Benja Moose

So last Monday (July 27) we took the four month old Ben to the doctor for his well baby visit. We were all curious to see how he has been growing and it turns out we were right. Every time we look at him, he is a bit bigger. He is now (drum roll please) 16lbs even and 25 1/2" long / tall (however you look at it.) He is a Benja Moose. For those of you who can not remember our "little" Benjamin was only 7lbs 9oz and 20 1/2 " long at birth. That is a lot of growing in just four months. I guess all I can say is he sure does think Mama makes yummy  milk. We are very pleased with the progress he is making and it is rewarding to see him doing so well.

Now that we have the business of growth out of the way we can move on to more exciting things. What is more exciting than a 16 pound baby, you ask? Well the things that baby does, I say. Ben is the mellowest little fellow I have ever known. Two months ago when Ben had his first round of immunizations I was impressed by how little he cried. This time he cried even less. He only received two shots this trip and he didn't cry at all with the first one and only let out a fuss over the second because his pacifier fell out. That is definitely doing his brave. He also travels well. Load him into the car seat and he just chills no matter where we go or how long we are gone. He might fuss a bit if he starts to get warm but other than that he either sleeps or just plays with the toys on the seat. 

There have been a few times lately where Jackie decided to pull Ben off of his playmat while I was in the kitchen. I had no idea she had done this until I walked into the room and he was laying in the middle of the floor. He just looked up at me and smiled. Ben had made no fuss over her moving him at all. But it seems that Ben adores Jackie so much that I don't think it would matter what she did to him, he would still smile at her. I hope they can maintain a good relationship throughout their childhoods and lives. 

Ben is also becoming quite impressive physically. He loves to be stood on his feet and to hold himself up while grasping your fingers. He has done this so much that he has rather good balance and only sways after standing for a while. He is definitely grabbing onto objects now but instead of just holding onto them, he is learning to maneuver them to his mouth. I think his favorite pastime at the moment is penguin wrestling. We have these little stuffed penguins with different textures and colors and I will sit one or two of them on the floor near him while he plays. He likes to grab onto them and hold them against his chest, sometimes gnawing on them while he holds them. So to me it looks like he is wrestling with them. 

Ben has gotten close a few times to rolling from his back onto his belly. One time he was sucking his finger and refused to stop so he got stuck just short of rolling over. I think within the next month he will be rolling all over the place. He might also be scooting around everywhere. He can move himself all over his playmat like a little crab. Every now and then he will start to fuss because he has found himself stuck with an arm under the entertainment center. It sits next to the playmat and he will start pushing himself along with his feet, leaving his shoulders on the ground and wind up caught. Jackie was always content to stay in one place as long as she didn't feel left out. If she could see you, she would play quietly by herself on her mat not feeling the need to explore outside of it. She accepted her boundaries as they were given to her. Ben feels the need for adventure. Instead of fussing until you move him, he simply moves himself. Maybe he has already established that he will need to keep up with Jackie so he better start learning how so he won't be left behind. 

~Tiffany