Mom's 30th!

Here's mom giving me a big smooch on her 30th birthday. Perhaps dad should have removed the wine glass and martini glass from the background before snapping this picture!

Ben's weekend

Here's how Ben spent his weekend:

Babysitting Elise. (He thinks the $2/hour wage Michael & Jeanine paid him was way too low.)

Playing some football

Lounging in the pool on a hot day

Playing with some flowers

Helping dad with some work and practicing using his sippy cup.

5 months!

Here are some recent pictures of Ben during his fifth month. He's eating more solid foods and is getting close to being able to sit up, although he's still a little wobbly.

Practicing sitting up.

Sassy!
Ben & Beth S., who came to visit us recently from Cincinnati.

Elise Wilson has arrived!!

Ben's new best buddy, Elise Wilson, arrived on July 4. We were so excited to get home from our trip to meet her!

More pictures from our trip...

Ben visited Springfield, Ohio for the first time. Here he is with his great-grandmother Gommy, and Rosie.

Ben with his second cousins Maddie & Lauren.

Ben sporting a do-rag made of fleur-de-lis tissue paper.

Mr. Wickett relaxing on Ben's Baby Einstein mat.

First trip to the zoo

Ben took his first trip to the Cincinnati Zoo on July 5. This picture pretty much sums up his interest in the animals. He did, however, enjoy the zebras and flamingos because they were moving, and not sleeping, like most of the animals.


If you look closely, you will see a sloth hanging from this tree. Ben was much more interested in the ceiling fans located inside this exhibit than the sloth.

Ft. Thomas Visit

Lynn, Lincoln, Jeff, Jeff & Ben at the 4th of July parade.

Ashley, Ben, Griffin & Jeff.

"Hello Lincoln. I hope you aren't thinking about throwing a ball at my head..."

Heads up!

Lincoln & Ella saying hello to Ben.

How do I look?

Ben found some cool sunglasses at the mall but we thought they were just a tad too large. He really wanted to get them so he could make a good impression when he meets Reagan Wenstrup for the first time next weekend. We convinced him that wearing a large pair of women's sunglasses would not necessarily impress her.

Summer Fun

To beat the heat Ben likes to splash around in his new inflatable pool. He loves the water and trying to eat all of the floating rings. We can't wait until we can put him in a real pool!

Fun with Polka Dots

No special occasion today. I just thought Ben looked particularly cute in these pajamas. :)

My first solid food

Ben had his first solid food today - rice cereal. We weren't sure how he would like it, but he seemed to like it quite a bit. It was a big day...rice cereal and we took Dad out to brunch for Father's Day.

Go long...

Bad Hair Day

Ben is having some hair issues these days. All of the hair on the right side of his head fell out and new hair is coming in. However, the hair he's had since birth on the left side of his head hasn't fallen out and just keeps getting longer. Therefore, we often use the "comb over" technique to get it to look presentable. My aunt Anne thinks I look like Bill Murray (Ernie McCracken) in the movie "Kingpin."

4 months

Ben turned 4 months on June 1. He's getting so big and learning lots of great things like sticking out his tongue and making raspberry noises with his mouth. :) At his four month appointment he weighed in at 15 lbs. 9.5 oz. (60th percentile) and is 26 1/4" long (90th percentile).

He was very excited to learn about the arrival of his new pal, Jackson Alexander Stewart, who was born on June 2.

Memorial Day Weekend

Ben at his first Memorial Day party.

Ben with Jeanine & Michael, the parents-to-be!

Ben's posse

As you can see, Ben has quite a few friends (and he's very happy about it!) From L to R we have: Ryan (the rhino), Blue (the elephant), Krusty (the firefly), Flora (the flutterbug), TJ (the tiger), Clyde Frog, Dr. Ribbits, Mercutio (the mouse), Benjamin Bunny, Floppy (the dog), Monsieur Moo Moo and Squeaker. Not pictured: Mr. Green, Cigar, Quackers and Jeero the Ugly Doll (who is too ugly to be photographed).


Ben & Mercutio

Who Dey!!

Ben put on his Bengals jersey for the first time today. I'm not quite sure what's going on with his hair in the first few pictures...it's looking a little stranger than usual! While in his #9 jersey he rolled over from his stomach to his back for the first time. The jersey must make him feel really strong.