Tom and I are celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary today! :) Actually, we're technically not celebrating until Saturday, when we get to ditch the kiddo and go on a date, but today is the official day. We ordered out for dinner as a mini-celebration and we got indian food from this new place up the street. Indian food is yummy, I discovered. Although, I was a little skeptical of this sauce that came with both of our meals. What IS it? Nothing is naturally this color... it looks like Kermit the Frog puree. Anyone? Anyone?

Argh. You probably have noticed I don't talk about the sleep issue much anymore over here. There was a time when this blog may as well have been titled, "He'll Never Sleep Through the Night." But things slowly worked themselves out and for three months or so, we've had a solid, 7:30 - 7a.m. sleeper. I can't really take credit for much of it... he just did it when he was ready, I guess.

There are scattered nights of sleeplessness though, mostly illness or teeth related. I think last night was a "molar" night. One of his top molars just broke through and his little gums are practically bursting open in three other places. Hence, he was up more than he was asleep last night. Even the grape-flavored Tylenol didn't buy us much sleep.

Here's the funniest story that came out of last night (if you don't count me tearing the house apart at midnight for grape Tylenol that turned out to be in the diaper bag)... the first time Ben woke up screaming his head off Tom went to go take care of it. The screaming continued. I'm sure all the other mommies know what I'm talking about when I say I laid there in bed for a good five minutes thinking, "I can't believe he can't get him to stop crying, why do I have to do EVERYTHING? Doesn't he know all he has to do is yadayadayada....?" So I threw the covers off, tromped into the nursery and took Ben... the kid took one look at me and started yelling, "DADA!!!" "DADA!" in between his screams like I was a kidnapper trying to carry him out of the grocery story or something.

I said, "Hey uhhh... Tom, I think he wants you." Sure enough, Ben practically LEPT from me to Tom and stopped crying. That was one of the clearest bits of communication I've ever seen from Ben! Too bad he was asking for dada... I dunno what THAT was all about. Needless to say, I was still up all night...

:: yawn ::

In happy baby news, I should mention we have been bottle-free at our house for almost a week! Again, I can't take credit for this. One morning, he just spit out the bottle and that was the end of that. It's like he was saying, "Hey dummy, didn't you read one of those hundreds of books you have? You're supposed be trying to get me OFF the bottle now that I'm one. Here, lemme help you... ::spit::"

Thanks to all of you who emailed me. I heard from some readers I didn't even know I had. I really appreciate it and I'm sorry I had to ask at all! Most people won't experience any trouble getting to the site... a few might have some outages while I experiment with my IP blocker. If this happens, just drop me a quick note letting me know. Thanks! :)

I am making my blog a much more exclusive club... this change is due to the recent photo stealing issues on other blogs and for other personal reasons, including the fact that I have so much personal info here and my old cell phone is still floating somewhere around Orlando and whoever has it keeps calling my HOME PHONE.

I am going about it in a somewhat rudimentary way though, so if you'd honestly like to continue reading, you may want to drop me an email NOW with your IP address/service provider because seriously, I am blocking IP's left and right if I don't know who they are, and later today I'm blocking a biggie.

I come from a musical family... my dad is the mayor of Melody Lane. He is also a music teacher, a music director and a jingle writer. He does a bunch of other musical stuff on the side, but those are the main things. Mr. Music, my dad. He lucked out with my brother and I, because, while we didn't take formal lessons for any substantial length of time, we both absorbed a lot of love for music by just being around it all the time I think. We both play the piano (him by ear and much better than me) and can sing okay enough. I've also dabbled in flute and violin over the the years. My mom? Well, she's content being like the tamborine girl in our wacky knock-off Partidge Family. She probably could sing and play the piano if she wanted too, but she never tries, so who knows. Mostly, I think she'd just like the house to be quieter though.

So Ben... he's clapping to music, dancing and "singing" (going ahhhhh into a toy microphone) a lot these days and we all have high hopes that he managed to get maybe half a musical gene. We're hoping he at least likes music and that he can carry a tune... we're hoping that just as hard as my husband is hoping he takes an interest in "the game" and can throw a baseball. Heck, he can do both! A piano-playing shortstop. (he can also be a dainty ballerina for all I care, just for those of you who are going to jump on me about dictating my kid's likes and dislikes)

It's not that we'll be disappointed in him if he isn't musical... it's just that we could really use a backup singer. His daddy (tone deaf as they come)didn't exactly come through for us in that respect. ;)

I'm kidding, we don't really have a family band, people... sheeeeesh. ;)

from left to right, top to bottom:
*All dressed up for Easter
*Elmo birthday cake
*blowing out his birthday candle with Uncle Taylor
*Ice cream is cold!
*But yummy... and enticing enough to try using a spoon!

This morning we went to church with Benjamin's Nanee and Pap. Ben was great in church and looked oh so adorable in his Easter outfit. I will have to post pictures later because my camera is trapped in the diaper bag IN Ben's room right now and he's not quite asleep. (if he sees me, even for a split second, he'll freak) Gah.

After church, we came home and relaxed for awhile then headed back to Nanee and Pap's for Easter dinner a goldfish-filled easter egg hunt, and Ben's 1st Birthday Party Part Deux. This time there was Elmo ice cream cake and he dug in... sorta. Again, there are pics but .... diaper bag, room, sleeping baby... so later.

Ben got lots and lots of blocks for his birthday... Legos and Megablocks are going to be taking over my living room. Add them to the Peekablocks (we got 26 more of those too, bringing the grand total to somewhere over 100) and I'm pretty sure we can build just about anything over here. I'm going to be stepping on, picking up, putting away and cursing blocks for years to come. But Benjamin loves them, and they don't make noise OR light up so they really were a great gift idea on the part of all who gave them. So, thanks all. :) Babby and Grandad, he loves the light up, noise making toy too! ;) I'll just move one of the other light up, noisemaking toys to the basement to make room for this one so I don't go completely out of my mind. :)

Stay tuned for some pictures later...
~*~

It's past my bedtime and these weirdos keep singing that song! What is the DEAL with that SONG?


What IS this?


Seriously. I'm all a mess now.* What is WRONG with you people? Bed! I want my bed!


* The smeared cake was totally staged. I am such a fraud! I stuck his hand in the cake and then I put it all over his face. Bad mommy!

Every child should get one of these in their Easter basket!

For this and other hysterically funny tidbits, check out this new blog I found this afternoon.

Benjamin had his one-year well baby apppointment this morning. Thank goodness for a husband who takes an interest in these things and volunteers to come with us because YOWZA the screaming. OH the screaming. This time, we were able to stave it off until the doctor actually came into the exam room.

Can't. hear. doctor. over. baby. screams.

I did manage to gather that Ben is 20 pounds, 4 ounces and 28 3/4 inches. He's somewhere in the 10-20th percentile. (I sort of missed that part due to the aforementioned screaming) He has dropped down a little but the doctor said as long as he's on the chart, he's fine. He also observed how Ben never stops moving (note to self: new nickname, Busy Ben) and said that probably has a lot to do with him not gaining weight very quickly. Wow. See? More calories out than calories in! It DOES work. Atkins, schmatkins. Stop fearing spaghetti and take a lesson from my baby! All you have to do is run in circles all day.

Before he actually entered the room and provoked the high-pitches wails, the doctor must have heard Ben babbling away. He asked if Ben does that all the time, we said nonstop. He said that was wonderful and that he's right on track and communicating very well. He also asked if he could say the word, "no" yet. We said no (hehe) and he said "Good, maybe he'll hold out awhile on that one for you." Little does he realize that Ben has plenty of ways to communicate "NO!" Ack.

This was all followed by two shots. The MMR and another Pneumonicocal somethingorother. (I'm so on top of things, aren't I?) ;) Ben didn't like those.
NO-SIR-EE.

We don't have to go back until 15 months. Thank goodness. These appointments are exhausting! I need a nap...

Thank you so much for all the happy birthday wishes for Benjamin! Every one of them will be printed out for his scrapbook. :) He says to tell you he doesn't feel all that different now that he is one year old. Maybe two will feel different? ;)

I tweaked my site design a little last night. I wanted it to look a little less "baby." I started out experimenting with bright primary colors but those looked garish and I almost blinded myself. So I thought I'd spare you and go with this nice muted blue. ;) You'll notice I also cleaned house a little. Christina, I fixed your disappearing links problem, check them out now! ;)

If We Didn't Have Birthdays

If we didn't have birthdays, you wouldn't be you.
If you'd never been born, well then what would you do?
If you'd never been born, well then what would you be?
You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes.
Or worse than all that ... Why you might be a WASN'T.
A Wasn't has no fun at all. No, he doesn't.
A Wasn't just isn't. He just isn't present.
But you ... You ARE YOU! And now, isn't that pleasant.
~Dr. Seuss



My Little Benjamin,

On this day last year we met you for the first time. As I closed the front door to our house when we left for the hospital at 6:45 in the morning, I remember thinking how significant it was -- the last time your daddy and I would leave our house without you. When we came home from the hospital, we'd be a family of three.

At 11p.m. exactly, the doctor placed you on my tummy and you looked up at us, your mommy and daddy. Your grandmom was one of the first to say hello to you too. She was there the minute you entered the world. You didn't cry. Instead you made the most pitiful little squeaky kitten noises. I noticed your tiny, perfect fingers first, then your head of reddish brown hair. I hadn't expected you to have hair! It was all so surreal that you had been growing inside of me one minute and the next minute there you were.

After you were all cleaned up, you were visited by your Poppy, your Uncle Brandon, your Nanee and Pap, and your Uncles Marc and Taylor. Everyone was so happy to meet you! While they were introducing themselves, I was scarfing down a McChicken and french fries, able to eat and not throw up for the first time in 32 weeks.

I can't even begin to put into words just how special and loved you are, not just by your daddy and me, but by so many others. Your birth was a new beginning in so many ways for all of us. You healed relationships and softened hearts. You are the start of a new generation in our family -- the firstborn. Our firstborn child, the firstborn grandchild, firstborn greatgrandchild for GreatBabby and Great Nana. You are our first son and your daddy's namesake. All of our children will inherit their own unique treasures of birth, and these are yours.

You will bear a few burdens as our first child, the biggest of which being that you are the guinea pig and we will make all of our parenting mistakes on you. I'd like to apologize right now for a few things including:

* the formula switch when we brought you home from the hospital that made you all
gassy
* that night I didn't put the diaper on right so it fell off and you slept in pee
* not realizing right away that crying might mean you just want to nap
* daddy almost taking off the tip of your finger when he cut your fingernails that
one time
* feeding you with the fast-flow nipples and almost drowning you...oops.
* all the times I've started to put the diaper on backwards, thus, making you be
naked for an unnecessarily long time.
* not getting the numbing cream in the right place when we take you to the doctor
for shots
* mismatched pajamas sometimes
* calling you evil and wishing the hospital had a return policy on the nights when
you screamed for hours on end

... this list could become very very long... so I'll just stop now. Just know that we're still learning about this parenting stuff and we're doing our best. Sorry, little guy!

Your personality has been evident from before you were even born. You were never still when you were in my tummy and you haven't stopped moving since you came out. You are stubborn, determined and utterly fearless. These will all serve you well one day, but for now, these traits are keeping your daddy and I on our toes.

You are like your Uncle Brandon in that you already have a funny sense of humor. You keep us laughing all the time (except during those screaming fits... let's work on that, okay?). You get jokes. You think it's funny when I put your socks on your teddy bear or put crazy things on my head and call them hats. You laugh until you can't catch your breath sometimes, and it is such a beautiful thing to hear. How did we ever live in this house without you? Didn't it seem empty? I can't remember you not being here, so I don't know...

You have eight teeth and one on the way. Four of those teeth are already chipped, evidence of the countless headfirst tumbles you take everyday and your obsession with biting the lids off of things. Even though you are rough and tumble, "100% boy" as your grandmom says, you are the sweetest little baby. You often stop your daring explorations just to run across the room and give people hugs and kisses.

You are so smart. Everyone says they can see it in your eyes... you've had that look since you were born and even the pediatrician remarked at your two-month visit how alert you are. You don't miss a THING and you understand so much, even though you aren't saying many real words yet. I love hearing your adorable baby nonsense babble... I'll miss it when it turns into real words.

Happy birthday Benjamin Bunny, Peanut Monkey, Ben-Ben, Teebeegee, my little Benjamin. I can't believe you have been here a whole year. This goes by too quickly. Everyone told me that but when I was knee-deep in sleepless nights I didn't believe them. Now here you are, a toddler. I can't wait to see what your second year brings. You have already brought so much joy to our lives! I love you, baby boy. :)

Love,
Your Mommy

There must be some kind of unspoken rule that once your first baby has been out for a few months, it's okay for people to ask "So when are you having another?"

Oh, you mean when am I going to purposely subject myself to a 35-pound weight gain, day-after-day of puking and heartburn, months of prodding and poking, more damage to you-know-where, and sleepless nights both during and AFTER the pregnancy? When am I going to do THAT again? Hold on, let me get my day-planner and see when I can work that in.

Needless to say, I AM 28. So there isn't TOO much flexibility with the baby schedule since I want to be done well before the "geriatric mommy (medical opinion, not mine)" cut-off date of 35. So Tom and I HAVE done a lot of talking lately about baby #2. We've been sort of hot and cool on the topic since some days around here in firstborn-land are better than others. I think we've reached a decision... at least for now. But Ben is getting his molars now so who knows what fun that will bring in the coming months. ;)

But I've been thinking about what I'll do differently with a second pregnancy. How about any of you, did you/will you do anything differently?

For instance, I don't plan on telling anyone when I'm pregnant again until I'm 10-12 weeks along (except maybe the grandparents MAYBE). Too many friends of mine have miscarried in the past few months and I'm much more concerned about that than I was before.

I'll still DEFINITELY find out the sex (I don't have that much patience! Tom could go 9 months without knowing, but I couldn't) but may or may not share it with people. It would be fun to surprise everyone on the baby's birthday. Plus, then I don't have to deal with, "Oh, another boy, how do you feel about that?" or "It's a girl? Does this mean you're finished now that you have a matched set?"

I might keep the name a secret too. Unlike with Benjamin, we actually don't even have any definite names this time around for either sex. I have the one girl name from last time, but I don't want to be set on that. Madeline has gotten a little too popular lately. It seems like everytime I turn around there's another little girl named Maddie/Madeline. I thought it was a little more unique than that... I chose it because it was my great-grandmother's name and then out of nowhere, everyone else decided they liked it. Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE the name but I just want to give it some more thought.

So those are our thoughts... share yours?

Benjamin picked Claire and Diana as our second chance winners in the Benjamin Trivia contest! Congrats you guys! Thanks for playing along with us. :) Just gmail me your mailing addresses and I will send your cd's along tomorrow!

Remember that cell phone incident I posted about this past weekend? To recap (since the post is gone now), I lost my cell phone while we were in Disney World. It was in the Magic Kingdom somewhere between the parking lot, Pirates of the Carribean (likely) and the path to the Tiki Room. We checked back at the attractions and found nothing. We went to lost and found on Main Street at the end of the day, nothing. We checked the central lost and found three times, nothing. We called central lost and found three MORE times, nothing. I gave up and bought a new phone. Then I checked my bill and saw that someone (likely the person who found my phone) had called a number with it. I called the number and got a woman's voice mail. I didn't leave a message, instead I posted her phone number on this website. (mostly as a joke) I took home heat for this from a couple of people, but I left it there anyway. That's where the story gets interesting.

One of my readers took it upon herself to call the number. She talked to the person and found out that the person who had called HER was a Disney employee. Why the person used my phone to call their friend, is still unclear. But, the person whose number was called with my phone is going to see to it that her friend who called her with it gets the phone back to me... (are you following? I'm trying to avoid using names here)

I'm still unsure whether the intent of the Disney employee was good. Why didn't he/she take it to lost and found at the end of the day the way they are supposed to? Why did he/she make a call from it? That makes me think he/she intended to keep it. This is very much something Disney would NOT approve of...

But I will give him/her the benefit of the doubt for now. I'm hoping he/she will explain where they found my phone and why it is in their possession. We'll see... it could be a Disney "WOW" moment (as they say in the World) waiting to happen. I'll keep an open mind.

Either way, thank you do Deb for making the call. I'm a little embarassed I did what I did to begin with and didn't just call the number and talk to the phone owner like Deb did. (quiet, Jen) ;) But I am glad it has turned out this way.

The internet is an interesting place, isn't it?

It appears from the time stamps on the posts that BabyBella arrived without the help of pitocin. ;) Go wish the Belle family congratulations on their brand new baby girl! :) Ohgosh, that picture really kickstarted the "I want one RIGHT now" thing... ohmanohmanohman...

Benjamin just figured out (today? yesterday?) how to go "beebahbeebahbeebah" by swiping his fingers down his lips. (just use your imagination, don't make me do a demonstration) Now he does beebahbeebahbeebah, followed by clap clap, wave wave! I feel a round of the Hokey Pokey or something coming on...

Heidi! (I'm so glad she won, she tried ALL FOUR WEEKS) ;) Heidi, be sure and gmail me your mailing address so I can send out your cd tomorrow! :)

I'll choose the two second chance winners later. Actually, I plan on putting them all in a hat and letting Ben choose. So I'll let you know how that goes. Stay tuned!

Attention real-life friends and family: Do not assume I am going to give you a cd just because you know me. You HAVE to play! I may decide to give you a cd eventually if you ask nicely, but not unless you at least TRY to play the game! Humor me. ;)

That being said, this your LAST CHANCE!

The rules of play:

When you think you have the answers, G-mail me with the following:

1) Your name (first name or whatever internet name you go by is fine)
2) Your general location
3) How you found my blog and how long you've been reading
4) What keeps you coming back?
5) The answers to the questions (of course!) ;)
6) If you are feeling particularly chatty, feel free to add anything else! :)

The first person to respond with all of the above will, as usual, be the winner! The prize is a copy of Benjamin's Birthday cd (packed full of good music and lovingly created by Benjamin's mommy!) To clarify (as I seem to have confused some of you) it's just a music cd, not a bunch of Ben video...

Don't forget to leave a comment here to be entered to win the second chance contest! Those of you who have already left comments on previous trivia posts, I gotcha registered already. :)

Ready?

1) What was the ORIGINAL name of this blog? (not the original address)

2) What date did Benjamin take his first steps?

3) What were all the cool kids doing in January 2005?

4) Name an item on Benjamin's birthday wishlist?

5) Who was the first winner of the Benjamin Trivia Contest?


There. Short and sweet. Good luck all! I can't wait to give away these last three cd's!

I've been meaning to post this since I use this blog as a reference for the baby book...

Last Monday, Benjamin clapped for the first time! Out of nowhere! He was sitting on Yaya Joan's lap at grandmom's house and just started clapping. Now it's a regular part of all the baby shows he puts on for us. He claps when we say, "Yay!!" He claps when we say "Play Pat-a-cake!" and he claps to music. So cute! He especially likes to show off and clap for awhile the follow it up with a bye-bye wave. I have it on video, but my camera and computer aren't playing nice at the moment. Maybe later. :)

OH! And...

Today, he went to Sunday School for the first time. The kid didn't even look BACK at us once he say all the other babies and the toys. We checked on him about 50 times during the church service and he never once was upset. One of the teachers said he was happy the whole time and got along with all the other babies really well! This made me feel better because he was one of the youngest and smallest in the room of kids ranging from one to just under two years old. But apparently he can hold his own. I love watching him play with other babies, it's adorable... :)


**update** Here's the video of Ben clapping and then waving. It's really short!

Today we went to a really REALLY cool playground with Jen and Ryan. The boys played on the swings (Ryan's favorite) and had snacks and the mommies took lots and lots of pics. The boys are getting to be slightly more on the same wavelength (and height) so these playdates are a little more interesting. There were so many cute pictures! I couldn't really choose, so I just made a movie. Enjoy! Just click on the picture below! :) Thanks Jen and Ryan... Benjamin and I had so much fun! You're right, it was not enough time!

Won't eat. Won't drink. Unless of course, it's mush being fed to him, one of the five finger foods he'll actually give a second look, or expensive formula in a bottle. He doesn't whine or complain for the bottle or for the mush though, he just won't touch anything else. We waste SO much food and milk over here.

So....

Do I just let him get hungry enough so that he'll eat or drink whatever I put in front of him out of whatever I put it in? Or do I cater to his pickiness until next week (the official formula cutoff period?)

I weighed him two days ago and he had lost a pound, he was back down to 19, and that was in pajamas. Then again, he was wriggling, so who even knows if that was right.

Then there's the issue of the carseat. The standard is to keep them rear-facing until the baby is both one year and 20 pounds. But, now I've been reading that it's really safest to keep them rear facing as long as you possibly can, preferably until the rear facing weight limit on your carseat. (I believe ours is 35 pounds). Okay fine. But Ben HATES riding backwards. HATES it. It makes car rides longer than 10 minutes unbearable most times. Almost since he was born I have been counting the days until I get to turn him around. And now this. I can't in good conscience do something that is the less safe option.... but I also can't keep NOT going places because he's a pain in the butt when he's in the carseat.

Everyone please send me "easy baby" vibes for the next time around, k? I need an easy baby... a nice, pliable, easy going, "whatever" kinda kid to pair nicely with my highstrung crazy one. Thanks in advance.

Gotta go. He won't nap even though he's exhausted and I can't take the screaming coming from his room any longer.

The spider...

is he itsy bitsy or eensy weensy? I always thought eensy weensy, but this cd I have we were listening to in the car today claims the spider is itsy bitsy. Then there is is Jen's son Zach's version where the spider is big and fat.

???

Discuss.

In other baby news, Benjamin and I sent off our secret mommy gift today. The message board of March mommies where I post sometimes did a secret mommy exchange all year. It was really fun! Our secret mommy turned out to be Jane. She and Connor sent Ben the Fisher Price ball popper for his birthday which is WAY fun for myself, Ben AND the cats. I hope our secret mommy likes our present. We sent her and secret baby the Leapfrog Magnetic Farm Animals set. Ben LOVES the one he has at grandmom's so we keep giving them to everyone we know. (with a baby)

Did you know that Benjamin was ALMOST born on my birthday? Almost. Instead, his friend Hannah was born on my birthday. I was jealous. Last year's birthday SUCKED. I was fat and pregnant and throwing up and kept being promised an induction "one day soon." I can't even remember what I did last year on my birthday. I'll have to check my archives. LOL.

I'm 28 today. I actually had to think about that extra hard when I woke up this morning. For some reason, I've been stuck on 25 for a few years. So weird. Anyway, Ben and I are celebrating by uh... hanging out at home. I was ditched by both my mom AND my friend Amy for hair appointments. What's up with that? Anyway, Tom apparently has something planned for later, though I can't imagine what it could be since we're not going anywhere and Ben's not going anywhere. Hrm... our real celebration is on Saturday when we are going to drop the baby off with one of the sets of grandparents (any takers?) and go out on a date. Wahoo!

We went to see a brand new baby today! Luke and his mommy and daddy are doing great! (a little too great actually, apparently Luke is sleeping four hour stretches at night. NO FAIR!) Anyway, he's adorable and ohmygosh so tiny. He makes Ben look like a GIANT. Here are a few pictures.

Baby Luke


Josh, the proud daddy

Mommy Jenn, Erin and Baby Luke
Benjamin meet Luke, Luke meet Benjamin

Do you like it here? I know the walls need to be repainted... I was thinking of doing that after Benjamin's birthday... making it look a little less like a nursery and more like a little boy's room. Of course, that will require TIME, and I have precious little of that, so it will be slow process.

You'll also notice the photo albums are gone. It partly out of paranoia and partly because I was going to do something new with the albums after Ben turned one anyway. So they'll be back eventually in one form or another, but they'll probably require a password. You also can no longer right-click to save images. Yeah, in our new home, we actually lock the doors. It's a nice neighborhood, but you never know what the crazies will try.

Today, Benjamin and I are going to visit his newest baby friend, Luke! We'll be sure to post lots of pictures later. For now, I have to go. Ben is desperately seeking attention. Time for a few games of peekaboo and chase around the coffee table, I suppose. :)

Mrs. Flinger! Leslie was apparently just loading up my blog when I posted the quiz because she emailed me ten minutes later! So this one was an easy call... congrats! Everyone else, there's one more shot next Monday and then I'll choose the two second-chance winners! :)

Thanks for playing!

Baby Shmear's Daddy took Benjamin's face and put it on this thing. It's hysterically funny. (see preview pic below) ;) Enjoy and thanks Baby Shmear's daddy... make one of Baby Shmear now so they can dance together. ;)



Also, so I don't have make a whole new post for this, here are some more Disney pics. I categorized them for your viewing convenience.

Some of my favorites from the trip...


Hidden Mickey Pics from Saratoga Springs


Hotel Pics (of Saratoga Springs, their newest resort)

(the answers to these questions start in the August archives) Btw, sorry they are so lame, I was in a hurry to get this written and still have tons to do as far as unpacking and putting away stuff! Good luck!

1) What did my friend Mandy write in the advice book at my shower? (hint: I posted about how I "disobeyed" this advice) ;)

2) Which one of Benjamin's baby friends was delivered by the same doctor?

3) What "lovey" does Benjamin sleep with?

4) What foods did Benjamin try on Thanksgiving?

5) When did the baby gate "baby jail" FINALLY arrive?

Same rules. If you've introduced yourself already no need to do so again. If you need the original rules, go back to the post from 2/28 Again, leave a comment to be considerd for the second chance drawing! ;)

The winner of last Monday's Benjamin Trivia wasJen! She was the first one in by a few hours! Heidi, you were second and Nicole, a close third. The next round goes up later, so give it another try! Congrats Jen! :)

It was almost 80 degrees today when we took off from Orlando International Airport. I felt like I should have been wearing shorts and a t-shirt, or swimming.... but sadly, I was wearing jeans and toting a winter coat in preparation for our arrival in Freeze Your Butt Off Land. Our flight was unevenful for the most part. Benjamin was given a certificate and some wings from Southwest, signed and stamped, to commemorate his first ever flight. (okay, his second flight... we forgot to ask about it on our way down). We pre-boarded. Pre-Ben, I used to shoot dagger eyes at all the pre-boarders (since Southwest doesn't have assigned seats and all). I thought, "Hey, look at all those evil people using their babies and wheelchair bound relatives just to secure a good seat at the front of the plane!" But OHMAHGAH, if it weren't for preboarding, I don't know how we would have managed with the baby, the carseat, the stroller and three carry-ons. So to all the people in the pre-boarding line I have shot dagger eyes to in the past, please accept my apologies. Like many other things about parenthood, I get it now.

Ben slept the WHOLE flight... it was wonderful. I think I can safely say too now that I am over my flying phobia. I really enjoyed these last two flights, from beginning to end. However, Southwest Airlines, if you are reading, you should tell your flight attendants to not say, "Oh! What was THAT?! I've never heard that before!" within earshot of the passengers when a strange "bang" occurs. You never know how many recovering fearful flyers might be on board ready to try to jump out of the emergency exit at a moment's notice.

So yes, we are home now. And it's SO nice. We had such a great time on vacation, but now I'm ready to resume my boring life. Watch for lots of blog updates... I have more pictures to post, some website updating to do at the new address, some Ben trivia contest entries to be looked at, and a winner to be declared. PLUS, Ben Trivia 3 will be up tomorrow sometime! :)

I also have to break Ben of some bad vacation habits... mostly sleep related. So the next few days are going to be busy!

Today we spent some time swimming and lounging in the sun. It was relaxing and very much needed. We leave tomorrow afternoon. While it's always sad to leave Disney, I think we're all ready to get home. Here's our flight info if anyone feels like watching us fly home to Maryland! :) (the links to the flight tracks are on the post from March 5, I believe)

Southwest Flight 928
2:15p.m. MCO to BWI

See ya'll when we get home! :)

-Erin and the little mouseketeer

Today we went for our character breakfast at Chef Mickey's! We all waited anxiously to see how Ben would react to the costumed characters. He LOVED them. In fact, he'd cry whenever they left our table. He had big kisses for Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Minnie. He also tried SO many new foods and loved them all! After that we took a walk around the Grand Floridian hotel... it's a beautiful day to be outside! :)

Here are a few pics from this morning...
Now THAT is a hidden mickey... it's on the headboard of our bed.


That is a REALLY big toy, mommy.


I think I like him!


Let's play peek-a-boo!


Benjamin meets Mickey!


And flirts with Minnie...


Taking a walk in the sand...

Today we went to the park for the last time... without BEN! He stayed with his grandparents ALL DAY while Tom, his brothers and I enjoyed a day at Magic Kingdom and Epcot by ourselves. It was SO nice. We hit all the rides one of us had to sit out of to watch Ben.

We also switched hotels today... there'a a new vacation club hotel here and we wanted to check it out, so Tom's parents built two days here into our vacation. It's REALLY REALLY nice. Tom and I have the master bedroom in the two-bedroom villa, complete with king size bed and jacuzzi tub. I'll have to take pictures because I think it will be quite awhile before we get to do THIS again.

Ben has decided that sleep interferes with his vacation life. It's 9:15 and he is STILL up. WIDE AWAKE.

I don't have any more interesting news... so I'll leave you with some pictures from today.

-Erin and the little mouseketeer

Astronaut Mickey and Goofy at Mission Space in Epcot


Standing on my number at Test Track (second time) By the way, BOTH times we rode this, Marc (Tom's brother) was on his phone, once, it was right before we "almost hit" the barrier wall. Guess we've ridden it too many times for it to still be intense. ;)


Tom's brothers, me, Tom, and their cousins Carter and Carson at Epcot this afternoon.



The boy at the pool at our "new" hotel. This pool starts at 0 feet, and Ben LOVED it. (for those of you following the "Ben hates pools" saga.)


The boy at the pool again


A "hidden Mickey" I found at the pool... is it really one? Not sure... but I'd like to think so.



The boy at dinner... happy for once. (dinners have not gone well this trip)

Benjamin had his first haircut today at the Main Street Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom. He did great! I hadn't realized how long his hair had gotten until the guy started chopping. WOW. He saved it all for us and mixed in a little pixie dust. (seriously, there's like, glitter or something in the bag). Benjamin also got a set of special mouse ears and a certificate to commemorate the big event. Mommy cried. What's with that?! No one warned me the first haircut was an emotional thing... sheesh.

Here are a few pics. :)
Umm... what's going on?


Just keep the distractions coming, people!


Haircut? What haircut? Nan has something that spins and lights up!


He earned his ears... notice they say "First Haircut." Way cool. ;)


All done! That wasn't so bad now, was it?

So it was 50 degrees today and rained... and rained and rained and rained. ALL day. Seriously, I thought I saw an ark by the MGM entrance. I am still chilled to the bone. And yet, we managed to see every. single. attraction in the park. It was fun but I am VERY very happy to be back at the hotel. We have settled into a nice bedtime routine here with Ben... though I am wondering if he will easily switch back to his normal routine once we are home... the routine that doesn't involve him waking up crying and being put in bed with us every night. Yeah, that one.

We ate dinner tonight at one of my absolute favorite Disney restaurants, The Prime Time Cafe. For those of you who have never been, it's a place that's all decorated like grandma's house in the 1950's. The waiters and waitresses are "mom", "aunt" or "cousin." Everyone sitting at the tables around you are your cousins and you are introduced. The waiter/waitress reprimands you if you chew with your mouth open or put your elbows on the table. And if you don't eat your vegetables or don't clean your plate, they are notorious for making you play "here comes the airplane/choo choo." Tonight I didn't finish my green beans and got the choo choo. If someone cleans their plate, they will make a big deal out of it and tell everyone in the surrounding area. Sometimes you even get a Clean Plate Club sticker. It's very very funny, though our waiter tonight wasn't one of the best I've had. He didn't play it up as much as some others have when I've been there. I think we caught him at the end of a long shift. Anyway, it's a definite must-see at Disney. :) Oh and while we were there, Ben surprised us all and ate the mushrooms off of everyone's plate (who had mushrooms). The kid who won't even eat a pea or a steamed carrot and gags on mac and cheese... THAT kid... downed at least 10 mushrooms. Go figure.

I don't have any good pics from today. I was too busy trying to stay warm and dry. Tomorrow we are off to Animal Kingdom, so hopefully I'll have some to share then. :)

Over and out,
Erin and the little mouseketeer
~*~

According to the weather report, today will be our only bad weather day while we're here. It's only going to be in the high 50's and looks cloudy and rainy. MGM has a lot of inside stuff though, so it shouldn't be too bad. We're going back to Epcot at some point, so I plan on continuing my "The Many Hats of Benjamin" collection. ;) Stay tuned.

I'll post later, but for now I'll leave you with this picture of Benjamin and his daddy at the Epcot Kodak exhibit. I think this may have been Ben's favorite place so far. There is a floor with light-up squares that had pictures on them and when he'd run around and step on them, they'd make the sound that went with the picture. He thought that was way cool. ;)



p.s. Congratulations to my friends Jenn and Josh! Their baby boy Lucas Joshua was born yesterday afternoon! (9 pounds, 13 ounces!)

Today we did Epcot... The weather, I am happy to say, improved quickly. We had another beautiful day! Benjamin was a totally different kid. The park was not at all crowded, unlike Magic Kingdom yesterday, so that helped a lot. He rode almost everything with us and only freaked out once or twice.
Here we are at The Living Seas in the mouth of one of the sharks from Finding Nemo!


After lunch, we did the Epcot World Showcase. And so, I bring you... the many hats of Benjamin. (and his mommy)

Wearing a beret in France


Sporting a fez in Morocco


...and a big sombrero in Mexico


Then mommy got in on the action.


(Sorry again for the crappy resolution... :\)

Mexico was our final stop this evening. We had dinner there. Ben had himself a freakout. He was tired... REALLY tired. His Pap walked him around for awhile and he apparently played guitar with a Mariacci (spelling?) band. I missed that though. After that, his uncle Marc took over and somehow put him to sleep. Uncle Marc gets the baby hero award for the day for that!

That's all for today. Sleep is needed by all. Talk to you tomorrow when we will be on our way to MGM Studios! :)

Here are a few low-res pics from yesterday! :)

Benjamin and daddy trying out the backpack on Main Street


Nan and Ben taking a walk


The obligatory castle picture. (it's all gaudy these days!!)


Uncle Marc takes Ben for ride... and for a snack apparently. (yummy hat!)


Can you read the shirt? If not... it says, "Are these people REALLY my relatives?" We brought this out after we'd all been wandering around in our matching shirts like a bunch of dorks for awhile. ;)


We are off to Epcot today... there is a TORRENTIAL downpour going on at the moment, but it's supposed to stop and go right up to 70. So we're just waiting it out. :)

As for the winner of the contest, I still don't know! I'm sorry to keep everyone waiting. I thought I would have more downtime, but I was SO wrong. My downtime seems to go to Ben. I will post as soon as I know! Thanks to everyone who played! :)

Over and out until later,
Erin and the little mouseketeer

Baby + Disney World = Work. I won't say it's a BIG negative, but it's a MUCH different kind of vacation. We have discovered, however, the the kid can nap anytime, anyplace, anywhere. He slept for two hours today in his grandmother's lap while Magic Kingdom craziness went on all around him. He also played his little heart out and enjoyed mucho attention from his uncles and cousins. Uncle Marc gave him a ride on his shoulders which was the highlight of Ben's day, I do believe. It's a toss up between that and staring at the ceiling fans in the lobby of the hotel.
Those are a big hit.

Can you hear me now? Probably not... because I lost my cell phone! We went on Pirates of the Carribean, The Tiki Room and Jungle Cruise. I realized I didn't have it when we were on the Jungle Cruise. Backtracked to the Tiki Room but to no avail. No time to check to see if the pirates took it. We're checking with Guest Services tomorrow, but I'm not optimistic. LAME. That phone was practically brand new. LAME LAME LAME.

Also, (and this is directed at Mr. Eisner)... what's the deal with only having ONE CHANGING TABLE in all the women's bathrooms?!?! Tom had to change Ben three times today because the line for the table in the women's room was a mile long. Can't fastpass the changing table line either.

Otherwise, everything is great... we're having a nice time and it's a wonderful break from our routine. Benjamin says hello!

p.s. I'll announce the winner of the Monday contest tomorrow sometime. I haven't had time to go through my emails yet. :) Over and out!

It's time once again for Benjamin Trivia! This week, we're coming to you live from Orlando, FL! I should note that since we are on vacation, it might be awhile before I can check my email, probably not until late this evening, so a winner won't be announced for awhile!

Same rules as last time. However, if you played last time and already introduced yourself, you can skip that part. :) It seems silly to make you type all that out again. :)

1) Who was the first baby friend Benjamin met?

2) What was one of our nicknames for Benjamin?

3) Where did we go on Benjamin's first vacation?

4) What is the "Best Toy in the World"?

5) How many other people in the family share Benjamin's real first name?

6) How long was Ben at 4 months according to the caterpillar?


As usual, the rules are as follows: When you think you have the answers, G-mail me with the following:

1) Your name (first name or whatever internet name you go by is fine)
2) Your general location
3) How you found my blog and how long you've been reading
4) What keeps you coming back?
5) The answers to the questions (of course!) ;)
6) If you are feeling particularly chatty, feel free to add anything else! :)

The first person to respond with all of the above will be this week's winner! The prize is a copy of Benjamin's Birthday cd (packed full of good music and lovingly created by Benjamin's mommy!)

Also as usual, I'll email you if you are the winner so I can get the address information for where I should send your prize.

Even if you aren't the first to email, you could still win! For a second chance, just make sure to post a comment to this post with your name, location, and how you found my blog yada yada and whatever other witty tidbit you'd like to share. One winner will be chosen at random from all public comments received on these trivia posts.

Thanks for playing! :)

1) Diaper Cream - forgot it. The little travel packs of Johnson and Johnson baby stuff only come with this stupid little packet of diaper cream that is good for one, maybe two uses. Duh.

2) Portable highchair - have one, decided against bringing it. Could really use it for feeding Ben breakfast in the hotel room. Duh. As luck would have it, Tom's parents, in their super-duper two-bedroom deluxe setup downstairs HAVE a highchair. They also have all the breakfast food. So that works out well.

3) For next time, ask for a ground floor room. We are in one of those hotels where the rooms open right up to the outside, therefore, no elevator... just steps. Steps + stroller = annoying, even though stroller is super light.

4) Baby sunblock - Uh. Packed it. Can't find it. I'll get back to you on this one.

... that's all for now. So far, so good on the forgotten stuff. I thought I'd have discovered a lot more things by now in that category! Yay for the organized mommy!

We're here! It's beautiful... about 75 degrees, bright and sunny! The flight was great and Benjamin was PERFECT. In fact, this what he did for about half the time:


The rest of the time he spent flirting with the flight attendants and eating goldfish.

The internet situation here is less than ideal. I'm on a dialup connection that has booted me four times in the last ten minutes. That's also why the picture is such poor quality. I had to shrink it for it to upload and not take over an hour to do so.

Anyway, so we're here, getting settled. Might head down to the pool (yes, the pool! To swim! In the winter! Florida rocks!) in a little bit if Benjamin continues his napping strike. We think there are just too many new things for him to see. Despite the fact that he keeps yawning and rubbing his eyes, there is no nap forthcoming. ::sigh::

Over and out until tonight.
-Erin and the little mouseketeer

Just quickly in before we head out the door! :) The next time I write it will be from sunny Orlando FlorEEEda!

Still making lists and checking them twice. Ben's suitcase is packed. The gigantic diaperbag backpack with enough baby supplies for a week (or a two hour flight) is packed. I'm mostly packed except for the toiletry type things I can't throw in until tomorrow morning. Tom threw five pairs of shorts and a bunch of t-shirts in a suitcase and CLAIMS he's packed. (Men! sheesh!) The plane reservation print outs and Ben's birth certificate are safely tucked away in the carryon. The all-important laptop? Not packed yet, but will be tonight, I promise. ;)

OH! Came across this handy packing list for taking a baby on a plane! Might come in handy for some of you in the future. I didn't follow it to the letter, but it was helpful in making sure I didn't forget anything.

If you are exceptionally bored tomorrow between 10a.m. and 12:30 Eastern time, you could track our flight using either of these websites:

Flightview
Flytecomm

We are on Southwest flight #1690 from BWI to MCO. (you'll need to enter that info to track the flight)

The tracking sites are cool... they'll tell you where we are at any given time, how high we are, how fast we're going and how far we are away from our destination. Flight tracking is a big part of how some of us on the fear of flying message board work on getting over our fear. There's something comforting about knowing people on the ground are watching your flight. I used to get my fear of flying friends to track me every flight I took and I would track them on their flights... now I don't so much need it, but it's still fun to do. I know my mom likes to keep an eye on us. :)

Sorry for the rambling. Can you tell I'm procrastinating? ;)

Excited! Very! Packing! Lots!

Three pairs of baby pajamas for seven nights? Enough or not enough? Normally, the boy wears news ones every night but seriously people, he only has so much room in his suitcase. He'll just have to make due. And like Jen said on the phone yesterday, we can probably get by if we don't feed him his breakfast in his jammies. True dat.

In other news, if all goes according to plan, this site will soon be coming to you from taleofababyhuman.com. Yeah, all official and stuff. Don't go there yet though, you'll just get an error page. The switch is S-L-O-WWWWWW. In the meantime, I apologize for any downtime, files that don't load right and weird x's where graphics should sometimes be. :\

Can anyone guess what the significance of this picture is? ;)

We tried swimming today for the third time. (we have been increasingly unsuccessful each time we have gone) He screamed his head off in the pool and we ended up just packing up and leaving. (second time) All the other mommies have these babies who are just splashing and kicking and blowing bubbles and thinking it's the greatest thing on earth. Mine? Screaming and getting snot all over his face while making it impossible for anyone else to hear what the group leader is saying.

I don't think we'll be going back, it's just embarassing. Three people said to me today, "Oh! I remember HIM! STILL in a bad mood, huh?" Nice. And to the obnoxious, hairy, freaky daddy in the group who tried rubbing Ben's arm and telling him he was being silly and who succeeded in only making him scream LOUDER? Thanks. That was a @*#&! LOT of help.

Oh and to the little bratty three-year-old who kept pushing my kid in the waiting room and saying "Get him OFF of my chair." "Get him OFF of my toy." (neither of which were hers to begin with) you're lucky I got up and dragged him away from you and your grubby little pushy hands because he probably would have eventually body slammed you with every one of his mack truck proportioned 20 pounds if I had let you pick on him long enough. Spoiled prissy brat.

Gosh, I am in a foul mood...

Pictures, as promised, below...


Moment of cuteness before Evil Ben made his appearance...


Sitting with grandmom, who naively came along to take pictures and who didn't believe me when I said he becomes possessed in the pool... Ha!


Still no sign of Evil Ben, but hey! There's Ben's mommy. I know that's mommy because the towel says so, and towels don't lie. But where is Evil Ben? Wait for it... waiiiiiiiiiit for it....


Ah yes, there's Evil Ben... he easy to spot because he's the only one who needed his binky in the pool. It's hard to tell in this picture, but he is crying... HARD. That's Amanda on my right... can't see Hannah but Hannah was happily splashing. And to my left, you can see part of freaky hairy guy's face.

I have a list a mile long to pack for Florida which I am slowly working on today. Ben is mostly packed, though I need to wash some of his jeans to throw in there for the cooler evenings. The diaper bag for the plane is another story. I'm going to feel like I'm forgetting something until the time we step on the plane. I just hope what I end up forgetting isn't anything crucial, like a binky. We are going to the grocery store when we get there, so I'm not too worried about most things... but still, forgetting the binky for the plane would be bad ... for us and everyone around us.

Did I mention we bought a toddler leash? Ohmygosh I never thought I'd live to see the day when I would utter those words. But then Ben came along and holy cow, I can't imagine NOT having a leash for him in the airport or in the parks. It's not one of those crazy seeing eye dog harness ones or anything. I just velcroes to his wrist so he can wander around and explore and not get run over or lost in the crowd. The boy is quick as lightning... he is learning to run. I don't want him testing out this new skill in Disney World untethered.

THere was going to be more to this post, but it sounds like the nap I was trying to get the boy to take isn't working out so well... soooooo... toodles for now.

I noticed something weird in my house yesterday afternoon for a moment. Silence. Naturally, I looked around for Ben. He was not in my immediate view. Oops. Bad mommy. Bad, blogging mommy. I found him under the end table chewing on the wires to my laptop looking all, "Who, me? I'm not doing anything!"