16/52

Ben has been such a good eater these days, as we introduce more “people food” among the purees. His favorites by FAR are blueberries and cheese, although black beans and peas (frozen, not canned, don’t think he doesn’t know the difference) are pretty close seconds.

17/52

Ben’s favorite past time is chasing balls around the house. He’s surprisingly speedy at crawling (he has taken a few steps!!! but still prefers to crawl for speed most times) and will bat the ball away and crawl after it for seriously extended periods of time.

In 2015, I’m taking a photo of Ben each week with my real camera.

10/52

One of Ben’s new favorite games involves launching himself back and forth across the couch, often in search of the remote. Here you can see the tiny hunter triumphant with his prey.

11/52

Ben spends a LOT of his time standing at what we’re calling his “work benches” – aka any surface he can stand next to (the ottomans, the couch, the side tables, etc). He’ll stand there with whatever his toy of the day is, smash it on the table, drop it, squat to pick it up, repeat.

12/52

Ben is OBSESSED with Luna, and spends a lot of time chasing her around the house, which is adorable (especially because she never runs very far, thereby encouraging Ben). I sometimes imagine them being BFFs when he’s older and kind of can’t handle how much I love it.

13/52

This kid doesn’t really like to stay in once place anymore, and his current favorite place to play is the kitchen. He loves pushing the chairs around and playing behind the curtains.

In 2015, I’m taking a picture of Ben each week with my real camera.

A side effect of Ben being able to pull himself to stand is that he is often waiting for me like this when he wakes up from a nap, all excited to see me. Which is one of the happiest things ever.

I’m not sure when it started, but Ben totally cheeses for the camera now – not my phone (because he’s always trying to grab it and chew it), but the real camera. I think it started with my dad’s camera, since I still think he takes more photos of Ben than I do. But given how many blurry phone photos I have of him these days, the big smiles he gives me when I have the big camera are even better.

Always with the one sock, this kid. I swear I put socks on him every day, but the swiftness with which he rips them off or crawls them off is impressive.

In 2015, I’m taking a photo of Ben each week with my real camera.

Ben’s newfound crawling skills are taking him to new frontiers… like the dining room, as he chases toys that roll away from him. One morning (despite the difficulties of crawling in jammies!) he found a mirror we had unearthed when cleaning, and it was pretty adorable.

In 2015, I’m taking a photo of Ben each week with my real camera.

Ben learned to crawl last week, and that felt like a pretty big milestone… except he pulled himself up to stand the very next day and he would very much rather do this all day every day. He requires a constant spotter, because he also doesn’t seem to know that he still needs to hold on. He is SO happy and proud whenever he is standing up and it’s so cute. I’m getting the impression that he will not rest until he can stand up on his own (and then walk). (Incidentally, the thing that does get him to crawl is Luna; it won’t be long before he is chasing her all around the house.)

In 2015, I’m taking a photo of Ben each week with my real camera.

We’re dealing with our first pint-sized cold, and while we’ve been awfully lucky that he hasn’t gotten sick before now, it stinks to see a little baby all stuffed up and totally bewildered about the fact that he can’t breathe out of his nose. So I’m even more grateful for every minute of his naps; he needs it. Now, can someone tell me how I can avoid catching a cold from someone who finds comfort in smearing his boogers all over me?

In 2015, I’m taking a photo of Ben each week with my real camera.