Ben Prepares for the 2028 Summer Olympics

That's right, Ben is preparing now to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics.  It may seem like a long way off, but Ben will be 19 by then and if he really wants to compete for the gold, its never to early to learn how to swim!

At seven months old, Ben attended his first swimming lesson last Saturday at our YMCA.  He took to it with no problem at all - not a fuss or a cry - just lots of chewing (I believe that tooth was starting to come out on this day).   Ben participated in all the swimming activities his first day there.  We started out by singing some songs and splashing in the water.  

Then we went over to the side of the pool to have them experience jumping in the water, then immediately turning around to climb out.  (For obvious safety reasons, the start teaching this now.)  Ben went under water for the first time here.

Then we all swam around the pool for a while.  We would throw the toy out a bit, and then let Ben reach for it and 'swim' toward it.

We also did the back stroke...

And then swam around some more...

Then the instructor helped Ben go all the way under and swim underwater to me!  It was amazing!  He didn't mind it at all - in fact I think he liked it!  I think Ben is going to be a water baby.. (His Daddy loved to swim as a kid too!)

We sang some more songs and splashed in the water some more...  and then had a good nap.   Mommy is going to get in the pool with Ben next Saturday.  We can't wait! 

Breaking News - Ben has a tooth!

We can't believe it - but we saw a little white tooth peeking out in the past few days!  Its official - Ben's first tooth is coming in!  Here he is after his bath trying to show off his new tooth.... 

He's very proud of himself...  and he should be! 

(We swear its there on the bottom middle, even though you can't see it in this picture.)

I will continue to follow this breaking news story and update you all on the progress of Ben's tooth!  As always on this blog, I swear to bring you the tooth, and nothing but the tooth. 

Leaps and Bounds!

I know its been a few weeks since I've updated the blog, but its been quite a busy time...  But Ben has still been growing and developing new skills in leaps and bounds!  We can't believe how much more mobile, interactive and alert that he's become recently.   At seven months, Ben has grown out of just about all his clothes and we had to start buying him 1 year sized clothes - and we're not even sure that they will last us very long now.  He's even fitting into a few 18 month sized outfits already. 

Ben no longer wants to lay back in a bouncy seat - he has to sit up all the time now.  And sitting is only a temporary thing...  He still can't quite crawl forward yet, but he's close... very close.  He'll do the "butt scoot" to inch his way forward.   He also loves playing with all his toys.  Put him on a blanket surrounded by all his little toys and he'll keep himself entertained for quite a while.

Ben LOVES his new jumper..  when he gets going, you would think that he might just launch himself out of there! 

He's also drinking out of a sippy cup now... he's doesn't sip much, but he figured out how to do it immediately.  (I haven't tried a beer mug with him yet, but I'm sure he'll figure that out just as quick)

In addition to the sippy cup, he'll also grab a water bottle any chance he gets... 

Not only is it tasty, but it makes great noises too!

As you can see here, he still doesn't have any teeth yet, but they're coming soon! 

Ben has also started eating some little rice puffs too.  He loves these things...  He doesn't quite have the ability yet to pick them up and get them into his mouth every time, but he certainly doesn't give up trying.  I'd say he's running at about a 20% success rate.

When we pick him up after he's eating/playing with the puffs, some will be stuck all over his belly and legs and he'll be sitting on the rest of them.   He's having so much fun with them, so we don't mind cleaning him up one bit!

Probably one of the cutest things that he does now is how excited he gets when he sees any of his family members.  Whenever he sees either Jill or I after being away for a while, he just gets SO excited - he smiles, laughs, waves his arms and jumps up and down!  Getting a welcome home like that just doesn't get any better!  He also does this for Grandma & Grandpa and Aunt Donna too!

Grandpa & Ben...

Ben loves falling asleep on Grandma...

And I think Aunt Donna gets just as excited to see Ben...

We can't believe how much he's grown in just the past seven months. 

I just wonder what is in store for us next...