Sweet Six Months

Today Benjamin is six months old. He was born in the wilderness of our affliction, or at least in a time of intense change and activity. Four short weeks after he was born we relocated to Provo, UT (mom and boys) and Omaha, NE (Matt) for the summer. We sublet our apartment to three nerdy University of Chicago undergrad guys and we then became very high impact guests of my parents while Matt worked at an internship.

That summer little Benji was my roommate and best buddy. I fell in love with him. Just completely. And he fell pretty in love with me. He is gentle, mild, sweet, and happy. Ben is big. At four months he weighed two pounds more than Nicholas did at the same age. He loves his brothers even when (especially when) they are being silly. He brings a lot of joy into this house. These six months have been very rich. They've also stretched Matt and me more than we thought we were able to stretch. They've also gone a little too fast. OK, a lot too fast. As we anticipate Matt finishing school this year and settling down for the longer term we are so grateful that our wild ride in Chicago included bringing Benjamin into our family.

My only complaint? He decided to commemorate his six month birthday by starting army crawling this morning. Wah.

And so, to Benjamin! We love you always darling boy. Here's a nod to the Benjamin of yester (half) year with pictures taken by our friend when he was 4 weeks old (thanks so much Amber!).







































































































And in case you forgot what this big boy looks like now in his older infant glory, here he is enjoying those big, bad brothers.

You're not the only one Dad

Today Nicholas saw this picture and said, "Who's that girl?"

Apparently, it's an easy mistake to make.

The Alpha-newborn

That's right, I'm comparing my children. Now that I have three boys I feel that comparing them is impossible to avoid.













And that it's my right. So, right or wrong, let's get down to business!

1. WEIGHT

We were honestly stunned by Benjamin's weight. Jacob was 7 lb 4 oz over a week overdue. Nicholas was 8 lb 13 oz a week overdue. Benjamin was 8 lb 12 oz five days early. That child would have been nearly a ten pound baby had he reached a week overdue. The last month of my pregnancy I kept marveling that I ever went over with J and N because I felt so large and so uncomfortable. I guess I know why I felt that way. I still can't believe I grew such a would-be gigantor baby. Same general weight gain as with the boys, just a HUGE baby for being so early. Perhaps that's why during the c-section when they said I would feel a "little pressure" as they pushed him out I felt like an elephant (or two) was standing on my chest. I don't remember that with J and N, but with them I'd been in labor for hours and hours before the surgery. That's right hours and hours. I think that by the time the c-sections came perhaps the discomforts of the surgery blended into the discomforts of labor. Oh, how I suffer!

2. BUILD

When Benjamin was born I sort of assumed he was built like Nicholas because their weights were so close. However, Nicholas was stout. Really stout. With cheeks from here to eternity. See?














Benjamin is leaner everywhere, more like Jacob (read: chicken legs). In addition to those pencil legs Benjamin has the tiniest bottom I have ever seen. Ever. We are at a loss as to how to diaper him. Nico had ample cheeks everywhere. Wink.

3. RESEMBLANCES

As newborns, Jacob looked like Matt;
































Nicholas looked like an Eskimo;














and Benjamin looks like my dad.
























A lot! By the way, I love everything about this picture of my dad and his twin sister with my Grandparents.

As a toddler I would say Nico looks like my mom's family...gleefully wicked grins are apparently an inherited trait.













4. HAIR

This is the biggie in our family. I have a friend who has fairly bald babies. OK, totally bald babies (sorry Mardee). Her husband was a bit surprised when I said Benjamin had "some" hair as if it wasn't much. But, in comparison to his brothers, I still say he has the least hair.

To know the true nature of a newborn baby's hair you have to discuss it immediately post bath. Otherwise it all looks the same...dark and greasy. (Thus goes the seedy underbelly of baby hair.)

Nicholas looked like an Eskimo in part because of his thick crop of black hair. Adult hair, really. Couple that with his full face and he was a sight to behold. I remember just having to part his hair after his first wash. What else was there to do?! (All of these pics were taken after the first or second time I washed their hair.)














Darling. Oh, they are all darling. But back to the hair. Jacob's hair was the lightest in color with delicate curls.
















Benjamin's is mid-range in color and those curls are tight.













His curls are perfect for a good faux-hawk...which you all know I'm partial to.

5. CUTENESS

All in all our three sons* really are beautiful. Matt's sister told me after her second child that she was amazed she had made something so perfect. I couldn't agree more. It's humbling and exciting to have these boys join our family.

OK, long anecdote. As we were driving to the hospital I was feeling a little ill at ease. I always really didn't want c-sections for many reasons, but after both of our previous attempts it was clear to us that my body was not interested in doing things traditionally. It's just weird to walk into a place healthy and whole (albeit 9 months pregnant) and pay them to slice you open. I was worried about if I'd be emotionally strong enough to do it. (Somehow a c-section is easier to go through after long, complicated labors. The drama helps.) The thing that kept me going was thinking that Benjamin was coming. I just knew he was a boy by that time and couldn't stop thinking about him. I was still super nervous, but when we got into the pre-op room and I saw the little bassinet it hit me: I am the luckiest girl in the world. (Me feeling lucky.)













I realized then that I was in store for a miracle...even if it wasn't totally on my terms. I feel so grateful for these boys. They are each of them so cute.

I am loving learning more about this darling boy Ben. I am so excited to see this little ball of clay grow and develop into a big kid and beyond. I have a feeling he's going to be pretty wonderful.













*Matt rented the first season of the TV show My Three Sons in honor of Benjamin's birth. Let me tell you...it's the most boring show on the planet. That, and they rely very heavily on the word "jeepers".

Mary, Cheese and "Special Smiles"

We got a new camera for Christmas (YAY!) and I am having a fun time working with it. I still have a lot to learn, but the improvement in quality is exciting. Here are some examples of typical "poses" in our household. And now that I've been taking more pictures expect a lot more of these faces...these boys really love to have their picture taken. LOVE IT.

All I said for these pictures was "Be like Mary". Everything about this face I love. The nose, the eyes, the cheeks. Soft and lovely.

























Of course, this is his most common pose, but here's a funny "cheese".













Lastly are Jacob's "special smiles". I substitute in primary for singing time often. Last Sunday I led the music and loved seeing sweet J. Not only was he so reverent and attentive, but he kept on giving me sweet, genuine smiles. I complimented him on the special smiles he gave me and then he proceeded to show me more "special smiles". That boy loves to pose.













But sometimes the special smiles look a little bit funny. Here's a prime example. He's not about to sneeze, he's holding his "special smile".













Nice.

Kids and trees are cute

Nico













Gideon













Jacob













Maddie

Thank you, thank you!

A few weeks ago our new friend Bo Kim took our family pictures at the University of Chicago campus and at Promontory Point. Calling them family pictures is almost an insult to the pictures and to Bo. They're just so...beautiful! Thank you Bo for making the experience so fun and so fruitful.

Take note Chicagolanders, she worked wonders with us.

I couldn't choose, so here are a million pictures in no particular order.