First Snow, First Dates, & Disappearing Acts

Our sweet little Ben was 6 months old this week and went to the doctor today for his checkup and shots. Samuel has been skittish when Ben goes in for shots, but we read "Corduroy Goes to the Doctor" this morning and he seemed okay about it. When they took us back, we could hear a kid across from us crying and screaming his head off. He sounded older, I figured at least 6 or 7, and he was screaming things like "You hate me" and "Yes, I'm going to die" !! So much for my calm kids ;>)----they both looked very scared but at least didn't cry. When the nurse came into our room she apologized about it. She said the boy was 12 !!! (I think he needed something besides a shot ;>)

Anyway, our sweet "little" Ben weighs 3 ounces shy of a whopping 18 lbs ! (Samuel was about 19 lbs on his first birthday !) I can't believe how fast these 6 months have flown by (I probably wouldn't think that in the middle of one of our long, sleepless nights but those are becoming much rarer). Mark's mother was saying recently that Ben is acting like he will be crawling soon and she thinks he'll soon have a tooth. I told her I'm in no hurry for either of those things to happen! What's funny is that with Samuel it was all about "when" will he be doing x, y, or z. Maybe that's natural with the first. Now, with Ben, it feels like water slipping through your fingers----it's just going too fast and you can't hold onto it. Here are some pics of our much beloved "disappearing act" ;>) at 6 months of age:

"Whose bassinet is this; mine or Sophie's ?" (Sophie would say hers !)

This is Melanie & Daniel's newborn, Cole, not even 24 hours old. We're very happy for them. He was so close to Ben's size at birth and he was born on the day Ben was exactly 6 months old, so it just reinforced how quickly these 6 months have flown by !

Mark and I went out last night to a concert. The Canadian Brass quintet was playing with the Symphony. They were our "first date" back in the spring of 1998 when they played the Ryman, so we thought it would be fun to "recreate" that evening. We had a great time (if you ever get the chance to hear them, they are wonderful!) but the "re-creation" was somewhat modified with the passing of time. That first time, we had a leisurely dinner at Demo's before going to the concert. This time, in a concession to nursing schedules, naptimes, & bedtimes, we quickly grabbed something from Wendy's and ate it in the car. That first time, Mark picked me up at my office in his new 2-door sports car; this time, we arrived at the concert in our 5-door minivan ! The jazz in the car's CD player from back then is usually replaced with "The Wheels On The Bus and Other Toddler Favorites". And all romantic thoughts driving home from that first date were replaced this time with 2 kids screaming in the backseat almost all the way home. I don't think either of us would change a thing though !

Grandpa with his boys; he and Grandma were on babysitting detail last night.


We left home around 5 pm yesterday, so imagine our surprise driving back from a snow-free area around 11 pm and encountering all this snow the further south we went. There was a big moon and it was a beautiful drive home (more or less, with 2 screaming kids in the backseat ;>). I got the kids out in it for a short while this morning, so Ben could see his first snow:

I think he looks like a seal in his snowsuit !

Ben was rather "underwhelmed" by it all ;>) He looks like he's thinking "Don't you know what the temperature is...?"

I took Samuel & Ben on a wagon ride through the backyard. No time for snowman building though since we had to go to the doctor's.

This is a pic from earlier in the week. Samuel & Will often love to "lead singing" when they get together !