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Happy 4 Months, Benjamin Hunter! Sunday, December 31, 2006 This has been an eventful month for Benjamin. He made his first trip to Florida, celebrated his first Christmas, has been "snowed in" twice with big winter storms, and as of this week, has started spending some of each night in his own crib! Here is a pictorial look at the last few weeks: A quiet Christmas morning opening the presents that are in CO; Fake Christmas will take place in less than 2 weeks!  Some outside time with Dad. Benjamin is not a big fan of layers, bundling up, or any of the steps required to go outside...it rarely happens without a fight. Once we get out there, he's normally pretty content!  He absolutely loves the Jumperoo. This week, he actually started jumping a little bit. He'd be standing on his legs, ALL of the time, if we let him!  We were the victims of Andrew's incessant photo shoot for the first few days after the new camera arrived. Here we are before heading out to walk around the promenade mall down the street...our sidewalks weren't (and still aren't) plowed...so if we wanted fresh air, we had to visit Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids, and Banana Republic. Twist my arm!  This is the exersaucer that Santa brought for Benjamin. It's another apparatus to keep him on his legs, and he loves "walking" around in it to play with the different toys.  Benjamin is NOT a fan of tummy time. In fact, in order to make sure he gets the recommended time on his belly, we have to have about 10 mini sessions throughout the day. Andrew discovered a loop hole, where Benjamin tends to be content.  This is the "mom, why the heck do you dress me like this?" picture of the month.  More tummy time...this time I think it lasted for about 2 minutes.  And, how could I not post a picture of these thighs? Nobody will accuse this kid of not eating!  Happy New Year! ~Courtney posted at 12:05:09 PM More Snow Thursday, December 28, 2006 Well folks, it's snowing here again. They JUST plowed our 'hood yesterday afternoon. This storm is supposed to be comparable to the one last week. Andrew is at work, and unlike last week when he got to come home, he is "mission essential personnel" this time, so if they close base, he's stuck out there until they open up again. Familiar story, you ask? Why yes, it is. He was stuck out there for more than 40 hours in late October. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't get buried again. The good news: I stocked up on Mint Creme Oreos and milk, as well as some healthier food options, so at least we won't be scraping together random things from the cupboard! We're just hanging out, playing with the new camera! 
~Courtney posted at 2:31:55 PM A proud mom post Tuesday, December 26, 2006 I love this picture of Benja, and had to share! It felt great to get out of the house and stroll the outdoor mall down the street. We all have cabin fever, and I am NOT looking forward to the storm that is threatening the end of this week.  ~Courtney posted at 10:53:48 PM A Colorado Christmas Tuesday, December 26, 2006 While not at all what we had planned, we did have an enjoyable, albeit, lonely day here in Colorado. We started out with a trip to IHOP, reasons being we were hungry, Cap'n Crunch wasn't going to cut it, and it was the only place open. It was surprisingly busy in there. I honestly thought that it would be empty! Benjamin was a doll, and coo'd and slept the entire time we were there. It was also the first time we didn't have to get our food to-go in nearly 3 months! IHOP is exhausting!  Later in the morning, Benjamin "opened" his stocking gifts. He seemed semi-amused by some of them, but I think he felt a little slighted when I pulled out Mylicon, Tylenol, and Baby Orajel...as if he realized I would have bought those, whether Santa brought them or not.  What do you mean there is nothing else in here?  Benjamin has decided that sleeping through the night is really not his thing anymore, so we re-subscribed to the "sleep when the baby sleeps" theory for the day. Cat naps were plentiful.  Andrew and I waited until after B had gone to bed before we started our own dinner. Andrew did nearly all of the preparations and cooking. We had a deluxe meal of filet, scallops (some wrapped in bacon, some not), Waldorf salad and baked potatoes. It was truly deluxe! We ended up heading to bed relatively early, which was great, because we then got up every 90 minutes or so... We hope your Christmas was happy, healthy, and just as wonderful as ours! ~Courtney posted at 10:50:13 AM Happy Christmas Eve Sunday, December 24, 2006 We went to our lovely local mall, waited in line for Santa to get off of his break (who knew he even got a break on Christmas eve!?!) and got a great shot of the B-ster. Enjoy!  ~Courtney posted at 6:25:16 PM Drifts Friday, December 22, 2006  Just to put this nonsense storm in perspective...the fence is about 5 feet tall, and almost entirely covered, yet the grass is showing closer to the house. Since that's the back of the house you must assume the front looks more like the fence portion of the yard.  Andrew plans to shovel for the 3rd time, in a little bit. Travel update, for those who don't know...we're not going anywhere this weekend, except maybe PF Changs, for Christmas dinner. I am totally bummed, and managed to cry most of the night; but when we called Jet Blue at 6 PM last night, the soonest they could get us out was at 11 PM on Monday (yes, Christmas) night. Since Andrew has to return to work on Thursday morning, it just wasn't a good option, and the cost and hassle of traveling in such a short period of time could not be justified. We rebooked the trip for mid January, and while we'll miss out on seeing a lot of the people we were looking forward to spending time with, we're thankful that we get to visit. Also on my list of thankfulness: Not being stuck at the Denver airport. However, I got REALLY excited to give the gifts that we had gotten for everyone this year. I feel very slighted by not being able to wrap them all before Christmas *while watching Love Actually, as I always do,* but I am sure that everyone will love them equally in 3 weeks. The last email that my mom had sent mentioned going to cut a fresh tree today, so it'll still be good when we get there. My dad said he'd go and cut one from camp, if that's what he had to do, too. So, while it is far from ideal; and I am assuming I'll not be so positive come Monday, it's all working out. ~Courtney posted at 1:00:05 PM Go Elf Yourself! Thursday, December 21, 2006  Want to laugh? Turn your volume up, too! ~Courtney posted at 10:28:46 PM Did you get the memo? Thursday, December 21, 2006  Christmas is canceled...at least for this Colorado based crew. The stupid weather has caused the Denver airport to be closed until at least, noon tomorrow. We're hoping to rebook flights for late tomorrow, Saturday, or even Sunday, but it's just not looking so good. Boo. Grrrr. I am more sad than I've been in a really long time. ~Courtney posted at 3:14:34 PM Snow Day, continued... Wednesday, December 20, 2006 How my boys are spending their snow day...  ~Courtney posted at 1:56:26 PM Snow Day Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Seemingly typical for Colorado at this time of year, we are getting covered in snow from the third substantial blizzard of the season. Andrew just got home from work, as all "non-mission essential personnel" were sent home. Normally, I would welcome the weather, and everyone being home, but the fact that we have to drive north to Denver tomorrow makes me a bit nervous. We were going to leave in the mid-afternoon timeframe, but we might bump that a little sooner. We're taking a red eye flight to JFK that leaves at 1 am, so we've booked a room at an airport Marriott, so Benjamin can have a semi-normal evening routine, and we can get some shut-eye before the 3 hour flight. I am getting quite nervous about the flight, but I keep telling myself that "we'll never see any of these people again." It's been awhile since I've posted some pics, so here are the highlights of recent days: Benjamin has discovered that those cool toys, aka hands, are capable of bringing everything and anything to his mouth.  Additionally, he's learned to scoot a bit. He was playing on his mat a couple of days ago, and started out with his head on the pillow part. I didn't get a good shot of that for comparison, but here are positions 2 and 3, taken minutes apart (now, he is advanced, but I moved the monkey):   Happy Holidays! ~Courtney posted at 12:45:42 PM Grumpy Saturday, December 16, 2006 I have been a big grump lately. I promise I will shake it in the next day or two, and add some new pictures (yet to be taken, of course) of Benjamin. 'til then ~Courtney posted at 11:18:01 PM Love the Weekends Saturday, December 09, 2006 Happy Weekend. Andrew had to work all weekend, so we've been trying to balance errands, playing, and sleep. When I was in FL, Andrew had booked a massage appointment for me today. It was SO wonderful. Ironically enough, my "knots" were in the places that my nearly 16 pound child spends a decent chunk of his day; my left forearm, and on my left hip. Today was an insanely successful day, as I not only snapped the perfect Christmas card photo, Andrew and I were able to complete the entire card project, which means they are actually going to the post office on Monday. That is impressive for me; even more so now. I am relaxing tonight; for the first time in weeks. Thank goodness for TiVo, Arrested Development reruns, and that rare glass of wine!  ~Courtney posted at 7:16:35 PM Home Sweet Home Wednesday, December 06, 2006 We're back in the brisk CO. Benjamin decided, early in the three and a half hour flight, that he really wasn't in the mood to be on an airplane. 'nuf said. ~Courtney posted at 6:20:56 PM Greetings from the Sunshine State Sunday, December 03, 2006  We made it to FL safely yesterday afternoon. Benjamin traveled like a champ again; which was a huge relief. He slept for a little bit, but was actually awake for most of the 3 hour flight. I've discovered that he is more like his father when it comes to heat. I love the heat here, but it made B instantly uncomfortable. Both Andrew and I had our company holiday parties last night, which meant that Benjamin spent his first evening with a baby sitter. He was not pleased when I left, and definitely kept the sitter on her toes for a few hours, but he was not crying when we got home. She promised to call my cell phone if he was hysterical, and she never did. So, a guilt-ridden mom can only hope that he had a semi-nice time. I haven't gotten the update from A's party yet, but mine was a really nice evening. It was great to see people again; as well as to meet all the new people who have come on board since I was last in town back in June. We are trying to determine what we should do today. The weather is nice, and we think we may pile all four boys into the car and go out for a bit this afternoon. Benjamin just went down for a nap; however, chances of it lasting long are slim to none, since he's in a bed, and not in a swing. ~Courtney posted at 10:11:17 AM |
