October, really?

Today was a GORGEOUS day here in Maine. Hot even, some might say. Ben was enjoying being out in his birthday suit, and Jay caught a great picture of us in the late afternoon light.

I took this shot this morning~ a view from our porch out across the lake. You can see the colors, which would make you think "Fall", right? But it got to, like, 80 degrees today!

Oh, yeah~ And GO RED SOX!!!!!

No fear

I walked into Ben-jam's room to find him standing on his rocking horse. He loves to get on it from one side, stand up on it, and get off on the other side... then he walks around and does it again and again. No fear! He's able to get down off the couch himself, climb the flight of stairs with no problem, and has started to climb onto just about everything he can reach. I think we're in trouble... :) I'm thinking we should start him on a rock climbing wall...

Visit w/the Stewarts

Jake and Cyn arrived from Texas for a long weekend visit & met Benners for the first time. We had a great time with them. Jay took Ben and the Stewarts to Camden for an afternoon and B found that he enjoyed smooshing his nose against the window of a coffee shop. Jake showed Ben the 'real' way to play the guitar, and Ben's love for music seemed to blossom with the Stewarts' visit (lots of dancing and moving to the groove)...

We also went out for Thai food, watched the Red Sox, enjoyed some margaritas, hiked up Mt. Pisquah, and spent a lot of time playing with little man. Great visit! It's our turn to head to Austin...

Go Red Sox!!!

Sitting in the driveway in his brand new, hand-me-down clothes (thanks, Henry!!!).

Ben-Jam is all decked out in his red, white, and blue and it worked!
Nice work, Sox... Now let's just hope the Yankees lose tonight. :)

It's been so nice out, and Jam just loves to be outside. He'll ask to be picked up then throw his body and point towards the door. He'll also reach for whoever is closest to the door, in hopes that they'll take him outside.
He's really started walking a lot~ across the living room and into the kitchen. He's still a bit unsteady, but he's figured it out. So fun...

Such a good sleeper!

We've been working on Benjamin's sleep and are happy to report that he's sleeping through the night for the past almost-two-weeks! He's going to bed between 7:15pm-7:45pm and sleeping all the way through until 5:30am-6:30am! :) It feels nice to get such a stretch of sleep in. We're so happy for the little guy (and ourselves!)...

Apple Picking

We took Benjamin on his first apple-picking outing (and mine!) over the weekend. We had beautiful weather and got a nice big bag of apples. I'm hoping they will magically appear in the form of an apple pie one of these days when I arrive home from fieldwork. :) We went to Lakeside Orchards and got a ride to the trees on the wagon pulled by a tractor. Ben had a great time, and I've never seen him so interested in apples before!

Apple Pickin' (and eatin')

Table Rock Hike

Here's a photo of Pops and I at the top of Table Rock yesterday. We had a great hike and despite the lack of view, we got some nice sunshine on the way down...

Extraordinary View?

Pops and I went hiking in Grafton Notch yesterday~ our annual hike to Table Rock. It was a great hike, but there were no views! The fog socked us in at the top & here is what we saw from the top:

13+ months old...

... and such a big boy! Benjam had us thinking he was going to be walking any time, but after a week or so of taking lots of steps, he's decided to stick with crawling for now. Guess he's more interested in getting to where he wants to go than in standing up and walking there! He's got 6 teeth and really looks like a little boy. Here's a picture of him just about to pick up the pumpkin that Grampie Dwyer grew for him (he did manage to pick it up and roll it off the step, much to his delight). And another photo that shows his big blue eyes!
Ben gets his Mumma around this week, but starting on Monday she's back to fieldwork four days/week. Lucky for us we have beautiful weather this week.

Our Outdoors Boy

Ben-jam (also, latest nickname: 'B-Sting') loves to be outside (no, he's never been stung by a bee...). He points to the door frequently, and just loves to be outside~ walks in the stroller, sitting at the beach with his legs in the water, and even (today) out in the rain (he'd look up at the sky and laugh when drops of rain hit him in the face). He's very interested in our retaining wall & we think maybe he's practicing to take up rock climbing. He's an adrenaline junkie, for sure. Wonder where he gets that from! :)

Sleep ideas?

Hi all... I'm sending out feelers to see if people can give us some ideas on how to get Benjam to sleep past 4:30-5am... He goes to bed around 7 or 7:30 (we've tried later with no difference in when he wakes up), and usually sleeps through until 4:30 or 5am, at which time he's raring to go! I've tried nursing him/rocking him back to sleep, bringing him into bed with me, doing nothing, offering him toys in his crib... Wondering if there's something I'm missing & if y'all have any suggestions or stories to share about a similar situation? We're SO pleased that he's sleeping 8-10 hours at a stretch (the getting up 1-2 times/night was getting hard), but are wondering how (IF???) we can encourage him to sleep later in the morning. Any thoughts would be appreciated. If you don't want to post here on the blog, just email me.
Thanks!
Katie & Jay (very proud, and tired, parents of ONE-YEAR-OLD Jam)

Katie's Fieldwork

I have just 2 days left of my first fieldwork placement! It's hard to believe how quickly it's gone by. It's been really interesting and I've liked working in the mental health setting. I get a few days off and then start up my 2nd (and final!) fieldwork placement~ working with kiddos. That should be really interesting as well. If all goes according to plan, I'll be done at the end of the year and will (finally) have my masters in occupational therapy! Wish me luck with the kids!

Around the lake

We had some visitors in front of Sue and Phil's house recently~ a flock of geese. Very cool. Buzz cat was spending lots of time down on the bank, watching the birds float by. :)

We also had a skid steer for a couple of days. Jay had a blast with it, and Ben thought it was pretty interesting as well. Jay was able to move around the loam and gravel piles we'd had delivered, as our landscaping slowly comes together.

There's always some project going on around here! It's never dull, that's for sure.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

He's lots of fun!

Benjamin is learning new things all the time. He's just about walking, but not quite... He's having fun eating, playing the guitar, and playing at the beach. He's really getting into his personality & is laid back, funny, and starting to get into so much trouble!

Happy Birthday Ben-Jam!

Benjamin Thomas is a year old today! We had a small birthday party for him on his Daddy's birthday. He had his first taste of chocolate cake and opened up his presents. Guests included Uncle Matty, Auntie Jessica & cousins Claire, Gracie, and Madelyn; Grammie & Grampy Simpson; and Nana & Grampie Dwyer. We had a good time & good weather!

New 'Do!

Daddy was putting sunscreen on me before we headed outside. He likes to spike my hair too. :} My Daddy is a lot of fun...

Playing at home...

Benners does spend a lot of time at home, but he's really creative at finding new places to play! Here he is on the quilt that I'm showing at the Maine Quilt Show at the end of the month; under my desk; on his rocking horse; and in the dryer!!! He wasn't sure about the dryer at first, but after a minute or two, I couldn't get him out!



Things are going well in the Jewett household. Busy, but good. Jay and I pass each other often as we work opposite schedules, but it's been working out well this summer. Ben is back to healthy (and so am I!) after that illness that knocked us both for a loop. Jay and I have been reminded how blessed we are to have such a healthy little boy~ when he was sick it was just awful. We truly feel blessed.
Hope everyone is doing great & having a wonderful summer. We LOVE to get comments here, so we can be reminded of who checks in on us. :} (hint, hint!)

Congrats Megan & John!

What a beautiful wedding in Moultonborough~ a very nice day Meg & John.
Thanks for having us. We all had a great time, Ben included. He did really well considering he didn't nap all afternoon. He was goofy and happy and seemed to enjoy every bit of the day! He danced with Nana and ate all sorts of food. Of course he crashed in the car about 5 minutes into the ride, and slept the whole way home. We wish we could have spent the weekend as Geneva Point Center was really beautiful. Unfortunately Jay had to work at 7am on Sunday, so we had to make our way home.
We really enjoyed every bit of the day. Thanks for including us!
Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Naso!!!

Five Islands

Ben's first time at Five Islands! Jay, Jammer, and I went to camp on Sunday (one of our very few days off together this summer) and enjoyed a really nice afternoon with everyone. I had to take a photo of Ben on the log that all the cousins used to get their pictures taken on. Bryan and Anna did a great job with the lobsters, and here's a photo of Anna showing Jam a lobster. Wonder what he thought of that??? Unfortunately, Ben wasn't feeling his normal self (we've since found out that he's been sick with some sort of infection!) and I caught a picture of him napping on Nana's lap. Of course, we couldn't let him be, and brought him outside for the group photo, but he did sleep on the way home. (I'd really love a copy of the group photo emailed to me, if anyone has one. Thanks!!!)
It was nice to see everyone, and thanks for the lobster Stan!