Texas Rangers game

Every year our church reserves several sections of the ballpark for a Rangers game. They even have shirts made up so that it looks like a sea of red in the stands. I think there was about 2,200 church members there last night. Anyway Caleb was so excited about going to the ballgame, he talked about it for days leading up to the game. He seemed to really enjoy it. I was so proud of him because it was very loud and Caleb isn't much for noise but he did amazing. We only stayed a couple of hours (that's long enough with 2 kids). Both boys were exhausted by the time we got home, Caleb slept until 10:30 today!

Taking George for a ride

Caleb took Curious George for a ride in his wheelchair yesterday. Isn't that a pretty smile! I love to see that smile, especially these days...everyone talks about the "terrible two's" but I've decided that there is the "feisty four's". Caleb will be 4 next weekend and there is a whole lotta attitude these days. Anything I say, Caleb says the opposite.

Example #1: I say, "It sure is sunny outside today." Caleb's response, "No, it's NOT SUNNY!"
Example #2: Caleb says, "I want snack." I say, "Here's your snack." Caleb says with arms folded, "I DON'T WANT snack! I don't want ANYTHING!"

Oh, and he calls me "mom" now...what happened to "mommy"? Hopefully this is just one of many phases...maybe it will pass quickly. Don't let that big smile in the picture fool you, there is one feisty little boy behind those pearly whites.

Half-naked baby

We took this picture of Benjamin on Sunday morning before church. We just thought he looked cute with no shirt on!

Sweet Potatoes

Today I pureed some sweet potatoes for Benjamin to try. I thought he might enjoy something with a little more flavor since he still doesn't seem to like the rice cereal. He didn't seem crazy about the sweet potatoes either. I'm not sure if this whole feeding this is just new for him and he just has to get used to it or maybe he isn't quite ready for solids yet. He may just need more time to get the hang of it. I'm just used to Caleb who took to solids immediately. That boy loved everything I pureed for him (asparagus, squash, kale). But Caleb wasn't premature so maybe Benjamin just needs more time. Benjamin is sleeping well in his crib at night. We've had a few rough nights but for the most part he is sleeping until about 5 or 5:30am. I feel like I am finally getting some sleep!

Just for fun, here is a picture of Caleb when he was 7 month old eating sweet potatoes.

Caleb walking & Benjamin laughing

Caleb is doing amazing with his AFO's. His endurance grows daily and he has gotten stable enough that I don't have to hold onto him with the belt the whole time. I took this video of him walking today and I thought I would share it.

Caleb is the best at getting Benjamin to smile and laugh. Benjamin just lights up when he sees Caleb and he reserves biggest and best smiles for his older brother. Caleb really got Benjamin laughing today.

Benjamin tries cereal

Benjamin had his first taste of solids today. Since he was premature we decided to wait until he was 7 months old before we tried solid food. He didn't quite know what to think about this new experience. Seeing the spoon made him very excited and he kept reaching for it. But after every bite he made a terrible face. Maybe he would prefer something with more flavor, that cereal is so bland. I'll be making his baby food like I did for Caleb so he'll have lots of good stuff to taste in the future. I'll post more pics and video as he begins to eat more and more.

Caleb the Cowboy

Caleb's horse therapy instructor told me that Caleb needed cowboy boots because his tennis shoes keep slipping out of the stirrups. So today we were on a mission to find some cowboy boots for Caleb. Caleb had so much fun looking around this store. He loved the cowboy hat, and I just had to get a picture. Glenn and I quickly learned that cowboy boots are not cheap but we did find a cute pair at the 60% off table!

On the computer

We recently introduced Caleb to the computer and he is already hooked. He loves going to the PBS website and playing the different games there. I was very impressed by how quickly he learned to use the mouse, he is a pro. You can see from the picture that Caleb is very focused, his mouth stays open and I'm pretty sure he doesn't blink at all. Since it is Glenn's laptop from work Caleb isn't able to play on it during the day but as soon as Glenn gets home Caleb says: "Daddy can I play on the computer now?"

Caleb's week so far

Caleb has 2 more weeks of horseback riding left before they shut down for the month of August. We are planning on signing him up again in September. We have really seen a lot of improvement in recent months, I don't know if it has anything to do with the horse therapy but something is working.

Caleb had a playdate this morning with Jacob, a friend from school. They will be in the same class again next year so we thought it would be fun to get them together a few times this summer.

This is what is left of a pear when Caleb is done with it. Waste not , want not.

Lake Outing

The local Spina Bifida Association hosted a family outing at the lake today. We took the boys out there to have some fun in the sun and to eat lunch. It's a really neat place, it is a spring fed lake but it has the features of a pool (slides, diving boards, etc). Plus it has lots of shade and sand. Caleb absolutely loved it and threw and enormous fit when it was time to go. Benjamin on the other hand was not too sure about being in the water, as you can see from the picture of him screaming! He finally began to tolerate being in the water later on. We had a lot of fun. By the time we got home Caleb was so tired that he was saying "Please let me go to sleep." He is now sleeping soundly as are Benjamin and daddy.

Growing up

Benjamin is growing way too fast for me. I love that he is at such a fun age but I know he isn't going to be a baby much longer. It is bittersweet. And since he is our last one it makes me want to hold on to his "babyhood" for as long as I can. One good thing about him growing up is that he is FINALLY sleeping through the night! Woo-Hoo! He has slept through the night all week so I think we are going to put him in his crib tonight (he's been in the bassinet by the bed-which he has truly gotten too big for). He takes all of his naps in his crib so I think it will be a smooth transition. We'll see how it goes. I'm pretty sure he has his first tooth coming soon, I can see a tiny white spot on his bottom gum but I can't feel it yet. He's just getting so big! And don't even get me started on Caleb, I can't believe that boy is going to be 4 years old next month! My babies will be leaving for college before I know it.

Benjamin Laughing

We took this video of Benjamin laughing last night. It is so cute when he laughs. Of course what makes him laugh one day doesn't work the next.

We went to see Grandpa Joel and Aunt Morgan today. They took Caleb for a ride down the stairs in a box, Caleb had a blast. Grandpa must have pulled Caleb down the stairs in that box 20 times and Caleb still wanted more. Caleb also took their little dog, Holly, for a ride on his wheelchair.

Here is a video of Caleb walking in his AFO's at Grandpa's house. He has really made a lot of progress since he got the AFO's last month. We put the white belt around him just in case he falls or his knees buckle but he is doing all the work on his own. I can't believe how far he has come and the tremendous progress he has made in the last few months.

Good-lookin' boy

Here are a few pictures of Benjamin. He sure is a good-lookin' boy! The first 2 pics are of him playing in his excersaucer. He loves that thing. We are really noticing a lot of cognitive development in Benjamin lately, he is actively playing with toys these days. His personality is really coming out more and more as he gets older. We discovered that he is quite ticklish on the back of his neck and he will actually laugh out loud when we tickle him there. It is so cute, I'll try to get it on video soon. As you can see in the first couple of pictures, Benjamin is a drool machine! We usually keep bibs on him to catch the fountain that is constantly flowing out of his face. We were used to Caleb who never drooled (not once) so all this wetness from Benjamin is foreign to us. The last picture is sort of meant as a joke, this outfit was given to us when Caleb was a born but he never wore it. I ran across is today and thought it would be funny to put it on Ben. I mostly put it on Benjamin to get a reaction from Glenn, this is just the sort of outfit that drives Glenn crazy (I think it's the hat). Don't get me wrong, it's a cute outfit, it's just not something I would normally buy. I think it will be a cute picture to pull out when Benjamin is a teenager.