we had a great time! You have grown so much since I last saw you!!! You love going places and being held. You have an infectious laugh! When you laugh...everyone laughs too. However, I did notice that you still really don't like having your diaper changed. While I was visiting, you perfected the act of rolling over. You are constantly trying to grab things and put them in your mouth. You are such a happy baby! Unlike your big sister, you let anyone hold you and flash those huge dimples to everybody! Your biggest thrill is when Eve comes near and talks. You are absolutely fascinated with your big sister. Your aunts won't be able to keep their hands off of you. I had a wonderful time and can't wait until the next time I get to see you! Keep flashing those dimples for the camera and work on sitting up by yourself! I love and miss you! Grama

Super Star!!!!!!!

Benjamin my Boy!!!!! well although i haven't met you yet, i feel that we have known each other for years....haha...Well let me catch you up on your Aunt and Uncles lives, wow how crazy. I probably would have laughed at you if you would have told me i would be getting a job at Oklahoma State coaching football, what a true blessing. By the way, you will be receiving some recruitment letters here soon, I here you are a pretty big boy so i figured we would get started on you early. I got a official visit set up for 2026, your staying at the Marriott and i hope you consider coming to play for your uncle...haha......Your Aunt Erin is getting ready to enroll in graduate courses to continue her education and receive her Registered Dietition Certificate. Cross your fingers, cause Aunt Erin may need to call your sister Eve for some help. Really though my little Brotha, cant wait to finally meet you and be able to teach you a little East Side slang to keep your mom and dad on their toes.....You wanna know something funny, i actually had a crush on your mother before your Aunt (Watch out Thomas) So you should know you were blessed with two great parents........May God Always Bless You, Hope to see you Soon

GO COWBOYS,
Coach Bromley