Almost 1 year

Ben and I were hanging out in my bedroom today and I noticed Ben was intently staring at his hand. I kept watching him and it dawned on me, he was playing with his shadow. He didn’t realize it was his own shadow as he kept trying to grab the dark spot he could see on the ground. It kept him entertained for about 20 minutes though and it was so fun to watch. I wrote out my fathers day cards as he played. My dad pointed out, he would have been shocked if he received a card on time. I am always late with this stuff.

I sent out an Evite for Ben’s first birthday today. (if you are in the area and I somehow inadvertently left you off…let me know, we are celebrating on July 18th). It’s hard to believe that Ben is almost a year old. I put off sending the invite for a while because I wasn’t sure how to celebrate the year birthday of a baby I was quite certain would never make it to a year old. He has been and is, as healthy as I could ever hope for. His dad and I will celebrate with him alone, just the three of us, at some point in July. So much has happened in the last year but we both love him immensely and want to watch him turn a year together. Nobody else but Josh and I will fully understand what we went through to get to this point. But we know you have all followed along as much as possible and we want you to celebrate with Ben as well. We couldn’t have made it without all the love and support from our friends and family. Ben is loved, and none of us will ever doubt that.

In lieu of gifts, we have asked our party guests to donate to the March of Dimes. I included this note in the party invite: *To our dear family and friends – You have given us the greatest gift, your support when Ben was sick. Ben is lucky, he has his health and everything else he could need. I ask, in lieu of gifts, that you please donate to the March of Dimes in Ben’s name. Please help other babies like Ben. Babies who would have never made it without the advances the March of Dimes has funded. http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurity/b.asp?band_id=48402

I am asking that y0u, my blog readers, also donate in Ben’s name. We had dinner tonight with a couple that lost their baby at 37 weeks. The pain they feel on a daily basis is one no family should ever feel. Not only in Ben’s honor, but in theirs, we hope to one day eradicate premature birth. Thank you for following Ben’s story this past year. I hope that you will continue to follow in years to come and one day Ben can look and say, because of me, other babies lives have been saved.

Ben’s favorite toy, the cover to his blocks

After I went for a run, Ben sat on a bench and wore my hat

Reading a magazine at Christine’s house


I can reach my toes to my mouth!!

Almost 1

I sent out an Evite for Ben’s first birthday today. (if you are in the area and I somehow inadvertently left you off…let me know, we are celebrating on July 18th). It’s hard to believe that Ben is almost a year old. I put off sending the invite for a while because I wasn’t sure how to celebrate the year birthday of a baby I was quite certain would never make it to a year old. He has been and is, as healthy as I could ever hope for. His dad and I will celebrate with him alone, just the three of us, at some point in July. So much has happened in the last year but we both love him immensely and want to watch him turn a year together. Nobody else but Josh and I will fully understand what we went through to get to this point. But we know you have all followed along as much as possible and we want you to celebrate with Ben as well. We couldn’t have made it without all the love and support from our friends and family. Ben is loved, and none of us will ever doubt that.

In lieu of gifts, we have asked our party guests to donate to the March of Dimes. I included this note in the party invite: *To our dear family and friends – You have given us the greatest gift, your support when Ben was sick. Ben is lucky, he has his health and everything else he could need. I ask, in lieu of gifts, that you please donate to the March of Dimes in Ben’s name. Please help other babies like Ben. Babies who would have never made it without the advances the March of Dimes has funded. http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurity/b.asp?band_id=48402

I am asking that you, my blog readers, also donate in Ben’s name. We had dinner tonight with a couple that lost their baby at 37 weeks. The pain they feel on a daily basis is one no family should ever feel. Not only in Ben’s honor, but in theirs, we hope to one day eradicate premature birth. Thank you for following Ben’s story this past year. I hope that you will continue to follow in years to come and one day Ben can look and say, because of me, other babies lives have been saved.

Cruising along

We passed the 11 month mark just over a week ago and I can’t really believe Ben is almost a year old. This has been both the longest and shortest year of my life. I am so happy though that Ben has made it so far with very few health issues. I think we have been very lucky with this and I hope it continues as he grows.

As I mentioned in my last post, Ben took his first trip on an airplane last weekend. It was a short flight each way, just about two hours, but he did great! He was a little fussy on the trip back because he hadn’t had much of a nap, but luckily we were seated next to a nanny so she was very patient with us. We both had a great time in Chicago. I got to hang out with my friends and have a girls weekend. It was one giant sleepover with eating, drinking and laughing. My only complaint was it was too short. Josh drove up and took Ben for the weekend. They had fun exploring the city together and made a trip to the zoo. Ben came home with two new stuffed animals from the zoo that he now sleeps with.

Ben has decided he is no longer interested in sitting any longer and constantly wants to be on his feet. He is starting to ‘cruise’ along the furniture in the living room and knows enough to reach for me when he wants to more from one piece of furniture to another so I can help guide him. He is such an active child that I’m not sure if I should be hoping he takes his first steps soon!

Cruising Along

We passed the 11 month mark just over a week ago and I can’t really believe Ben is almost a year old. This has been both the longest and shortest year of my life. I am so happy though that Ben has made it so far with very few health issues. I think we have been very lucky with this and I hope it continues as he grows.

As I mentioned in my last post, Ben took his first trip on an airplane last weekend. It was a short flight each way, just about two hours, but he did great! He was a little fussy on the trip back because he hadn’t had much of a nap, but luckily we were seated next to a nanny so she was very patient with us. We both had a great time in Chicago. I got to hang out with my friends and have a girls weekend. It was one giant sleepover with eating, drinking and laughing. My only complaint was it was too short. Josh drove up and took Ben for the weekend. They had fun exploring the city together and made a trip to the zoo. Ben came home with two new stuffed animals from the zoo that he now sleeps with.

Ben has decided he is no longer interested in sitting any longer and constantly wants to be on his feet. He is starting to ‘cruise’ along the furniture in the living room and knows enough to reach for me when he wants to more from one piece of furniture to another so I can help guide him. He is such an active child that I’m not sure if I should be hoping he takes his first steps soon!

Settling into Boston

We have started to settle in Boston (or Amesbury to be more accurate). Ben and I have tried to form routine. We go for a lot of runs (Ben in the jogger, taking in the scenery) along the water. We have playdates with local moms. We go to the playground and swing high on the swings. We go for walks with our new best friend Jake (and his mom Raechel) who is only 4 days younger than Ben. We have cookouts with Christine and Vince (and sometimes we have sleepovers at their apartment too!) We play with lots of doggies and have learned that Ben has a high tolerance for having his face licked. We are looking forward to summer because it brings the beach, the boat and lots of time with friends.

Next weekend Ben will take his first trip on an airplane when we fly to Chicago for a GW girls reunion. Amazingly, all the girls were able to decide on a weekend that we were all free so I am looking forward to our first post college get together without a wedding involved. It will be nice to spend time with my college girlfriends and have everyone meet my favorite boy.

I have started to get some of our doctors set up here. It is exhausting to be going through this for the third time which is why I didn’t jump on it immediately, and it hasn’t been perfectly smooth, but its going. Ben weighs 14lb 3oz. I was told he is actually not on the growth chart for an 8 month old but is in the 20th percentile for height and head circumference for an 8 month old. The weight concern is being addressed and I will explain in a future post, I am still up in the air with how I want to proceed so as soon as I have some solid info I will share.