More fun at the beach

Ben really enjoyed splashing around in the waves.


And laying out in the sun.

Do you like my new hat?

Yes I do, I like that party hat.


Although he eyes the water warily.


He really does like it.

 

More Vacation...

Ben watched some world cup games with Uncle Chris. Ole ole ole ole
He discussed the nature of good versus evil with Patch and The Screwtape Letters.


Then over dinner he got to meet Kelly a friend from all the way back in high school

 

Life's A Beach!

We got Ben some cool shades to wear down to the pool and the beach.


We weren't sure how he was going to react when we went swiming but as you can see he loved it.


We took him for a nice stroll down the beach and he went right to sleep.

 

Vacation Time

Time to go on Vacation. We are spending a week with KatrinaRun's parents in Florida, and then a week in Tennennesse with my parents.

Ben was super excited to get going.


Madgie and Patch (Jr.) were waiting for us at the airport.


Ben likes to meet other bald men. It makes him feel better about himself.


Ben was constantly amazed by the hubbub at the airport.

 

Come Sail Away

This was Ben's Picture from Daycare. We were the suckers who bought a sheet!

I have given up hoping that he looks even a little bit like me. In this image he is almost a carbon copy of his mom at this age. 

Happy Birthday to Mom!

It was Mom's big day to day.


Ben got her a TransPod. Its a little thing to listen to your IPod in the card. Its pretty neat. 

Nap time at PablitoRun.com

Shhhhhh!



It does look a little like a baby prison doesn't it?

Great Father's Day

Well that was a great Father's Day! Our AC broke and I got a serious stomach Bug!

In all seriousness it was a fantastic day. Many thanks to Katrina run for the great gifts and the great food. Pictures to come once I can spend longer than 15 minutes out of bed.....

What is art?

Ok I promise this blog will remain about baby Ben, but this was hillarious.


Apparently a sculptor shipped his creation and its display stand to a museum in seperate crates. However, the museum decided to display only the stand.

The relevant quote from the article.

"Given their separate submission, the two parts were judged independently," it said in a
statement. "The head was rejected. The base was thought to have merit and accepted."

Ben's 4 months check up

Today Ben had his 4 month check up with Doctor Tim. He is doing very well and the doctor was impressed with his motor skills. He said it is very early for Ben to be rolling over so much - good job Ben! He weighed in at 12 lbs, 14 oz. He is still a small little guy - 20th percentile. The doctor said not to start him on solids yet because he is a little guy and he will get more calories from breastmilk and formula. So that adventure has to wait a few more months. He said we should likely start him around 6 months. I was slightly disappointed because getting enough milk for him is very stressful and I was hoping to alleviate some of that with the start of solid foods. Oh well, two more months I guess. Maybe next month he will say differently. Overall, he is doing great and was very smiley with the doctor.

My Hero

This guy is my new hero. My utterly pointless hero.

One more cute picture from the trip....

This one is a winner.

Wedding And Reception

We had a great time at the wedding even though Ben had to spend it in the daycare. The lady their was great.

At the reception everyone wanted to hold Ben, and we were more then willing to oblige.

Here you can see Ben is really enjoying his time with Aunt Cindy.

You might wonder what Caroline is staring at.......

She was either fascinated or terrified by Uncle Kevin :)

Here is a beautiful shot of the green/brown gang.

Ben needed a break from all the noise.

While he was napping I gave my camera to Mr Geography and asked him to take some shots for me. This is what I got.

The next morning Ben and Caroline said goodbye. We didn't get a shot of it but Ben had grabbed her hand and was sucking on her fingers. She wasn't real happy about it.

Jackson Tour

First Stop the Briarwood house. I couldn't believe how cute it looked. We lived here from when I was just under 1 until I was about 12. All the nice architectural features were totally lost on me at that time. At sometime someone painted the bricks, but I think that the grey works.

Then I showed my family my old school and church. Its a shame they don't try anything too architecturally different today for churches. My church was not particualry beautiful, but I thought it did a fanstastic job of being awe inspiring while still feeling inclusive.

Others have had different opions. (It was once featured in the book Ugly As Sin)

I always loved the statue of Saint Richard on the bridge into the church.

The walkway from the church to the school wasn't quite as cool as I remembered, but it made a nice snapshot. I went to kindergarten in that door on the left, but it was all torn up inside now.

My junior high school, now appears to be the main offices of the elementary school

Finally we drove out to madison to see the Deveraux house. We lived here from when I was 12 till about 15.

It was a great house. The woman who lives there now actually invitited us inside! She has imbued the house with even more southern charm, especially where she has created a wonderful courtyard in the back.

Then it was off to the lake for sun and talk until it was time to go to the wedding.

Rehersal Dinner

We flew in to Jackson very easily via Southwest and I navigated us to the hotel almost from memory. Everyone keeps telling me that Jackson has changed so much in the ~15 years I have been gone, but I was a little underwhelmed. Still seemed pretty similar. Madison had grown a fair bit, but it too wasn't that different.

We went to the Rehersal Dinner in downtown Jackson. I thought it was going to be at the same place as the infamous Borat Wine Tasting (If you don't know please don't ask) but alas it was at the other downtown club.

Ben got to meet his Great-Gandy which was enjoyed by all.


Most of the cousins were available for a group shot. Apologies to Sarah for the demonic look, for some reason red-eye reduction wasn't working on her...

I believe I was the tallest cousin at the wedding, but the rumor is that Cousin Cason is several inches taller...:(

Ben in Orlando

Ben is too young to enjoy Orlando's many attractions so his week consisted of lounging around in bed with the remote.


And playing on the floor with his KPMG rattle.


Now we are off to Jackson for the wedding.

Sky Captain

Ben was great on his first plane trip. He is going down to Orlando for Mom's training. Then the family is going to Jackson for Ben's 2nd cousin's wedding. I have been friends with Hollis my whole life but he seems so remote to think of him as Ben's 2nd cousin. Thats just kind of weird.

We were first thinking that we could just pack him up, but as you can see we ran out of room in the suitcase.


Here is a cute shot of him at 30,000 feet.


He seems to like Florida, although it is really hot!

It might as well be swing!

More than the greatest love the world has known.....

Ben and Chien

One new accomplishment Ben has done is to take an interest in Chien. He doesn't so much as pet him as reach, grab, and hold, but it's still pretty darn cute.

 

Playdate

Ms. Libby and Chien had a playdate at the TRex's over labor day weekend.


Judging by the lengths of their tongues I would say they had fun.