Less than 10 Hours Away!
Mood:  hungry
We will be sitting down, enjoying our St. Patrick's Day Feast in less than 10 hours! Because of the irrational pregnancy hormones rushing through my body, I have wanted to cook and eat the entire corned beef by myself for the past 3 days. I have not done this.

St. Patrick's Day holds fond memories for me! This time last year, I left work on a beautiful Friday evening and walked not to my normal T stop of Government Center, but walked all the way to Park St before I boarded. I was fat and 8 months pregnant so this was a big accomplishment for me. It was the only day that I thought "it would be fun to give birth today!" Being born on St. Patrick's Day seems like a fun time!

Ben was not born on St. Patrick's Day though. Instead, James and I met at home and ate the overcooked corned beef that I had cooking on low in the crockpot since I left that morning.

We meet Cara and we like her.
Mood:  a-ok
We met Cara today. She is not fluent in any language other than English but that is okay by us. Cara has a husband named James and a 14 month old son named Benjamin. Is this a coincidence? I think not. This was meant to be. The baby is doing well. 12 weeks along and only 28 more to go. Ben heard his future sibling's heartbeat and was very impressed. He had suspicions that we've been lying to him about another baby on the way, but now, he realizes that we are telling him the truth.

Step Step Hee Hee
Mood:  not sure
So Ben took a couple days off from steping around a bit. Well last night, he thought he'd try some more steps. And today, well today has just been a jovial day for all. Ben's new thing is to take 2 or 3 steps, start laughing hysterically, fall to the ground, and laugh some more. Is it fun to walk? Is it fun to learn something new? Is it fun to know that the inevitable is tumbling down? If it's this much fun to learn how to walk, imagine how fun it will be for him to learn how to potty train.

Gas Gas Gas!
Mood:  accident prone
About 3 weeks ago, I turned on the oven for the first time in months, and it smelled like natural gas. (James was pressuring me to actually cook dinner). So I did the responsible thing, for a change, and called the gas company. Unfortunately, our oven was leaking gas. I thought this was a good thing at first, because now I would have a good excuse to not cook. However, we got a new oven a couple days later. So my excuse of a gas leak does not work anymore.

Fast forward to today. We left for our Thursday morning playgroup and all was well. My cell phone started to ring. I didn't recognize the phone number so I thought "let it go to voicemail." Bad mistake. It was the gas company and there was a gas leak outside of our house. So Ben and I come home to the street blocked off, fire engines in front of our house and cops telling me I'm not allowed to walk down the street. I told them I live at the place that they're blocking off. So they said "oh, okay, well you can go inside and everything!" "Is this safe?", I thought. They reassured us that there was no gas leaking in the house, only outside the house but they had to shut off the gas for while. Oh schucks, I guess that means I can't cook dinner tonight!

So not even 11 months old yet, and Ben has already witnessed 2 gas leaks. He learned two things from these fiascos. 1, gas is no laughing matter. 2, Keyspan employs very nice individuals.

Haircut Time!
Mood:  accident prone
Although I am a fan of the longer, rugged look, James insisted that we give little Benny his first haircut. He's been insisting on it since Christmas. So I caved in today. I was just sick of his complaining that Ben looked like a girl.

For the most part, things went smoothly. Ben didn't start bleeding. His hair doesn't look bad at all. He actually let James finish. He started crying a little bit, but it wasn't anything that a little more cheerios couldn't fix. It was successful.

Benny's Feeling Lucky!
Mood:  lucky
I went to Stop and Shop today with Ben to buy some ice cream and sweet potatoes. He wouldn't let us leave until I bought a couple quick picks for tonight's $216M MegaMillions Jackpot. So only a couple more hours until we're millionaires. When we win, we're going to rent out our local Chucky Cheese to have a stellar 1st birthday for Ben. Nothing says "I gots lots of money" like a birthday party at Chucky Cheese's.

Ben is finally going to earn his keep!
Mood:  sharp
Ben's been living off of us scott free for the past 10 1/2 months. It's time he does something to contribute to the family. So a couple days ago, he registered to be a test subject for the Harvard Lab of Developmental Studies. Pretty much, they'll say "hey, you want to come play for an hour on this day?" If we say yes, they give us $5 and a complimentary toy for the child. Unfortunately, all of the developmental studies they are doing at this time are not for his age range. They will contact us when a study becomes available in his range. I have no doubts that when they do study Benjamin, they will say "Wow, what a fine specimen you have. He is quite possibly the world's smartest kid." I should work at Harvard since I have all the answers.

First Steps!
Mood:  incredulous
It was probably just a fluke, but Ben took two steps on his own for what we think is the first time this afternoon. He was standing at the coffee table, eating his Cheerios, when all of the sudden he decided to make the long, two-step journey over to the radiator. What possessed the little lad? We do not know. It was not food. It was not us. Maybe a bird flew by the window and he wanted a better view. James and I both witnessed this monumental event so that's precious. He probably won't be walking around on his own for another two months, but dog gone it, he did it for the first time today!

The Breakup
Mood:  sad
It's a sad, sad day. I had to ditch my doctor, the infamous Usha! It's just not convenient to get to her office now, especially with little Benny in tow. I liked Usha because she is fluent in Swedish, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Konkani. It was like giving our babies culture in the womb. Our new doctor, Cara, has big shoes to fill.

Just Complaining and Ben's New Talents
This is rough. I never realized how easy I had it made when I was pregnant with Ben. Sure, the little guy made me throw up a couple times a day, but it was nothing compared to this. I'm nauseous most of day and I'm always hungry, yet, the thought of eating anything but white toast with cream cheese or cucumbers makes me want to gag. The Cucumber Farmers of America and Chile have both wrote me a letter, personally thanking me for keeping them in business.

In better news, Ben's new talent is moaning while banging his mouth with his hand. He sounds like an Indian. This makes me pretty gosh darn happy because I've always liked Indians over Pilgrims. His other latest talent is pointing at objects and grunting. He points at a rooster hanging up in our dining room. Ben has the same fascination of poultry as I do. He likes roosters and I happen to love turkeys. I'm happy we have these things in common.