Ben ~ 9 months

This month has been so rough for our sweet Benjamin!  He has been so so sick and it has broken my heart.  He doesn't want to eat or smile...so so sad.  Thankfully his sickness only lasted a week, then he was back to his normal self.  Thank goodness.  At 9 months, Ben...

...has his first tooth!  I have been waiting for a LONG time for that little tooth to come in, and it finally did!  He was pretty miserable waiting for it, but was so happy once it came through.

...loved to snuggle lots and lots, mostly due to the fact that he was so sick!  I'll be the first to admit that I did thoroughly enjoy them.

...puts anything and everything in his mouth.  We have had to really watch ourselves and make sure that we pick up everything off of the floor so that he doesn't put it in his mouth.  And he's quick, which makes it even harder.

...is an amazing little sleeper!  He takes 2 really great naps each day and sleeps through the night.  He'll wake up every once and a while, but all in all, he's great!

...is a very stubborn little boy. If he doesn't want something, there is no way of convincing him.  He definitely takes after his siblings!

...if finally taking a bottle.  He doesn't love it, but he's getting used to it!

...has learned how to clap his hands!  It is the CUTEST thing ever!  I love watching my kids learn new things like this!

...is a huge mommy's boy!  He'll go to Doug too, but he really loves to have me hold him.  I don't mind one bit!

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Ben ~ 8 months

At 8 months old, our sweet baby Ben...

...is finally sitting up!  He has been very wobbly for quite some time, but he finally has it down!
...is really great at standing up and balancing in his Exersaucer.  He has a love hate relationship with it and sometimes doesn't want anything to do with it!
...is starting to CRAWL!  I don't know if I'm ready for this!  He caught on to it really fast and is now going everywhere!
...is wearing 9 month clothes.
...is so so SO sensitive.  If we say "no" to him, he pulls out the waterworks!  And it really breaks my heart to see any tears.
...is a great little eater!  He especially loves solids, which is great!
...loves to be held all of the time!  I honestly don't mind this at all!
...still hates the carseat and being in the car.  I keep telling myself one day he'll like it.
...has decided that he likes binkies!  I'm pretty sure it's just a phase and he'll revert to not wanting them again pretty soon.

Ben ~ 7 Months

Ben is growing so much lately...it's so much fun to watch him day to day.  He really is such a joy!  At 7 months old, Benjamin...

...is SO happy!  He will laugh for us all of the time and it makes us all so happy!  It's hard to be in a bad mood with Ben around :).

...is so so SO close to crawling.  He has made a few attempts at using his hands, but he always falls over.  I give it a few more weeks and he'll be crawling everywhere!

...still spits up...no surprise there!  

...loves taking baths!  He starts to freak out when we start to undress him and he hears the water running...it's the cutest thing ever!  

...it totally and completely adored by his brothers and sisters!  Noah is the one that is really attached to him lately.  He loves holding Ben and is so sweet with him.  I love watching him talk *baby talk* to Ben...sweetest thing ever!

...is teething like crazy, which has made him pretty fussy at times.  The good news is that if he is in our arms he calms right down.

...is such a great sleeper!  He takes two 2 hour naps every day, and sleeps about 11 hours every night!  It's so so nice!  Plus he goes to bed around 9:30, so that makes things even better!

...is very much a mama's boy!  If he sees me leave the room, he starts sobbing.  But the moment I come back, he calms right back down.  It honestly makes me feel so good that he needs me so much :).

...is a binky baby!  I'm actually really happy about this...none of the other kids took a pacifier for very long, but Ben just loves his.  Hopefully it's not hard to take away when the time comes.

...is so so happy whenever he wakes up, especially in the morning!  We just love it!

...is eating solids and is liking them so far.  He hasn't acted like he doesn't like anything...yet!  I'm sure he will have his favorites soon enough.

...is growing way too fast for my liking.  He is my last babe and I really want time to slow down a bit so I can enjoy him as a baby more.  I guess I'll just take what I can get :).

We sure do love you baby boy...to the moon and back!

Ben ~ 6 months

Six months old!  Our Ben is growing up way too fast for my liking, but I know he's not going to slow down, so I've been cherishing these moments so much!

At 6 months, Ben...

...is so clingy to me.  He wants to be held all of the time and cries whenever I put him down.  I know that this is normal for this age, so I just go with it.

...has lots of hair growing in and it is blonde!  I'm so happy about this!  I've always wanted a blond haired babe!

...has blue eyes!  I really really REALLY hope that they don't change color.  Kate's eyes were exactly the same as his, and hers are hazel now.  Fingers crossed.

...does not like it when I leave the room.  He likes to have me in sight at all times.  

...is trying to crawl, but isn't quite there yet.  He can get up on all fours, but he just rocks back and forth for a bit, then army crawls to wherever he wants to go.  He's still pretty slow, which is kind of nice for me ;).

...is wearing 9-12 month clothes.  He is really long and super skinny...makes it hard to find clothes that fit him well.  I usually always put him in bodysuits because they don't fall off of his tiny waist.

...still spits up all of the time!  I'm hoping that this ends soon!

...is able to grab at toys, or pretty much anything else we put by him.  It's nice that we can lay him down and he can keep himself occupied with a toy for a bit.  He especially loves the tags on anything!

...is finally better when we put him in his carseat!  He'll usually cry a little when we put him in his seat, but he calms down pretty quickly!  Yay!

...is such a happy baby and will usually smile for anyone!  I love this about Benny!

...still has no teeth.  Again, I'm ok with this.

We are head over heels in love with this sweet boy!  He has definitely added so much to our family and we are thankful for him each and every day!!