Hanukkah/Christmas

Ben has really been enjoying all of his new toys. He LOVES his swivel egg chair...

I think his favorite new item is this little table and chair set. SO adorable! He will sit here for 20 minutes eating "cacas" or crackers (really cereal) and feed Caramel every few bites.

The wooden blocks are slowly becoming a hit. For now dad loves to build towers and Ben loves to knock them down.

14.99 Months

We have not posted in a long while...so here are some recent pics. Ben is busy these days...walking...running...eating...chasing caramel's tail and ears...and dancing anytime he hears a beat.

These are the most recent pics from today...



...these are from last month...



...and we never posted the halloween pics. enjoy!

Fall Fun and chasing a shadow

Ben enjoyed the Fall weather last weekend...

...chasing his own shadow...



...standing in a pile of leaves...

...eating the pile of leaves...

..and swinging with mommy...

Sheep

Here is Ben's first art project from school...his idea of a sheep. I never imgained I would be so proud of 5 cotton balls glued to a white piece of paper.

School

Ben started his toddler program at the JCC this week...which means no morning nap. He made it until 11 one day and 12 the other...and this is what happened before we even left the parking lot...He had a blast though. No crying and loved playing with all of his new friends. He only goes 3 days a week and for now only a few hours at a time...

...and a sneak peak of the Halloween creature we found in our living room...

got my momma's rhythm

Be sure to turn up your volume...

Our little locksmith

we did not even show Ben how to do this... Genius?

Ben Feeds Caramel Noodles

PUMPKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!

We decided to take advantage of the pumpkins at the Arboretum last weekend...It was the opening day of the patch and it did not disappoint. We even enjoyed a yummy root beer float while Ben ate a bagel. He thought the pumpkins were pretty cool - eating them, pounding them, licking them, eating hay, and crawling all over the patch. There are also a few pics of our living room on a rainy day. I had to keep him busy somehow, so I made an obstacle course complete with an audience. He enjoyed it thoroughly.

Enjoy!

posted by caroline

Ben's Smoothie

Ben has recently become mr. independent.... and insists on feeding himself, and while I know this is a good thing, eating enough fruits and veggies has been a bit difficult....it is pretty hard for a 12 month old to pick up and eat enough leaves of spinach! so, I decided to make him a smoothie and he loves it....here is the recipe if you're interested...

10-15 leaves of raw baby spinach
5 cubes of frozen mango (some days I substitute applesauce)
2 ounces of baked butternut squash (baked ahead of time and frozen in 1oz baby cubes)
a bit of water to thin
lots of plain whole yogurt (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 cup) (not baby yogurt that is filled with sugar, just plain old yogurt)
1/2 banana
dash of probiotic powder
mix in a blender and pour in a cup! I promise it tastes great. The banana and squash make it super sweet and the mango adds a little tangy kick.


Here is Ben enjoying his morning snack:

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

Ben turned one last Wednesday!!! It's hard to believe just one year ago we met this little guy:

He started off his birthday festivities with a trip to the Aquarium with mom and dad.

On Saturday he had a mini-party at his grandparents house to continue the celebration.

His BFF Isaiah also came to Dallas for Ben's birthday....here they are Sunday still wearing party hats.

Here are all of the pics. Enjoy!

Ben Goes On His First (Real) Trip

We just returned from an extended (details to follow later) vacation to Coronado Island/San Diego/La Jolla....for all of those that care, this place is awesome. We stayed on Coronado Island which is just across the bay from San Diego....you get a sweet view of San Diego from our balcony. Ben visited many beaches, the San Diego Zoo, met a hippo, people watched, met his second cousin, cruised not one, but three Surreys (you'll see pictures below), watched mommy get stung by one bee, ate ice cream two times, came back with one more tooth (eight now), heckled bad ping pong players (video below) and had one darn good time. Ben also learned how to nap in new places like the beach, zoo or cruising the street. Luckily, daddy made a mistake booking the trip and the kind people at the airport let us know that our flight was really Tuesday, not Monday, so we turned around and hit La Jolla one more time (the best beach). Enjoy...and stay classy San Diego.




Here are all of the pics:

Feet in the sand...

Surrey rides...

Video of Ben heckling pong players...

Just an awesome video...

What we've been up to...

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks. Ben has been busy learning brazilian jiu-jitsu, playing with his cousin, swimming, seeing his family, watching hula hoop contests and eating watermelon. enjoy.

Ben Goes Swimming

Ben had his first swimming class yesterday! We thought this was just supposed to be an orientation, but in Emler Swim School's dictionary, orientation = get in the water now. They had Ben in the water learning all of their cool games from minute one. He had a blast. By the end of the class, he had gone underwater a few times and was kicking his "little" (open for debate, after we could barely squeeze his thighs into the XL speedos) legs. For any parents looking for a place to take their kids swimming, two thumbs up for this place. They use salt water pools, keep the pools nice and warm year round, and the teachers are very good with the kids.... Here are a few videos of Ben's first class....please ignore the screaming kids in the background....apparently, the longer you wait to get your kid in the pool, the more afraid they become! i'm glad we went when we did....ben has no fear....also, please notice the other kid swimming with ben...he was 8 months old! that is 2 months younger than ben, and he appears to be on pace to become the next michael phelps. i saw him get dunked for 3 seconds 2 separate times!! that may not sound like a long time, until you actually see it done on a tiny little baby. that kid loves the water, he was flapping his arms, kicking his legs and laughing away the whole time. unreal.


I'm also attaching a video of ben playing with mommy a few days ago.....just because i can!

ben loves.....himself

during last week's thunderstorm in dallas, we decided to shack up at a hotel due to the lack of electricity and a/c that resulted....not important, anyhoo...what is important is that there was a nice full length mirror there for ben to play with his new best friend....himself! he loves mirrors...i'm not sure if all babies are like this, but he loves to touch himself and make out with himself.....his mirror image, that is.
p.s. he also loves to attack cell phones, cameras and video cameras that are shooting him.

ben loves nordstroms.

there are very few words for this picture...except that i am teaching benjamin to LOVE shopping at nordstroms! see?



this was a few weeks ago, but still awesome. i am sure daddy is proud!

Benajmin is 9 months old!

Very hard to believe, but benjamin is 9 months today! He has really grown up in the last few weeks. He is always on the go as you can see here (and is developing a nice little attitude to go with it...must be the red hair) He is really a lot of fun these days.

ben in his new ride:



slideshow of this week's pics:

Little Mr. Sunshine

We had a lovely weekend at the goldman house...including an awesome wedding (post soon to come on that) and time with grandparents and a cousin, new friends from the Valley and last but not least...a baby photo shoot with the 2 CRAZIEST stage parents ever - Mark and Marjorie (grandma). I found a cute baby contest online (from GMA) and am shameless enough to enter benjamin...BUT my mother and Mark have taken shame to a new level. These two nuts spent forever taking pictures and then proceeded to go online, peruse the already entered babies and talk trash! Mark and Marjorie would fit in great at a small town texas beauty contest. Little Mr. Sunshine here we come. Here are the pics...come back soon for more pics of the wedding festivities. (posted by Caroline - who helped a little with the photo shoot, but did NOT insult helpless babies).

Ben eats cheerios

ben recently discovered cheerios and loves to eat them. unfortumately, he had a hard time getting enough in his mouth at one time...until he quickly learned a new way to eat them. we are very proud of this resourcefulness and the fact that he loves to eat as much as we do! there are a lot of pictures here, but it was impossible to stop taking them!

Ben's new wingman - Isaiah

Benjamin's new BFF, Isaiah Philip Opot, was born on May 9th and we couldn't wait to see him! Ben's first reaction was a smile and then he reached for the little man. We presume Ben wanted to eat him, but who knows! We took a ton of pictures and had a great time just hanging out getting to know Isaiah. He is so sweet and has the LONGEST feet, fingers, toes arms and legs. We can't wait to watch them grow up together.

the "skis"


first meeting!


sleeping


with mommy

uncle mark

g-papa keith

Auntie Kristin

and FAVORITE aunt caroline (just kidding!)


here is a link to the rest of the album. enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/msgpartridge/BenMeetsIsaiah85Months#

Ben and Caramel

Ben having a blast watching mommy toss cheerios at caramel

Pictures from the last few weeks

Ben gets a new ride and finds his new teeth...


Mother's day weekend...with a few warnings...
- it was very hot at caroline's grandparent's house so ben decided to wear his birthday suit.
- there may have been a poo accident on "poo colored" shag carpet

A few videos

Ben's fauxhawk and mommy


Ben laughing at his doggy

Cotton on my heiny

Benjamin and I thought it would be a great idea to experiment with cloth diapers...and you know, it is pretty easy. He proposed this idea because cotton feels so much better on his rather large heiny (and the 12 jelly rolls under it) and even though people think there is some black hole that all trash just disappears into, he is VERY smart and really knows that his diapers are adding too much junk to his kids' and his kids' kids' earth (this is the part his mommy will be made fun of for!).

So far he has been wearing disposable seventh generation diapers which are great for outings and trips...but would rather try out a few different brands including wool and cotton diapers from imse vimse, little beetle and bumgenius. It is really not too much trouble and still gives his very busy parents enough time to watch celebrity apprentice and millionaire matchmaker.

Ben is pretty happy about this (and his homemade baby food). He did say that if anyone makes fun of his parents for being "granola" he won't be too happy!

He is excited to pose for some pics sporting his new undies soon...

Ben's daily activities

Since I know most of you have nothing to do on a Friday afternoon (except maybe play a bit of Word Mojo) here is an update on Ben’s day to day activities.

Ben is finally making a few more non-dinosaur sounding sounds – “g” is his favorite consonant with a few lispy “b”s thrown in there. “goobie” is one I heard in the middle of the night last night. As a speech therapist I have been anxiously awaiting these sounds. They are pretty adorable.

He is going to the JCC a few days a week with me to work out. Well, actually, I am doing the working out and he is learning that the sweet ladies in the child care room are nice and will not hurt him. He is gaining some independence and I am losing the double chin.

He is moving – everywhere. A few of his favorite places are the fireplace, under the couch and table and caramel’s bed. He also loves to chew on the side of the couch and shoes…which I try to avoid.

Ben is sleeping a bit better! Of course he still wakes a few times a night – we’re not perfect, but naps are easier and nights are more restful. I never thought I would say this, but I really do miss rocking him all the time. Today I rocked him a bit longer than usual before his nap and he let me know how much he liked it by giving me a big slobbery kiss (sucking my face).
Ben loves his Thursday morning music class. The CD they gave us works wonders in the car if he is fussy.

Diaper changes have become quite difficult. If you go fishing (which we don’t because we don’t like the thought of hurting a fish) you know how slippery and jumpy they are out of the water…well, imagine trying to put a diaper on that.

Teething biscuits are a new fav. He started SCREAMING the other night when it fell on the floor and smiled when we gave it back to him. Don’t know where he got his love of food…but I can say the biscuits are pretty yummy. (I may have had a few when we had no sweets in the house).

I promise not to be one of those moms who brags about how awesome her children are…but Ben really is a sweet happy little man with lots of energy and curiosity. We may not be the best parents and our kid may not be the best sleeper, but we are having a pretty good time around here.

Ben's Pics at 7 1/2 months

We will keep this short and sweet...some random pics of Ben around 7 1/2 months

Ben Climbs Mt. Everest

Well....not exactly, but this was a major milestone....he used his Herculean strength to pull himself up to standing....for the first time! We are so proud of the greatest child in the world (I'm sure all parents think their kid is the coolest, so we have no reservations about saying this). Here is pictorial proof of his amazing accomplishment....if you did not believe us.

Step 1) Locate something you really want that is up really high. (Ben is very predictible....any electronic gadget or watch revs his engine)



Step 2) Use your freakishly advanced physical strength to pull yourself up.



Step 3) Mix all of that up and, tada, you are the coolest kid standing.

Eat that....fools!

naked box rides and wearing headbands

We have a new evening activity at the Goldman house...naked box rides down the hallway...not to be confused with evening naked crawling. Here's a glimpse:

ben also enjoys getting his 2 teeth brushed...except when he is already asleep...too bad mommy is crazy about teeth brushing:

mommy also likes to put head bands on me...

ben loves getting/eating easter cards from grandma:

ben has also enjoyed getting in bed with mom and dad in the morning...

at 7 months...

just like he did at 2 weeks!

here are the rest of the pictures from this week:

Half Man, Half Amazing

Ben showing off his herculean crawling efforts, then decides to sit up.....just because he can!

Ben visits the home of roger clemens

This weekend Ben went to visit his "other" grandparents and his new friend, sparcle. he had an awesome weekend with grandma kathy and g-dawg keith (self-appointed nickname). we all had a ball hanging with the Kelly family Saturday at Sue's. I think ben got the memo to be on his best behavior, because he scored a perfect 10 on floor, balance beam and the pommmel horse all weekend. Just a happy, content little boy who took 2+ hour naps. (this may not sound like a big deal, but it is to us...considering his usual naps are about 30 mintues). He even stayed happy in the car! 4 hr. trip each way (again, maybe not a big deal for you, but it is for us...so, back off.)

Ben also got to spend some quality time with sparcle (kelly's unborn, unsexed child) and can't wait to meet the little he/she.

thanks again for having us, "grandpappy/mammy" sowards. we will be back very soon......as soon as sparcle emerges.

Ben Eating a Biscuit

Twinkle Toes

Benjamin is excited for the weekend...

Ben and Grandma Enjoying a Dandelion

Ben likes watching the dandelion leaves fly away

Ben Playing Catch, Soccer....and Human Foosball

Ben, the All-American soccer/foosball/catcher???

a few hundred pics from the past few weeks

marge (grandma) won't let us delete any pics, so enjoy!

ARBORETUM


WEEK OF MARCH 7



ST PADDY'S DAY

Ben's first swim

benjamin went swimming today for the first time and he was a shark. He was half man, half amazing.

benjamin one year ago

Here is an ultrasound of Benjamin one year ago. I was 12 weeks pregnant and it was the first time he looked like a human inside me! All of the ultrasounds before this he looked like a pinto or lima bean. I love this picture becuase he is all head and tummy. He was kicking and rolling around that day and it was so so much fun to see him!

Tooting is cool

Apparently tooting in a dressing room is cool if you are 6 months old. Earlier this week Ben and I were at Anthropologie and I needed (yes, needed) to try on some clothes and it was also time to nurse Benjamin. We were sitting there nice and quiet which was odd to me because usually he sounds like a gremlin when he nurses. Then, it started...adult, big person sounding toots - a bunch of them. I heard a few women chuckling outside of my dressing room so I tried to make it obvious a kid was in the room with me, but I am pretty sure they all thought it was a grown woman ripping them in the dressing room. awesome.

6 Months Old

It's hard to believe benjamin is already 6 months old! He has changed so much in the past few weeks. He now has 2 teeth, weighs 19 1/2 pounds, can sit alone, uses his thunder thighs to crawl like an inch worm all around the living room and loves to go under the couch and sounds like a terradactyl. Not that I know what one sounds like, but the noises that come out of this kid must be similar to what a dinosaur sounded like.


Some of his favorite activities currently include: eating, playing with caramel (the dog), eating, crawling, grabbing everything, eating, taking short naps, cuddling with his mom and dad.


Here are some pics of the last 6 months. It was very hard to pick them, so I only picked from the 9th of every month.


0 MONTHS



1 MONTH






2 MONTHS







3 MONTHS




4 MONTHS




5 MONTHS


6 MONTHS

**still need to upload from the camera!

Ben's Ode to Van Damme

Ben is a big Jean Claude van Damme fan and wanted to re-enact the scene from Kickboxer where Zien drops the coconut from way up high during the ab training session for his upcoming fight with Tong Po....come on, you know you remember!?!

He thoroughly enjoyed this workout and wants to share it with you....
p.s. if no one has seen this movie, i'm including a link to one of the most memorable scenes. If you have 2:27 minutes of your life to waste, you will not regret it. Who doesn't want to see Jean Claude dirty dancing....then subsequently beating up about 15 guys?.....btw, he's doing all of this wasted!!!!!.....as caroline mentioned earlier, this blog will be about really important stuff like this.

Click here to watch the clip

Beach Body

From the pregnancy, my love of Rocky Road ice cream, 12 weeks of colic and finally a sleeping baby, we have decided that it is time to get back in shape. Going to a gym is still hard without a nanny or sitter, so we are starting the POWER90 work out. It is an at-home boot camp. We started this weekend and after ONE 29 minute work out we were already sore. It says you should take before and after pictures from all angles...which we did, but are not crazy enough to post online, so here are ben's before pictures. I think his thighs need the most work.