floppy gums, and a girl puppy

"You got teeth in that floppy mouth of yours, or just gums?!?"

(from the movie, Babe)

I took Benson in for his 12month Check-up, and he's tiny! He's 18lbs 11oz (which is up a pound from two weeks ago) and he's 28.5 inches....which puts him in the 3% for weight and height! He's completely opposite of his sister, she was always at the top of the charts, and he's always been at the bottom. He doesn't look so small, because he's proportionately small all over. Hopefully now that he 's finally sleeping and feeling better, he'll start growing. In the mean time, the doctor told me to nurse him when ever I can, including the middle of the night. ugh.

Oh, and Benson finally has a tooth! (for real this time). No more 'floppin gums'! His bottom left tooth has poked up thru the gums, and he's getting another one right next to it! Not to be out done, his little cousin, Laura (only 5.5 months old!), got the very same tooth the very same day!!!

What can I say, Snow Buddies has gone to her head. Bailey really thinks/wishes she was a dog sometimes. Brandon rigged up Benson's truck and to make her a 'sled' to pull.

put me in the zoo

We finally went to the Houston Zoo on Wednesday with our Preschool Co-op and some friends from church. It was beautiful weather, and we had a BLAST. We were there for about 3.5 hours, and still only saw about 1/2 of the zoo! The Houston Zoo is HUGE!! The kids were so good, and such troopers! Benson hung out in the stroller the whole time, and loved it! Bailey walked the entire time and never complained! We had a picnic by the Okapis, and stopped for a snack in the shade by the Flamingos (just for you, Guh L!).

It was a great day!

We got to stand about 3 feet away from an 8 month old Cheetah Cub while he was out walking around the zoo with the keepers. The Cheetah Cubs are being raised with the Anatolian Shepherd Dogs so they both learn how live in a pack, like they would in nature. The dogs were HUGE, and also only 8 months old! The Cheetah Cubs made funny little chirping noises. Bailey was SO interested in the 'puppies.' I hardly call something the size of a pony a "puppy."

joy

We were supposed to go to the Houston Zoo yesterday with our preschool co-op, but it was too rainy. Bailey was pretty bummed about not going. We spent most of the day inside, but tried to make the best of it by playing with the left-over balloons from Benson's b-day party and his new Ball Popper toy that we gave him. They had SO much fun with the balloons, and the Ball Popper entertains them both for hours! (I highly recommend this toy... Playskool's Busy Ball Popper!! It's a must have for babies/toodlers/preschoolers/adults/etc!!) It was really cute to watch. We'll attempt the Zoo again tomorrow.

happy 1st birthday, benson!

I can't even believe that Benson is ONE today! This year has gone too fast. My baby is getting so big (if you call 17.5 lbs big for a 1yr old ! haha!)! Benson has never been a good sleeper, but everyone kept telling us that he'd be sleeping through the night by the time he was 1. Well,

Benson proved it right. For the last couple of nights (since his surgery) he's been sleeping pretty well, and even slept THROUGH THE NIGHT last night! I think it was his birthday present to me. We had the Wallace's over for a family party/dinner (hamburgers). Bailey has been SO excited for Benson's party/birthday. She's been telling everyone all about it. We decorated the house up really cute with yellow and blue streamers and green balloons. (We went for a 'baby boy' theme....see cake....)

Who does this look like? I was looking online for cake ideas, and Bailey and I saw a cake like this. Bailey thought it was SO funny, and it looked like Benz. I was feeling pretty crafty (It's all those "Ace of Cakes" episodes that I've DVR-ed) and replicated it. It was pretty fun.

Benson and Bailey LOVE presents! Benson got a lot of cute necessities...clothes, jammies, and TRUCKS!! Thanks everyone!!

You can see Benson had no reservations about getting the cake. Check out the ear...Cousin Gavin wanted in on the action! Benson liked the cake, and LOVED the ice-cream!