Ben has the power

I have just uploaded all of the videos off of our flip recorder today and there are a lot of them. I will start putting them all on here, one at a time. This one is from May. We found a card that Drew had gotten last year that allowed you to record a message so that when you open the card, it plays your message and then the song, I've Got the Power comes on after.

Going Private

I have decided that The Little Man will soon be a private blog. All this means for you is that you will have to type in a password before you can access the blog. It also means that random people out there will not be able to see it.

These changes will be taking effect in the next week or so. If you would like the password, please leave your email in the comments section or send me an email to staceymhanson@gmail.com. I will then send you an email with the new password.

Sorry for the inconvenience of this all but after some thinking, we decided that this was a good idea to keep unwanted people from getting this glimpse into our lives.

I know you've been waiting...

I know a lot of you have been waiting for new pictures of Ben. I am sorry that it has taken awhile but here they are. These are all from the past week (except the cupcake picture which is from Drew's birthday on the 14th). 

Last week, we got Ben a little slide that has been moved into the house since it is so hot outside. This is Ben standing on the top, shaking it back and forth. He hasn't quite gotten the idea that he is supposed to sit on his bottom to go down the slide. We've had a couple of falling off incidents already.

Right before Bed

He likes to stick his tongue out and move it around. It must be a 

hereditary thing since I stick the tip of my tongue out when 

I am concentrating.

He really does enjoy his pool.

Playing on his horse. He knows how to climb on and off of it all 

by himself and how to make it bounce and spin.

He always manages to find the things he shouldn't be playing with (phones, remotes, cords).

Right after an afternoon snack of strawberries.

I don't know what he is doing here.

Enjoying a cupcake on his dad's birthday. He went straight 

from the highchair to the tub. His high chair had to be hosed off 

in the backyard.

Fun in the Sun

These pictures are from this past weekend after we set up Ben's new pool. He loved his pool and the water!

Mountain Ben

We have spent the last couple of days in the mountains and Ben is really liking the fresh, mountain air. It has been very cold up here (and foggy) but that hasn't stopped him from wanting to play outside. I took these pictures earlier today while we were out on the front deck (well, the first couple were taken right before we went outside).

We've made it!

After a very long trip, we have made it to California. It has been a whirlwind the past couple of weeks. Once everything in the house was packed up and on it's way out here, it was time for us to start heading out here. With two cars, a baby and a dog, the three days it took to get here were pretty rough. We had 4 days to rest and now we are getting ready for our trip down south tomorrow.

Ben has been enjoying his time here so far and his curiosity is at an all time high. He is getting into everything that he shouldn't be.

Ben's vocabulary

Ben has been saying a few words here and there for awhile but lately, he has really taken off. He is really trying to imitate words that we say. Here are the words that he has said (some he says a lot, some of them you just hear every once in awhile)...

Daddy

Mum-Mum

hi

bye bye

doggie

puppy

woof woof

up

thank you (he has started saying this after we give him something)

uh-oh (anytime he drops something, he says uh-oh)

light

cracker

beep beep

duck

what's that (yes, he really did say this)

Little Peanut

Ben had a check-up with the doctor yesterday and it went very well. This was his last time meeting with Dr. Maynard who has been seeing Ben since he was still in the nicu. After watching Ben grow and develop for the last 16 months, he is very pleased with everything. Ben is still a little peanut though...

weight: 21 pounds and 9 ounces - 5th percentile for his age

length: 30.5 inches - 10th percentile

head circumference: 20 inches - 95th percentile (this is actually starting to level off which is very good sign)

A perfect day for the zoo

It was another day of great weather here. After a long winter, we are loving these days and spending lots of time outside. We have been to the Cheyenne Mountain zoo here multiple times and wanted to go one more time before we move. The three of us along with my dad made the trip down there and had a really good time.

Giraffes have really long tongues.

A little skeptical at first.

This is the first time that Ben took an interest in the animals.

He spent most of the time in his stroller but enjoyed being able to walk around on his own.

There was a baby wallaby (it was albino) and we wanted to get a picture of Ben next to him.

All of a sudden, he reached over and tried to pet him.

Finally some nice weather

We had some wonderful weather today and we enjoyed every moment of it. My dad is visiting for a few days and we spent the afternoon with the rest of the family here, outside.