One thing that keeps me up at night as a new parent, is the question “Am I doing enough for my child?” Both Mark and I want Benjamin to have the best possible childhood he can have, and as his primary caregiver during the week I am desperately trying to fill his days with things that will stimulate his mind, senses and growing limbs so that he will be the best that he can be. Can we say over achiever – he is only 3 months old, give it a rest Mum!

So in an effort to help him along, I am constantly looking for all sorts of new and fun things to do. Yesterday we discovered that he fits perfectly in the laundry basket, and so now he is flown down to the laundry and back up again on a warm nest of freshly laundered clothes. In my mind he is feeling the different textures, feeling the warmth and the motion, and appreciating the smell. But really, he is probably just getting a taste for flying first class!

From what I have read, I need to count my blessings that Benjamin seems to like tummy time! We try to get a little in every day, and for the  most part he is so keen to get up on his knees and put some distance behind him, that most of it is spent grunting and shouting.

Do you see this deliciousness? Right now I feel I could write a book on how to make a nursing mamma and baby happy … firstly bake her a cake without gluten or corn. Secondly, grind up some sugar to make your own frosting without corn in it. Thirdly…make it a BIG cake!

This is what my sister in law Stephanie did for me for my birthday, and thereby made me a very happy and full mamma! The cake is delicious, which I am not quite sure how she achieved since it is extremely tricky to bake without gluten and corn. I am struggling not to eat the whole thing at once. It is sitting on my kitchen counter staring me down….

Thank you Stephanie, you are the best best bestest!!! (For those of you who are not familiar with Steph’s cooking, she has a fabulous blog: www.glutenfreebynature.com. Check it out!)

Mark has been quietly tinkering away with the heater on in the freezing cold garage over a new front door for our house. He very ambitiously ordered an unfinished door, and opted to finish it all himself to save us some cash. He was out there staining and drilling holes and doing who knows what, for about a month! And then yesterday, on my birthday, he hung the new door. I have to confess that when we were first married, every time Mark took on a new project I would inwardly gulp and dread a disaster. But now, my ‘honey-do’ list is very long and I can’t wait for him to start a new project. He is amazing and casually creates the coolest things!

Check out our new front door, letting in lots of nice light (featuring the international supermodel, Holly).

Honey, now about those shelves I was talking about…

Wishing you, Judes, a very Happy Birthday from Benjamin, Holly and myself. May all your wishes today and all days this year come true!

To our delight and amusement, Benjamin is discovering the sensory world of textures with his new found talent of being able to reach for things. Most end up in his mouth, but toys are opening up a whole new exciting world for him and he yells and coos in delight for hours! He especially loves to have things put onto his tummy – that way he can really wrap himself around them and shove one end in his mouth while his fingers and toes explore the rest.

Benjamin is always trying his hardest to sit up. Grunting and loudly complaining if he is anything except for bolt upright. So today I decided to crack open the bumbo and see what he thought of it….He was a little surprised and first, and then spent the next 5 minutes trying to figure out how to get out of it. More grunting and letting his feelings be heard!

I love my lamb!! It’s nose is now well worn in with love – all matted and wet and the beginnings of a bald spot.

Holding Dad’s favorite toy from when he was a baby – the coloured ball.

I have been playing with a phone app called Polarize that my new sister-in-law Alexis recommended to me, it’s kinda funky and fun!

…and he grabs!

Today (two months and three weeks old) was the first day that Benjamin successfully reached for something and managed to grab it. Sure it was a bit of a shaky grab, but it still counts!!! As a side note I think he is going to be a righty as the left hand was not as quick off the blocks.

…and of course as with anything Benjamin, it had to involve his mouth!

Looking back over the past year, which I can’t believe is almost coming to a close, we have so much to be incredibly thankful for. For me most of this year was about pregnancy, which I am thankful was a healthy (and long!) one. Mark still has his job and is doing really well at it, definitely something to be hugely thankful for in this economy. We managed to fly my Dad out for a visit a few months ago – I am so grateful that we were able to do this, and we had a really special time with him. I am eternally grateful for my amazing husband. Words can’t express how thankful I am for all that he does for our family. He is an incredible man and every day before I close my eyes, I thank God that I am lucky enough to have this time with Mark in my life. We have a wonderful family, both here in Colorado and in Zimbabwe. They are always so supportive and loving towards us and every year at thanksgiving as we come together, we are reminded just how lucky we are to have a family that is close and that love spending time together. And last but not least, Mark and I have our gorgeous new son Benjamin. We are incredibly thankful that he is here with us, and that he is healthy and strong. He is the light of our lives and every day is an adventure. We are so thankful that we are having this opportunity to experience parenthood, it is such an incredible ride!

November has come and gone so quickly, most of it being spent getting used to our new schedule (or lack there of!) with Benjamin and the chaos we leave in our wake. The night feedings are getting more tolerable, the days are full of giggles and smiles. He is a strong little man, always trying to get somewhere. We are having to buckle him into everything now, and not leave him alone on anything for a second as he inches off things pretty quickly now – I break into a sweat just thinking about when he starts to crawl as I know that Benjamin will never be one to sit still…just like his Dad and Grandy! He has discovered his fists, drools like a champ, and has decided that naps during the daytime are for sissies. His personality is coming out stronger every day, and we are finding a very determined, yet smiley and goodnatured little lad that is always ready to smile and burrow his head into the crook of your neck.

We are learning all about the joys of reflux, gluten intolerance and food allergies. Thank goodness for Mark’s sisters Stephanie and Diana who have been a wealth of knowledge for us. Stephanie has first hand experience with gluten sensitivity, and we are very grateful for her lead in this confusing world of tests, genetics and learning a new way of eating. In spite of all these new challenges for Ben, he is growing at a rate of knots! At two months, he now clocks in at 14 pounds 4 ounces, and is very tall at 24 3/4 inches! He is in the 90+% for all of his measurements which is wonderful!  In one old lady’s words “he sure is husky!” And indeed he is.

Hamming it up:

Learning the indignity of bad hats (on a side note, Benjamin is totally going to be that kid who gets his tongue frozen to the lamp post):

Copy Cat:

Bedtime stories:

Nap attack! If Holly knew how close she was lying to Benjamin, she would have had a heart attack:

Ben got a bath on Sunday afternoon.

Happy Halloween!

It felt a little silly to dress Benjamin up for Halloween this year as he is so small, however we were given this hand knitted adorable little pumpkin hat and I could not resist getting the poor guy out there for a mini photo shoot in it with Mark’s carved pumpkin. Benjamin looks very unamused, and I am sure this is a photo that will resurface in years to come ie. 21st birthday praps! It turns out there is a very similar photograph of Mark taken with a pumpkin when he was a little older than Benjamin, so I am going to have to dig that out to do a little father-son comparison. Watch this space!

Now the next series of photos are not to be misunderstood! I want to point out that contrary to how it may look, we are NOT getting a lot of sleep at all. In fact, all that these photos show is that he is a darn cute and has a sweet fat tummy that I can’t resist. Enjoy!