Whit says Happy Friday!

Whit has been really talkative lately, which is a combination of only a couple noises- either he's squaking or grunting! We call him our little pterodactyl :) (Did you know that was spelled with a "p"? Thank you, auto correct!)

We talk back, and he laughs at the sound we mimic. At least he agrees its silly!

I'm so glad I finally got some of his jibber jabber recorded. This was taken after his morning breakfast of yogurt; he's always happiest after he's eaten!

Happy Friday!

Whit is 7 months old!

Whit @ 7 months: 
15.4 lbs

*Blowing raspberries! As if he didn't already drool enough... We keep saying, "Oh, he's teething!" because his shirt will be soaked after a few minutes, but no new teeth come in... Hmmmm...

*Has started to grip around my arm when I pick him up. It feels like he's giving a little hug, which actually makes me excited for him to grow up (a little) and give me a real hug!

*Has included breakfast as a second solid meal! He eats full-fat greek yogurt with fruit puree every morning, and lentils or other protein a veggies at night. We are trying to beef this kid up! Not working yet :(

*Is sleeping without the swaddle! This is HUGE for him. I thought he'd be swaddled on his honeymoon! He started bending around in his swaddle until he flipped and was stranded on his tummy, so we had to give it up cold turkey for a sleep sak. It took a while for him to learn to sleep with all of his limbs free, but he's doing great now! He wakes up twice between 7 pm- 7 am when he flips over and gets uncomfortable. 

*Sits up SO WELL. He has no interest in crawling or anything resembling crawling because he can lean over and around and everything and pull himself back up to sitting. He doesn't mind tummy time as much, though, since he started sleeping in the Sleep Sak. I think he's happier with the night practice of being mobile, he just doesn't care during the day :)
*After a full month of sitting up almost all day the rash under his neck has finally gone away!

*Sits in the toddler side of the baby bathtub (because we just realized there was a newborn and toddler side)

*Is spending a lot more time being happy! Wow. Finally. He is actually a LOT of fun to be around now! 

*Laughs and smiles more often. Most often when we kiss his tummy, roughhouse with him, when we laugh, or kiss under his chin. 

*Will sit while I read an entire children's book. We try to avoid any showing him any screens, so I'm reading a couple of books to him a day to stimulate his imagination. So I need some new books.

*Favorite new toys are stuffed animals. He's really interested in their softness and texture, and will snuggle in with one when he's awake. It's so cute... He met an actual dog that let him touch his fur and Whit was so excited! He laughed immediately as if thinking, "Wow! This stuffed animal moves!" 

*Puts everything in his mouth. EVERYTHING. Thankfully my mom gave him some Little People toys, which are the perfect size for him to hold and chew on. I think we'll be getting some more of those. 

*Rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy. Not enough to move around that way, but seems proud of himself for doing it :) 

*Starting to mimmick our speech. He makes the CUTEST noises. We love having "conversations" with him, where we just mimick noises back and forth!

*Has amazing concentration. He has always seemed to, and it hasn't stopped. Most recently he will watch Ben opperate a remote control helicopter until the battery runs out. He doesn't even notice if he's on his tummy or sitting up... he just watches it with his mouth open for as long as Ben flies it! I think that's why he doesn't care about moving. He doesn't mind sitting up even if no toys are around, he just likes to watch and observe everything around him. 

Whit's 7 month photo shoot was during Ben's lunch break, so I got some cute ones of the two of them! Before my camera made a weird noise then turned off (aka the battery died...)

It's obvious Whit adores Ben, isn't it? 

Our conversations lately have been different versions of "He's so great, isn't he?" "Oh yeah, SO great..." "I love him SO much... Don't you just love him so much?" "Oh... SO MUCH..." Haha! :D 

But honestly, he is growing up, showing his personality, and is getting to be more and more fun to be around. Gosh, we just love him. He is our entire world. Oh. My. Goodness. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last night I cried myself to sleep on Ben's shoulder after finished the novel Moloka'i, about a girl in 1900's Hawai'i who is sent to an exiled island after being diagnosed with leprosy at the age of 7. She spends her next 60 years battling the "bug", even being forced to turn over her daughter hours after she's born for fear that the infant would contract the disease. The main character, Rachel, never forgets about the baby girl she was only permitted to see from behind a glass wall twice a week until she was adopted off of the island at 1 year old - by far the most heartbreaking aspect of an already alarmingly traumatic story.

I woke up with a debilitating headache (I guess crying over sad novels is the Mormon equivalent to waking up with a hangover?), but was overjoyed to spend this "LOVE DAY" with the boys I do have in my life. I'm grateful for the timely reminder from that novel to appreciate the love I have in my life, and the simple freedom of being able to kiss, hug, and cherish my baby every possible moment. 

Plus, you all know I can't pass up the opportunity to have a photo shoot with my little "Love Love" :)

I just wrote a post about things I love about Ben for his birthday, but you just can't dispute that a man who stays up until midnight holding you and hearing you explain the plot of the most unsettling, dramatic story in indistinguishable sobs is probably the best guy on Earth. 

I am so grateful, especially, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the knowledge and priesthood we have access to which has blessed us with a temple marriage and, therefore, an eternal family. Unlike the fictional-but-based-on-many-real-events characters from my book there is no doubt that we will see our little girl again, and that we will all be together forever! 

I love you all :)

Now, Ben, what I want for Valentine's Day is a bottle of Aspirin. 

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Ben's birthday was Monday. I don't want to say how old he is, but let's just say it was a big number.

Hence why I wanted to celebrate, and he didn't. Well, he won! He actually left Monday morning for a week of meetings across the state, so we haven't been able to celebrate at all!

My husband is incredible, though, and I have to tell him and all of you how much I love him. He is so funny, spontaneous, adventurous, and fun to be around. We always have a good time! He has a serious, side, too, and works long hours at his job and studying for his MBA at night and on weekends. He has amazing focus and commitment! But he loves being a father above all. For instance, he enjoys traveling for work but really didn't want to make this latest trip to China. He kept saying, "I really wish I didn't have to go. I'm really going to miss you and Whit." He found time to video chat twice a day with us while he was gone, and made sure the home we move to is still in a close range to his office so he can continue to see us for lunch every day. What a perfect combination of fun, hard work, and love!

 Happy Birthday, Ben!

In the last year Ben has: 

*Traveled to Honduras, China, Ohio, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indiana, Utah, the NC coast, and SC.

*Listened to the Steve Jobs biography (a big commitment since the biography was over 25 hours and his commute to work is only 5 minutes!)

*Become a father to our incredible son. Everyone says Whit is the spitting image of Ben!

*Got a promotion at work. He is now a Product Development Engineer!

Ben's goals for the next year (He may not realize these are his goals)

*Become a snappy dresser. We're thinking business cas.

*Dedicate some time every day for physical activity.

*Move to a new home

Wow... They really do look alike... 

Happy Birthday, Daddy!