40 weeks young.

This month marks a pretty big milestone. Ben has officially spent the same amount of time outside of his mommy as he has inside! I waited a week or so after his 9 month birthday because he was a week or so late (or at least that's how I'm justifying taking this long to write this month's post!)

I'm a very blessed momma. I seriously have the most relaxed and amiable little guy imaginable. I think all that grace and patience finally paid off!! Ben is such a sweet heart. He's definitely a momma's boy at the moment but he loves daddy time. He's still just as serious as ever but once he gets over his initial shyness, he can be a real goofball. Now that he's getting a little bigger (okay, a lot bigger), he is now more able bodied and can do more than even a few weeks ago. Climbing Mount Mommy is a regular activity, as well as wiping runny noses and messy mouths on my clean clothes. The nice weather has also helped with his energy level tremendously. We have been taking many walks and exploring the parks with cousins and neighbors alike. One day recently, we were sitting on the porch swing out front and heard the neighbors play this tragedy of a pop song. Ben thought it was hilarious when it got stuck in my head and I sang the one line I knew to him during bath time. So I took a video.

Adding to his list of new tricks include: mastering finger foods, playing the keyboard, sleeping for 12 hours most nights (hallelujah!), taking baths in the big tub, getting up on hands and knees, pulling himself up to standing, spinning in circles, and clapping his hands! The last one is a particular favorite. My mom has been singing this hand clapping song since he was born and now if he hears us sing it, he will clap along! He'll also do it when he gets excited or his clothes come off (read: excited). And of course, I took video of him doing it in his favorite place, the bathtub. Thank goodness for smartphones or this kid's entire childhood would be poorly documented.

(Yes, he has bubble mutton chops. I know you're jealous.)

For such a young guy, he's been having a lot of first time experiences. When it got pretty hot out (70s in March? OK!), Aaron and I did a little landscaping to clean up what was left of our garden. The neighbor kids helped, and so did Ben. He loved playing and eating the grass, but oh how he hated wearing his hat. Sorry, white boy, you need it. 

Ben graduated to the big boy bathtub! He loves crawling around and swimming in the bubbles. This picture is a little blurry but he was never still long enough to get a good one. Let's just say he enjoyed himself.

And finally, this upcoming weekend will be another milestone: Mommy's first night away. Yup. Me and the band are playing a show in PA and will be spending the night. So little Ben is going to have a sleepover with Daddy and will be a really good boy (fingers crossed). I started training him to use a bottle and he's taken to it quite well. He prefers to shake it as hard as he can and make a mess, of course, but really, what more can you ask from a little boy?

The Ocho

I'll admit it. I'm a terrible blogging-mom. I don't mean to say I think my posts are terrible (I hope not!), but I am definitely not good at being consistent with them. Ben has been 8 months for a week already and I am just starting to write his post on the last month. "Shameless, I tell you"(If you know my mom, I hope you can hear her saying that...she says it to me a lot!).

Back to the Ben. He is probably the cutest thing alive. He passed our crazycat on the cuteness scale a while ago but now it's really going full force. He's sporting 2 new bottom teeth and an appetite for any kind of food he can shove in his mouth. In the last month he learned what a sippy cup was, can drink from it himself, finally mastered rolling over like a champion, and now thinks that mommy is actually pretty hilarious. So that's teeth, rolls, and laughing...and I'm the happiest mom ever! We have our little routines in the day so that Ben can get some alone time and I can actually get work done. He loves just sitting and eating his "peach puffs" while I clean or do some work on my home business. After he figured out the art of rolling over, he discovered that he's not afraid of being on his tummy. Since then, wrestling has been introduced to our bonding time and he's really good at beating me up.

Ben has become quite independent, and really enjoys playing with his toys and kitty (who has a hard time leaving either of us alone). Ben's most recent toy is a baby-sized grand piano, from his Gamma, and he loves to bang the heck out of it. I still have 5 bucks on this kid becoming a drummer because he actually prefers smacking the top of the piano to the keys themselves. Zig also really enjoys Ben's his new piano, and regularly checks up on it to make sure the keys are still in good working order.

I'm getting really anxious about Ben crawling soon. It's gonna happen before I know it and then I am not going to know what hit me!! I still don't think our house is safe for our ridiculously hyper and destructive climbing-cat...how am I going to make it baby-proof, too!? I've been holding out on investing in baby things that we don't need immediately, and things like gates and those power outlet plugs are on that list. Maybe I'll just get a whole bunch of bubble wrap and duct tape, just for good measure. I can already see the cats having a field day with that one...

I can barely believe it's been 8 months since my life completely did one of those Shaun White halfpipe 1280's....and now I feel like I'm finally past the "new mom stage." Gone are the days where I go running at the slightest peep out of Ben's mouth, or worry about him not having a good nap or someone taking care of him differently than I do. He's tough and little boys are made out of rubber, so I'm not worried anymore. It was actually one of my new year's resolutions and I crossed it off my list pretty quickly into 2012! I realized that he's going to be spending most of his life getting injured and doing things that will freak/gross me out, and that I might as well get over it now and move on with my life. Since I came to that realization, motherhood has felt like a breeze (in comparison).

I love my little man so much. He's starting to show the love back with cuddles and snuggles and "love taps" on my face. Seeing his face light up when he sees me, daddy, or his live-in girlfriend, Aunt Awesome, makes my day! I couldn't be more blessed. Thanks for being awesome, Baby.