Today was my first day this week to be home alone with Benjamin (and not go to work!). It was so much fun...and makes me realize just how much I miss him. We attended "Music Class" at our friend Karen's house. Every Friday morning, Karen has moms and their children (mostly babies and toddlers) over to listen to music and play with our babies. We listen to songs like "Pop Goes the Weasel" along with bells, whistles, wooden sticks, and all the motions that go along with them. The babies have so much fun, as do the moms. At the conclusion of every class, we listen to some classical piece and Karen blows lots of bubbles...its magical!
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Babysitters Extraordinaire!
Here are Ben's Great-Grandma Dixon and Grandpa Smith tuckered out after a very full 3 days of taking care of Ben. PHEW! Ben kept them very busy with rocking, walking, feeding, changing, etc. Dad said he was reminded how little you can get done with a baby around :) We appreciated their help immensely and love having those that love Ben to watch him. Today, Ben's Auntie Pam watched him for the afternoon. THANK YOU all for your help!
Monday, September 26, 2005
Auntie Kim's Birthday!
We celebrated the birth of Ben's beloved Aunt, Aunt Kim, last night with Great-Grandma Dixon, Grandpa Smith, Uncle Graham, and Kim's parents, the Rothwells. We had a scrumptious dinner and MUD PIE for dessert. We sang the traditional Happy Birthday song, along with "Para Bengs Pra Vo Se" (not sure how to spell this), the Portaguese version of Happy Birthday. We had a wonderful time together, but were sad that Grandma Smith couldn't join us as she was home sick in Michigan. Get well soon, Mom!
Grandpa Smith and Great-Grandma Dixon are here through Wednesday to help us with childcare while Amy works. What great help they are...it takes 3 of us to keep Ben happy, and we love it. He sure loves the extra attention, too :)
Grandpa Smith and Great-Grandma Dixon are here through Wednesday to help us with childcare while Amy works. What great help they are...it takes 3 of us to keep Ben happy, and we love it. He sure loves the extra attention, too :)
Friday, September 23, 2005
Enjoyable evening with the Nobles
Scott and I were roomates for several years in Lincoln Park and have stayed in touch ever since. Our world's have pretty well been rocked since Dec. '93 when we both moved to Chicago to work for Aetna. We both married women very much our superiors, and now have families (Scott being one up on me). Jacob is about the most well mannered young man I've met and Ellie is as cute as they come, albiet sorta fussy like Ben! We had a great time with a Pizza dinner and lot's of playing and catching up at Barry Park. Best wishes to the Scott and Kim as they leave Chicagoland to establish themselves again in CT.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Overstimulation?? Nah...
Here is Benjamin playing on his playmat, aka: his overstimulation mat :) He does love all the bright colors and reaching for things.
Mom is back to work this week and our blog entries will be much less frequent from now on...
Mom is back to work this week and our blog entries will be much less frequent from now on...
Mr. Mom
Steven has enjoyed his increased bonding time with Benjamin since Amy has gone back to work. Here we are at the Buzz Cafe feeding Ben his first potato chip :) HA! Steven has learned how to be creative in feeding Ben a bottle and has walked circles around the block to soothe him to sleep...great job, Daddy!
Sunday, September 18, 2005
"Grandma" Sally and "Grandpa" Jim
Jim and Sally Rothwell visited today while in town from Ferndale, WA visiting Kim, our sister-in-law. It was so much fun seeing them again and having them meet Benjamin. We had a great time over waffles discussing many topics. The Rothwells are amazing people, with such spiritual wisdom and insight. Thanks so much for visiting!
Sooooo big!
Benjamin is 12 weeks, and I think it is now that we begin counting by months. Funny how that is...
We can daily see him learning new things! His new "trick" is to grab onto our finger or small rattles. His eyes get big and he concentrates very hard to coordinate his eyes, arm, hand and then fingers to make contact. His movements are robotic and jerky, but he is getting much quicker now at the whole process, which is such a small miracle. He has also found his voice is and "oohing" and "aahing" (with an occasional squeal) quite regularly. It is such music to our ears and makes us laugh with delight! He is a little person now with an emerging personality. God is so good! His napping is getting a little better after recovering from many days away from home and routine.
His feet are without casts now and we decided to get a second opinion from a new orthopedist regarding his feet. We are exercising his feet now several times per day to prevent further in-toeing.
He is still pretty fussy, but has been better since being home. It helps to be in more of a routine this past week. Despite all of this, he remains such an incredible delight to us!
We can daily see him learning new things! His new "trick" is to grab onto our finger or small rattles. His eyes get big and he concentrates very hard to coordinate his eyes, arm, hand and then fingers to make contact. His movements are robotic and jerky, but he is getting much quicker now at the whole process, which is such a small miracle. He has also found his voice is and "oohing" and "aahing" (with an occasional squeal) quite regularly. It is such music to our ears and makes us laugh with delight! He is a little person now with an emerging personality. God is so good! His napping is getting a little better after recovering from many days away from home and routine.
His feet are without casts now and we decided to get a second opinion from a new orthopedist regarding his feet. We are exercising his feet now several times per day to prevent further in-toeing.
He is still pretty fussy, but has been better since being home. It helps to be in more of a routine this past week. Despite all of this, he remains such an incredible delight to us!
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Dinner out!
Here we are with the Clapps before our first night out without Ben! It was an AMAZING dinner and we enjoyed every bite (and were glad to return to Ben 2 hours later). We were glad his first babysitting experience was with my parents. They had a blast!
Concord Grapes
The Bassetts live on several acres in which are growing many wild concord grapes. The delicious smell of grapes is in the air everywhere! MMMM. The Bassetts collect grapes every year to make grape juice and jam. It was fun for me to see the process of boiling and straining the grapes. I'm just glad we didn't have to mash them with our feet :)
Coventry and Family Times
Here we are at the Bassett's home in Coventry, CT. We spent Saturday with the family and got to meet many of the extended family (Linda's side). We celebrated Great-Grandma Hagenow's birthday and had a wonderful time. Sunday morning the Smith's and Steven started the drive back (Amy and Benjamin flew back due to the traumatic trip out). Amy stayed on with the Bassetts, giving them some extra days to see Benjamin. We had a wonderful time together and were sad to part ways on Monday night.
11 weeks
Benjamin turned 11 weeks on our trip. Here were are on the stairs leading down to the water from the cottage.
Brewster Magic
After the weekend in Swanzey, NH, we headed to "the Cape" and picked my parents up in Providence, RI on the way. The Bassetts have had "Brewster Magic" in their family since the 1920's. It is a very special, rustic cottage on the bluffs of Brewster, Cape Cod. When you enter the cottage, you are taken back in time and feel an instant sense of peace. It is also in a unique spot...at low tide the water recedes over 1 mile out to sea. You can then walk on "the flats" (which is the ocean floor). It is wonderful to feel the soft sand beneath your toes as you look for treasures and creatures. My favorite are hermit crabs, tiny animals which crawl on your hands out of their shells. Many people fish into the deeper water from the flats, Steven and Dad caught a nice bluefish which we had for lunch.
Karen, Bill, and Miriam (3y.o.)Clapp also joined us at Brewster Magic and stayed from Sunday to Wednesday. We so enjoyed our time with them... especially to experience Miriam's wonder and delight at it all. We had a bonfire on the beach and made great S'mores. My parents babysat Miriam and Benjamin so that the four of us could enjoy a marvelous dinner out. It was an amazing seafood meal and great to get a little break.
Our favorite day we did absolutely nothing...took naps, read books, ate dinner and played Scrabble to kerosene lamps. We watched the sunset almost every night, enjoyed amazing stars, and falling asleep to the surf. This is the good life!
Karen, Bill, and Miriam (3y.o.)Clapp also joined us at Brewster Magic and stayed from Sunday to Wednesday. We so enjoyed our time with them... especially to experience Miriam's wonder and delight at it all. We had a bonfire on the beach and made great S'mores. My parents babysat Miriam and Benjamin so that the four of us could enjoy a marvelous dinner out. It was an amazing seafood meal and great to get a little break.
Our favorite day we did absolutely nothing...took naps, read books, ate dinner and played Scrabble to kerosene lamps. We watched the sunset almost every night, enjoyed amazing stars, and falling asleep to the surf. This is the good life!
Swanzey, NH
On Saturday we were so happy to be welcomed by Steven's side of the family: Jenn, Kai, and Zachary, Gardiner and Linda Bassett, and Martha and Paul Kellam. Their beautiful home on Lake Swanzey was like a refuge. We enjoyed good family times, great meals, naps, and pictured here a 2-mile walk around Lake Swanzey. Thanks Jenn and Kai for hosting and all of your hard work!
Road Trip
This was the beginning of our road trip to Swanzey, NH and then ultimately to Cape Cod. Long story made short, we left mid-day Friday in my parents van and drove through MI, Ontario, and upstate NY. We spent the night in Syracuse, NY at a seedy "Motel 6" for a 5-hour "nap" before continuing on to Swanzey on Saturday. Benjamin did not tolerate the car very well, which made the trip much longer (and more stressful) than we had anticipated. We arrived in NH Saturday mid-day with our hair standing on end and our nerves shot!!! My parents ended up flying out and joined us later in the weekend. The highest we paid for a gallon of gas was $4 in Canada. UGH.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
We're on vacation!
We're now on vacation and will post some updates upon our return, Monday, Sept 12th. Take care!
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