Election Day Fun!
Today, Ben and I trotted off to Franklin Elementary School to cast our votes. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone we voted for won. That's right, I'm one of the few people in Massachusetts who did not vote for Senator Kennedy. So even though my votes didn't really count towards anything, it was important to teach Ben from an early age that you have to get out there and vote.

Baby Einstein Fun
Mood:  flirty
Ben watches TV. He can't help it. It's a fact of life. People watch TV and last time I checked, babies were people too.

Well one day last week I thought "I should let him watch something more acceptable than the morning news and E!'s True Hollywood Story." so I was thinking "Baby Einstein" is a great baby thing. But there was no way I was going to spend $15 on one stupid 29 minute DVD. So what does one do? Go to Ebay, but of course! We found these great bootleg Baby Einstein 21-DVD sets! We purchased a set for $41 plus $12.99 for shipping and handling. Total price each : $2.57.

All the DVDs seem to work, but I thought one DVD was fishy. I put it in and the puppets were speaking in French. So I stopped it and tried to adjust all the DVD settings. Nothing worked. So I kept listening and then the puppets were talking in Japanese. Then Russian. Then Italian. It wasn't until we made it through the whole DVD that we realized that the puppets were trying to teach Ben different languages. Wonderful. So at least I learned that our DVD player isn't possessed. And I have a new goal and that is to teach Ben to count in Japanese before English.

Ben's First Halloween
Mood:  sad
It was a great Halloween here in Massachusetts. The weather was beautiful and it would have been perfect for walking around. We didn't. We decided to stay home and give out candy. I strategically positioned Ben by the front door so he could admire all the kiddies in their costumes. Unfortunately, everytime kids came in costumes, Ben started crying. I don't think Halloween will be one of his favorite holidays.

On another note, apparently our new neighborhood is a trick-or-treat haven. Last year, we had about 5 bags of candy and ZERO trick-or-treaters. This year, we had 3 bags of candy and what seemed to be hundreds of kids. I started to run out of candy so we threw in some fruit snacks...Shark Bites to be exact. So now we're probably known as "those people who give out gross things" on the street.

Lastly, I stratigically picked out Ben's halloween costume last year, on November 1st, a $4 clearance item. It was a pumpkin (you can see it in the pictures). Unfortunately, it was just too hot to put that on him. So he had to dress in his alternative costume. He was an Irish Man eating a Banana.

Boo Hoo
Mood:  hug me
So lately, Ben has gotten extremely sad when men make stupid faces at him. This was apparent tonight when he ran into Uncle Paul. A perfectly content little baby turned into such a sad thing. This happened a couple weeks ago too, when Ben encountered the Great-Grandpa Tard. It also happened last week when we visited Papa Joe at a work site. However, I don't think Papa Joe made a face at Ben...he just simply looked at him.

I've been making faces at the little lad since he's been born. So I've been trying to prep him for the loons in the family, but apparently I failed.

Pumpkin Fest!
Mood:  a-ok
The plan of attack for today was to truck up to Keene, NH and attend the Pumpkin Festival. We got lazy and decided to just check out the Boston Festival instead. BIG MISTAKE! Don't get us wrong, we like the city, but it's no Keene! We almost lost Ben, who was dressed as a pumpkin, amongst all the jack-o-lanterns. He just blended in so well.

The only good thing about the pumpkin festival was we got to see Uncle John at the tea shop again and I had a delicious drink. I guess it wasn't a bad day afterall.

More Understandable Gibberish and other updates!
Mood:  surprised
As I was slaving away, cleaning the bathroom, Ben was playing in his Exersaucer. Then out of the blue I heard him go "Ma ma!" He was obviously protesting my slave work.

Ben likes gumming on carrots. This is probably because he was born in the Easter season and thinks he's a bunny rabbit. He's sitting on his own like a champ, however, he hates being on his stomach so I don't see crawling in the future at all. So I'd like to make a complaint to all those "baby experts" out there who say that you need to give your infant lots of "tummy time." First off, that's a pretty fruity term. Secondly, we did give Ben lots of "tummy time" and now look where it's got us! He absolutely hates being on his stomach now! Way to go Experts!

Ben's first understandable Giberish
Mood:  sharp
So all the baby books and "baby emails" have been saying that for the past three months, I should have been hearing Ben making sounds like "da da da" or "ka ka ka" or "ma ma ma"...You get it, baby talk. Well all I have heard coming from him is random babbling (kind of like his father!) and occasional squaks that sound like parrot talk. Nothing I could describe in words. Well today, he was sitting there and he looked at me and said "da da da."

Pollyanna Haugh gets Creative
Mood:  cheeky
Every now and then, when our fruits and vegetables are on the way out, I just mash them up and give them to Ben. I have come to realize that it's like me giving him garbage. Well as I was slaving away in the kitchen with some rotten apples, it dawned on me that we had some frozen blueberries! The bright one I am, threw a bunch into my apples, and yum...a new treat for Ben! I'd like to take this time to thank Tide for miraculously getting out all the mashed up blueberries that have accumulated on his bibs and clothes. Also, despite what my family might say, I do not think I'm going to give Ben food poisoning with my "Garbage Baby Food."

He's obviously mistaken.
Mood:  mischievious
Lately while Ben & I are sitting on the couch, he decides that he wants to play with the channel changer. Even if I have 15 toys up there for him, he tries and tries for the remote. I thought he would be born knowing that women always control the television! I obviously have my work cut out for me. While I'm teaching him that women always control the television, I'm going to stress the fact that the reason this is, is because women are always right.

Hello Again Rosina!
Mood:  bright
Topic: Doctor's Appointment
Today, Ben had his 6th month checkup. His favorite part was playing with the paper that covers the exam table. He was 17 lbs, 10 oz and 27 inches...Which sounds like good stats for a Thanksgiving turkey!