Benjamin 6 Months

Our little Ben is 6 months old today! I know everybody says this but I seriously can't believe it! The past 6 months have FLOWN by! "Baby Ben" as Jack calls his brother is chuck-full of personality! From day 1 he hasn't been afraid to make demands! Ben has the sweetest little face and can easily persuade me into doing anything he wants (which is usually hold him whenever he's awake, sometimes even while he's sleeping) by putting on quite the show with his alligator tears and lip quiver. He's a sensitive soul and as my mom has said, "prefers to be held" and not just help by anyone, but held by me (momma).  Ben is a foodie and I swear from the time he was 2 or 3 months old he noticed food. He would watch every bite you took, his eyes following your fork from plate to mouth. What's even funnier is his mouth opens expectantly every time you go to take a bite. It crack's Chris and I up! He started solid foods Monday, and is a lover of sweet potatoes now! He eats baby oatmeal for breakfast every morning & wakes up expecting it to be ready right that minute! Ben is such a wonderful nurser. I know I only have Jack for comparison but he would probably nurse until he's 5 if I let him. He's a quick nurser too which I appreciate. What's funny is he growls and makes the funniest noises when it's time to eat! He also basically tries to eat me through my clothes if I'm not quick enough, he likes his food!

I don't have Ben's most recent stats, but last time he was weighed (which was a week ago) he was 17.5 pounds! He's more than doubled his birth weight =) I love his little round face! Ben can roll from front to back and back to front and gets around the room no problem! He's even started trying to get up on his knees and scoot a little (slow down buddy!) Ben has always loved tummy time, but I guess you can't really call it that now because he rolls back and forth from his belly to his back. We have a play mat that Chris calls his "Disneyland" because of the sensory overload it provides. He will lay and play on his play mat for quite a while until he realizes I'm not holding him and then the alligator tears start a' flowing. He LOVES his jumperoo! That is the one toy that he will seriously stay happy and excited in for at least and hour a day (which means I get in at least an hour of cleaning a day.) Ben loves toys and is very grabby he is fast and will snatch just about anything within his reach and shove it in his mouth! So far there has been a variety of things he's tasted because of this: crayons, lipstick, makeup-brushes, paper, french fries, egg noodles, my hair…

Ever since we figured out that Ben has a sensitivity to dairy my life has been so much easier, and he has been a completely different baby! He used to cry all day and have really bad gas and constipation. He would't sleep longer than 45 minutes (even at night) because he was SO uncomfortable! Now that I'm off dairy he is so smiley and happy and I feel like we finally have a eating and sleeping routine. Ben goes to bed at around 8pm every night (it's crazy how babies have an internal clock). I'll nurse him, swaddle him, and then just lay him down awake and he will go straight to bed and sleep 4-5 hours his first stretch of sleep, wake-up to nurse, go straight back to bed, sleep another 4-5 hours and nurse again.  So, Ben still wakes up twice a night which I don't mind because it's so much better than 10 times a night like he used to! He's then usually up around 7am and I wake up to him just jabbering happily in his bed. I then feed him his baby oatmeal and he plays for a little while on the floor and then he takes his morning nap at 9am. He only takes one good nap a day and it's his morning nap, he will sleep up to 3 hours and then the rest of his naps during the day are cat naps around 45 min each. I'm so incredibly happy my baby boy isn't constantly in pain with reflux & gas. I was so worn out and exhausted by the time we found out what was causing all of his issues and I'm incredibly blessed it didn't go on longer than it did.

Ben is such a "momma's boy" he will try and lunge out of anybody arms to try and get to me, and he will keep his eyes on me from clear across the room! He is SO cuddly he will nestle his head right under my chin and he gives THE BEST slobbery kisses. He's very busy, he is constantly grabbing things, and bouncing while you hold him & he's really found his voice! He will jabber happily in the car and to his daddy and I. He thinks his brother and daddy are the coolest-funniest people in the world. I love watching him watch Jack and Chris wrestle all the while bouncing like he wants to get in on the action! He studies Jack all day. Watching him play, eat, run, jump, shout, yell, cry. I'll find him just smiling at his brother even when Jack's not looking at him. Jack told me just yesterday, "Ben's my brother, he's my friend, I love him." Ya, I pretty much teared up a little. I love the bond they already have and how nice and helpful Jack is towards ben. The ONLY abrupt words I've heard Jack say to ben where this week. Ben was tugging on Jack and grabbed Jack's shirt and trying to shovel it into his mouth, Jack pulled away and said, "No Ben! No pulling Jack's shirt, we don't pull shirts baby Ben!" This made me laugh because we've been having a little trouble with a kid bullying Jack in nursery. He's constantly tugging on Jack's clothes and pushing him down. I specifically remember trying to intervene and saying something to the likes of, "Let's keep our hands to ourselves, no pulling on Jack's shirt okay?" It's funny how Jack remembered and applied it to a similar (but less threatening) situation. Of coarse Ben just smiled at Jack and they went back to playing next to each other. 

Ben also LOVES his daddy! As soon as Chris get's home from work Ben flashes him the BIGGEST grin and grabs Chris face and gives him a nice open mouthed kiss! He loves when Chris bounces him and throws him around (not literally) and I can see 3 wrestling buddies in our near future! 

Ben is so loved, and we can't get enough of his dimpled smile, bright blue eyes, lily white skin, and red hair! He's a feisty little guy and he makes us laugh everyday! We are so happy he's part of our family and we love watching him grow! I hope you love the pictures of him as much a we do! Ben was really nervous and wasn't showing of his gummy grin like he usually does. I still love his signature look where he's sucking on his bottom lip though! Priceless!