A Time of Firsts...

Life is full of first-time experiences, and we've had
no shortage of them recently in the Hills household!
This posting is dedicated to a few of our first-time faves.

We have to start with Benton, who's made us so proud
lately with his ability to stand! He can't stand for long
periods of time, and he needs some assistance, but we
work at it every day. Here are two photos of him
standing with light assistance from Nurse Deb.




And here's an action video of B standing to peek
out the back window. Look at how tall he is! He
loves his view of the world at this vantage point!


Sometimes Benton gets tired though, and needs
to rest a bit on little bro Iron.


Speaking of Iron, he learned to ride a bike...


Well, not really...but he did learn to motor!
Here's video of his first crawl!


Taking his new crawl to the next level, Iron
added onto it another first: flirting. The target?
Willa Joy Woods (who else?!!). Are they both
playing hard to get?


Iron also learned to play the piano...


Also proving he inherited the music gene, Benton
showed his skill at playing the squeaky mushroom
while Iron kept beat with raspberries.


Iron also learned he has a friend who is very, very
much like him: his reflection. It's amazing--this new
friend laughs and makes funny faces at the exact
same time! :-)


Mommy, Daddy and Iron shared a first-time
experience just the other day--they went to a
high school football game! At our own "Friday
Night Lights" outing, we watched Mountlake
Terrace pulverize Oak Harbor under a beautiful
late summer sky.


It was fun, even though some of us just
couldn't make it to the fourth quarter!


In a twisted display of flirting (again), Iron and
Willa confiscated one of Benton's therapy "vehicles"
for the first time. Willa had a blast pushing Iron
around. Iron had a blast until he became all too
intimate with the couch!


Iron is progressing well with eating. Although he
still enjoys a bottle, his ability to eat solids
improves with each new tooth (five and counting!)
In this video, we demonstrate his new ability to be
a discerning diner.


And most recently, on Labor Day, Iron ran his first
road race, the Super Jock 'n' Jill 1/2 Marathon
and 4+ Mile Fun Run. We ran the 4+ Mile course,
which started and finished at Redhook Brewery.
Redhook is located next to Chateau St. Michelle
and Columbia wineries in Woodinville, Wash.


Now that we're veterans at all of these
activities, we look forward to trying new
ones and sharing them with you soon!