Bennet In Action

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Bennet's Ninja Pose

Here is Ben in the Preying Mantis position, one of the many martial arts attacks he has mastered. Actually, Ben has decided now that he is one, he should try to master walking. He can make it across the room. However, he's got his arms up (as shown) and a slightly crooked gait that makes him look like a drunk chimpanzee. To top it off, he's so proud of himself he's usually laughing. Every time I see him do it, it makes me proud. Watching his confidence grow is awesome. Watching his head bounce off tables, stairs, the floor, etc...not so awesome...

That's What Cake Tastes Like?!?

Check out this picture. There's one of two things happening. Either Ben is slowly transforming into the Hulk or he FINALLY realized how awesome cake is. Caryn was eating some leftover cake and Ben suddenly wanted to try it. She put a piece in his mouth and his eyes lit up like a heroin addict in a poppy field. I could barely hold onto him as I put him in his high chair. He proceeded to poke, smoosh, and eat his week old birthday cake. I guess he didn't want the big party after all, just wanted to celebrate alone with mom and dad. Happy birthday buddy.

One Year (and 3 days) Old!

Believe it or not, last Friday was Bennet's first birthday. (judging by his reaction above, can you imagine the drama when he turns 40?) I didn't get to posting until now for two reasons: 1) His actual due date was January 12th and I feel I'm still owed those 3 days of carelessness. 2) It was a crazy weekend filled with Elmo balloons, party hats, and shiny new toys.
I really can't grasp how quickly the year passed. Bennet has learned to roll over, crawl, walk, grow teeth, point, talk, laugh, play, and clap. He knows where his belly and nose are, can give a high five, and can sign "more" and "all done" with his hands while eating. The only thing I learned during the past year was not to invest with a guy whose last names rhymes with "made off." (how did no one see that coming?)
From the jubilant highs to the scariest lows, it's been a year I'll never forget. That first doctor visit when they said Ben was losing too much weight and I thought "My God, I'm going to kill this baby." Fast forward a month when he was in the 90th percentile for weight and I think "we can do this, he's going to be a great kid." Fast forward 8 months to Ben throwing a bowl of peas onto the floor and I think "that's it, I am purposely going to kill this kid." Somewhere between thoughts of pure love and infanticide lies the true meaning of parenthood. You learn what different cries mean. You have no problem sticking your nose up to his butt to check if he made a "deposit" (even more weird is you secretly enjoy the smell of pampers). You're excited to watch his personality grow but cringe as he gets more "opinions"...he knows tupperware on the table usually has cookies in it and if he sees said tupperware, no other morsel of food may enter his mouth until a complete inspection of the contents of said container are completed and tasted. We tried putting cooked carrots in a container on the counter. He looked at us like "you have to be kidding, do you think I'm a 4 month old?!?" Smarty pants...
In closing, leading up to this day I was trying to think of some profound way to talk about the first year and all I could come up with was poop jokes and picky eating. So, to all of you without kids, let me just say that parenthood is that best thing that has ever happened to me. To those of you with kids, all I have to say is "la la la la, la la la la, Elmo's world. Elmo loves his goldfish, and crayons too."

Bennet's First Christmas

This Gap box was his favorite present...

3 Headed Christmas Monster

This is just a nauseating sea of holiday flannel. Still not sure how Caryn talked me into this but it's definitely blackmail material for when Ben gets older. Actually, the thing that bothered me the most about the pajamas is that mine weren't footie pj's. Ben's toes were safely wrapped in a rubber soled, flannel bootie. I was exposed to the elements.