6 months + 1

April 23rd - Spending a sunny day outside with Mommy:

May 12th - Being goofy before a day at Gram's:

May 19th - Hanging out in the pink bathtub:

As the unofficial Turner historian, I have unofficially dropped the ball with updates for the month of May.  Every month, I have good intentions of keeping up with weekly updates, but this pretty much translates to monthly updates. Even with good intentions, somehow Mom (or as Ben likes to call me, MOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!) managed to miss an entire month.  So first update, Ben talks!  Yeah, he's still not intentionally calling anyone anything in particular, but is really into A-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba and MOOOOOOOMMM!!!  I've been saying "Mama" to him and pointing to myself for the last month or so, but instead of a cute "Mama", I get a loud "A-BA-BA-BA-BA MOOOOOOOMMM!!!!"  Apparently Ben thinks I'm a sheep.  

Keeping the blog updated has been impossible over the last couple of months because The Turners have been so busy!  Ben has had things going on nearly every weekend, and of course his parents are completely swamped with work and staying on top of daily things like diaper changes, laundry, and landscaping.  Benny celebrated his first Easter with The Turners in the mountains and got his favorite toy to date: a singing Peter Cottontail.  Seriously, this toy is completely obnoxious, but unlike all of Ben's other obnoxious singing, vibrating and light-up toys, this one brings a smile to his face every time he is activated.

April 11th - playing with Mimi and Peter Cottontail:

Also on this trip, Ben learned how to play popular board game, Apples to Apples.  Ben caused quite an uproar when it was his turn to choose the card that best fit whatever identifier card was layed out because it rarely made sense.  For instance, the card he chose that most closely described the selection "Natural" was "genetic engineering".  He also chose "remote controls" to be "Dangerous".  Apparently, he lives on the edge, because this child is obsessed with remote controls, and goes out of his way to shove them in his mouth.

"Dangerous":

Ben went to the Greenville Zoo with best bud, Levi in late April and had a good time looking at the sad animals there.  He and Levi sported the jogging strollers and then the baby carriers, and wandered all over the park for an afternoon.  These two really love each other which is totally cool, because Ben has a problem with nearly every other baby he comes in contact with.  He and Levi respect each others' personal spaces and toys, and pretty much get along.  Ben and Levi had another play date in mid-May with the 3rd musketeer, Jack, and they all had a blast!  Jack and Levi got along really well, and Ben cried a lot.  He was definitely the 3rd wheel for those playdates because he's more than a month younger than those two.  They sat up, crawled around, and interacted well, and Ben just cried.  Poor Ben!

April 26th - at the Greenville Zoo:

Hanging out with Levi:

May 16th - The much-anticipated triple playdate:

Ben is warming up to Jack, but Jack is really tactile and loves to pet Ben, and for some reason, this intimidates the little guy.  They've had two weekends together so far, and by the end of both, they love each other, but it takes some convincing on Jack's part to win Ben over each time.  We're hoping next time he is more receptive to Jack's petting behavior!

Ben also went to the Garden Jubilee Festival in Hendersonville in late May, which is Mommy's favorite street festival (well, a close second to Bele Chere anyway!) and pretty much slept the whole time.  He rode in his Maya Wrap for the event and got so comfy that he fell asleep and stayed that way for a lot of the afternoon.  We stayed out for several hours and by the end of the day, Mommy's right shoulder was burning.  This carrier is definitely an upgrade from the Baby Bjorn (which by the way, doesn't work so well once your kid weighs more than 12 pounds) but not as good as the Moby Wrap that Ben and Mom are sporting this week!  Daddy is getting tired of Mommy's pursuit for the best baby carrier and cringes every time he finds out more money was spent on a baby-wearing contraption, but it's all money well spent.  I've never seen a child want to be carried this way more than Benny does!  

May 23rd - In a toy store downtown during Garden Jubilee weekend:

So in between these exciting weekends, Ben has enjoyed the luxury of staying home and enjoying the sunshine in the yard while Mom and Dad do some gardening.  Ben LOVES to be outside, and will spend hours in his exersaucer while his crazy parents plant gardens and attempt to transform the outside of the house from the "abandoned house" look to something you don't cringe at when you drive by.  He attracts a lot of attention and turns on the Benny charm when strangers interact with him... as long as they keep their distance.  Ben does not react well to crazy strangers making goofy sounds in his face.  Last weekend, Ben went across the street during a weekend warrior event to meet the newest bundle in Grimesdale, Benjamin Two.  The neighbors named their baby Benjamin as well, so we've got two Ben's on one street and they are both the cutest Bens ever.  Ben (the original) flirted with the new family and gave Ben Two's parents a preview of what's to come, which is a rare position, as Ben (the original) is usually the youngest baby in the room.

Notable happenings in Ben's life during these last two months include his attempted mobility.  At 5 months, we plopped Ben on the carpet, belly down, and played some toy with him, only to find that the little goober wriggled his way right off the carpet.  We videotaped it because it seemed so miraculous that a 5 month old, OUR 5 month old had "crawled" a whole 8 inches.  This, however, was a total fluke because he hasn't done it since.  We make a big deal out of tummy time, we are nonchalant about tummy time, we encourage, place toys out of his reach, pretend we don't care, whatever, but the child will not duplicate his efforts.  When he is placed on his belly now, he will kick his legs frantically, put his arms straight out front (in superman pose) and wiggle around, but this gets him nowhere.  Sometimes he gets so worked up that he will roll over, and then roll over again, and end up feet away from where he started by rolling instead of crawling.  Sometimes he will spin around 180 degrees and will be facing the opposite direction from where he was placed, but won't gain any distance.  He is totally determined though.  Eventually this kid is going to crawl and it is going to be a very sad day for The Turners, because it means that we can no longer be slobs and leave dangerous things laying all over the house.  It also means we will have to bubble wrap the stone around our HUGE fireplace, which is really going to add to the decor of the living room.  I want Ben to reach his crawling goal, but I don't look forward to babyproofing Turner Place.  

Ben has been an adventurous eater when it comes to Stage 2 Gerber foods in April and May.  He thinks the vegetables are laced with poison and spits out every mouthful, so we've gotten creative and paired a fruit with a veggie on the same spoon load, and he totally falls for it.  Green beans and apricots sound much more disgusting than just plain green beans, but he goes for it and gets whatever nutrients are in green beans (or peas, squash, mixed veggies, and the like).  His favorites are pear-pineapple and hawaiian medley (which is pretty much the same thing) so far.  We've tried to get him to eat puffs and cookies, and he hates them both.  Cookies to a lesser extent because he can chew on them, but once he swallows some cookie by accident, he makes a goofy face and tries to spit it back up.  Ben is not ready for real solids yet.  He does have one and a half teeth though!  The bottom-right tooth came in a couple weeks ago (which was a fun night) and the bottom-left is peeking through this week.  He's been teething like a madman and of course, drooling lots.  I hope the next 18 teeth all come in at the same time so we can put teething behind us - it is not a fun experience for anyone.

The Evolution of Scrumpy Bear - Months 2 - 6:

June 1st - 7 month giraffe shot:

Today is Ben's 7 month birthday.  My baby was born 7 whole months ago.  We are still breastfeeding (although we added formula supplement in May to take the pressure off Mommy to pump! pump! pump!) and this is all going really well.  We've got the best of both worlds and it works for us, so we'll go with it until it doesn't anymore.  Mom is very proud of making the 7 month breastfeeding milestone, especially when we look back at how rocky our start was.  Ben had a doctor appointment this morning and weighed in at a hefty 18 pounds and 8 ounces, and is 28 inches tall.  For contrast, at his 4 month appointment, he was 14 pounds, 6 ounces and 25 inches tall.  At birth, my chunky goober was 8 pounds, 11 ounces and 21.5 inches tall.  He's gotten SO BIG in these last 7 months!  Ben is in the 30th percentile for weight, 80th for height, and 80th for head circumference (so smart!).  He continues to be happy, healthy and scrumpy so that's great.  Hopefully MOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!! will strive to be a better family historian so that everyone can be more up-to-date on Benny happenings!

157 days

5 months-ish: Ben wearing his fancy jacket at Aunt Nette's house

Ben is the most social, easy-going baby in the history of babies.  Seriously.  When we take him out in public, people are constantly making comments about how happy he looks.  He flirts with strangers over our shoulders and coos up a storm. Ben loves going out and rarely has a meltdown while we're in public.  He LOVES being carried in the Baby Bjorn carrier. He likes his stroller to a much lesser extent, but still enjoys it because being in it means he is on the go.  Ben likes shopping, going out to eat, but loves being outside.  Over the last few weekends, we've spent some time outdoors for the first time in Ben's life.  Since he was born in November just as it was getting chilly, the only exposure he's had of the outdoors to this point is the short time he spends being loaded and unloaded into the car.  Two weekends ago, we traveled to Hartsville, South Carolina for the annual Carolina Cup festivities. The picture above is Ben sporting his fancy "cup outfit" that we purchased around this time last year.  Unfortunately, it was terrible outside on the day of the horse races so we missed that part, but on Sunday, we spent a lovely day at Aunt Nette's farm soaking up the sun and playing with family.  The next Sunday, we spent the afternoon at the dog park in West Asheville and he was the happiest guy there.  He cooed and chatted in his Baby Bjorn and watched the 20-or-so dogs romp around and have a good time.

Ben has really taken an interest in the puppies over the last week.  The day we brought him home from the hospital, we introduced him to our dog-babies and he's had constant exposure to them since, but is only noticing them now.  The dogs, on the other hand, have been painfully aware of Ben's existence.  They've done really well and exceeded our expectations in accepting Ben into the pack, and it's been so much fun to finally watch them interact.  Ben loves Lilly.  We're not sure if it's because she is white and easier to see, or if it's because she acts more interested in him, but Ben laughs and snorts when Lilly comes into a room.  He watches her walk all over the house the way Lilly does (she's our safety patrol) and wiggles when she comes over to say hello.  Recently, he's been reaching out and petting her.  He takes his little baby hands and pats down on her scruff, and then opens and closes his hand to "pet" her.  It's the most adorable thing ever.  Period.  He also interacts with Gram's dog, Fergie.  Coincidentally, Fergie is also white (with black spots) and may be more visually appealing to him, but is also equally as interested in him.  He pets her the same way, and she hangs out with him while he exercises in his bouncer or sits on Gram's lap.  He is definitely a dog man.  I introduced him to one of Aunt Nette's cats while we were in South Carolina and it did not go as well.  The brave cat (and the only one out of who knows how many) greeted Ben by brushing up against him the way cats do, and he stuck out his bottom lip and cried.  In his defense, this cat is one of the more homely cats I've ever encountered, but I'm thinking he probably just prefers dogs.

Ben and Sophie: both weighing in at 15 pounds... for now.

At the beginning of the month, Ben met his other best friend (yes, you can have 2!), Jack.  To refresh, Jack is Danielle's little guy, born in September.  Danielle and I go back almost as far back as Jack and Ben do and have been in and out of each others' lives for nearly 24 years.  When we both got pregnant at nearly the same time, we started chatting more often, and both lamented about how hard pregnancy was, how good ice cream tasted, and other things that pregnant mamas talk about.  The Turners are so lucky to have the Mazureks in our lives to watch our babies grow up together, lament and marvel over parenthood and just have fun.  We traveled to their home in Atlanta, specifically, the fancy Buckhead district, and watched Jack get baptized.  For the parts where Ben was not pooping himself or crying, it was a moving experience.  Little Jack (who by the way, isn't so little but is about as cute as babies get) did not find it as moving and pretty much screamed at the priest during their interaction.  Ben went to Jack's party afterwards and then the two took their parents to the Atlanta Zoo for a day in the park.  They LOVED it, watched the animals, and fell asleep.  It was adorable, of course.

Ben and Jack meeting for the first time:

So March was a pretty busy month.  Other notable happenings include Ben's chattiness.  Is Chattiness a word (Auntie M, care to comment)?  Anyway, we've known since the start that this child has things to say and a big voice to say them with, but I will swear, and most likely write in his baby book that his first "word" is "OH YEAAAAAH".  Seriously, this child will sit quietly and say "ohhhhhh yeah, ohh yeaaaaaaah, ohhhhhh yeaaaaaaahhhhhh".  It's probably what he hears me say the most because as he chats, I ask him "Oh yeah?" as in "tell me more".  I know that this isn't actually speech, but it's really cute.  He still doesn't do the consonant-vowel dadadada or babababa and I imagine it will be a few months before this happens, but he sure does like to talk.  

Ben weighed 14 pounds, 6 ounces at his last doctor's visit in late March and is too big for his infant carrier.  This is not because he's outgrown it necessarily, but because Mommy cannot carry he and it at the same time.  We upgraded to a big boy convertible car seat in the truck and after some convincing, he loved it.  I think we scared him by sticking him in a big black contraption and flying down the road, so Daddy rode with him on our way back from his maiden voyage in it, and it's been smooth sailing ever since.  

Benny - April 4th, 2009 - the first ride of many rides to come:

In March, Ben also figured out how to roll over from back to tummy.  Specifically, in the middle of the night in a fit of rage he figured out how to roll over from back to tummy.  Unfortunately, once he was face-planted in the mattress, he couldn't quite conjure up his previously learned skill of flipping from tummy to back, so he screamed bloody murder for help.  I ran into the room (remember, this is at 3 am when Mommy isn't running on all of her cylinders), calmed him down, placed him on his back, and left thinking that it was over.  Nope.  He did it 2 extra times, just to show mastery of his new skill.  He has since done it a few more times, but only in the middle of the night when he is apparently tired of the whole "front to sleep" thing.  I love his determination and will to do things his way... even if these things occur while I'm trying to sleep.  

The last notable happening is Ben's attempts at swimming.  We got him a new tub because he was quickly outgrowing his little blue tub.  He now has a big (and ridiculous) pink duckie tub that quacks when you press her beak and can be filled with way more water than the other tub.  The moment we set Ben into this thing, he started kicking as if it were necessary for survival.  The child gets the most focused, intense look on his face and watches his chunky baby legs kick and splash water all over the tub and Mommy.  I've never seen another living thing, except maybe Buddy, love water as much as Ben does.  We will definitely get a pool membership somewhere in town this summer.  

Ben's water intensity - Exhibit A:

One whole year

March 7th, 2008

It was one year ago this month that we learned about Benjamin "Peanut" Turner and what a wild ride it has been since then.  I've posted that chart before, but wanted to see it again because it is so amazing.  Like Benny, this chart is perfect.  For those not obsessed with fertility, this is a chart of my body temperature every morning of that particular cycle. Basal body temperature is a good indicator that implantation has occurred.  The chart shows that in the first days of the cycle, my temperature was pretty low.  It dipped exactly in the middle, as it's supposed to when you've ovulated, and then shot up like a rocket after Benny appeared.  Its what's called a triphasic chart, and it's rare in fertility world, but leave it to Benny to kick off his existence being perfect. 

Benny is 4 and a half months old now, but it's been just over a year since we've been together.  I'm so thankful for having had the time to blog the few entries I did during my pregnancy to remind me of the highlights of those days because those memories are fading fast.  The low points are also fading, thankfully, because the pregnancy was mostly comprised of those and are details better left forgotten anyhow.  The last 4 and a half months have been a complete whirlwind and I often sit and wonder where the time has gone.  This is sweet irony because while I was carrying that little guy, I wondered if it would ever end.  I thought I'd be the first documented case of a woman being pregnant forever, because it sure seemed that way.  Somehow we've sped through his newborn stage and are knee-deep in his infancy and I wish it would all just slow down.  

I am the type of Mama who wants to do it all and am slowly realizing that this is unpossible, as Ralph Wiggum puts it.  I can't stand a messy house, or things left undone on my desk at work, and I really love slow-cooked homemade meals.  I also love my time with Benny, breastfeeding, and playing toys.  This seems to be why the pile of laundry is taking over my house, why Jacob and I are starving, and why I am completely behind and feel incredibly incompetent at my job.  This can't all be done because there are only 24 short hours in each day, and they really whiz by when your to-do list is as long as mine.  I'm slowly learning to let go; let the laundry eat the house, catch most meals on the fly, and do the very best I can at work, but leave it there after 5 PM.  I'm learning to savor every moment with my little guy because it's going by so incredibly fast.  I feel like if I blink, I'm going to miss the whole thing.  

In these 4 and a half months, Benny has told the doctor's where they can shove their modified expectations of his developmental milestones.  The doctors informed us that he may be slow to reach milestones due to his early birth (that he totally wasn't ready for but Mama SO was).  Instead, Benny came out of the womb holding his head up, was rolling over at 1 month, and has been chatting up a storm since he realized he can make noise.  He is sitting up, eating baby food like a big boy, and has learned cause and effect and how to use it to manipulate his sucker parents.  He grabs for things he likes and draws them to his mouth, drools like nobody's business, and laughs hysterically when you play him the William Tell Overture Finale.  He still only cries when he needs something (and this includes attention, which he seems to need constantly) and is just a sweet little boy.  I love this child more than anything, and wish these sweet moments would slow down and last forever.  I'd take a lifetime of sleeplessness if I could keep my little Benjamin bite-sized.  When he is sleeping peacefully or batting his long eyelashes at me I imagine what he will be like at 13 and cringe at the thought of him being embarrassed to be seen with his parents, or the possibility that he will turn into a snotty, bratty teenager.  Babies are so pure and unspoiled, I wish they would stay that way forever.

But this is not the case.  It's really a bittersweet journey for me as a Mama.  I celebrate every milestone he reaches.  He reaches them fast and early which I guess makes it all the more startling for me, but it is wonderful and I love looking forward to new things.  I am thoroughly enjoying the experience of babyhood and childhood again through my son's beautiful blue eyes, but milestones mean he is growing up.  Growing up means he'll be totally embarrassed and put out by my suffocating hugs and smooches all over his pudgy little baby face and it's gonna break my heart.  Bittersweet.  

One whole year since that fertility chart began.  Hard to imagine that it's gone by so fast, and that we've all lived to tell the tale.  We are incredibly blessed to share our lives with such a fantastic little creature, fleeting though it may be.  In one year we went from this:

To this:

Can't wait to do the next 100 years, but let's slow it down a little, k?

Graduated from the 4th trimester!

Benjamin Maddox: 4 months, 1 day

February was a big month!  Benny got to visit the mountains (read: Avery County) on Valentine's Day weekend to get his Mimi and Poo to all himself.  He got a special visit from Mimi the following weekend, got to rest the next, and then got a visit from Auntie Lauren this past weekend.  He loved every minute of it, of course, and loved up on his visitors lots.

Benny has become very conversational in the last month.  He sits with Mom and chats about his days with Gram.  He starts talking kinda softly but by the end, he is screaming, yelling and laughing hysterically.  He is definitely a people person.  He has clocked a lot of hours in his exersaucer, or air traffic control station as we like to call it.  Benny has a pretty intense need to stand and would like to be on his feet more often than not.  Our arms got kinda tired of this, so we've really gotten our money's worth out of this thing.  He stands proudly and will concentrate on each little station and press buttons that sing songs.  He is beginning to entertain himself, which is convenient for Mom and Dad, and lots of fun to watch.

Grabbing items and pulling them toward his mouth is another new activity that he has refined in the last week or so.  It's amazing to watch these little skills come together and to watch his face light up when he does something new successfully!  

Last weekend, it snowed lots.  It snowed the week Benny was born, and a few times since then, but nothing that stuck around for long.  On Sunday night, we got at least 6 inches, and I'd swear it was even more, but we didn't stick a ruler in it . We did, however, stick Benny in it.

He didn't necessarily love it or hate it.  The wind was blowing hard when we ventured outside so he was mostly bothered by that and wanted to go inside.  Hopefully next year we will get a good snow so we can try him in it again.  I'm thinking it'll be more fun as he gets older!