I Can Feed Myself



"I conquered you!" This poor bowl suffered the wrath of Bennett




Unfortunately the Chicken and the Squash were both fatally injured in the making of these photos.




Breath Right

Ben had his first cold - runny nose, sneezes and nasal congestion. Since medicine is pretty much off limits at this age, we were willing to try anything that might help B sleep. Enter, the Breath Right strip for kids.


The breath right strip was a real life-saver when I was pregnant and couldn't breath through my nose at night - and it seemed to work well for B too. We also had a plug-in herbal vaporizer (lavender, eucalyptus, chamomile...) and the baby Vick's vapor rub. His room smelled like a hippie-shop.


But, he was finally able to drink a bottle without stopping every 2-3 sucks to breathe.
Now he is doing much better, no more runny nose...but he seems to be in the habit of waking at 3am....actually right now, at 2:43am, I can hear him...naughty boy! He's not standing up (yet), he's just talking so we'll see if he can manage to put himself back to sleep.

Getting Stronger

This table has the perfect handles for little hands to pull up on




"You're going to ruin your eyes!..." Can he be any closer? He is watching his colors/numbers video but once he's up on the cabinet he has a difficult time getting back down.


Mike just may be oblivious to the fact that B should be learning the color red...he probably believes B is beginning a genetically-linked lifetime obsession with Ferrari.


Tearing apart a catalog

A Visit from Nana



He was quite snuggly


Ben frequently and yet gently taps his head on ours - we interpret this as an "I Love You" bonk.

Hot September Days

This day was gorgeous! We had to be outside and yet the sun was so intense! I found an umbrella that clamps onto a chair and tightened it onto B's walker -roo.


"Where did the sun go, mom?" He was fascinated with the umbrella.


What a boy!



Lake Michigan, Grand Haven

We went to Grand Haven to see Lake Michigan for the first time this year! It was a perfect beach day and Mike, B, Morgan and I enjoyed the warm weather. Bennett loved the water. It initially felt cool but we quickly adjusted and I wished I had my suit on to go swimming. Slowly Ben's clothes came off as he wanted more and more to go in the water. I was surprised that he tolerated the temperature as well as he did. He liked to splash and feel the sand under the water. Squeezing the wet sand was great fun too! We walked along the shoreline and then trudged through the sand up to the pier. After a stroll on the boardwalk we headed home.

Well, that's how we spent the last few days that I had off from work. I also went to Bridget's for dinner and a movie (I can't believe we hadn't seen each other in 2 months! That seems impossible we are that busy but it's true). I work the next three nights and then have the weekend off. Hopefully we'll make it up to Robinette's for a hay ride with the gang!

P.S. B is still awake, talking, yelling, laughing and playing with his glow-worm. He is really building a good memory - for each of his toys he knows exactly which button to press - and with his little pointer finger extended (usually his left hand) he presses the glow-worm's belly to turn her on!