Thanksgiving Trip

Benjamin went on his first big trip over Thanksgiving. We all went down to Pennsylvania to see all his Johnston relations. It was a very long drive, but Ben was a good traveller, especially on the way down, when he slept the first four hours (it helped that we left at 6 am). He got really sick of the car seat, though, and just wanted to play and wiggle. When we got down there, he went to meet his Grandma Cookie, who thought he was very dear.

Baby's First Lecture

We don't have any photos of baby's first lecture, but it was by Thomas Hubka, on Polish wooden synagogues, and was held at an old synagogue (now being renovated into a Jewish cultural center) on Nov 1. Ben sat on Jessica's lap and watched the slides and the chandeliers, and was quite attentive. Andy and Jessica were very impressed. Ben also went to a party at Andy's colleague Tricia's on Nov. 11, and had a very good time. He wore his fancy French outfit that was a present from his Gpa Bill and Gma Jan. He was passed around from person to person, and loved being held and watching all the people. He is a very social baby.

Halloween

For Halloween, Ben had two costumes. In the daytime, he was SuperBaby (seen here with other babies in his mom and baby class). In the evening, since it was chilly, he dressed up as a leopard. We all sat on the porch and handed out candy (with Varun, from downstairs, and his mother Nisha), although Ben went out to visit some of his good friends in the neighborhood.

Getting bigger

Throughout October, Ben got bigger and stronger, and more interactive, smiling and batting at the world. Mommy is still particularly useful as a mattress, as well as the Milky Way Diner, but Daddy is fun to play with. Ben is very fond of standing up, with Daddy helping out. Often he refuses entirely to bend at the waist and sit down.

Cousin Rachel

Andy's cousin Rachel was in town in October for a conference, and she came by to visit Ben. Ben thought she was great.

Aunt Adrienne

Later in October, Benjamin's Aunt Adrienne came to visit, along with his cousin Sebastian, who is 5 weeks older than Benjamin. We had a wonderful, chaotic time. The weather was beautiful, and we went out walking on the Wellesley campus, but mostly we just hung out and played. By this time (2 weeks later) Ben had sworn off the pacifier again, but Adrienne tried him with the human pacifier. During that visit Ben had such a big blowout that he had his first bath in a sink. Between them, Ben and Sebastian kept Andy very busy doing laundry.

Baby gym

The older Ben gets, the more he loves the baby gym that his Grandpa Bill and Grandma Jan got him when they came to visit. He even shared it with his cousin Sebastian. Adrienne took a short video of the action, which you can see at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwp_6-GdBfg&eurl=

Aunt Greta

In early October, Benjamin's Aunt Greta came to visit. Benjamin loved being held by her, and she even talked him into using a pacifier. We walked around Cambridge and the Harvard campus one day, and went apple picking another, coming home with three huge bags of apples. It was crazy busy there -- people were even tailgating. A wonderful time was had by all.

Getting used to each other

As we continued through September, we all got a little more comfortable with each other. Jessica and Ben started taking a new moms (and babies) class, which helped Jessica feel more comfortable going out with him (even to lunch with the nine other moms and ten other babies). Jessica and Ben even went to a spinning guild meeting (decked out in knitwear, of course)

Bill and Jan

In September Ben's grandpa Bill and grandma Jan came to visit him and to help us all out while Andy worked on lectures for his first two weeks of school. Bill cooked lots of wonderful meals and left us with a full fridge, which was incredibly helpful. Bill and Jan loved meeting Ben, and Bill taught him the traditional clap your feet game.

Back at home

After nearly a week in the hospital, we were all ready to come home, although it was a little overwhelming to suddenly be entirely responsible for this new human being. The cats were a little surprised by Ben, and still run off when he shrieks, but quickly decided that hanging around in his vicinity was the best way of getting time with people.