The Art of Thumb Sucking

I didn't want Ben to be a thumb sucker, but he simply cannot master a pacifier. I stick it in his mouth, he rolls it around on his tongue, he tries to chew it in his cheek, then he lets it fall out. It's funny when he gets it in his cheek. He looks like he's working on a big chew of tobacco. He's always kept his hands near his mouth when he's tired. However, this week he's been learning to actually suck his thumb. He started by licking his forearm, which was kind of weird and gross. Then he got his fist to his mouth. Now he's figured out how to seperate his thumb and cram it into his mouth. He obviously loves sucking his thumb. Listen to him smacking in this video.

Bobble Head Ben

Holding up his head is still a lot of work, but if you put him on his tummy, he refuses to lay his head down. He fights and fights to keep it up.

Napping

I guess I did get my camera out at least one other time this week. This picture is from Monday. Ben fell asleep on his playmat in the living room facing the window. I guess the sun in his eyes was bothering him.

Last Weekend

Ben and I have had a busy week. Today is the first day I've even gotten my camera out. Very unusual for me. When I started uploading today's videos, I noticed that there were pictures from last weekend that I never uploaded.

Here is John pushing Ben in his stroller. Notice that Ben is sitting up, not riding backwards in his carseat. He's a little lopsided, though, because I forgot to put the head positioner from his carseat in the stroller to keep him upright. This is the second time we've been out strolling with Ben sitting up. I remembered the head positioner the first time, but my camera battery was dead so I couldn't take a picture.

Funny Daddy

Ben thinks John is so funny. Everytime John talks to Ben, he laughs and smiles.

Talking to "Jon and Kate"

I know you aren't supposed to let babies watch TV, but Ben is so funny when he's watching television. He talks back to the TV. Here he is he watching "Jon and Kate Plus Eight." You can hear the TV in the background. He really likes when there are people on the screen. He doesn't watch TV very often. Mainly just his "Praise Baby" DVD when I need him to be happy while I cook supper.

Tummy Time

We are really enjoying playing on the floor in the living room.

What's missing from this picture?

We finally moved the coffee table out of our living room! I've been trying to talk John into this since before Ben was born. We have scored concrete floors in our living room and dining room. The only soft place is on the rug, which has been dominated by a large metal and glass coffee table. I thought we needed room on the rug so that Ben could play on the floor. And the sharp glass corners were a trip to the hospital waiting to happen once Ben started pulling up. Of course, our living room now looks really bare, but it's great to be able to put Ben down on the floor in the living room.

Road Trip

Ben and I made our longest road trip so far -- 300 miles -- last week. Normally the drive home takes me five hours. To make the trip easier on Ben, we stopped at John's parents' house for a halfway(ish) break. Ben did really well. Mainly he slept. On the way, we stopped for gas with one hours left to drive. Unfortunately, he woke up and was VERY upset. I was thinking the last hour was going to be a long one. Thankfully, he only cried for about 10 minutes and then went back to sleep.

The trip was completely exhausting. We visited lots of family and a few friends. Next time I hope to spend more time just hanging out at my parents' house. We made the return trip on Thursday, and spent all day Friday recovering. We both spent all day in our pajamas.


I took lots of pictures of Ben with various family members and friends. Here are a few.

Swinging??

Ben loves the mobile over his swing. He doesn't get as excited about the actual swinging motion.

And more pictures

If you can't tell, I'm playing with an interesting function on my camera that makes everything black and white except one color. Here I've chosen blue. For some reason, I can't get the first picture to turn the correct way.

Pics

As soon as Ben becomes mobile, he will probably start running as soon as he sees me reach for my camera. For now, I take LOTS of pictures. Here are a few new ones.





Ben has cradle cap so I've had to put oil in his hair. Even after I washed it twice yesterday, his hair was still so oily I could make it stand up in any direction. I'm not sure that a mohawk really goes with the teddy bear outfit he's wearing.

2 Months

Today Ben is two months old. We celebrated this by getting shots. That wasn't fun for either of us. I held him while he got his shots, but read the posters on the wall rather than watch.

He weighs 12 lbs 10 oz and is 22 inches long.

More Video

Using the video function on my camera may become an obsession. Here's a short clip I filmed this afternoon. Ben is playing on his activity mat again. His smile is so sweet. The music is coming from the dog attached to the gym.


Smiles