Happy Halloween!

Hey, hey, we're the Monkeys!

People say we monkey around.

But we're too busy singing (and playing and exploring)

To put anybody down!

"so pick me up!"

(ya'll watched The Monkees, right?)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

That husband of mine...what a sport!

Pumpkin Pictures

I mentioned before that Ben's trip to the Pumpkin Patch turned out to be a less-than ideal photo shoot. However I forgot that my mom had set up her own session while we were in Nashville earlier this month!

Follow this link for some festive shots...props included.

This reminds me of happier times - before Ear Infection #2. We're hoping that Ben pulls through this any day now, but at least the time I've spent at home has given me a chance to sew (yes, with a needle and thread) our costumes together! Oh the pictures that are to come...just wait.

Feel better soon Ben!

Nine months old!

Dear Ben,
Well, it's official. You've now been on the outside as long as you were in the inside! While each set of nine months has been miraculous in its own right, getting to actually watch you develop and share you with your daddy, family and friends has been so wonderful and exciting. Each month seems to fly by faster than the one before.

See my tooth?!

You're quite the little ham, blowing raspberries on available shoulders, arms and legs, sometimes laughing when nothing remotely funny is happening and busting out with an array of facial expressions that I tried to illustrate with the photos on this post. Here's your latest update...

Weight: 19.7 lbs

Height: 28 inches

Head: 18 inches

Nicknames: BenJAMin; Benny-boop; Peanut; Monkey; BenBen, from school teachers; BT, from Dr. Smith; old standards - Baby, Bud, Buddy, Darlin, Big Boy, Sweetie, Sweetheart, Love

Favorite foods: meals with meat (like your daddy), pieces of cheese (like your mommy), all fruit and veggies meals - but especially peaches and peas, Gerber Puffs and just recently, Cheerios.

Worst foods: macaroni and cheese (who's kid is this?), Jars of plain pureed meat (this bothered me more than you; I just can't feed my baby something that smells like dog food!), swiss cheese

Favorite things: Lovie, tag blankie, laughing at Daddy pretending to hurt himself, being held, trying to pet Zoe, blocks and balls, standing up, eating, cuddling, Old McDonald, Wheels on the Bus, your thumb, feeding yourself, and lastly, ME! (I'll take it while I can!)

Not-so favorite things: bathtime, the changing table and everything that it stands for, the first few moments of being strapped in your carseat, waiting to eat, waking up in the middle of the night and not knowing what to do with yourself, napping at school.

New tricks: playing hide-and-seek/follow the leader, high fives

Other changes: new teeth, pulling up, beginning stages of cruising, been told "no" when sneaking over to Zoe's water bowl, reaching for the light switch or trying to stand up in the tub, starting formula.
Mommy's favorite moments: getting you out of your crib in the mornings - seeing that big smile is definitely the best part of waking up! Quittin' time on Fridays - a whole weekend together! When you finally fell back asleep while I read the same book to you over and over at 6 a.m. last week.

Mommy's hardest moments: Sunday nights, not knowing how to fix it when you're upset, hearing or seeing you fall as you learn the concepts of gravity and balance.

Daddy and I love you so much, Ben, and are so grateful to have you in our lives. In fact we often have a standoff regarding who gets to pick you up first in the morning or hold you after a long day apart...you just give the best hugs in town!

hugs and kisses,
Mommy

Roarrrrrr!

I'm not Voting for a Man...

I'm Voting for Generations of Children and their Right to Live.

That's the title of the blog that our pastor found that has made my non-political self brave enough to write a post concerning a political issue. I just can't not share this with as many people as possible. This article is written by a Christian, which I am, from the perspective that human life starts at conception, which I believe. Reading this has pushed me from the "I feel like I should vote for McCain, but I'm not really excited about it" party to the "I'm terrified of what will happen to millions of unborn children if Obama gets in" party.

So that makes me a single-issue voter, and some people may scoff at that. Which is another reason that, while I've always been prolife, during this campaign I've been trying hard (and often coming up short) to fully grasp the plans and platforms each candidate supports for healthcare, the economy, oil drilling, etc. so that I can make a nice Pros vs. Cons list to help me choose a candidate. But this article showed me that the results of the decisions made by the incoming president on those issues, while important, pale in comparison to the results of appointing prolife or prochoice Supreme Court judges and in signing the Freedom of Choice Act that Obama has promised to support.

A couple of the author's points that hit home to me (but the whole article is well worth the read):

Is the candidate’s stand on the issue of shedding innocent blood important enough to disqualify him as a candidate? Yes. While a single issue can’t qualify a candidate, it can disqualify him.
***
I don’t think someone is a good candidate just because he is prolife. But he cannot be a good candidate unless he is prolife. Personally, if he is committed to legalized child-killing, as a matter of conscience I must vote against him.
***
I say OF COURSE THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES. I don't minimize them. All I can say is the differences between the candidates on those issues don't stack up, even cumulatively, to the legalized killing of human beings.
***
It's a matter of relative importance, not just a number of issues. A man who is a good husband in most respects, but who beats his wife, is not a good husband. That issue outweighs all the others.
***
I've heard other prolife people say "I don't like either candidate, so I'm not voting at all." Well, ask yourself who you're willing to punish by not voting. If it's political parties who will pay, fine, I really don't care about them. Sure, it would be better not to vote than to vote against God's children's right to live. But if instead of abstaining you have a chance to vote for God's children's right to live, why would you not do that?
***
Don't vote for the man, vote for generations of children who will have a chance to live if he's elected, even if he's just a mediocre president in other areas.
***
Today is Ben's 9-month birthday (fun post to come, promise!). Nine months. That's how long he lived inside of me as he was "knitted together" by our Creator. He has developed, has grown, but he is the same person today as he was nine months ago and as he was becoming nine months before that.

a beating heartwith DNA all his own
a child of God

To me, that's one issue worth voting to protect.

Weekend Wrap-up

Tyler didn't have to work at all this weekend, so we took full advantage of the beautiful weather. Well not full advantage, we did have errands to run, but we managed to cram a lot of activity into a couple of days.

First up was Ben's first college football game! So who do we pull for when our own college had no team of its own? Usually, whoever is throwing the best game-watching party! And this being UAB's Homecoming weekend, it seemed like a good time to go support the university that pays our bills, educates my husband and cares for our son.

So off to Legion Field we went!

UAB vs. Marshall - Go Blazers!

"Uh, Mom, it's third down.
Can we do this after this next play?"

After the game (well, after the halftime show and Ben's belly had reached its limit of sweet-potato puffs), we headed home for dinner and a movie.

This is Ben's charity face that says, "Please buy me new toys, Mom. All I have is a laundry basket to play in." Pitiful, no? Actually, he is quite happy to be pushed and pulled around the room in here, which has offered some diversion from his sore gums.

On Sunday, we finally made it to a Pumpkin Patch! I've been looking forward to this photo opp since last fall when my belly was pumpkin shaped and my expectations were bountiful. A happy baby boy in overalls curiously examining pumpkins, crawling over hay bales and smiling amongst the various harvest decor, while Tyler and I looked on over our mugs of hot cider.

Well, an idyllic scenario, it was not. Poor Ben had fallen asleep in the car after church and was not impressed with being woken up only to be placed on the ground with the sun shining in his eyes. So during our 10 minutes at the Patch, these are the best we got!

"I will sit on this hay bale, but only if you sit underneath me."

Tyler showing off his wingspan while Ben refuses to participate.

Happy Toothday!

Open wide! You have to really zoom in to see it, but trust me...and Ben's 4:30 a.m.wake-up call due to the pain this morning...it's there!

After weeks of speculations, predictions and misdiagnoses, Ben's first pearly white popped through during the night! And yes, Tyler, I know this clip art is a molar and Ben's is a central incisor (thanks to Google), but it's such a happy little tooth that I couldn't pass it by!

While he won't be sharing any of his Dad's beef jerky for quite some time to come, it's a milestone that this dental family is very proud of.

10/19 update: Without further adeiu (0r comments from the peanut gallery), here's more of Ben on the morning of his toothday!

Right before I told him that the Tooth Fairy only comes once you lose a tooth.

"Mom, can I have steak for breakfast?"

For 6 a.m., he sure was wound up!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Leavin' on a jet plane...

My mom just sent this to me, and I think it is such a great picture of Ben and his Aunt Jess a few weeks ago in the airport before they had to say goodbye.

[what I'm pretty sure they were silently singing to each other:]
So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Except we know she'll be back again in November...and we can't wait!

Swings and things

Recently we took a walk to the playground near our house. I'd hoped to let Ben swing for the first time, but there wasn't an infant swing to be swung. But for his attention span, my lap did just fine. Can't remember the last time that Tyler and I swung (ever?), so it was fun to make it a family event. And wouldn't you know that we had the camera on hand to capture every moment!

Earlier in the week, Ben fell back asleep after his breakfast. Tyler stayed with him while I slipped out for a shower, but this is what I found when I came back in!

On the move!

As I mentioned before, Ben was making his first attempts at mobility at around 7 1/2 months. Well, he has quickly put all the mechanics together and is off and running...well, crawling at least. He's put his own signature on the crawl, however, as now the leg that was tucked up underneath as the other foot hopped forward, is now pushed to fully extended behind him. So, right leg hops, left leg pushes, and repeat! It's quite graceful, really. :)

All this horizontal movement is certainly helpful in getting where he needs to go, but Ben wants to see the world! Therefore, this week, he decided to take his progress vertical - he started pulling up! (I think his friend Carter may have influenced this too as he is all about some peek-a-boo over and under the coffee table!)

"Heh, heh, heh...ya'll are in trouble now!"

When I set him up with some blocks and links at school the other morning, he immediately pushed past them and power crawled to the book box, pulled himself right up and dug around for a suitable book. It was as if he'd been waiting to get into that box all morning! Well, that added 10 minutes on to my commute to work, because I had to sit down and take it all in.

Since what would a Saturday be without videos of Ben at home, here are a few of him on the move. They're a bit lengthy, so don't feel bad if you can't commit!

Today:

Last Sunday:

As you can see, Zoe is excited that we're all spending so much more time on the floor these days and is finding ways to sneak back into some of the spotlight!

Tyler Prentice and Son, DMDs?!

A couple weeks ago, we visited Tyler at the dental office where he works on the weekends. It was after a morning of errand running and consignment-sale shopping, so Ben was spent. The lack of enthusiasm is daunting though when considering possible career paths!

"Gee Dad, dentistry is really exciting. (sigh) Yeah, wow.
I can't wait to take over the family practice one day. (yawn) "

That's OK, buddy. You can do anything you want to do!
...As long as you're willing to take in your parents when we're old and gray.