Almost 17 weeks - back to posting!

This has been a busy couple of weeks for us. Benjamin hasn’t rolled over since I posted about it a few weeks ago, but he is really gripping toys (and fingers!) and of course everything goes towards the mouth. He is starting to teethe as he isn’t really sucking on our hands as much as chomping on them and the drool has started dripping down.

The Man started giggling! Dad and Carol stopped by the first Sunday evening. Carol held up his giraffe toy and made it dance for him and he started giggling. It was so sweet! We got a little of it on the video camera, but we still haven’t had time to work on the software issue. However, our new camera does short videos, so we were able to catch a slightly less animated version the following week (see below).

We had a great 4^th of July with our friends, Kellie & Rick and their 6-week-old, Zakary. (We even tricked our old camera into taking a few pictures before it died again.) We went to their condo in Neskowin, just north of Lincoln City. We headed out early in the morning and got their just in time for their small town parade. The parade was probably not more than 15 minutes long, but I swear the whole town must have been in it! And it was very different than many parades I have been to in that most floats or marchers have a sponsor or a purpose for being there, but since Neskowin only has a coffee shop and a convenience store, most were just there to be there. The highlight was definitely the last entry, which was a bunch of men with hoola-hoops and cloth so it looked like they were flower pots from the waist down and then they were covered in a hairy carpet on their torso. They were the hairy potters!We went for a great walk on the beach and Paul wore Benjamin in the front carrier. Benjamin has a great time with it and gnawed on the front the whole time. This was Paul’s first time wearing him and I think he really enjoyed it, but his shoulders were sore toward the end. Kellie and Rick’s friends, Cressa, Lars, and their 14 month-old Louie, joined us at that point for sandwiches and a chill afternoon. We headed out around four to go back to Corvallis to head over to the Kossows for what was left of their BBQ and to view the city’s fireworks. We had a great time over there. Thanks all!This is the first picture we ever took with our new digital camera. Paul and I got our new camera just a few days ago. We love it! It is a Canon SureShot G7 and it takes wonderful pictures and video. Does that explain why there are so many pictures in this post?! :o)

Here are a couple pics of the man I his new jumperoo. Smiley, smiley, smiley!

The rest of the weeks coasted by. The Man has discovered his feet and loves to hang onto them. Saturday we headed down to Dad and Carol’s for a delayed 4^th of July BBQ. Christy and James joined us and we all played our favorite family game, Flingo. (If you haven’t played it or seen it before, it is a neat game made simply from PVC pipe, rope, and golf balls. There is a golf ball on either end of a small piece of rope and you fling it towards a PVC pipe stand for points, similarly to horseshoes.) Christy and Dad were definitely the ultimate champions, but we all had fun.
Apparently, there is more points awarded in flingo for embarrassing pictures! :o)

Carol and The Man checking out the new koi in their pond.James is a camera enthusiast, so he played with ours for quite a while and got some really great shot. Thank you so much, James!!!
A shot from my dad's back deck.On Sunday we headed out early for Ashland to visit Paul’s folks and for a BBQ at his oldest sister, Joann’s house. The man had a great time with his cousins, Ashley and Spencer. Ashley (almost 11) has really gotten into babysitting and babysat recently for a 3 year old, so she thinks she is ready for Benjamin. I gotta hand it to her, she was FANTASTIC with him and was very gentle. With a little more experience and a move to Philomath, we would definitely call on her! :o) Aww....And of course the momma raccoon had to bring her 3 babies up on the Hennan's back deck. Every year she has a liter that grow up on Hennan cat food. Here is a picture through the glass of a momma and one baby.