Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend started with an exciting event in Chicago: Ben finally got to meet my college roommate, Sarah, her husband Zaid and their son Gibran, who I last saw when he was 2 months old.  He's now nearly 2 years old and talking up a storm.

The next day in Boston, Ben met his Great Grandparents Bode.  Above, he is wearing the sweater Nanna knit for Noah more than 30 years ago.  (Which is scary for a mama... means my baby boy is someday going to grow as big as his daddy, too!  Ben, don't worry, you'll still be my baby.)

Grandad still has the magic baby touch!  So does Aunt Sophia.  

Check out the full album of Thanksgiving photos for some candids of Sophia's baby brother James making Ben giggle, Aunt Jessie & Nanna Jane, Ben with the Yates boys George and Henry, and Ben with brand new baby Lucy Schneller.

Suffice it to say, Noah and I have a lot to be grateful for this year, not the least of which is our many wonderful family members and friends with whom to share and enjoy our fantastic little guy.  We feel especially lucky that Ben has been able to meet four of his Great Grandparents, Eldora, Manny, Lorna and Bob.  Over Thanksgiving weekend, we also took Ben to visit the grave of his late Great Grammy, Florence.  We miss her tremendously, even as we still feel her strong, loving presence in our life and in Ben.

~Anne

Help choose a pic

Auditioning Outfits for Ben's 6 month photo

We've now narrowed down to a few cute outfits, but feel free to look at Ben's first fashion show above, at your pleasure.  Over the weekend, we went out to buy a new navy polo shirt and Ben endured his first-ever shopping experience wherein he was forced to try on multiple outfits in a dressing room.  He was jovial at first, then fussy and angry.  Noah told him to buck up, becuase this was the first of many, many unpleasant shopping excursions. 

The following day, Ben was a hit in the Gap dressing room with all the ladies, while Noah endured a dressing room ordeal of his own.  Successful, but apparently never pleasant.

Photos of Ben's T-Day trip to Boston coming soon.

~Anne

Five Months!

I can grab! I can squeal! I attack Mom's chin and pull her hair on both sides when I want to eat. I can sit up all by myself (for a little while, anyway). I can reach for and lift wooden blocks to my mouth WHILE I am sitting by myself. I want desparately to eat solid food. I am finally not frowning every time I see the red eye light on the camera. I love doing the Happy Baby yoga pose. I'm so close to crawling that it is crazy. Grandma and Grandpa swear that I can catch and throw a ball. (Mom and Dad say it's more like pick up and drop a ball.)

I am curious as a kitty cat and very aware of my surroundings. It is almost impossible to nurse me when Daddy is in the house... because I just want to look at him. I throw my whole body away from Mom to catch a glance. I can tell what is familiar from what is new (Mom observed this when I gravitated to the parts on Baby Claire's exersaucer that are missing from my own and when I scrutinized our hotel room in New York -- and every other new room I ever go into). I use my hands and feet like tentacles to explore my surroundings... including extending out a curious foot to nudge at the milk collecting bottle on Mom's breast pump when she tried (and succeeded) at breast-pumping while nursing me. Wow, Mom, that's some serious multi-tasking. :)

I am very, very, very excited about life!

Friends & Family

Meeting the Brown Men before Josh Reader's wedding

Hanging with Papa and Nanna Brown. Here's proof that I was sweet and cute for part of the trip. I didn't scream the entire time.

Meeting Auntie Eliza in New York City. She's almost as cute as me!

For more photos of my weekend get-away to New York, click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/alevybrown/NewYork_Nov09?authkey=Gv1sRgCN6E8sOLgLfgjQE&feat=directlink

~Ben

Sconnie

Visiting with Great Aunt Kate...
Thanks for spotting me, Grandma.

Cuddling up in Grandma & Grandpa Levy's living room.

Back home in Chicago... but still representing the Dairy State! Go Packers!

Halloween

Ribbit...

Nicknames

In case you ever wonder what we called you when you were nearly five months old, here's a list:

Benjo
Mr. Munchkin
Mr. B
Ben Bode Brown
Mr. Meathooks
Mr. Good Grips
Bunky
Monkey
The Bump
Munchy
Benny Boo
Bright Eyes
The Kitty Cat

Love,
Mom & Dad

The End of An Era

Last night Ben flipped from his back to his stomach, while swaddled, in his crib.  Noah and I had read online that as soon as they flip, all swaddles must come off.  If babies are on their tummies, they need their hands and arms free so they can push themselves up.  Last night, after he startled himself awake around midnight, I had no energy left and brought Ben into bed with us.  I couldn't bear to go through the full process of soothing him and then helping him soothe himself to sleep in his crib.  It takes a while.

So, tonight we started early.  When Ben fell asleep nursing after our dinner, I zipped him into his ducky sleep sack (it has "quack quack quack" embroidered on the chest).  He cried.  I nursed him some more.  He paused frequently to flirt with me, giving me a big smile, a few coos, googly eyes.  He lurched away only to laugh and talk to me more when I held him upright. 

When he started rubbing his eyes again, I took him back to bed.  I did my usual routine of turning off lights along the way and singing Rock A Bye Baby over and over as I rocked him.  Eventually he started to yawn.  But, once down in the crib, he was crying again.  He eventually flipped to his side, then back.  The next time I came in, he was across the crib horizontally, feet pushing against the crib rails nearest the wall.  But, the next time I came in, I got a sight that shot oxytocin right through my veins: little Ben on his back, arms splayed out, one hand tenderly gripping and massaging a crib rail.  Because, like his mama, my baby likes to clutch things in his hands.

Daddy's Boy

Daddy played in the Kellogg Rugby Club's alumni game last weekend. I came to cheer him on. As you might notice, Daddy dressed me for the game. He thought the Punisher was just right for rugby. But, Dad -- remember that you can dress me in the punisher, but I'm still a gentle soul who loves to play with my smiling, crinkly sun and smile at Mommy. During the game, Mama talked to the other significant others and hardly watched rugby at all. Typical, Daddy says. Mama did say to thank Daddy for staying out the main action and for staying in one piece for a change. No stitches, no bruises, hurray!

This week, I also met one of Dad's good friends from Kellogg, Karl Schulze. See what a great job he did of making me laugh!

Finally, here I am geeking out t0 my friend Claire's exersaucer. Mama says my utter concentration on new toys and technology is another thing I have in common with Dad.

Roll Over

I saw it this time!!!!!

Photos I didn't even know we had... about 12 weeks old

 

 

 

 

Month 3

Oh, how he's grown! Ben is now three and a half months old. Time to list some accomplishments...

~Smiling and laughing as hard as ever (not new, but still cute!)
~Ben's ability to grab is getting stronger by the day. In mid-September, he started being able to regularly pull the handle on the plastic frog on his bouncy seat to make the music play. This week, he's started to pull toys attached by velcro OFF of the arch over his bouncy seat and play mat. (This is very surprising to Ben.)
~Speaking of grabbing things... over Labor Day weekend, our little trick of putting a cloth over Ben's boy parts to prevent fountains of pee hit a snag: Ben started snatching the cloth away. Solution: We now give him a toy to hold every time we change his diaper.
~Last week he found his feet! They are apparently quite exciting. He's been hanging on to the tootsies and doing the happy baby yoga pose ever since.
~On July 12, at just one month of age, Ben rolled over from front to back. This week -- at three and a half months -- he finally repeated the performance. Well, we didn't quite see him do it, but we saw the evidence. I returned from the kitchen to find that the boy I'd put on his tummy in the crib was now on his back!
~He's becoming a pro at tummy time, looking like a little seal with bobbing head and flippers.
~He loves sitting up like a big boy... in strollers, on our laps (he likes to sit up to the table and "eat" dinner with Mom and Dad), and in the bumbo seat. His thighs hardly fit, but he loves it. Grandma Levy figured out that his name stool is the perfect companion height for the bumbo seat... so now he can sit up like a big boy and grab and play with things on his "desk" to his heart's content.

~Ben is also fitting into his SIX MONTH clothes... like this adorable outfit from the Hasses.

Mom and Grandma and Grandpa Levy have some accomplishments, too.

~I now have three weeks of half-time work under my belt.

~Grandma and Grandpa Levy have likewise survived three weeks of childcare for Ben (2 days a week). [Grandma Kate did have a minor breakdown this week when she momentarilly couldn't access the internet from our house. All should note that this is the only time she's called me at work in the three weeks...]

~Most importantly, our sweetheart, who refused to take a bottle the first two days I was at work, is now drinking like a pro!

Boston Visit

I flew for the first time! I got to see Uncle Joe and both Aunt Sophia and Aunt Jessie! I saw my grandparents (check out the video of me singing with Nanna Brown on the attached slide show). I met Bruno Brown, Nanna and Papa's dog. He was completely dejected for the first half of my visit but warmed to me -- just a little -- by the end. As I wrote about in the last entry, I met my Great Grandpa Brown, too!

Here I am with my friend Avi who was born last winter. We had such a great time playing together! And, he already knew where his feet were... this was very inspiring, just a few short weeks later, I found mine, too!

For more photos of the Boston trip (and the extra cute video of me and Nanna Brown), click here.

Great Grandpa

Hi Everyone... my mom has been very busy because she took me to Boston and then went back to work. But, she did have time to futz around with Picasa a little bit more and she learned how to create collages! So, she made a quick collage of me with my Great Grandpa, Manny Brown. Check it out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZnZgaPfGjxrOFJO4d6F68A?authkey=Gv1sRgCLKr2Z3lprWQUQ&feat=directlink

Great Grandpa said that I was the highlight of the summer. Well, he was definitely the highlight of my trip to Boston. Mom and Dad have told me so much about him, but it sure was cool to finally meet him in person!

I could tell from just a few days that he has an extraordinarily large heart. He also tells great jokes, which is perfect for me becuase I love to laugh. And he has so many other interesting stories to tell, too, about World War II, about my Great Grammy, about Papa Brown and Daddy when they were younger. It was incredible to feel all that love and learn so much about my family.

~Ben

Pinwheel for Parents

How do new parents on the north side of Chicago spend their free time? Practicing the fine art of baby positioning. We did take our childbirth class in a yoga studio, after all.

And here's the recipe for the vegetable marinade I brought to the potluck (which was first identified in one of my cook books by my dad):

• 1/3 cup rice vinegar


• 1 T fresh lemon juice


• 1 T Dijon mustard


• 1 1/2 t dark sesame oil


• 1/8 t salt


• 1/8 t black pepper


• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine ingredients and mix w/ cut vegetables (zuccini, mushrooms, peppers, onion, etc.) in a large zip lock plastic bag. Seal bag and marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature, turning bag occassionally. Prepare grill. Remove vegetables from bag, reserving marinade. Place vegetables in a wire/metal grilling basket, coated w/ cooking spray. Grill 8 minutes on each side or until tender. Pour reserved marinade over grilled vegetables.

I doubled the recipe to make two bags of veggies.

Finally, Ben sends a special birthday shout out to Papa Brown! Coo-ooo. Ahh-ahh. Grrrr.

Back in Time: Baby Party

Check out this post from our friend Sarah about our first birth class reunion. It includes a fantastic photo of Ben and Sarah's son Ezra, um, bonding. http://the.weisz.es/651/baby-party

A Visit from Nanna and Papa Brown

My Nanna and Papa Brown came to visit for a SECOND time because they love me so much and want to see me grow. In these pictures, I'm almost 8 weeks old. You can see that I'm smiling up a storm these days... when I feel like it. I also love having conversations. And, when I've got someone as fun as Nanna to talk to, who wouldn't?

Mom and Dad tell me I'm also quite expressive of my other emotions, too.

What do they expect when they forget to change my diaper and leave me quite uncomfortable when we're out at a restaurant? About those restaurants... just a few weeks ago, they could count on me to sleep right through dinner, but now I'm getting more alert and more awake. I'll still go out with them, but now I'm making them work for it. You might notice more photos of people holding and rocking me -- and we don't even have photos of Mom feeding me and repeatedly changing my diaper while we're out. Once she even had to do it in the stroller because the restaurant didn't have a changing table.
Over the weekend, we went to the Chicago Botanic Gardens where I got to smell pretty flowers from the comfort of my shady stroller. I didn't like it at all when Mom and Dad put me in the bright sunlight. (I have that in common with Grandma Levy.)

In addition to seeing Nanna and Papa, I got to meet more of my family! It was so fun to meet Karyn, Shiri and Ilan -- and right before Shiri and Ilan head off to Israel at that.
I also got to meet Paul and Brian Murray. I think they're going to teach me lots of guy stuff.
I also got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Levy and Aunt Maureen and Uncle Don. Mom was a little nervous having me way up high on the top of Aunt Maureen's building, but I did okay. Grandpa Levy kept me very entertained.
That is, until we went back downstairs and he did something that I hear is very naughty. Both Grandma and Nanna disapproved: He took me out of my car seat when I was SOUND ASLEEP. That woke me up of course. I didn't mind, though, because I know he just wanted to hang out and cuddle a little longer.

Thanks so much for coming Nanna and Papa! I can hardly wait to see you again in the beginning of September!!! (And, if you didn't catch the link at the start of this post to all the photos from the weekend, here it is again.)

Happy Birthday Grandma Levy!

Hi Grandma! I wanted to show you that I'm SO BIG for your birthday!!! I love you! ~Ben