8 and 9 months

Time is literally flying by. I am catching up on blogging so I don't fall too far behind. Right before eight months Benson started pulling up on things. I feel like he got good at it so quickly! Friends warned me of early walkers and the tendencies they might have to get hurt. So I did not encourage it, however I did not try to keep him from up. I feel that he will develop how and when he is supposed to, when he is ready. I remember at 6 months being worried that he wasn't crawling yet. I have realized that worrying about that sort of stuff is just pointless. Its hard because today we have a million answers to a question at our fingertips. But all that it has lead me to is thinking wayyy to far into things :). Benson is perfect and I just want to love him every second of the day and try to let go of as much worry as possible.

When Benny began pulling up on everything I felt like I got less done because I was trying to be right next to him to make sure he didn't get hurt. Despite my trying to save him he of course still had a few spills. I of course felt like a terrible mother when it happened. But Benny is a strong kid, thank goodness! and he has become so sturdy when he stands! He started using the walker that you push, and he is so so proud of himself when he uses it!
At eight months we took Benny boo camping! He did so incredibly well! Even got on the speedboat with all of us and slept 2 of the 4 hours we were on it. And we were moving pretty fast the whole time. It was so much fun I wish we could have went camping more this summer!

At nine months we had a checkup. At this time he wieghed 19.9 lbs and was 28 3/4 in. long. I forget his head circumference..but its big! haha! At nine months the doctor told me to start feeding him 3 meals a day instead of 2. Benson I think was happy about this. He constantly stares at whatever we are eating. Sometimes whining if we won't give him a taste. He loves having a spoon or something to play with while I'm feeding him to feel like he is doing it himself. He is really good at picking up small peices of food and eating himself. I can't remember when he started that  , but I think it was back closer to 7 months  because he has been doing that for a while now. The only food that Benson has not seemed to like is cottage cheese! Its the only thing he won't open his mouth for. The only way I could get him to eat it was by mixing a ton of banana or some other fruit with it. He babbles all day long. Mostly "dadadadad" but he has more recently started "yayay".....And honestly it is my favorite thing! I love the sound of his voice so much! Lets see also, he still only has two teeth. And we haven't noticed any fussy teething behavior, but he wasn't too bad with the first two teeth either. A few days he was really cranky and thats it. We have tried reading a bunch of new books to him lately but the one he absolutely can't get enough of is "DEAR ZOO". Every time I show him that book he smiles! and there are flaps in the book and he pulls open every single one on his own. His other favorite activites include banging on pots and pans, pulling all the laundry out of the laundry basket, going for walks, swinging, swimming, bath time and dance parties in the morning! I know everyone can tell, but I am so in love with this little boy. everyday I am amazed at how smart and happy he is. I am so grateful for the blessing of being a mother. Loving and nurturing him him makes me whole.

7 months (the most fun yet!)

This month we had a pretty busy month. It started off by having my friends from Utah come and visit. My friend Kristina was here to photograph a friends wedding so we got to spend a few days with her and her husband. We took them to the city to show them around. Even though we live so close we rarely make it out to San Francisco so it was really nice to be able to go and enjoy the day there.

This was a picture next to the Yoda Fountain in SF. Kristina's husband REALLY wanted to be able to see this...I didn't even know it was there! 

It was so fun having friends stay with us! Cant wait to visit them in Utah! 

We took Benny to the zoo for the first time this month. I don't think he is quite old enough to really pay attention to most of the animals but he loved the petting zoo! He grabs at EVERYTHING in reach now. Went straight for the goats horns!

We will definitely be taking him again soon. It was such fun family day. 

I have continued to take piano lessons. When I practice Benny never cries. Even though I'm not very good yet he seems to just enjoy hearing me play. And every time I'm finished I give him a chance to try and play. He gets really excited swats the keys for about 5 min and then he wants to move.

Uncle Kendall went to Hawaii for work and brought Benny back the cutest little outfit!

We went to a few graduation parties where we got to see a lot of Adrian's extended family which was really fun. 

And he loves giving his abuelita kisses!!! He won't kiss everyone on demand, but her he always does! that kid loves his grandma!

Benson is so lucky to have two grandmas so close who love him soooo much! Grandma Usher reading him a little Dr. Suess.

One of my most favorite things to do is to SWIM! I have always loved it so naturally, summer is absolutely my favorite time of the year!!! Benson has been swimming a handful of times and I think he loves swimming just as much as I do. We bought a blow-up pool for the back yard since we live in the beautiful bay area and there is lots of good weather for pool time. 

We also went to a friends pool party where he got to spend lots of time kicking those chunky thighs in the water.

Another big milestone occurred this month!....Benson started to CRAWL :) He skipped the army crawling and got right up on his hands and knees and just throws himself forward! Time to make sure everything is baby proofed! Everyone told me just to enjoy the time while he could move much, but honestly I couldn't help wanting this to happen! I know soon enough I'll be chasing him everyone cleaning up many more messes and with that comes a whole new set of challenges....but still.....I can't help but be so so so so so excited for it to happen. 

Just the other day I was feeding him some solids and I spilt just a little bit on my shirt and said "whoops". Instantly Benny started laughing. He thought the word was so funny, I kept saying "whoops" intermittently as I was feeding him and every time I said it he was hysterical. Moments like that is what I live for! well until next month!!!

6 months..sorry a few weeks late.

My sweet little Benny boo....I can't believe six months has almost come and gone, I am a few weeks late with this post. I have just been busy soaking in every second of his adorable little self. It makes me really sad sometimes to think of how fast he growing. There is a song by Taylor Swift called "Never grow up", all you moms, listen to it and I promise you will cry. Now for a few pictures and then I will share more about the month.

For the past month Benson has pretty much been pure joy. He sleeps amazing, and still takes 2-3 naps a day. And only seems to cry when he is hungry or tired. We have started him on solids!! He does NOT like peas! I tried green things first and he was not a big fan however he would still eat it most of the time. I was feeding him solids once a day until his six month appointment where the doctor said now to go to twice a day. He seems to like squash and pear the best and he LOVES water. Not only does he love drinking it but he just loves looking at it. We went up to the temple to take Alyssa's bridals and Adrian walked around the grounds with him. He was crazy excited about the fountain!! just kicking and making some excited noises. He gets so so happy when bath time comes around. And this Saturday I am taking him to the manor pool (its opening day is saturday). This means you will soon see me with a tan! haha. Benny, so far at least, doesn't seem to care who is holding him. He doesn't cry when he leaves mommy's or daddy's arms. I hope it stays this way :) He has gotten to see more his auntie Priscilla and Uncle Felipe which is really cool. My sister in law Priscilla took one of his favorite toys and started saying all the colors to him and he was just in awe. He still stares at her every time and smiles the biggest smile when she is finished. His laugh literally makes me melt!

He has been moving a lot more. Not crawling yet but really trying to! He moves in a 360 and then back again, pushes himself backwards and forwards a few feet. He has also started doing this downward dog motion as he tries to go forward and it is so dang cute. He also still loves the jumper very much. A lot of the time he gets crazy excited out of nowhere and starts jumping so fast smiling at everyone (showing off).

Just yesterday Benson started real teething I think. Up until now I don't think he has been showing hardly any signs and has rarely been fussy. However yesterday was hard. He woke up screaming and all day would not drink a bottle. He would take ice water from a spoon and ice cold formula from a spoon but that was it, and he was a lot more fussy during the day. We tried orajel and some baby tylenol, which helped a little but the poor little guy just was not a happy camper. Today he is back to normal thank goodness! I'm just so glad I can be here to hold him when this stuff happens. I know teething lasts a while, so any advice you have to share is totally welcome!!!

I'm the one who spends all day with him but I truly believe his first word will probably be daddy :). Benson gets the biggest grin on his face every time Adrian gets home from work. When he just hears his voice he turns and then boom an automatic smile. I love just watching them together!

Also Adrian and I just celebrated our 3 year anniversary. I am one truly, truly lucky woman. I have fallen for him over and over again these past three years. When Benny smiles at him he probably doesn't even notice me smiling right there with him, because I am just as happy when he gets home. We took family pictures this month! As soon as I have them I will share. Anyways we are so so excited for summer in the bay area, it for sure is my favorite season!!!! Thanks for reading :)