Learning every day....

This week was a pretty fun one!

Benjamin took his first real walking steps. One night, I turned around to see him standing in the middle of a tiled area, when he had not pulled up to stand without furniture before. He then took a step forward and fell, so we're seeing him walk and gain confidence. He's taken up to 20 steps of so.



Another thing he learned, while definitely less significant, was learning how to open the goldfish carton and feed them to the dogs. It certainly made Perry happy! It was just another reminder about the different things he's learning all of the time, and it's really fun to watch!

Ben's First Haircut

Oma Glenda gave Benjamin his first haircut on New Year's Day!

He didn't like it, so we tried to distract him by eating raisins.



For about 10 seconds, he had a mullet!



We returned to Houston the next day, with a much older looking little guy! The haircut definitely makes him look like a big boy! Here he is helping his Daddy put together the tricycle:

Josh's birthday, complete with fun at the zoo!

Josh's birthday is December 27, so we're in San Antonio to celebrate. This year, Josh thought it would be fun to go to the zoo. Ben was starting to feel better and it was a really nice afternoon to spend with our family!





























That night, Josh and I were about to go out while Oma Glenda and Opa Dean watched Benjamin - it was a nice dinner. Then, the next day, Josh and I went back to Houston to work for two days while the little guy stayed (and had tons of fun!) in San Antonio. I had a really nasty cold and was finally able to see a doctor while we were in Houston. We then drove back EARLY on New Year's Eve. That night, we went to The Salt Lick. Ben had lots of fun, especially since this was the first time he was able to go and actually eat the food (he loves BBQ!).

Christmas in San Antonio

Every Christmas Eve night, we drive to spend Christmas and the next few days with Josh's family in San Antonio. This year was no exception, We aim to leave when Ben goes to sleep, so he's asleep during the drive, but unfortunately the plan is not fail-proof since he normally wakes up and gets a small energy surge when we arrive! Every four hours, we had to give him his inhaler - not something he was crazy about...

This time, he ended up vomiting and was still fighting the fever he had earlier in the day. But that didn't stop him from playing with toys - he just wasn't at his typical energy level.





Ben got a lot of presents during the Christmas holidays!











Josh's 3 youngest siblings got Rock Band for Christmas. Their Rock Band drumsticks were one of the most intriguing toys to Ben!

Ben's Second December & Christmas Eve

Ben was 3 months old last Christmas, so clearly he was much more interactive and curious this holiday season.

Early in December, Benjamin learned that he could go in and out of a kitchen cabinet (that has since been filled)!



Soon after, the Houston area basically shut down as it SNOWED (so light that it didn't stick to the ground)! Josh's work let out at noon (and he was working night court, so he didn't have to work!), and I had already scheduled the afternoon as vacation, so we spent some fun time with Benjamin!









Our future engineer loves playing with Duplo Legos!









We went over to my parents' house to bake cookies and decorate their tree. Ben decided to have fun with technological gadgets!





Ben's love of phones continued at home. He always answers "Hello" when he picks it up! He won't talk if someone is actually on the other line, and if someone is, he'll hang up on them! A few times, he even treated remotes as phones - pretty cute!





Since I've been working at my job for over 5 years, I have more vacation than Josh (who started his full time job in April). One day, Ben and I went to the park in our new neighborhood since the weather finally allowed for it!





Unfortunately later that day, he developed a fever. We kept a close eye on him and ended up taking him to the doctor first thing the next morning. After his appointment, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood, so we started our own family tradition of opening one gift each at home before leaving for the holidays. This not only is a little fun to look forward to, but also eliminates the amount of things we have to pack!

Ben got a tricycle, Josh got a Blu-ray player and I got pajamas (Josh gets me a new pair each Christmas Eve to wear on the drive to San Antonio that night).















We then headed over to my parents' house for Christmas Eve. Poor little Benjamin wasn't doing too well, but was still remarkably cheerful for running a mild fever and feeling sick.