At Home with Ben

So, what do you need to know about Ben?  Well as I said before, he is A-DOR-A-BLE.  He's got such a cute face and sweet little mannerisms that always make me smile.  He is small, but such a cuddly little guy.  He doesn't smile too much on his own, but you can always coax a grin out of him with a tickle or a quick toss in the air.  He's very "needy" right now (as can be expected when your whole world gets turned upside down!)  He will play on his own for a while, but then he needs to come over, cuddle, and have some one-on-one time with his favorite blankie.  After a quick blankie break, he is off and ready to go for a while longer!

He's not a great napper.  He sleeps OK at night, but we can't get him to nap for more than about 30-45 minutes during the day.  Sometimes I wish he'd take a cue from his brother Eli, who naps for a good 2 hours!  He eats better than we thought he would.  The checkup reports that we received in the months before he came home always noted "poor oral intake."  We weren't exactly sure what that meant, but he's tried everything we've offered to him and has eaten some really great meals.  My only complaint in the food department is that he eats incredibly s-l-o-w-l-y.  Sometimes I feel as if I've spent my whole day at the table with him.  Nonetheless, I think we'll fatten him up in no time!

Ben is a thumb-sucker.  I've never had one of those before.  He only sucks his thumb when he has his blankie.  It's really stinking adorable to see, but it does make me anxious about how we will break him of it in the future.

What are some of my favorite things about Ben?  He makes funny faces at me.  He turns his head up, squints his eyes, squishes up his nose and grins at me sometimes and it just makes me giggle.  I'm trying to get a picture of it.  When he finishes taking a drink, he smacks his lips and says, "Ahhhhh!"  I also love that he plays peek-a-boo, without any prompting.  Sometimes when he has his blankie, he'll just hold it up over his face, then peek out with a big grin.

My all-time favorite thing about Ben?  It's the same with all my boys.  It's that sweet, heavy feeling of a head on my shoulder and a body on my chest and a face nuzzled into my neck.  Even when everyone is screaming to be held at the same time and life is completely nuts and I wonder how in the world I'm going to survive the next few minutes, let alone the next few years, that precious snuggly feeling is one I never take for granted.

A few pictures of Ben at home with us . . . . .

So sweet, so tired, so confused  . . . first night home

Checking "little" brother Eli out

Love his sweet face!

 Floor time with Daddy

I just love Eli's face in this one

Hanging out with Daddy . . . . drool and all.

Smiley Eli loves the new red truck Ben brought home

 Momma and Ben first thing in the morning

Could he be any cuter???