The Republic of Benedictia

So this is Benedict and his mom's last week together. We're milking every moment that we can. This means lots of time on the swings, lots of picnics in the park, and lots of practice crawling!

The Baby Express

Ben has had some exciting times. In the past 7 days he's figured out how to sit himself up and lay himself down. He's also invented a form of locomotion that involves launching himself forward and face planting into the carpet. It's inconvenient, but it works. His second tooth broke through so the trauma is over on that front until the next one decides to make an appearance. Finally, carrots and apples have become part of the menu. To be honest, he's not really thrilled by that development.

Benzelbub

Ben has had an exciting week: he spent time at the lake with Gran and Da; he perfected the fine art of getting up on hands and knees and began work on rocking back and forth in that position; and he did lots of fussing because it appears that tooth number two is trying to come out and play.

The Beginning of the End of the World as We Know It

B is for Benendict!

Ben has found his consonants. Or he's found his D and maybe his M. Either way we get to listen to the occasional "Ahh-da-da-ya-aaaaah-da-da." But he's still mostly into squeals rather than actual babbling. Now that he's six months old, it's time to introduce Ben to the world of "solid" foods. So far the delicious, nutritious rice cereal has not been a hit.

He has also cut his first tooth, with only a moderate amount of drama. And he is getting very good at sitting up. Lately he has been getting up on hands and knees and rocking in place when he's protesting being put in his crib, but he hasn't figured out he can do it at other times yet. He may not be crawling, but he is incredibly mobile and able to get his little grabby hands on pretty much anything that catches his eye.