Beach Vacation September 2009

We recently took our first family vacation as a family of three to one of my favorite destinations: Ocean City, NJ. Benjamin thoroughly enjoyed every attempt to eat the sand, but wasn't such a big fan of the colder water. We relished in staying with members of my family, allowing us some un-paralleled time to sleep in and take numerous naps while Benjamin spent time with his grandparents. We took many strolls up and down the boardwalk as Benjamin has really started enjoying long walks in his stroller. We took our first visits to the pancake house, Mack and Manco's, Curly's Fries, and Shriver's. Actually it was more than one visit to Shriver's due to my seemingly insatiable desire for fudge. When else can I give myself the excuse to eat as much fudge as I want? Unfortunately the box we brought home is nearly empty.

We had the opportunity to stay in a very nice, very cheap (courtesy of a steep discount from my sister's professor) beach house a couple blocks off the beach and boardwalk. Benjamin had a lot of fun having storytime with his grandparents and even spending a couple nights sleeping in their room in his pack 'n play (though only one room away from his mother at all times!!)

It is most unfortunate that on Monday we both had to return to work and get re-adjusted to regular life after such a fun and relaxing week for all of us.

More from Month 3

Month 3 was a big month of transition for us with me going back to work and Benjamin's first day of daycare. It was a sleepless night the night before and a rough first few weeks for me emotionally, but we have pulled through and Benjamin is really thriving. There is a crazy amount of exhaustion in our lives now, but it couldn't be caused by anything better. I still wish for the day I could stay home with my little man, but for now, we are blessed to both still have our jobs (even at reduced income/hours for Stephen) and the ability to support our family.

Benjamin's Second Month

Some photos from Benjamin's Second Month-When I started to venture out of the house more feeling a little bit more recovered-unseasonably warm to be in the park in February.

Benjamin's First Month

Some photos from Benjamin's first month at home

Pregnancy

Since I have seen this from several pregnant friends now, I thought it would be fun to look back at some of my own pregnancy photos to see the changes my body went through. They go in order from 13 weeks, 20 weeks, 25 weeks, 30 weeks, 35 weeks, and then 10 days before Benjamin was born. I insist it's 22 pounds of all baby! I have become quite jealous of all those mothers out there who seem to simply shrink back down to their pre-baby size within moments of delivery. Despite that, I am in awe of what my body was able to accomplish during the pregnancy and have to remember that every woman is different.

So I knew it would be awhile in between posts and it was so long that I forgot the password :-) Benjamin is really very mobile now, crawling around everywhere and pulling himself to stand up and "talk" to us all the time. He recently discovered a love of bouncing and his grandparents decided to buy him a jumperoo. He loves it and we think it's the cutest thing to see him bouncing up and down giggling. Since discovering his ability to move, Benjamin is now affectionately known as the pacifier thief at daycare. He often tried to put more than one in his mouth and will crawl up to other children and steal pacifiers right out of their mouths.