Teeth?

Bennett has been having a hard time sleeping recently and has also been unusually whiny too. This behavior very uncharacteristic of him. We think this is due to some teeth making an appearance for the first time.. I'm not a dentist, but those two white things look like teeth to me.

Bennett and Santa

Bennett met Santa for the first time. He was not so sure about this big guy in a red suit. However, we were able to get a couple photos without any tears (no smiles though). He decided to wear his Motley Crue t-shirt for this special occasion. Rock on, Bennett, Mom and Dad love you!

Another picture

Here is another picture I found that I like a lot. Love his eyelashes :)

Recent Pictures

Sooo...it looks like the last time we posted on here was back in October and here it is December and Bennett is coming up on his 7 month birthday - wow!!  It has been a busy few months with Halloween, a family wedding, a vacation, Thanksgiving and now we are getting close to Christmas. I will eventually get to the monthly posts, but here are a collection of my favorite pictures from the last few months.  

Bennett and Chase supporting the Spartans

Bennett in his panda Halloween costume, custom created by Grandma Niehaus.

Family picture at the pumpkin patch

School Pictures

Eating some oatmeal and apples for breakfast

He still loves sticking out that tongue at us!

Bennett - October 2011

Here is a little video clip of Bennett around 5 months old...

Giggles

We found out how to tickle Bennett. This game is fun for the whole family!

Days in the Park

We had a few weeks recently where the weather here was beautiful so we tried to spend as much time outside as possible.  This included a trip to the Diag in Ann Arbor as well as a little picnic in the park in our neighborhood.  Bennett LOVES being outside - he gets so excited and really likes watching the leaves move.  I am so not looking forward to the long winter!

Our Budding Musician

  Bennett has recently learned how he can make a lot of noise.  We have sat with him at the piano since he was first born, but he now understand how to make the sounds himself and he really gets into it.  

 

This is really cute to us now, but I'm sure as he gets older it might lose its cute factor - we may need to figure out how to put child locks on the piano once he can walk!

Here is the link if the video didn't work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0prkJGZdyE

Four Months Old

I have quite the hard time keeping up with the blog, but back on 9/18 Bennett turned 4 months old.  We had his 4 month dr's appt a week late so his measurements are all from 4 months and a week:
Weight - 17 lbs 3 oz (85th percentile)
Length - 25.25 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference - 17.25 inches (85th percentile)

He is still quite the chunker - his rolls are so darn cute.

I like this one because you can really see the chunk in his thighs!

Deep in thought

To keep with last months trend, I am going to just list out a few things that Bennett is up to this past month.

• Bennett has gotten a lot better at grabbing things.  He can get a pretty firm grip on toys and his burp cloth and everything still ends up straight in his mouth.  
• He loves "standing" while we hold him up by his arms.  His legs are getting quite a bit stronger now and he can hold himself up pretty well.  He gets such a proud and happy look on his face every time he stands up.  
• We introduced him to his exersaucer and his jumperoo.  It is nice to have something new for him to play in.  He likes playing with the toys that spin the most and really enjoys hanging out in them.  
• He still is not a fan of tummy time but is getting a little more tolerant of it.  He is getting closer to rolling over, but isn't quite there yet.  
• He is getting so much more interested in the things around him.  Everywhere we go, he will just look all around scanning the room over and over trying to take it all in.  I find myself wondering what he is thinking all the time.  
• This is a big one - Bennett has consistently (for the last week - so I guess this technically should go in next months post, but oh well) slept from 8-830 through til 5-6 in the morning.  One day he actually slept til 7am.  It was amazing to actually get 8 straight hours of sleep for a few nights.  
• He is still super smiley.  It is so fun to take him places because he will just smile at anyone that talks to him.  The ladies at his daycare all love him and come to visit him in the baby room every day. 
• His eyes are still pretty blue so I think at this point they will probably stay that way.  He is starting to get some hair up top now too and it is coming in blonde right now. 
• Raspberries - boy does this kid love blowing raspberries!  It is so adorable to watch him making so many noises with his mouth but this is definitely his favorite. 
• We have gotten a few laughs out of him - he is definitely a bit ticklish and he will laugh at us if we make funny noises.  

I think that is all for now - We'll see if I can actually get his 5 month pictures up closer to his 5 month birthday!

3 Months

This post is a little late since Bennett turned 3 months almost 2 weeks ago now...oops!  At 3 months Bennett weighed in at a whopping 14lbs and 11 oz...he is quite the growing boy!  Here are a few pictures from his monthly photo shoot:

 

I'm going to start trying to list out a few things going on in Bennett's life while I do the monthly posts.  Mostly as a way for us to remember how much he is changing and how quickly!
Month Three:

• He is smiling SO much now and it is the cutest smile ever (not that I am biased or anything).  He will smile at pretty much anyone that talks to him - definitely a charmer. 
• He is starting to grab at things and getting better at it every day. Once he gets a hold of something it will most likely move directly into his mouth.  
• We almost got him to laugh the other day.  He seems to be a bit ticklish under his ribs and it sounded like I got a bit of a laugh, but haven't gotten it to happen consistently. 
• He is actually starting to pay attention more when we read to him.  His attention span is not real long, but he will actually look at the pages and babbles along while we read the stories. 
• He is quite the "talker" and is always coming up with new sounds. Mostly this is fun to hear, except when it is 3am....that is not talk time Bennett.
• He loves to kick his feet around.  We have these cute little booties that have a rattle in the toes (Thanks Nancy!) and when they are on his feet he just kicks like crazy.  He loves hearing his feet make noise like that. 
• He had his first trip to the Chelsea fair last week.  We walked around with him in the bunny tent and his eyes were so wide.  It was a lot to take in!
• His sleep is still a little inconsistent.  We have had a few lovely evenings where he slept for 7-8 hours straight, but then he will go back to waking up every 3.  Hopefully we can work it out soon so that those long stretches happen every night!
• He isn't a big fan of tummy time, but his neck is definitely a lot stronger then it was a month ago and a lot less wobbly. 
• Lucky for us, he really doesn't cry too much.  The main reason he will cry is when hungry and then watch out if you don't get him food asap. I am guessing that has something to do with why he has multiple rolls in his thighs and has about 4 chins :)  Other then that, he is mostly all smiles!
• He had his first cold this month...only two days after staring daycare.  Of course it immediately got passed onto Mom as well.  Luckily it wasn't too bad and just involved a stuffy nose and a few cute little coughs. 
• His favorite toys right now are Mortimer Moose and Stretch the Giraffe.  He loves grabbing at their legs and then of course putting them straight into his mouth!  Here is a picture of him trying to cram Stretch's head into his mouth. 

He is a great baby - we are very lucky!  We have had so much fun watching him grow and learn - it really is amazing how quickly they pick up on things. 

Wedding in Wisconsin

Joe and I traveled to Wisconsin to see our friends Scott and Kristen get married over the past weekend.  It was a beautiful wedding in Door County right on Lake Michigan.

Kristen and Scott

Me with Kathy and Katherine

Mike, Kristen, Scott, Joe and Matt

It was a big trip for us since it was our first night away from baby Bennett.  Grandma Gardner and Aunt Amy came and stayed with him for the weekend.  He was great for them and probably barely noticed that we were gone!  

Laid back

Just relaxing... Life is good.

The many faces of Bennett Gardner

Bennett is quite expressive right now.  He makes such funny faces that I tried to catch a few of them the other day while we were hanging out.  Makes me wonder what he is thinking!

Hi!

You're funny!

Wanna see my tongue?

Are you talking to me?

I'm not sure about you

Seriously??

What the F was that??

Pondering life's big mysteries

Mom - stop taking pictures...I am HUNGRY

Yeah, I know I'm cute. 

Baby Bjorn

Here is a cute picture of Bennett testing out the Baby Bjorn:

Two Months Old

Bennett had his two month doctor's appointment this week and he sure has grown.  His current weight is 12lbs, 14 oz (75th percentile) and his current length is 22.5 inches (25th percentile).  For anyone unsure what the percentiles mean (I didn't understand it until recently), it means he is heavier then 75% of the babies his age and only longer then 25% of babies his age.  So basically, he is short and chubby right now!  But he is happy and healthy and that is all that matters.

Bumbo

We tried out the bumbo (blue chair) today. Bennett seems to be enjoying himself here and everything was going great...

+

Then out of the blue, he got a little sick on the new outfit we just put on....

This is when Bennett went from happy to sad, we will try the bumbo another day.