At the FARM!

So the first big news of the hour is that I now pull myself up to standing position, and I started eating puffs! All very exciting. Mommy and Daddy are constantly telling me how much fun I am!

But onto more fun stuff.... I got to spend some time last weekend at the FARM where my Great Grandma Bernie, Great Grandpa Dorvin, and my Grandma Oma lived! Oh, and where Mommy and Daddy got married! I had so much fun watching hanging out with Great Grandma Bernie. We made horseradish, we picked apples, we had an amazing lunch. (Well, I had sweet potatoes, but Mommy and Daddy got to enjoy Grandma's cooking!)

Look at me by Grandpa Dorvin's tree ......
And check this out - same tree 2 1/2 years ago when Mommy and Daddy got married! The farm is a VERY special place for our family.Here I am sitting in front of the old farmhouse

I am supervising the picking of the horseradish!

APPLE PICKING!

And the making of the horseradish: We dig and wash the horseradish, then peel it and wash it again. We cut it up, then blend it with vingar and sugar. Yumm Yumm delicious.

Here are our 'assignments'

Daddy peels

Mommy washes and cuts

Great Grandma Bernie mixes and blends

And I SLEEP! :)

Afterwards, they rest while I play!!

Watch me stand! I can do this on chairs now too.....

And i loved climbing under her coffee table!

We honestly had the best time with Great Grandma Bernie. We love her SO SO much!

My bunkie

I am the luckiest Mom ever to have such an amazing little boy, who is growing up in the most astounding and magnificent way! Yesterday, I had just put him down for a nap, and when I looked at the monitor, he was SITTING UP in his crib! He hasn't mastered that on the floor yet, so for him to just sit up was amazing! Now, about seven second later he fell and hit his head, but still ---- he is amazing! His poor face is all beat up from the falls he has been taken, but he is still as happy as can be, always with a smile.

Today, we realized he can drink from a sippy cup all by himself. No big feat? I don't know, we've only introduced it to him a handful of times. Now I can put it in front of him, he grabs both handles, and puts it upside down to drink from! I am amazed at him!

Now, the biggest excitement for my little guy is his mobility. For one week and a few days, Ben has been CRUISING around our little house. He follows us into the bathroom; he can't sit still! And most recently, he pushes himself into standing position (see second picture down). What a guy! He will be standing in no time.

As for teeth, Ben has 4, going on 5 or 6. 2 just popped through and another 2 are coming. But this doesn't make my little grasshopper crabby --- he just keeps on giggling.

Benjamin Leo Marso. My big boy. My greatest joy. My favorite moments. My lasting memories. My bunkie. I love you!!!

School Spirit and Sippy Cups!

I went to SPA's homecoming with Mommy and Daddy, and I had the best time hanging out and watching the other kids play. See my outfit? Those are SPA's colors - real team spirit!!
GO SPARTANS!

with Melissa, cheering for the home team!

And my first experience with the Sippy Cup.... I thought I was getting the hang of it, but as you can see below, I was not so smooth those first tries!

Meeting new and old friends!

My newest cousin, Eden Lynn, was born on August 9th. She is so beautiful, and I was so glad to get to meet her soon after!
All three of us = hands full! And LOTS of fun!

I had the most fun hanging out with my cousin Owen

Over Labor Day, we all went to my Great Aunt Linda's, and I was the CENTER of attention. I was moving around, sitting up, enjoying Mommy's singing... it was so fun.

This new friend? My buddy, the tractor.

cuddling with my Auntie Linda

celebrating Grandma and Grandpa Marso's anniversary. Look at them with all us grandkids!

my first time playing with my buddy, Elijah Oman! We had LOADS of fun. We walked around the lake, Elijah shared his toys with me.... i can't wait to spend more time with him!

And my (third?) cousin, Sarah Cloud! We hung out with her at the Mall of America and we are going to see her when we fly out to Memphis over Christmas!

My crazy hair, the ABCs, and a boat ride!

So after bath time, my hair gets a little crazy. But at least I am finally getting some more hair!

Our night time routine is that Mommy feeds me and Daddy burps me, and he always sings me the ABCs in front of this poster and then we go around the room saying goodnight to pictures of us and other fun things in my room.

We went out on Grandma Oma's boat a few weekends ago, and it was my second time on the boat. The first time I was just about 4 months, and I slept through the whole thing. This time, I got to enjoy the wind and water. The life vest was a little annoying, though....

driving the boat with Daddy!

My first time playing piano, and it was with Grandma and on her big beautiful piano. I'm spoiled now!

Our cheerful and happy 7 month old!

I think, completely unbiased of course, that I have the most wonderful child in the world. I am completely amazed at how he has grown and how he continues to be the most angelic little prince ever. Right now, Ben has a bit of a virus, but you would never know it by looking at him. He is still the happiest little go-getter you could imagine. At a whopping 7 1/2 months, he has developed such a wonderful and playful personality. His newest 'trick' is that he shakes his head/shoulders back and forth and looks at you for a reaction. if you do it back, he gets SO happy and you could shake back and forth with him for a long time!! He just started giving Patrick and me the most heart-melting kisses. He looks at us while we are holding him, and just leans in with his mouth wide open -- lovingly sloppy kisses! He thinks it is a hoot to have Grandma Marso help him blow kisses to me as I leave him in the mornings - he just giggles. And he has decided recently that he would like to share his beloved nookie with us. He will take it out of his mouth and reach it up towards ours.
And of course, there is also the strong pysical side to my little man. He has been semi-crawling for about a month now, but last Saturday, he just took off across the floor, and he has never looked back. He is now exploring the world in a whole new way, and he is just so happy. He loves to bounce still, and can stand up again things fairly easily. And boy, have the words started to flow! He talks and talks and talks - in his crib, in the carseat, while we are holding him, having conversations.... he says "ba ba ba ba" and quite a bit. When I look at him and say "Ma Ma", he will get SO EXCITED and mimic my mouth back to me, usually saying "ah ba". I love that he is finding his voice and new ways to express himself. He has FOUR teeth now, so I'm sure that the feeling of speaking continues to feel unique and different to him.

I could go on and on and on about Benjamin and how he has grown and how much he is loved and how much he eats and how good of a sleeper he is and how much he LOVES other children. But I will continue another time, and just leave you with how much Ben is a unique and special son to Patrick and me, and we couldn't love him more. I miss him every single moment I am not with him.

Below are some pictures we had taken of him - both 6 month pics and 2 month pics. What a change!!

GO PACKERS!!

As we head into football season, it just seemed right to do a post about the team that kept Mommy's spirits up during her pregnancy.... and the stupid bet Dad made with his pregnant wife mid-season that she could buy me a Packer's outfit if they won the Superbowl. Awwww- just remembering that night. I was born only 6 days later. And let me tell you - I look GOOD in my Rodgers jersey!

See how HAPPY I look wearing this Rodgers jersey? GO PACK!!! And an extra cheer for Clay Matthews from Mommy! :)