Snow Fun

Ben had so much fun going out in the snow and walking around!

First Haircut!

Ben was finally in need for a haircut. His hair has been so thin that I've been really hesitant to cut it. I didn't want him to look bald! I finally decided it was time. We have the before picture and the after picture. He wasn't sure about the razor right at first but he sat there patiently and got his hair cut. Now he looks so handsome!

Watchin' TV

I know it looked like he's naked, but he's in his diaper, I promise! I make him sit in that chair to eat suckers because he can't get out of the chair very easily. It's a nice way of getting him out of my hair for an hour or so. Put him in the chair, give him a (small) sucker, and put on Signing Times or Animusic. He was so cute sitting in that chair I just had to take a picture!

Ben loves to read (textbooks)

Ben LOVES textbooks for some strange and unapparent reason. Neil likes to switch his position up when he reads to help him stay focused (i.e. moving from the couch to the floor) but when he gets to the floor, Ben comes running. And I mean RUNNING to lay out just like Dad. Then he wants to "help" read the book. We ended up giving Ben an old textbook that just wasn't going to resell anywhere, so we can usually distract him with that... :)

I heard Ben kind of grunting like he was struggling to do something and I glance over at him and there he was, sitting in a bin. I think he tried to sit on the edge of it and it tipped over or something. And the part where he runs back and forth - I think he was trying to look at me around the camera so he kept trying to get around it...

They grow up so fast...

Today has been quite funny and it's only 10:20! Ben loves to play with the phone, and this morning it started doing the "off-the-hook" beeping. Ben promptly brought it to me and let me take it from him so I could "fix" the phone. (Generally I only get the phone away from him with much screaming and upset-ness)
During breakfast we were playing peek-a-boo. Ben would cover his eyes and I'd say "Where's Ben? Where IS he??" When he would uncover them, I'd say "There you are!!" Well as I was getting ready to pick Neil up from Trax, I was down the hall from Ben. I heard him calling "Maaaaaa? Maaaaaaa?" I turned around and started walking towards him and he said "Deh yah." (I'm pretty sure he was trying to say 'there you are!'). I should mention this isn't the first time he's gone looking for me. I usually try to get him to climb up the stairs on his own when we go somewhere. I brought him to the stairs one day and then remembered I needed something from the storage room. I ran back, thinking he would just climb up and be ready for me. Instead, he followed me down the hall calling "Mama.... Mama...."
Lastly, I was putting some clothes in a garbage sack for the next MWB garage sale and Ben was trying to help. The big coat he was trying to put in the sack just wasn't going to fit because the sack was already full. I tied off the garbage sack and stood up to get another one, but he decided he would just find somewhere else for that coat to go. He dragged it down the hall and tried to stuff it into the closet under the stairs. I tried to get video, but he just wasn't interested in the coat after he "put it away."
Kids are sure funny sometimes, and they get big so fast. I'm sure if you're reading this post you've seen the videos of him trying to act like Neil and I (laundry, piano, computer...) I sure love this little guy! :)

We keep a laundry basket in our living room/family room/kitchen/rec room/etc room because so much happens in there. On laundry day, I go sort that basket into whites and darks. Ben decided he needed to help me this time around. After I emptied the basket onto the floor for sorting, he started working on it. We have rather large laundry baskets in our bedroom, so I usually just drag them down the hallway. Ben must have seen me do it a time or two... :)

Ben is such a little observer! He must have seen Dad doing this a time or two and thought he'd give it a try!

I bought the fleece for his Halloween costume (pictures to come soon) and I laid it all out to cut out the pieces and he came over and laid on top of it and started playing with it. Afton came down to help me get the pieces laid out correctly and we just couldn't resist having a little fun... :)

Sorry the video is sideways. I didn't know when I recorded it that it would be forever sideways... :)

Ben can feed himself!

When we were having dinner with my family a couple Sundays ago, my sister was holding Ben on her lap and he decided to take her fork. She put some food on the table in front of him and helped him skewer the food onto his fork and put it in his mouth. I think I've been putting off the "feeding himself" stage because we have carpet downstairs... A few days later I decided to try it out at home. I gave him some mac n cheese (not the best idea because the noodles are so small it's hard to skewer them, but it worked nonetheless). Just look at him eating it!

Happy Birthday Ben

I know, I know... It's only 3 months late... I promise to try to be better!
Ben's 15 months old now. He's walking all over the place and he can sign/say a few words. He can say "uh-oh" "bah" (ball) "mama" "dat" (dad) "ca ca" (cracker/cookie) "gen" (again) "uppa" (up) and "hi!" He can sign: more, finished, cracker, cookie, mom, again, milk, ball, car, and baby.
The cutest thing about him right now is that when he wants my attention, he will start pulling on my leg, trying to get me to turn towards him, saying "Hi! Hi! Hi!" over and over until I look at him. Then he puts his arms up and says "uppa! uppa!" He will also walk up to little kids and say "Hi!" over and over.

Hungry Again

One might think I don't feed Ben enough, since this is the second blog about food... Ben found a few Kix on the floor that he hadn't gotten to yet. As he was crawling around eating them, he found one under the table. I watched him start crawling under the chair and knew he wouldn't be able to get back out, so I grabbed the camera and snapped a few shots. Surprisingly, he was quite happy while I took pictures, and only cried when I put the camera away and he realized how stuck he really was.

Wheaties: The late afternoon snack of babies

I had been sitting at the computer reading emails and such. Ben was just wandering around as he usually does, getting in to anything I've deemed "baby safe" like the tupperware cupboard. I realized it had been quiet after a while and since I was late for his nap, I wondered if Ben had fallen asleep somewhere... I heard some faint noises coming from the hallway where we keep our food storage. I snuck over and peeked around the corner. Ben was looking back at me while shoving a handful of Wheaties into his mouth. I didn't grab the camera quick enough to catch him sitting with the box, but as you can see he had plenty to eat. And of course, he flashed his oh-so-cute grin and how could I possibly be upset after that?

Welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone and welcome to the life of Benjamin Baxter. This blog is for all the friends and family of Ben to get updated. Hope you all enjoy the stories and posts to come!