b e n j a m i n f a l k e n b e r g

Benjamin is in his new room tonight, in his new toddler bed!

We got the room more or less ready (minus a few decorative details) a few days ago. He’s been in there to play several times over the last few days, too. He seems to love the room. He’s got his own little table and chairs, his toddler bed, a toybox, a beanbag chair, a bookshelf with some of his books, stars on the walls, etc. It’s a space theme, and the bedding/toybox and table/chairs all match with rockets and stuff on ‘em. We have a corner hanging rocket storage dealie from Ikea, and a little toddler-sized rocking chair we got from Goodwill for…3 bucks?

All his favorite stuffed animals are lounging about in all of his chairs and he just goes batty in there. It probably sounds cooler than it actually looks, since we have bare white walls in there still, but hey, as long as he likes it… Pictures/posters and blue and silver stars are planned for the walls, any day now.

Anyway, I spent about an hour and half today putting him back down over and over again getting him to realize he was in there for a nap today. His first time sleeping in there at all. He finally fell asleep, but he was half hanging off the bed with his blanket all piled up over his head–his standard thing for some reason. Mom went to put him to bed tonight and he pointed at his new room! He went down very easily, and he’s not been awake or fallen out of bed yet. I’ve got the baby monitor next to me here at my desk, though, just in case.

Anyway, pretty cool! He’s transitioned so well with everything so far, and we’re soooo proud of him. Yay! :)

This picture was taken the day before Easter 2007 at my grandparent’s house. I was in a great mood when we started taking pictures, but when this one was taken, I wanted to get DOWN!

From left to right are my cousins Alejandro (Ollie), Lydia, Laura and me, and Owen. Lydia and Laura are sisters, and Ollie and Owen are brothers. I love them all very much, and they all seem to love me, too! They’re GRRRRRRRRREAT!

I had a great time with them finding eggs and putting them in a basket today. I found them all!

Didn’t really get a chance to mention it before, but for Christmas, Lyle and Vicki popped for all of the grandkids and their parents to go with them to Disney World in Florida.

We just got back on Thursday. It was a great trip! Really good experience for Benjamin; lots of socialization, lots of animals and sights and sounds for him to experience. He seemed to really enjoy himself!

We were really concerned that we might have some trouble with him as far as naps and food were concerned, but he managed to nap when he needed it, falling asleep and staying asleep during some louder show finales, for example. He ate well, and he slept well during the overnights. He handled the later evenings just fine, and loved all the attention and company, playing with his cousins, etc.

The most impressive aspect of the entire trip was how well he handled flying! While everyone else drove from WI down to FL, we ended up flying down, because 20 hours in a car seemed like a bad idea with an 11-month old. He was perfect on the plane in every way. Didn’t cry or become upset during takeoffs or landings, and lasted the entire flight with no trouble, despite being a lap passenger and not having a seat or an opportunity to get down and crawl around at all, being held the entire time, etc. He ate, he drank, he made faces and flirted with the stewardesses and other passengers…he is such a great social being!

We ended up with a few souvenirs from the trip, and a few pictures, too. We’ll try to post some of the pictures soon.

2006 ended well. Great Christmas, great to see everyone. Thanks again for the cards and gifts! Benjamin had a great time with all the paper and boxes, and even some fun with his new presents. ;)

And 2007, so far, is off to a bang-up start! All three of us have been sick this past week. Benjamin’s had a cold, and pinkeye. Not quite sure where it came from, but strongly suspecting the play area at the local mall last weekend…

Mom’s got a really terrible-sounding sore throat, and Dad had the flu about a week ago, too. It’s been a rough week.

Benjamin’s getting some eye drops for his eyes, and after one treatment, he was already looking TONS better.

We’re off to Disney in Florida this next week. Should be fun!

He’s got the fever now… He claps while sitting, standing…he even does some clapping now for total strangers. He was at a play area in the mall today and he was waving at the other kids, too. Hilarious!

He’s also doing a little bit more walking… He can take several steps now before he crashes; his longest distance so far is probably about 6 feet or so. You can see him planning his landing when he takes off, too…

In other news, his teeth are still coming in, and we’re still having some restless nights… poor kid. :(

He really has turned into quite a little hugger and kisser, too. He’s still a little bit picky about who he gives them to, and he’s still not the most cuddly baby in the world by any stretch, but the love in him is coming out more and more. :)

It’s been a little while now since he first started doing it to his mother, but he’s now really big into blowing zerberts on Mom and Dad’s arms, legs, bellies, and laughing his head off. He thinks its the funniest thing, and it really gets his parents laughing, too. It’s really, really cool to watch him find and do things that are fun/funny/interesting to him. :)

This morning Dad’s working at his desk when he hears a repetitive noise behind him; he’s not sure what it is, so of course he turns to look…

It’s Benjamin, CLAPPING. We’ve been practicing clapping with him a little bit, but this was the first time he’s really done it on his own, deliberately, that we’ve noticed. He was watching his hands, as if studying the movements and the resulting sounds; it was very, very cute.

He went in for his nine-month wellness check with the pediatrician today, too. Stats:

• height: 28.5 inches tall
• weight: 19 lbs 15 ounces
• head: 18 inches around

Everything went well; he’s average weight, and slightly above-average height.

We were asked a number of questions about his development, and the only question we couldn’t answer yes to was “does he wave goodbye to people?”. He really doesn’t, but he also doesn’t really ever see Mom or Dad leave separately. Well, occasionally, but not that often…not often enough that he would have a lot of practice with the goodbye-waving, in any case. We do practice with him when we’re out and he’s socializing with other parents and kids at a store or something, and around his relatives.

The funny thing? Tonight, just a few hours after his doctor visit, Mom was taking him to bed, and he waved goodnight to his Dad! Very deliberate, and he even repeated it a few moments later. VERY COOL! We also blow kisses at him, so we figure he’ll pick that up on his own at some point soon, too. Very exciting!

He got his second flu shot today. Must have been a clean stick, as he barely cried. He takes shots pretty well.

He started calling his Mom “mama” a couple days ago! Dad’s with him most of the time during the day, so Dad’s kinda bummed it wasn’t “Dada”, but Dad will survive. ;) In the meantime, since he’s figured it out, Mom’s feeling both excited and a little frustrated, because he wants her ALL the time now, and there’s no denying it when he’s asking for her BY NAME. Hah!

He’s also able to take a few steps walking now! He walked about 5 steps tonight for Mom during the football game, before he plopped onto his butt, but it’s progress!

Stuff that makes parents so proud…

He’s moved on to stage-three baby foods and table foods now, too. There are of course a handful of foods he still can’t eat, to avoid potential allergies, but not a big deal… We’re eager to get away from the baby foods and let him start eating “real” foods.

He’s also been teething like CRAZY, and overnights haven’t been very fun… He’s got about 6 teeth now, and he’s gnawing on everything, and drooling like a maniac…