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.

Apologies
Mood:  sad
I'm writing to say "sorry" for not keeping Ben's fans up-to-date with his latest antics. It's no surprise, he's still a crazy little guy! He's almost 10 1/2 months which means only 6 or 7 more weeks of formula and a rear-facing car seat. I'm looking forward to the end of both. We still hit up libraries and playgroups, although not as frequently because I somehow forgot how tiring the early months of pregnancy can be. And that is all I have. It's time to take a nap!

What Have They Done?
Mood:  quizzical
Today, Ben went to his first ultrasound as his own self. He saw the vibrating coffee bean lurking inside me and is very confused. He pictured a life of having to share toys, a room, his clothes. We're pretty sure he babbled "What have you done?" to us.

Just too hard!
Mood:  sad
The day has come. I cannot maintain the best website anymore. I've moved photos to a Yahoo Photo Album and still upload them pretty often. It's just easier to click "upload all" than to do all this html code junk. I thought I was wonder woman, but this new and improved, crawling Ben has gotten the best of me.

Given up on Dinner
Mood:  hungry
So around January 3rd, Ben has decided he just won't eat baby food anymore. I don't know why. We've tried to go the chunkier stuff but he didn't want it. So we tried to go back to the pureed stuff...and he didn't want it. He will eat anything that comes off of mine or James' forks though. So lately he's been eating lots of rotini and Hamburger Helper. He's also starting to protest formula. Our once beefy baby who would eat anything in sight has now become a challenge. This isn't suppose to be us! This is like a story we'd read and laugh at...you know like "ha ha...glad our baby isn't like that! ha ha ha ha!" Now, we are the ones that people laugh at. It's not fair.