Live From Slane Castle

Ben and I are watching a little U2 - Live from Slane Castle. It is his first helping of the band in concert.

For some reason, I can't get this one part of the song New Years Day out of my head and my heart.

"It's true. It's true. We can break through...we can be one."

Jane has been collecting photos from our last year. The past can be a scary place to visit. Our little tribe here got bruised and knocked around a bit.

I guess what I am trying to say is that as the year is coming to a close, I feel hope. We feel hope. May you feel the same.

Friends!

Here are some action shots of Ben, Jaiden and Gideon. A few of the families in our church are starting a babysitting co-op. These are some of the boys Ben will be playing with. They are both about 4 months older than Ben and lots of fun.


Jaiden and Ben on the floor in the background.


Jaiden chowing down at lunch



This one is a classic. Ben in the "exercise saucer" because he can't sit, Jaiden up and walking and Gideon in his standard position (he moves very quickly across the floor just like that).


This was right before Gideon generously offered Ben a big piece of bread with peanut butter - oops!

Updates galore!

There are lots of updates. For the Ben obsessed in BC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Spain, London, and those stuck in Bangkok:

* Ben is a big boy! In fact he is so big (top heavy as the doctor said) that he can't get balanced enough to sit on his own. She told us we should start practicing without a diaper on as to provide a "flatter" surface.

* Ben has his first ear infection. He was only really miserable (or acted miserable) for one day. The meds kicked in and now he is in normal self.

* Ben is definitely a red head (see photo). As my red headed friend Beth would say, he is part of the "ging conting"

* Ben has a newly redecorated room. I probably shouldn't say "re"decorated as it was pretty plain before. Luckily Laura B moved in down the street. Enough said (see photo). I'll try to get some photos of the room but it seems whenever I have time to update the blog someone is sleeping in there.

* Ben is a bit too much of morning person. We can't get him to stay up past 630pm and he is often up at 4am. GONG!

* Ben is becoming fluent in Japanese

Ben is Back

We had a temporary lapse into the real world with that last post. What? Something besides Ben "crawling," eating, jumping etc? Don't worry he is back and I'm pretty sure you'll like this video. There really isn't any more to say about it.

lovin' the Bon Iver skinny

Check this video out. He is quickly becoming a favorite. Thanks to 'Q' for the introduction.

Not much going on here.....

I tried really hard to capture some unique moments...some major cuteness...some funny noises but alas, we have a few videos of Ben moving around. However, I happen to know there are some people that will still watch them and even like them despite their, shall we say, lack of umph. I'll keep trying. Although one of the photos does reveals Ben's new fang.

Here he comes...

READ FIRST:

Dane had the great idea to put the camera on the ground, off to the side, and put something really enticing next to it to lure Ben across the room. This would allow us to get a great "on the ground" shot of his one-armed-army crawl. There was a discussion as to whether or not he would notice the camera or just go for the empty kleenex box, ice cube tray or dirty shoes (his current interests). Watch and find out what happened....




Coming soon: the evolution of the car seat.

applesauce

Apparently Ben didn't like the applesauce we made him the first time...but it grew on him. This video appears to be taped by someone secretly watching us but I'm pretty sure one of us was holding the camera. You'll hear who encouraged me to keep feeding it to him despite the awesome look he gave us. You'll be glad to know he now loves applesauce. Side note: I'm loving all the pregnant people coming out of the wood work and commenting on the blog. Bring it on! And if you need a good diaper service (which I would highly recommend especially in the early days), talk to me first!

Helping me make granola

All of Ben's grand parents (and aunts, uncles and cousin for that matter) are out of the country right now and I know they would all appreciate more blog updates. I'm trying! Today I had a lot of stuff to do in the kitchen so I pulled the old mum trick and got out some safe kitchen supplies. He was busy for a long time (and I found out how dirty the floor is...). We made granola, baby food, and a salad for a friend of mine who just had a baby. Speaking of friends having babies, one of our faithful blog readers is having one. When she tells me it ok, I'll congratulate her "out loud."

Ben is getting chatty

Despite the fact this shirt is way too small and Ben peed on it within 20 minutes of putting it on, I couldn't resist posting this picture we took yesterday. It was a remarkable day.