Christmas Part 2

We are now down in Carmel Valley for Christmas, Part 2. Tonight, we are having a New Years Party and tomorrow we will be recovering. On Saturday, we plan on taking Ben to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Ryan and I are really looking forward to introducing Ben to one of our childhood spots. We have many memories of the Aquarium from when we were younger.
Ben has already been spoiled at our first christmas with Ryan's family, but now he is even more. He received a ride-on dump truck, wagon, Rody and ball pit. This is just the toys that haven't been opened yet! He is a well loved, little man.

Wordless (late) Wednesday

Christmas 2009

WARNING: the following post contains many, cute, silly, memory-making pictures. We are not responsible for any tears or laughter this may cause :)
Our Christmas miracle

Playing with his manger set

My best present ever

Opening presents

Closest I'll ever get to putting bows in his hair



Playing with Uncle Michael


Loving his new dump truck




Ben and his Nana

Posing by the tree

I'm dreaming of...

...a white christmas!! We are having so much fun up at Lake Tahoe. Ben is enjoying time with his grandparents and uncles galore. The cabin is the perfect size, Ryan and I have our own room with bathroom. It's so big in fact, Ben is sleeping in our walk-in closet! It's working out perfect since our little man is a light sleeper.
Ben enjoying some Daddy/waffle time

Touching snow for the first time

With his uncles and a candy cane
Snow!

Ben and Mommy


Wouldn't put his hands in the snow, haha!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! Christmas photos to come

Wordless Wednesday

Little man = little chair

Bellies

This is what my son's face looks like after 3 slices of pizza:

This is what the belly of an over-stuffed breastmilk child looks like:

HAPPY ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!

Facelift

If you haven't noticed, my blog has a new look. I'd like to thank Carla over at Masto Mama Makeovers for doing an excellent job. She clearly has a creative eye and has transformed my blog. I had been waiting to make sure I really wanted to continue with blogging, before investing some money into it's makeover. I'm glad I did.
In other news, Ben has completely rebounded. The guy was fine just two days later. Kids are so amazing and resilient. When I'm sick, I'm out at least a week but not our little man. He is back to crawling, laughing and getting his hands on everything he can. We had our first christmas celebration with Ryan's grandma yesterday. Ben was able to show off his crawling skills and I think he liked his new terrain. This week we will be packing and getting ready for Tahoe. I cannot wait to put Ben in the snow!

Caged animal

Sorry we have been MIA these last couple days. Ben came down with a stomach virus and it has been the worst. Poor guy, couldn't hold anything down the first day. We made it through the first day but the next he was running a fever and had diarrhea. Luckily today, he is feeling a lot better and making up for lost time by eating everthing in sight.
He continues to crawl/scoot/teeter between everything. We have put up a gate by our stairs to keep him harnessed. His new favorite thing to do is play with the gate, making it swing open and shut. He has yet to fit himself in the face but I'm sure it will happen in time.


We are gearing up for Christmas in Tahoe. Ryan's parents have rented a HUGE cabin for all of his family. I am looking forward to the trip but not to packing. We will then head down to Monterey where we will have our Christmas with my parents over New Years. We plan on going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and wine tasting. Looking forward to it!

Wordless Wednesday

I love the expression on his face

Baby laughs

I had to put this up because I think there is nothing cuter then a baby's laugh, especially when it's Bens.

Ryan getting Ben to laugh from Margaux Hughes on Vimeo.

Smudges

I've been wondering why my sliding glass door has been so dirty....

Perhaps it's this guy....

He does like to grab everything lately...

9 months

Happy Nine Months Benjamin! How time flies! We can't believe you have been with us for nine months. Our pre-Benjamin days, seem far away. You have really taken off this month, crawling and climbing everywhere. Take it easy on us, ok?
In a couple weeks, we will celebrate your first christmas. Daddy and I can't wait to share this new experience with you. Continue to grow and keep us smiling buddy!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

12/7 CF clinic visit

Today, Ben and I made the 2 1/2 hour trek to UCSF. We had our usual, every 10-weeks, cf appointment with Dr. Nielson. Ben still has a bit of a phlegmy cough so we decided to go in a couple weeks earlier. I don't think we could have asked for a better appointment. Ben weighs almost 22 lbs, which is up 3 1/2 lbs from the beginning of October! That puts him around the 70th percentile!! Yay!! He is 28 inches long which is around the 57th percentile. This is all good news, we want to keep Ben around or above the 50th percentile (must be all those waffles he's eating!). His ears and throat looked good, but his lungs did sound a little coarse but not crackly which is good. Because of his continuous cough, Dr. N and the nurse practitioner decided to put Ben on a 5-day round of Azithromycin to help clear it up. We didn't see the dietician, she was busy and since Ben's weight was so good, she didn't feel like she needed to stop in. I was told not to worry about him only eating waffles, keep introducing new foods, but just be glad he had a healthy appetite. We won't need to see them again until February. All in all, a good day!

Hold on!

Here is a video of Ben standing by himself. Before we know it, he'll be walking. Oh, and as of right now, the only food Ben will eat is waffles and pizza. I think this is my karma coming back, for that whole year I would ONLY eat Top Ramen when I was young. Hopefully, my little man won't be as picky of an eater as I was.

Ben standing by himself from Margaux Hughes on Vimeo.

Big Boy

Ben has really taken off this last month. He can crawl faster then I can run after him and he has started pulling himself up on everything. His favorite thing to do is stand at the coffee table and eat his dinner. He can stand by himself while eating and at times, watch Sprout. Yep, life is hard here in the Hughes home! Ryan and I are exhausted at the end of the day, Ben keeps us on our toes! He has come down with a nasty cough and a low-grade fever, but I'm hoping that rest, Tylenol and some tlc will help him feel better in a few days. I have a call into UCSF but I have a feeling, they are just going to tell us to monitor him and come in if he gets any worse. Hopefully he won't so please keep him in your prayers.

Thankful

I wanted to do a Thanksgiving post earlier but we were out of town for Thanksgiving and I have since come down with Mastitis. This is something I would not wish upon anyone. The good news is that I am not contagious and don't have to worry about staying away from Ben. I wanted to do a David Lettermen-style "Top 10" things to be thankful for.

10. A roof over our head. Yes, it isn't a roof that we own but I am thankful that everynight we have a warm, dry place to sleep.

9. Ryan's job. In these times I am so grateful to have a steady income. Even if we wish it was higher, so many people are without. This is not lost on us.

8. Our health insurance. When I get the bills in the mail and see what your insurance is paying versus us, I am thankful. With Ben's CF, we could quickly spend hundreds of dollars a month on medical bills. Luckily we don't.

7. Our CF families/friends. I don't know what I would do without the internet. I have connected with so many other CF moms that have become a huge support to me. Even though I have never met these women, I feel closer to them then ever before.

6. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For every dollar that is donated, 90 cents goes directly towards finding a cure. They want a cure as badly as we do. If you have a chance, visit their site HERE.

5. Our CF team. The team at UCSF consists of people who generally care about Ben and his health. They want to see Ben grow to be an old man. They have the attitude Ryan and I need. We are thankful for all their work and advancement in finding a cure for CF.

4. Our friends in Sacramento. We are so glad to be back where we belong. Our friends are there for us when we need a babysitter or just to get out of the house. I can't wait to see the team we build for Great Strides 2010. We have so much support.

3.Our families. We are so lucky to have supportive families that will help us through any troubled times. It's amazing how many people love Ben and would do anything for him. We are so thankful to have you in our lives.

2. Benjamin. A little man that has brought us more joy then we could ever have imagined. He is our whole world. We are thankful for his health and how well he is doing. We won't stop until there is a cure. It's all for him.

1. My husband. My soulmate and great love. He works hard for his family and always wants to do more. He would give Ben and I the world if he could. I can't wait to grow old with him. I love you, Ryan.

He's gonna be so mad

One day, my son will be mad at me for putting these up. However, I happen to think that he has the cutest butt ever and I have to share it with you. I hope he can forgive me.

Look out!

We were finally able to tape Ben crawling. The little man moves fast!

Ben Crawling from Margaux Hughes on Vimeo.

We'd like to wish Boppa a Happy 5?th Birthday!!

Photos

Last week we had our photos taken by the wonderful Jill Carmel at Jill Carmel Photography. I told her I wouldn't post up any photos due to copyrights but if you click HERE you can see a couple on her blog. Just scroll down until you find us.

Helicopters

Lately Ryan has taken an interest in flying helicopters. RC helicopters that is. He was given one by a customer of his and flies/works on it during his spare time (which isn't much). At first Ben was afraid of the helicopters, mostly because they make a loud noise but he has become more and more interested in them. He even likes them. It's a great distraction for CPT time. Ryan just flies the helicopter around the living room while I do Ben's CPT. Then Ben will sit on Ryan's lap and watch him for awhile.



Stay tuned. I'm still trying to get a video of Ben crawling- I'm usually running after him!

All it took...

..was a posting about Ben not crawling, to get him started. That's right, our little man has FINALLY decided to crawl!! He is so much fun to watch. He isn't very quick but does manage to get around. Of course, Ryan and I brib him with things to crawl towards, ie things he shouldn't have (like the remote, our cell phones). He has been giving lots of kissing lately, which is really just him coming at you with an open mouth. He loves to look at himself in the mirror and slams into his face to give himself a kiss. I'll post a video of Ben crawling when I get a chance.