Does This Count As Crawling??

I apologize for my shaky hand....this is not the best video. I was really excited and just wanted to catch his movement on video. He is now able to "crawl/creep" to his toys that are out of his reach. I am amazed every day by how much he learns....but I admit that there are times that I push that little butt back on the floor because I don't want him to grow up TOO quickly! Before we know it, we will be teaching him to drive!

Shhhhhh......

We've been trying to put Ben down without rocking him to sleep or lingering too long. It is usually successful. BUT LATELY, Caleb has been sneaking into Ben's room and "helping" Ben go to sleep....can someone say SPOILED!?! I caught Caleb on the monitor the other night!

PNG Company!

One of Caleb's long-time family friends was in Raleigh this week. He was able to visit us for dinner tonight. It was SO good to see Sherm again! (The last time we saw him was at our wedding 4 years ago!) We missed seeing his wife Bernie. Ben really enjoyed the visit, too....

Good Times!

Pictures of Ben- Not At His Best! (But Kind of Funny-Lookin')

What's New?

My little boy is growing up =0)

He can now eat Peas, Applesauce and Sweet Potatoes. He makes THE funniest face when he eats the applesauce. We think it is a little tart.....but he finishes it anyway. At this point, he is eating twice a day. Once at daycare (rice cereal and 1/2 a jar of baby food) and once after I feed him when I get home from work (1/2 a jar of baby food).

He's started saying "Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba". My great grandmother was known as Baba and my grandmother (Ben's greatgrandmother) is known as Baba. So, Ben's first "words" were Ba-Ba! I made sure to call Baba and tell her the good news.

Also, yesterday, I swear that Ben looked right at me and said "DA!" It wasn't Da-Da, so I'm still holding out that he will say Ma-Ma before Da-Da!

Also, Ben officially "rocks" on his hands and knees. It is SO cute. He started last Friday. I gets on all fours and rocks back and forth. If you put a toy out of reach, he will "rock" his way right over to it.

I love it!

Really Cool Idea!

My friend from work told me to check out this link:

http://greenlitebites.com/BreastMilk/

For all you breast-feeding mommies, it is a really practical and cheap way to store your breastmilk in your freezer! (Thanks, Brittany!)

Emotional Week-End...

This past week-end was an emotional week-end for me. We had a fabulous time in Baltimore, but the trip brought up some emotions I have not felt in a long time.

Ben looks just like my PopPop. I can see it in his eyes and in his smile. My PopPop died of lung cancer while I was still in high school. It's probably been almost 10 years since his death. And now, I have a little man who has so many of his features. Needless to say, it makes me miss him that much more. He was an amazing man who never raised his voice to his wife in all the years they were married. He had a good heart and a contagious smile. He was a veteran.....and he used to tell me all of his stories. Since I hated history, I never paid close attention. Now, who will be able to tell Ben about all that his great-PopPop did for us?

Also, my sister passed away when she was 5 1/2 months old. Ben is 5 1/2 months old. When we were in B-More, we pulled out the Baby Tenda that Sharonrose used. We also pulled out an old stroller that we are going to take to Disney World.

Sharonrose was almost 9 pounds when she passed away at close to 6 months old. Ben is almost 17 pounds. Having my own baby has put some things into perspective. It also got me thinking about what she would have been like as an aunt. She was such a wonderful baby....and I am sitting here at work in tears just thinking about her. Again....it was just an emotional week-end!

Trip To Baltimore!

I did it! I made the trip to Baltimore last week-end ALONE with Ben.

I have to admit that I was a little nervous about the drive.

I decided to leave after work on Thursday. Ben usually goes to bed around 7pm, so I figured he would sleep during the ride up. I drank a TON of coffee (since my bed time is usually closer to 9pm, and I knew I wouldn't arrive in B-more until around 12am!)

Ben was wonderful for the car ride up AND back. He slept the whole way up (randomly screaming out about once every hour....I think he was scared because he didn't know where he was....but the pacifier calmed him right back to sleep!) On the way home (mid-afternoon), he played for an hour, slept for 4 and then played for another hour. I learned that Chick-Fil-A is the BEST place to stop on Sundays....the parking lot was empty so I had the whole place to myself to nurse him and change him. (It's the little things!)

Anyway, the trip was wonderful. On Friday, Ben was able to meet his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa for the first time and his new second cousin Landon! He spent time with his Great Gram and Great Grandad. My brother Andrew made the drive to York, PA with us....and when we got home, we all jumped into their pool! It was REALLY cold at first, but Ben didn't seem to mind.

On Saturday, Ben and I were able to go to Christina's baby shower. It is so hard to believe that the next time we see Joe and Christina, they will have beautiful little Abigail in their arms! Ben was great for the shower. Everyone kept saying how he was such a good baby. He played by himself and was passed around by all the ladies. I'm so happy that I was able to make it to their shower.

On Sunday, Ben got to meet "Auntie" Rachael and her boyfriend Rob! Rachael was in my wedding and the first of my three best friends from high school to meet Ben! I was SO happy that this happened! I can't wait for Loria and Dawn to meet him next!

Hope you enjoy the pictures:

Mom's pool was SOOOOO nice and clean and fresh and cool!

Ben in the Baby Tenda!

Learning to walk with PopPop Paul!

Hopefully all these pictures will hold you guys over for a while =0)

Happy Belated Father's Day!

Here are some early pictures of Ben with his DAD in the early days of life!

Ben was so tiny!

Happy Father's Day!

Below are the gifts Ben made for his daddy at daycare:

The little brown dots above are Ben's fingerprints!

LET'S EAT- solids!

We started Ben on solids last week. He handled rice cereal rather well, so tonight we moved on to PEAS! He seemed to like them! The books say to feed him the same thing for 3-4 nights in a row to see if he gets any allergic reactions. We will be trying apples next week!

Ben started his first feed by actually opening his mouth and eating the food from the spoon. After a few mouthfuls, he got lazy and started just "leaning into" the spoon instead of working for it!

Everything about him is just so cute at this age!

We've determined that I need glasses. Caleb is a MUCH better feeder. I can't seem to get the food in Ben's mouth!

IT'S YOUR TURN!!!!

This is what the diaper pail looks like by the week-end when we insist that it is the other person's turn to empy it! Those diapers STINK!!

Another One Of Caleb's Photo Shoots!

Caleb took these pictures last week. Ben likes to play with his XBOX controller. He didn't like wearing the hat that much!
Above- This is Ben's face where he starts out like he is going to cry, then decides that maybe a smile is ok!

No More Pictures, Please!

Mommy's Little Man!

Question: What should you NOT do when gas prices are nearing $5 a gallon AND it just so happens to be over 100 degrees outside?

Answer: Drive All Over Charlotte Following An Ecuadorian’s Directions

We went to Charlotte this past week-end and met up with our friends Crystal and Lee for a very nice meal at Firebird’s. They got to spend time with Ben and we were all able to catch up. AND….this time!….we didn’t screw up their plans, like we always seem to do since Crystal and I are seriously indecisive and full-blown people pleasers! Anyway….it was a really nice time.

Then, we figured that since we were in Charlotte, we HAD to see Caleb’s high school friend Paul and his family. It’s a must when we are in Charlotte. If you look back over the previous posts, this is the family that we usually go to the mountains with each Thanksgiving Week-end to pick out a Christmas tree.

We hopped in our BLACK car (which was about 140 degrees inside). Caleb talked to Paul and “got directions”. Paul never told us where we were going. The conversation went more like this: “I’m somewhere over here, so come find me!”

Not only did we go over 40 miles OUT OF OUR WAY, we had to stop at about 5 different ice creams shops before we found one that actually had tables and chairs INSIDE.

Oh….it gets better. Do you know where we ended up? Less than a mile away from FIREBIRDS….where we had just eaten lunch with Crystal and Lee. Complete circle…..all out of the way…following a crazy guy from Ecquador.

Lesson Learned!

(Life would be SO boring without the Arguellos!)

Decisions! Decisions!

When to start solids? Should we skip rice cereal? When to start water? What order do you start foods?

These are all questions I've been asking myself (and Caleb, but he never answers.....hehe!). Ben's about 5 1/2 months old now, but I'm thinking of holding off until he's 6 months. We'll see if that lasts.....I personally can't wait to see him covered in slop.

Oh! and then there is the question of baby food. What kind do you buy? Do you make your own? (I don't think I have time for that!) How much more is that going to cost us? How often do you feed him? Is he getting enough? Will he have an allergy?

I can't believe Ben is almost 1/2 old....and I can't get over all the responsibility of parenting!

MIA

A co-worker of mine told me something about being a parent of a baby in daycare before I had Ben. It went something like this:

“Once our little girl started daycare, she seemed to do fine, but we (the parents) got sick ALL the time!”

I believed him at the time, I just didn’t realize exactly how true that statement would be for us.

Ben has had a few bugs, but they all seem to be ten times worse when I get them. Seems like I have to stop kissing him so much…..it’s just too hard to quit =0)

So, I just got over another stretch of sickness. This one was awful. But, we all seem healthy now and we were able to visit Caleb’s family this past week-end for his sister’s high school graduation.
I have pictures to post from last week……I just haven’t been able to find the time to post them. Hopefully I can get them up tonight.

Loria's Engaged!!!

My best friend from High School is engaged!! Brad popped the question on a HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE! (Caleb, are you taking notes??) She lives out in San Fransisco, so I don't get to see her nearly as often as I would like. Caleb and I wish you two all the best! Brad, we couldn't be more happier to have you as "a part of the family". You better look out for my best friend, though....she deserves the best and is super lucky she found you!

Brad, for your sake, I hope she doesn't look like THIS on your wedding day (hehehehehehe):

Loria, I had to post it- trying on my mom's veil BEFORE I had it re-done. And, I still have my mom's old 70's snowsuit for your bachelorette party!!

I am blessed to have friends that are like family to me: