I am 20 weeks old today!

Time sure flies. My Grandma is on vacation and saw a picture of me and wanted to know what happened to me. Everyday I am looking more like a boy and less like a baby. My hair is growing, I am developing more and more of a personality and I am having fun.

I have started eating "solid" foods and while I am not a huge fan of rice cereal I do a good job eating it. I have also tried avocado, which I love, and carrots which I really like. Next on the list are sweet potato and peas. My Mom makes my food which is pretty cool. My Dad gets jealous when it is time to puree the veggies though, so he comes over and takes charge. My Mom thinks it's funny... any kind of "power tool" and my Dad comes running. If only she could convince him that vacuuming is as much fun.

I spend my days doing fun things. I go for a walk just about everyday. I eat food, read stories and dance and sing. I want so much to crawl, but at this point what I do isn't really crawling. I manage to scoot around a little and pull myself short distances, but I am just not quite ready. I am getting much better at sitting up it takes a while before I face plant. I like to sit or stand, I don't care much for just lying around.

Not much else is new in my life. All of my 3-month clothes are finally in storage, as are most of the 3-6-month sized clothes and even a few of the 6-month clothes. We went shopping last weekend and got lots of new stuff that I will fit into eventually and a compact stroller for our trip to Hawaii in December. I think I am going to like Hawaii. Pineapple isn't considered citrus, is it? I will have to Google-it to find out.

Love, hugs and sloppy wet kisses,
Benjamin

I am tall, kinda skinny and I have a normal-sized head

So I went to the doctor today and got five shots - yup, they poked me 5 times!!! I didn't like it very much, but I did really well considering what was happening to me. Here are my stats:

Height: 27 and a quarter inches - 95th percentile
Weight: 14 pounds, 15 and three-quarter ounces (not quite 15 pounds) - 50th percentile
Head Circumference: 42cm - 46th percentile

Otherwise I am still a good sleeper, I am strong and I reach for things to shove them in my mouth - which is an advanced thing. My gums are swollen, but no teeth yet. I am well on my way, so stay tuned for an update on my teeth.

I can start solid foods tonight, so I am getting excited for my first taste of rice cereal. Yum.

Memo - Mom needs to remember to knock on wood

So as soon as I mentioned that I don't freak out in the car - I started freaking out again. Today on the way up to San Clemente to see my Dad I took the binky out of my mouth and threw it out of my carseat. My Mom couldn't find it reaching in the back of the truck so she had to pull off the freeway to find it and get it back into my mouth. I still freak out. And while I freak out less than I used to - it is not as rare as I said it was.

Life is going well for me. I go to the doctor tomorrow, Tuesday - not Wednesday like I thought. I sometimes get confused. I am not excited for more shots, but I do want to know how much I weigh and how tall I am. And I am REALLY excited to try new and different foods. My Mom is excited too.

If you haven't yet, click on the newsflash to see lots of pictures of me. The photo page will be updated more frequently than the blog as far as pictures go because it is much easier to load them there. Good night everyone!

My Milestones

I just wanted to let everyone know that I keep changing and growing. I've had a few firsts and have reached a few milestones in the last few days and wanted everyone to know about them!

First and foremost, I RARELY freak out in the car now! This is the one that has my Mom the most excited because she doesn't feel guilty taking me out anymore.

I went to the library for the first time and read books. The library has a sign on it that says "Cool Zone." This means it is air-conditioned and my Mom likes to be there. I also saw something freaky - but that is another story. The only part that is hard is the walk back up the hill to get home.

I ATE Cool Whip! Well, I pretty much spit it all back out - but after Aunt Alicia gave me strawberry ice cream it was all over. I go to see Dr. N on Wednesday of next week for my 4-month check up and to talk about eating rice cereal. I hope it tastes as good as ice cream and cool whip, but I'm not all that sure it will.

I celebrated my FIRST 4th of July. I went to a pancake breakfast and saw so many of my friends. I liked the music the DJ played and I danced and laughed and slept.

I went to the beach for the first time. Now, I live in Cardiff. I have been to the beach, but not really on the beach or close to the water. I stared at the waves. It was really a cool thing and a great way to spend the 4th of July. Watching the sun set was incredible.

I slept for 11 hours last night!!! I had my dinner at 7:30, went to bed at 8:30 and woke up at 7:30 this morning. My Mom was sure something had happened to me or at least that I would wake up with the world's wettest Hugggie, but all was well.

My 4-month birthday is tomorrow and everyone is just shocked at how fast time flies. I love being alive and learning new things. I will post all of my vitals after the doctor next week. And hopefully you'll get to see pictures of me eating my "first" real foods.