Benjamin is trying solid food

I finally have given in and let Benjamin test some food. He has been very interested in watching us eat for a few weeks now, he is always reaching for our food. I really wanted to exclusively breastfeed him until 6 or 7 months old since this is what is suggested for the prevention of allergies. However, Will keeps sneeking him bits of food (like grapes?) and the other day I caught Lily feeding him her yogurt, she told me "he asked for it" so I figured it is time to let him experiment with solid foods. I mashed up a little banana and put it on the spoon. He grabbed the spoon from my hand and put it directly into his mouth. He ate half of a banana before he lost interest. I think he is going to be a good eater!

Thursday at Kidspace

We spent Thursday afternoon at Kidspace. Lily really loves this place, it is the first place we visited when we came here last summer. They have an outdoor water table to play at as well as an outdoor stream the kids can walk in. I just bring her in her bathing suit and let her get as wet as she wants then change her when she is done playing in the water. They also have indoor room we can go in to escape the heat. Both kids have fun in the room, which is designed for ages birth to 4 years old. Benjamin spent time rolling on the mats and staring up at the mobiles hanging from the ceiling. Lily likes to climb on the soft equipment and do the arts and crafts projects...they always have something going on from drawing to sculpting.

Afternoon at Kids Island

We spent Wednesday afternoon at an indoor playground called Kids Island. Lily wanted to go to the park but it has just been to hot! The nice thing about going to this indoor playground is that Lily can play with "new" toys. She really enjoys playing in the toy kitchens, she spent about 45 minutes "cooking" food for me. They also have large bouncers for her to jump in as well as an indoor swing and slide. She also got to play in the fire truck. She is very into being a fireman right now (I don't think she realizes they put out fires, in a book we read the fireman saved a kitten from a tree so she just wants to go around saving kittens...guess she gets that from Auntie Kirsten!!) Another great thing about this place is they have books we don't have, I know she doesn't care, but I am getting bored with reading the same books over and over...LOL.

Lily wants to go to school

We dropped Will off at the airport very early Wednesday morning for his business trip up North (CA). On our return home we ran into school traffic as it was the first day of school in the area. There were kids everywhere walking to school with their parents. When Lily asked me where all the kids were going and I told her they were going to school she panicked and said she needed to go to school also. I explained to her that she was still too young for school and she was going to stay home and play with Mommy and Benjamin. She was devastated!!! She cried for at least a half hour saying she needed to go to school RIGHT NOW! I feel so bad, I almost think I should have found her a nursery school to go to a few days a week, but it is too late now since they already started. I am going to try to find a reasonably priced music or dance class so she can have something to go to.

Stroller Strides was a success!

This morning I tried a exercise class called stroller strides. It involves doing walking and toning exercises with a group while the kids are in strollers watching. Since we went to bed late I had trouble getting the kids up so Ben stayed with Will while Lily went with me. She patiently sat in the stroller while we were working out. At one point we were using exercise bands, when we were done I let her hold the band and then she started doing the exercise we had just been doing, it was so cute!! She also was trying to do some of the stretches, I think she really enjoyed it. Hopefully when I have both kids at the next class it be just as enjoyable because I could really use these workouts!

An evening in the park

Last night we went to the park. Lily really likes to run so Will and I took turns holding Benjamin while the other chased Lily. After running in the grass we played on the playground, I had to go down the slide next to Lily and Will took Ben on the swings. We had a great time but got home a little late causing our bedtime to be shifted a bit.

Benjamin is rolling!!

Benjamin finally started rolling this past weekend. I have to admit I probably didn't work with him as much as I did with Lily at this stage (although Aunt Lisa did while we were in Michigan). He is very excited to be somewhat mobile and wants to spend most of his time on the floor playing with his toys. He is just such a really happy baby. Will told him he has 4 weeks to start crawling in order to beat Lily's record...I guess this is why siblings compete :) He is naked in this picture because Will thought he would roll easier with no clothes on. I am happy to report he rolls with and without clothes!

A day at the beach

We spent a few hours at the beach on Saturday. The kids really enjoyed it. Will dug a hole for Benjamin and we buried him. He got some sand in his hands, which led directly into his mouth. We got a few very cute pictures of this. Lily felt the water was too cold and didn't want to go in, she just wanted to play in the sand. Toward the end of our visit we took a walk along the beach and saw some really cool kites.