I am so excited to be writing this post! My little man is 1 year old! I'm not going to take the credit but I did joke that he made it a whole year without any permanent damage from me. It has been a roller coaster ride, that's for sure. I still remember counting down the days until he would be 6 months old and then maybe it'd get a little easier. Thankfully, it did, and now he is really the joy of my day. I'm always watching videos of him on my phone and looking at pictures from the day's adventures. This past
It has been really freakin' hot lately, so Ben has been enjoying plenty of opportunities to be naked around (and outside) the house! We even managed to catch him in the act of relieving himself and got him to use the baby potty. That was pretty exciting and came from pure dumb luck. Nevertheless, I know he can do it so potty training is really going to kick in soon. My sister in-law, Val, took a picture of his tremendous deed but I will spare you that. It's on Facebook though, so you can find it on your own time.
We went to Seabreeze with a lot of our family and it was hot. And we got stuck in traffic on the way there for a while, which always helps. But the nice thing about not having air conditioning in your car is that you're more than ready to take advantage of your local water park! Once we got situated, it was off to the little kid pool area. Ben was apprehensive at first but once mom sat in the water with him, he was perfectly happy getting splashed! He got to ride on the merry-go-round, eat watermelon, and ride a train around the park. He also got himself a nice farmer's tan and some sun on his face. I brought sunscreen and totally forgot to use it because we were so dang hot. I'm hoping his 1/4 Indian genes will make up for my lack of parenting in that department.
The week before his birthday, we went to a really beautiful neighborhood nearby with the Erie Canal, train tracks, and tasty treats readily available. Initially, the trip was to rescue some baby birds that my cat literally kept dragging into my house. After a quick stop at the vet's, we checked out the library so that I could get some piano music and Ben could play tag with me. He flirted with a bunch of little girls before we were off to our next stop. We walked along the canal, stopped to watch the train go by, and then found a cute little sandwich and gelato shop to have a treat. Ben wasn't into sharing any gelato with me and started to throw a mini tantrum. But the lady working there was kind and gave him his own scoop and cone to enjoy. He preferred eating the cone and then smushing the gelato onto the table top and wiping it around with his hands. What can I say - this kid likes to earn his baths now.
We had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house and Ben made out like a bandit with new clothes and toys. And he ate more watermelon and some ice cream to boot. He still enjoys plenty of time hanging out with his kitty, going on adventures with mama, and of course, having lots of girlfriends stopping by to lavish him with love and affection. Don't worry, I already know I'm going to be in trouble for that one.
We took a trip to Jazz Fest with "uncle" Matt and everyone would stop and stare at this ridiculously good lookin' kid in a fedora. Yup, my good lookin' kid. He loved watching the musicians and all of the festival people walking around. "Rochester's Finest," if you ask me...
Here's some pictures, now that I've finally got them on the computer. Still in the brainstorming stage on what to write now that I managed to somewhat faithfully post about Ben for a whole year. Stay tuned!
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| Lookouts keeping the backyard safe. |
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| Picking Ziggy's nose while having breakfast on mommy? Sure. |
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| "Watamello" with Auntie Jocie! |
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| Cruisin' at the Jazz Fest. |
