Welcomed by the Kerins of Hudson

My dear friend for over 20 years (blangitty frick-a-chick, another "oldie" indicator!), Mrs. Kerins, has been overcoming challenge after challenge these past few years, and I have been too self absorbed to be of any assistance (boo, bad friend, indeed). To help distract us from these circumstances, I conspired with Mr. Kerins to have the Quinones family be surprise weekend houseguests at the Kerins of Hudson's.

John Kerins, Benjamin Quinones, Big Papi, Teddy Kerins

We drove from Frederick to Hudson in about 6.5 hours - not too bad considering that I-76 was shut down from Pittsburgh to 80, so we had to take a detour, AND we were traveling with one little Mister "unenthusiastic carseat rider."

Upon arrival, we went straight to the front door and rang the bell. Mrs. Kerins opened the door to us asking, "Is this where the fan club meets?" She was SHOCKED - she stared at us for a seond in complete disbelief, and then bent over laughing and crying and trying to catch her breath! It was the most wonderful reaction and we all felt so smarty arty at having pulled one over on her - as Mrs. Kerins is exceptionally clever, and I had myself convinced that she had us all figured out!

The Kerins family are all handsome and well - Mrs. Kerins is dilligently working on her recovery. We had a splendid weekend of cooking out, hanging out, playing outside, laughing out loud, and hugging all around :) We love the Kerins and we miss seeing them!!!! Hopefully we will not have to wait too long for a planned weekend of fun ;) THANK YOU to Mr. Kerins for allowing us this intrusion, and T H A N K Y O U to Mrs. Kerins for being such a great sport. :) xoxoxoxo And, Thank You to those beautiful boys for playing so nicely with Benjamin and showing him how the "big guys" roll... xoxo

bwyl *SherryQ* xo

Around the House and going to the FMS

Benjamin likes to look out of the windows and use his very loud voice to greet the day :)

Teddy keeps Benjamin company in his VERY OWN bed - I know that you are shocked (frankly, I am too - about the bed, I mean). We purchased a tempur-pedic style foam twin mattress, so that Benjamin would still have the same feeling as sleeping in our bed. He really likes to play around on his bed, and seems to be napping there pretty well. The next step is going to be putting him into his own bed while he is still awake and see if he falls asleep on his own... Sounds like another "Mommy" issue to me too :)

We had some beautiful blooms this month... and our very magic tree continues to hold on... defying all gravity, wind, and the past few winters of ice storms. It truly is a magic tree! I too wonder who lives inside of there, but shy away from getting close and really exploring - I don't want to scare anything away :)



A silly baby playing in a guest room - please avert your eyes from the nasty carpet/ Grandmother's old chair that needs recovered / table extensions stored underneath the bed/ random room divider covered with a fabric piece from Egypt / and empty Pelligrino box :( Dear Sherry, fix up your house, please. Thank you, random guest.

This month also found us at the Friends Meeting School as stand-ins for Tana's Grandparents on Grandparent's day. Although, come to think of it, if we had come from a different time, or family situations, we are old enough to be grandparents - FRICK and EEEEEEEEEEEEEKS!!!! >:P Daggumit and dang, we are OLDEN...

Tana is the sweet puffin in the tie-dye shirt on the far right of the screen with impish curly hair. Curiously enough, behind two tall boys (Patrick and Akash), and next to the assistant teacher, Miss Tina. Tana gets to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Miss Tina :)

This video is very fuzzy (sorry)... and Benjamin became very excited at one point and knocked the camera all around (again, sorry!) Tana is reading her story about her pet, Forest. Forest is our Golden Retriever - notice at the end how she says that her favorite thing about Forest is that he lives at Titi's (that's me) house! Tana and Forest have had some challenges ;) Having each child read their stories aloud took over an hour... 3, 4, and 5 year-olds sitting for an hour... aye, yi, yi.

bwyl *SherryQ* xo

The Piano Man

Hee hee :)

This is from earlier in the month - he can get up and down with total and complete abandon, I mean, "ease."

Of course, I keep telling Granny and GDad how much of a super music genius Benjamin could be IF he had a black lacquer petite baby grand piano, and matching bench... I'm just sayin' that I calls it how I sees it :)

bwys *SherryQ* xo

Benjamin receives visitors :)

This past month Benjamin turned 10 months old, and received visits from Granny, GDad, the younger McCoys, the Hess family, AND the Gelhaus family of Ohio! Ms. Robyn and her handsome Red Sox fan beau, Michael, also joined in the fun! Don't tell Benjamin, Robyn and Michael may have also stopped over to see the Gehaus family :) Even though I was exhausted for some unexplained reason, it was lovely to see everyone! My mother and my husband really stepped up to the plate with all of the food (THANK YOU!) We enjoyed a Mexican fiesta evening with tasty treats - but I forgot to put on the music, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, which would have made the evening even more fun...


Benjamin enjoyed Prima Zoe and Prima Tana's visit!




Sleepy Benjamin is thinking a lot.





Prima Tana and Prima Zoe wore pretty dresses to Beans in the Belfrey with their Mommies and their sweet Granny!

Jack Gelhaus knows all kinds of tricky tricks like walking, running, growing awesome teeth... Benjamin was in awe, and a little bit perplexed!

Our little non-API (but all meeting through and communicating through API) baby playgroup met at Benjamin's house this month! How fun!!! My theory was that if we hosted the group, then I knew we would make it - and be on time... I didn't count on Benjamin deciding to fall asleep about 10 minutes before everyone arrived, and then to sleep soundly through 2/3 of the playgroup ... wouldn't you know it!?! Oh well... we're going to host again in June, maybe he'll stay awake for some of it then :)

Spring brings to mind...

Thoughts of cleaning up and out...

Quickly turn to thoughts of playing with baby Benjamin!




... and enjoying an old puppa

Benjamin likes to "Chatter"

These aren't the best examples - he sometimes really gets going with all of his sounds :)

Just prior to me grabbing the camera, he was snuggling his head into the puppa's fur and babbling away - telling Forest his adventure stories. By the time I started the camera, he was trying to get back down onto the floor (which he will only do occasionally on his own) and talk on his telephone to the mysterious people that must live in there...

Here Benjamin has climbed onto my yoga brick and is holding on for dear life onto a chair. It turns out that he is telling me that he needs a new diaper - you'll see the stinky nose face that I falsley attribute to a scary tale. Once I helped him up after his fall at the end (he was fine), I discovered the true story... a diaper full of things that he did not want it to be full of ;)

Where Benjamin eats dirt, and likes it!

Here am I, a sweet young babe out in the fresh air with my handsome puppers...

And then, I find

DIRT!!!!!!! Dirt is awesome, and tasty, and fun to squiggle my hands in, and just plain brilliant!











A few days later, I practice my new awesome messy skills, impressing my Big Papi by feeding myself freeze dried blueberries and then avocado with my cool green spoon!

Yeah, I got the whole word in my hands, and I am spinnin' it like nobody's business ;)

Our Second Trip to Cincinnati

Yes, we did it again... even though I said,
"Never! Never, ever, ever! Do NOT even ask me ever never ever again!"
We still went.

I still said, "Never! Never, ever, ever! I mean it this time, DO NOT EVEN ask me ever never ever again!"

Benjamin still hates riding in the car - can you tell?

On the up side, we did have a great time once there...


Doesn't Zoe just ooze happy enthusiasm in this photo?!!? I love it!



Aunt Kerry's birthday fell on Easter this year (OUCH!),
and so we had a double celebration:

Easter pictures and playing with Zoe in the early afternoon,
while Aunt Kerry and Uncle Jim went to a Red's game,

and then a yummy Easter feast while Aunt Kerry opened her very happy birthday gifts :)

And, then... more peaceful moments of the ride home:

Early Easter at Ft. Detrick

We took Prima Tana and Uncle Corey with us to see the "Easter Bunny" at the park on Ft. Detrick. They had an Easter egg hunt too!


The Easter bunny was, well, was kind of, sort of,
very much creepy...

Afterwards, Prima Tana wanted to carry

her baby around in the Ergo, just like Tio carries Benjamin.

Yes - that is the adult Ergo - we just tightened all of the straps for sweet Tana :)

ttyl *SherryQ*

9 Months-Old and He's ALL tHaT!

Momma, Is it okay if I take care of Forest now? See how gentle I am? I really LOVE him!Now, Forest, your hair should stretch just like ... this ... (pull, pull, pull)

Benjamin enjoys Forest very much - Forest sometimes enjoys him right back :)

And now ... 8 1/2 months old

Baby Benjamin is growing, growing, growing!

I had a dream last night that he just started talking, in full sentences, and surprised us all :)

Benjamin in his new carseat - we're not using it yet, but soon will be :)


Pretty soon Benjamin will have spent more time outside of the womb than inside, which means he will lose most of his special baby talents, and really start developing his special growing-into-a-person talents. We can already see his little personality coming through! He seems to have a very silly side, is sensitive, and balls up his little fists when he is frustrated - so far, all of this is adorable :)

Benjamin is enjoying eating oatmeal with bananas, bananas on their own, peas, asparagus, avocado, chicken (woo hoo!), pears, mangoes, kiwi, grapes (peeled), sweet potatoes, butternut squash, apples, kale, zuchinni and probably other stuff that I am forgetting here...

We are going to be trying broccoli (again), cauliflower, yellow squash, cabbage, green beans and pork soon!

Benjamin loves being outside - he crawled all through the grass on his own (no coaxing from Mommy).

And he loves being with Forest the dog. Forest wants to love Benjamin, and he is trying so hard. But, it is difficult for a puppa when a sweet baby pulls on his tail, his sensitive boy bit area hair, and pokes him in his eyes...

Octavio and Benjamin are great pals and play with the basketball game in the nursery, read books, and roll the soft sport balls across the floor together ;)Peek-a-Boo and making funny faces/noises is a really big hit with Benjamin right now - he is such a little giggler!

Benjamin is a super-crawler, and pulls up to stand on everything (including the dog) - so we expect it won't be too long before we have a super-walker living with us :)

We hope that all is well with everyone out there - take care, Happy Passover, Happy Easter, and Happy Spring to all!!!

xoxoxoxo Sherry, Octavio, Benjamin and Forest ;)

Adventures with Baby Benjamin - outside and standing!

Benjamin's first time on the lawn...

Forest is teaching Benjamin all about lawn care :)

Super stander!!!

Derek Zoolander "Salesman" look

shhhh... sleeping with Big Papi ;)

And some movement by our little mover :)

and then

Don't worry... he is just fine and was right back up again :) Our sweet baby boy!

Is anyone looking at this stuff, or am I amusing myself?

*SherryQ*

Still shots etc

Tired of the movies? :)

Here are some still shots..
Prima Tana and Baby Benjamin on the hammock... Baby Benjamin playing with blocks from Prima Zoe and jumping in his Amby jumperoo




And another movie ;)

and stills... of Prima Tana with her fancy dolls from Abuela and Abuelo!

He's a crawling fiend :)

Our little sweet monster baby Benjamin... he takes after his Big Papi, and he LOVEs to eat, eat , eat :)




Benjamin also enjoyed his Prima Tana this past week - she stayed with us while her Mommy was in California and Daddy was in Israel.

and

Benjamin is a crazy crawler now, and has been pulling up onto the couch and ottoman to stand! With Tana here, we moved the bed to put the baby rail back on - but he thinks it is great fun to pull up on it and tip over the top... so I'm not sure how useful it will be for safety - he is drawn to it ( and many other things) like a moth to a flame!

and

and

And in his jumpy jump Amby attachment:

and

This photo was just 2 1/2 weeks ago - and this clip as well :)



Baby Benjamin and Prima Zoe helped Tana celebrate her FOURTH Happy Birthday on Valentine's Day, and at her birthday party with friends on the 15th at her gymnastics studio! Tana's "real" birthday was on the 17th - she is SO grown-up now!!!

Prima Zoe, Benjamin and Forest relaxing on the giant couch :)

We seriously heart the couch!

Here's the sweet baby sleeping in his carseat...

and in his cool wagon...

Wishing Big Papi a very Happy Birthday on 3.1
Poor Big Papi has a terrible cold :(Happy steam bath time:








Granny and GDad say, "goodbye," for now, and baby Benjamin has fun discovering Big Papi's new computer ;)


More to come... this week is double Puffin trouble at the Mt. Zion house!!! ;)

Moving right along...

W h e w! A lot of catching up to do :)
We have an Aero garden now - and here is what it brings to our table:

Thai basil, Italian basil, oregano, thyme, mint, and chives... yumola

The honorable MLF Kerins suggested rolling our meatballs in cheese before cooking them, and while not a very flattering photo, we did do just that and they turned out to be quite yum indeed.

But, seriously, I think what you are wondering about is baby Benjamin - I am right, eh? :)

stay tuned....

A Puffin Party!

Aunt Sydney had a procedure at the hospital,
so Prima Tana stayed with us for 4 nights of puffin fun!

Grainy... sorry! This was in the evening.

What we saw on our Nature Walk

My Happy Gentlemen

Hi :)
We have been taking nature walks with the sweet puppa around our yard. The sunshine is just too delicious to pass up! This is what we saw today:

We also took a stroll downtown and stopped at the Cuban guy's restaurant - rice and beans and plantains (not for Benjamin, but, soon!).

Prima Tana came to visit...

And... the sweet baby is an eating fiend - following in his family's tradition!

Baby foodie

Baby Benjamin is on a tasty tasting roll :)

Avocado = LOVES it
Bosc Pear = LOVES it, especially cold and chunky for his little growing teeth
Potato = likes it
Sweet Potato = LOVED it, now not so much
Broccoli = has only played and tasted, so... who knows ;)

Since I am a complete paranoid re digestive issues/ compromised immune systems, and their potential link to other yucky things (like autism), we are staying away from processed foods, gluten, and pesticides/hormones/steroid additives etc. and most dairy - although we do plan on a future full of yogurt. Judge as you like - I own my madness :)

We do plan on maintaining a regular APA vaccine schedule, as long as Benjamin seems to tolerate them well - and, so far, so good. Anywho, the pediatricians here in Frederick are now refusing alternate vaccine schedules... pfiffle >:P I may protest as the time gets closer to the whammy vaccines...

Good luck, sweet Benjamin ...

I so want to follow the Baby-led weaning idea for food introduction, and we are, mostly. But Benjamin really likes to chew on his weaning spoon - I have cheated and put food on the spoon...

Since I have the opportunity to let most things flow naturally with Benjamin's development, I am hoping that the food introduction works out too :)

That's all from here for now - I hope that all is well out there for everyone!

ttyl *SherryQ*

The Holidays

The happy holiday season has now concluded, and upon reflection, I say that it was quite busy and hectic and full of family and lots of love and crazy antics by two precious little girls and one sweet baby boy, our little Benjamin :)

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Just before the madness begins:

And... one day before 6 months-old

And... taking a bath (very discreet) :)

And... at 6 months-old... tasting FOOD!

xoxo Happy New Year! There are more photos on my Facebook page ...

*SherryQ*

Christmas Outfits :)

Yes, Santa. I will submit to the wearing of stripey socks.

****Hey, Santa... Recognize! ***

At the end of the Thanksgiving holiday with both sets of grandparents! Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

I can hardly believe that sweet Babycakes Benjamin is already 5 months old! Is he going to be 5 years-old tomorrow?!!?

Peace, Love and wishes for Joy to everyone! xo xo xo slobber-o

*Sherry, Benjamin, Octavio, and Forest*

*

Thanksgiving = Tasty Terrific Fun!

We had Abuela and Abuelo in from Puerto Rico,

***

and Granny and GDad in from Cincinnati...

***

of course, sweet Tana, Uncle Corey and Auntie Sydney drove across town too,
as we all enjoyed a very Happy Thanksgiving indeed :)

***
We had so much fun preparing this turkey:
Corey put the brine together,
Octavio flipped the bird (LOL),
I added the herbs, citrus and baste to roast,
Granny carved the turkey,
Everyone ate (except for Corey who is now a vegetarian)!

Abuelo even had a little Happy Birthday party!

We hope that you all had a very lovely Thanksgiving too :)

*SherryQ*

Benjamin enjoys November

Here he is at 4 months old with his sweet Sophie giraffe, just having a good ol' time getting ready for his teeth to appear!

****

and a motiony bit

Prima Zoe visited and wanted to hold her primo ;)

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The Trip

Well, we have now been on our first real car excursion from Frederick to Cincinnati - Forest, Benjamin, Octavio and Sherry = the little Quinones Family.

Benjamin is not that excited about the car seat.

enough said

we made it there and back again

It was lovely to see friendly faces, and to browse through The Jungle! We visited with Granny and G-Dad, staying in their motorcoach. Little Zoe, Aunt Kerry and Uncle Jim came around to see us, as well as the Strunk family and the Kuritar family - oh, and of course, Mrs. and Mr. May too :) We had so much fun catching up with everyone.

On our way home, Benjamin got to meet Jack Gelhaus at the Cracker Barrel!

It was lovely to see how big Jack is getting, and his cute teeth, handsome smile and ruddy little cheeks :) And, of course, Rachel is gorgeous and happy!

We now feel brave enough to attempt other travel destinations - so, get ready world ~ Here We Come!!! :)

bwyl *SherryQ*

Sweet Benjamin ... :(

Sad and Teary Puffin...

Poor little puffin had such a difficult time relaxing after the exciting Election Day voting outing this morning... even Sophie the giraffe could not comfort this overwhelmed bitty boy.

*** I'm not supposed to call Benjamin a "puffin." I need to wait until the sweet Tana puffin tells me that it's okay to call Benjamin a puffin too. Right now, she is noy okay with that :)

We were SO AmeriCAN today :)

all votin' and stuffs

Big Papi and Benjamin go to vote

Mommy and sweet Benjamin go to vote too!
wet hair and all ;)
Can you tell that my photo is cropped so that I look even TALLER?
shhh... don't tell Karin!