June 30, 2010

Woooo bubbles!

Rick broke out the bubbles this morning and Ben was thrilled.

You can't really see his face in the second pictures, but he is so excited and happy chasing the bubbles around the yard.

I love moments like these.

June 29, 2010

I took Ben and Ipo to the park today... which is really the playground at the elementary school down the street in case I haven't mentioned that before.

Ben in usual form was more interested in the rocks than playing on any of the equipment, especially since they still haven't put up a new baby swing there.

I assumed that school was out for the summer already since it's only two days away from being JULY, but apparently today was the last day there! The horror. Poor Benjamin is going to be in school forever if he goes there. All the kids had on pajamas though, so I guess that's some kind of consolation.

June 28, 2010

I volunteered Ben to participate in studies done at UBC (University of British Columbia) when my mom and I went to the Baby Fair last year. They called last week seeing if we could come in and seeing as how our schedule was pretty much entirely wide open, we went in this afternoon.

Ben loved their waiting room- lots of toys, little chairs, and little tables. He played and played and played, I signed some forms, and then we went in where Ben watched a screen for a bit and they noted his reactions. Good times for everyone and no crying.

After we finished, Ben got a book and this fantastic diploma! The researcher told us that every time he comes in, he gets a higher degree and then they move onto different levels of professors. Ha! So so fun.

June 27, 2010

We have a walking Benjamin! Well, at least outside. I love how excited Ben is when he walks.

This post was also supposed to have a picture we took at the Greek Festival this afternoon of us in front of this backdrop of the Acropolis and a woman who was supposed to be some Greek goddess... it was hilarious. They supposedly emailed it to me, but I never got it. I am still hoping it shows up later. Oh well. BEN IS WALKING!

June 26, 2010

My camera took an unfortunate tumble into the sand yesterday at the beach and refused to turn on for a while. But after some poking and prodding, we got it to work again... though it had some focusing issues as first.

So up first, I present a blurry Ben (and Ipo) hanging out outside playing with the sand and water table. I believe the intention of said table is to have the water on one side and the sand on the other-- Ben decided both sides should have sand and water... which clearly makes it more enjoyable.

We were all having such a nice time outside, we decided to break out the paddling pool too.... Ipo was a big fan.

June 25, 2010

Despite my amazing sunblock application skills, Ben had a great time at the beach this afternoon. He wants to spend as much time outside as possible lately, so off we went. We did the usual playing in the sand, avoiding the water, and Ben even walked by himself out of the blue.

Ben is wearing his first birthday shirt, even though it is obviously not his first birthday or even his monthday... how rebellious/confusing.

June 24, 2010

Today I took Ben and Ipo out for a walk together. Ben was extremely amused that Ipo was there too and laughed a lot... except when Ipo said hello to other dogs. Ben likes Ipo, Charlie, and Smudge, but often cries when he sees other animals.

Ben is wearing a hat that I bought because it has a strap and is SPF something or other. He gets really mad that he can't pull it off. I thought the hat had a fun Hawaiian print and would look cute, but it's just kinda odd and I'm not sure why.

And Ben got his 6th tooth today! It's his lower left one. So now he has three on top and three on bottom... but they are on opposite sides. :P

June 23, 2010

I was putting away Ben's clothes and turned to find him gleefully emptying everything from his change table drawers and cubbies. I'm not going to complain though since it occupied him for 5 minutes, which meant I did not have to put things away while carrying him at the same time or most likely,not put things away at all, lol.

June 22, 2010

After a two week break from that whole walking thing, Ben has been trying to take steps on his own again. He was hanging out by the pole and then off he went! I love how he puts his arms out in front of him when he walks... it reminds me of how we were told to "put our hands on the table" when we were learning to ice skate.

And of course, no trip to the park would be complete without a go on the swings. Ben will point at the swing next to him so that one of us swings with him. It is the cutest thing ever and he gets such a kick out of it.

June 21, 2010

Hooray for car shopping carts at Safeway! Ben loves riding in the car at the grocery store, playing with the seatbelts, honking the horn... and best of all, throwing his shoes and socks out without me noticing and then us having to walk around the whole store looking for them.

Beep beep!

June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day!

We spent the morning together hanging out and had breakfast at McDonalds (which my mom hilariously guessed correctly later). Then Ben and I went to the beach so Rick could spend the rest of his day doing whatever he wanted.

Ben took a break from playing in the sand to have a snack. I learned that Nutrigrain bars are not good snacks for the beach-- they fall apart, are super sticky, and then sand sticks to your hands, face, and everything else it touched. Though Ben didn't care and had a great time.

June 19, 2010

We went to the dragon boat races and festival this afternoon (there they are in the background).

What is a dragon boat? I don't know. From what I gathered there were like 20 people rowing in a canoe-ish type thing. I'm sure wikipedia could tell me so I could tell you, but alas, I am too lazy to look it up.

Anyway, we all enjoyed the festival and the food-- Ben especially liked his fish and chips and being pushed around in his car... AND HE KEPT HIS HAT ON... as long as we were moving. About 2 seconds after I took this, he whipped that sucker off his head.

June 18, 2010

In honor of the World Cup, it's Ben playing goalie! Rick dressed Ben in his USA shirt for the match this morning. Ben picked out his vest to wear. (And I was still in bed... in case you were wondering where I was during the outfit selection.)

June 17, 2010

Ben discovered the joys of playing in dirt this afternoon.

Noooooo.

He picked up this piece of pot and underneath it were a whole bunch of bugs which he thankfully ignored.

He kept cleaning it off (with his sock) and then would put more dirt on it and clean it again. Finally when it was to Ben's liking, he offered it to me! Thanks Benjamin!

June 16, 2010

Ben convinced Grandma to take him for a tour of the backyard in his car; Ipo and Smudge decided to tag along.

Today I realized that Ben has worn only one outfit a day since the grandparents have been here, usually he goes through 2 or 3, not including pajamas. When I shared this fascinating discovery, Grandma responded with "A person is only supposed to wear one outfit a day." Haha.

June 15, 2010

I have no idea what is going on in this picture. Yoga? Sumo?

And yikes does the room look horrendous from this angle.

June 14, 2010

We took the grandparents around Stanley Park today. Instead of bringing the stroller, we brought Ben's car! This worked remarkably well since Ben was content to hang out in the car when we were stopped, something that would not have happened if he was in the stroller.

First stop was at the Totem Poles... and the gift shop there. Then we had "world famous ice cream" at Prospect Point. Grandma insisted upon stopping to give Ben ice cream even though two raccoons were following us and freaking me out. Then we stopped at the park at Second Beach for a swing.... a 30 minute go on the swings, lol. We were going to go to the Children's Farmyard and Miniature train ride, but apparently that closes at 4 and by the time we got there it was 5:30, oops.

June 13, 2010

Here's Ben giving Grandpa the stinkface.

Ben cannot get enough of his pushcar. He climbs in, buckles the seatbelt, and then lets it be known that he would like someone to push him around. Grandma dutifully takes him around the block and around the house. Grandpa started to put his foot out to see what Ben would do when faced with a roadblock. The result was some pointing, head shaking, yelling... and then once allowed to pass, Ben gives the cause of the roadblock his dirtiest stinkface to show his displeasure. LOLOL.

June 12, 2010

Finally sunny weather! We went to the beach for a bbq and some fun in the sun... er shade. Ben enjoyed playing in the sand as usual and still has zero interest in going in the water. Grandma had asked me if we needed to bring jackets and I said no since it was 75 degrees and hot out. Sitting in the shade was not so warm, so we had to dig around in the backpack for some extra clothes for Ben.

Here is the hodgepodge Ben ended up wearing. He had on a red and green striped long sleeved top, some madras printed shorts, maple leaf babylegs, orange striped socks, and a tan and blue hat. I thought he looked quite awesome, but Ben thought he looked better without the hat... and then few seconds later decided that the socks had to go too, lol.

June 11, 2010

Ben has roseola. I really had no idea there were so many illnesses for babies to have. The internet tells me that by the time kids are 4, almost all of them will have had it, though some won't have all the symptoms... lucky them. Ben had a fever for 3 days and now he's sporting a rash all over.

Anyway, here's Ben eating a cracker. Why is this interesting? Because it was my cracker. There were two actually. And who does he give the other cracker to? Grandpa.

June 10, 2010

Grandma was nice enough to share her meatloaf sandwich with Ben this afternoon.

Rick and I put mustard on all our sandwiches which Ben is not a fan of, but Grandma's had delicious mayo and Ben was pleased. Up until now, Ben was pretty much a vegetarian, but he has been eating meat and chicken lately without us hiding it or cutting it into crazy small pieces!

June 9, 2010

Grandpa brought Ben a new toy. It has a hammer and some pegs for him to bang. Ben likes it, it's good for hand eye coordination and has apparently taught Ben that he can smack his other toys on stuff and make loud loud LOUD noises.

June 8, 2010

Woo hoo, Grandpa and Grandma have arrived. Ben is ill and I thought for sure that he was going to cry when I passed him over, but he was a-okay. All that skyping must work... and a little chocolate treat from Grandma didn't hurt either.

June 7, 2010

Today Ben and I met up with a friend downtown and we took a walk along the Seawall. Here is Ben wondering why we've stopped moving and getting ready to voice his displeasure.

Hm, I think I took this in the general direction of where our house is... you know, if you could see 20 blocks from the water into the city.

June 6, 2010

Ta da, another toy for Ben, lol. I found this Lego table at a garage sale yesterday. Ben likes us to stack the legos, then he takes them off, puts them in the side storage compartment... and THEN ONE BY ONE THROWS THEM ONTO THE FLOOR. If I try to get him to put them back into the sides, he either crawls away or whines at me telling me to restack them so that he can repeat the fun game he's created. Oh well. At least he likes the table.

If you'll also notice, Ben is holding a tennis ball. I bought these at the garage sale for Ipo, but Ben really likes them too. They basically steal them from each other all day long.

The second picture is here to demonstrate how Ben likes to put his feet up on tables. If there's a table, Ben thinks, Oh I should put my feet on it. I have no idea why... really I don't... and I guess we should put a stop to that... but it is very funny sometimes, soooooo yeah.

June 5, 2010

Since it was finally sunny out today, we went for a family bike ride along the Seawall. Rick and I rented bikes and a Burley trailer for Ben for our adventure.

Ben hated his helmet and would only tolerate it while moving. There was a lot of whining and stinkface when we put it on. He was very slouchy in the Burley though, so we are going to try a Chariot next time. Other than that, I think he had a good time.

Ideally we plan on doing this whole biking with Ben thing rather frequently... if the weather cooperates. Fun!

June 4, 2010

Ben loves eggs. He loves eating them, playing with them, real ones, plastic ones, ones that make sounds. Here he is playing with a plastic Easter egg. I put all but one away and he still plays with it every day. Who knew a 10 cent toy could provide hours of entertainment? Scattered around him is another egg toy. The tops come off and have chicks inside. He likes this one a lot too.

June 3, 2010

Besides figuring out the whole walking thing, Ben has also mastered squatting. He will just hang out in a squat playing with stuff. My thighs hurt just looking at him.

And then this morning, Ben was playing with the various block shapes that his house comes with and he picked out the circle one and put it in the right space on the first try. At first I thought, oooh you know your shapes now... but it turns out he can only do the circle one and still tries to jam the other shapes in the wrong spot. But it's one less thing for him to throw a tantrum about, so yay Ben!

Perhaps this influx of new tricks is the reason why Ben has been consistently waking up at 5am this past week.... ahhhhh!

June 2, 2010

Happy Birthday Rick! That's supposed to be a "32" in candles... when lit up, it came out much better than I expected... though some squinting is still probably needed. :P

We started the day off at Jethro's for breakfast. Here's me biting my nails while perusing the menu. I am including it just for you Celeste!

Then it was naptime for all and when we got up, we went to a variety of stores trying to find bicycles. At Canadian Tire (which is kinda like OSH) they had a super cool cart for Ben to ride around in. Rick spotted it while we were parking and made a mad dash for it. Ben loved that cart. All stores should have carts like this. He was making vroom noises and steering the whole time. Genius!