It has always been my goal for Ben to make it one year without getting sick. And while we haven't kept him in a
plastic bubble like the John Travolta character from the 1970's
tv movie, at times it's felt pretty close to that.
A few months ago Ben had a rash on his face that we suspected was a food related allergy. When I called the doctor's office the phone nurse started asking a lot of probing questions. I could tell she was trying to determine if Ben had
Hoof and Mouth Disease, (which is typically spread from kid to kid in daycare/school/you get the idea).
Our conversation went something like this:
Momma P: "But he hasn't been around other kids"
Nurse: "He could have caught it when you took him out."
Momma P : " But we don't take him out."
Nurse: " No, like at the supermarket or the mall."
Momma P: "Again, we -don't - take - him - out"
Nurse, sounding aghast: "Not even to the mall?"
Momma P:"Especially not the mall."
Nurse: "But you take him to the supermarket."
Momma P: "Only twice."
Nurse: "
Ok, it's probably a food allergy."
We stopped feeding Ben apples, pears, and anything made by Earth's Best (which we now call Earth's Rash) and the rash cleared up.
Ben turned 11 months on February 22
nd. At one in the morning he woke up screaming. Earlier that evening Nick and I had discussed finally letting the kid cry himself to sleep when he awoke in the middle of the night. But when I heard him screaming something sounded different. I went in and the boy little guy's face was bright red and he was very hot.
Ben had his very first fever. 102.9 . So, officially, Ben made it to 11 months and 1 hour without getting sick.
By the next afternoon the fever was gone and we were left with a very clingy baby with a little runny nose. The doctor checked him out Friday and his ears and throat were perfect.
Ben's still a little cough-y these days, but seems to have made it through unscathed. And while we didn't reach our goal, we're pretty proud of how far Ben has come.
And here is Momma P's dream picture: Bookclub and Baby Bookclub all together for the first time.*
So, a year ago, on Mother's Day 2006, was Ben's Bris. The picture on the left was taken moments before the ceremony started. The picture on the right was taken yesterday, on Mother's Day 2007.
Last weekend we went to the kite festival at Terhune Orchards. We arrived with a boy and halfway through, had a chicken on our hands. It was quite a festival!
Momma P made a quick trip to Boston for her birthday. Bookclub celebrated the visit with a stop at Upstairs on the Square. The entire weekend was a delicious treat.
Please bear with me... but I'm feeling all sentimental and frankly, still in shock, about the fact that we have Ben in our lives.
Let me play a song for you on the piano you gave me for Christmas... 
2 weeks ago Momma P's old pal from kindergarten came to hang out with Ben. Ben had a great time, what with David's long hair, beard, and glasses - the fun was endless.
Something has clicked in our guy's brain - it seems like each day he's doing some new trick.
Cousin Lizzybug came to visit last weekend! We love Cousin Lizzybug. Ben learned that if you press his nose, it says "Beep". He was very interested in Cousin Lizzybug and all of the nose beeping.
