Thoughts on Growing Up

The BabyMoose is back! Except I'm not really much of a baby any more. I'm a toddler! Does that make me the ToddlerMoose? Mom still calls me "baby", though. I try to make her see that I'm a big boy with all the things I can do, but she says I'll always be her baby. How embarrassing.

You're wondering about the things I can do? Well, I've been walking and running for quite a while now, and I've also taken up dancing. When I'd like to hear some music, I point at the remote control for the stereo and wave my arms around above my head so mom and dad get the idea. I love to dance with dad, I think he's better than rides at an amusement park (which, I admit, I've only heard about)! He swings me and spins me and throws me, and hasn't dropped me yet! I try to dance with mom so she'll feel included, too, but it's not nearly as fun. She won't spin very fast, or for very long, and she definitely doesn't jump! Plus, her belly is in the way! I'm still not quite sure what's up with that. She still points at it and says "there's a baby in there, Benjamin". I just nod, pat her belly and say "baby", too; but I secretly wonder if she's off her rocker.

Guess what we have in our house? A tree! I know, isn't that weird?? I thought trees belonged outside! But I'm glad this one is on the house, it's beautiful. Mom says it's a Christmas tree. It twinkles with lights and is sparkly and has all kinds of things on it! Also underneath, there are presents!!! Now, I've had some experience with presents, and I know what to do with them, but mom and dad won't let me touch them. At first I was miffed; but they said I would be able to touch them someday soon, so I content myself with staring, pointing, and exclaiming. I also do this when we're driving around after dark and I see houses that have lights on them. It's amazing! Have you seen it?

Another thing I'm into these days are tractors, trucks, cars... pretty much anything with an engine and wheels. Vacuum cleaners fit into that category. Oh, and trains, too! Choo-chooooo! I'm pretty good at that noise. I've also got a bunch of animal noises figured out- horses, cows, pigs, kitties, birds, even camels! Dad taught me that one. Mom says he's a pro.

Oh, here's some evidence of how grown up I am: I only take one nap a day, now! I stay up and play all morning, I have such a good time hanging out in my room with my toys and books. When it's time to eat, I can feed myself, and pretty darn effectively, too; the last time I was at the doctor, they said I had grown two whole inches in one month! Feeding myself was pretty hard at first, but I'm finally getting the hang of it. When I eat yogurt with my spoon, I can clean that bowl right out!

I've got to go now, but like they say, Merry Christmas!

News from the 'hood

Hey peeps! Man, it's been a long time since I last posted. I promise, it hasn't been all laziness on my part; in fact, I've been busy doing some important stuff! I helped Mom rearrange the living room, and put a chair in my room. I even helped her hang curtains.

Yep, I'm a pretty big boy now. I'm learning how to eat with a fork, which is definitely harder than it looks! I use sign language to say important stuff like "more", "all done", "please", and "thank you", but I'm also working on saying words like Mom and Dad do. I especially like to say "water", and today I said a new one- "baby"! Mom heard that and pointed at her tummy. "Baby!", she said. I poked her tummy. It still doesn't look like a baby to me, but she told me I'm going to have a little sister. What is that?

Here's something exciting! You'll never guess what we have living under our deck! A kitten!!! He's a baby like me, but I'm a lot bigger than he is. I love to visit him, I run to the deck door and look out the window and call until he comes. Sometimes he eats his food, sometimes he plays with leaves or bugs; and sometimes he just sits by the door and talks to me. I can't understand what he's saying, but I wish I could open that door and play with him, too!

Well, I've got to go. I'm feelin' sleepy, and Rafters (my giraffe) is calling my name.

The Definition of a Birthday

Just recently, I experienced something quite different... I spent the whole weekend with just Dad! Mom wasn't there at all! Needless to say, lots of guy stuff went on- burping, scratching, wrestling, etc. (Just kidding, Mom!) Really, though, we made it through and had a good time; but boy were we excited to see her pull into the driveway yesterday!

Mom wasn't home too long before we all jumped back in the car. Where could we be going? When I found out, I wasn't too pleased. We were going to see the doctor. They weighed me and measured me and stuck me with needles!!! Awful people, why would they do that to me? Especially on my birthday?? Cuz yeah, it was my birthday yesterday! I knew that because people have been talking about it for weeks, and how exciting it was. I was looking forward to it, too, but this is not what I had in mind! After the doctor episode, Mom and Dad took me to the coffee shop where I got to have a monster cookie! That made me feel better.

That night, something really cool happened!! My new Auntie Julie (who we adopted) came over. I always like to see her, but this time, she brought me a huge chocolate cake and presents!! This must be what people meant by birthdays being exciting! I had some cake, and mom helped me open my presents- cool new clothes,  and a couple of toys! They should keep me busy for a while! Thank you, Auntie Julie and Uncle Wayne!

Now for something completely different... Mom and Dad like to talk about babies. That's all well and good, because I'm their baby, but they sound like they're talking about more than one! Then today, Mom points at her tummy and says "there's a baby in there, Benjamin." I checked, but all I saw was her bellybutton. She must be mistaken.

Freedom!!

A couple days ago, Mom and Dad were making a big deal about the date for some reason... the 4th of July? Why would that be so exciting? Come on, parents, pull it together! It's just another day on the calendar! But then I started to catch the bug, too. After all, they let me stay up late when I should have been having my morning nap, and we went into town and sat by the street and watched the decorated cars, trucks, motorcycles, horses, and puppies go by. That was fun, but it really took it out of me. I fell asleep when we got back in the car. When I woke up, we were at this amazing place called an ice cream parlor! Was I really awake? Or dreaming? Mom and Dad both got ice cream cones, and they shared with me! Man, was that cold!! After our treat we hurried home, because someone was starting to get cranky (ahem).

A couple of naps later, the parental units and I drove back into town. Dad put a big blanket on the grass, and we sat (well, Mom and Dad sat... I was busy moving around and looking at stuff) and listened to a big band play all of these songs they said were patriotic. Not sure what that is, but I liked the music, and even busted a move once in a while when I thought no one was looking. This guy would stand up and talk between the songs. Apparently, it was Independence Day. Independence? I can relate! This past week I really started walking, and man, is that a freeing experience!

When the music was over, it was starting to get dark. Mom pointed out these things to me- they were low to the ground (like me!), and every so often they would shine! It was amazing! She called them fireflies. We got back in the car and Dad drove us somewhere else, but we didn't go home. I was confounded. Seriously? It's already dark out and you're not putting me to bed??? Well, I'm not gonna argue! We stopped, and Dad got me and brought me up to sit in front with them. Holy cow, I have never seen so many buttons in one place! And this is a steering wheel, you say? Can I drive???

Finally, it was really dark. We got out and sat on the curb (again!), and Mom pointed at the sky. What the heck was going on over there? Big sparkly things would flash, and then I heard a boom! Whoa! I liked that quite a bit. After a while, though, the big day started to get to me. I let Mommy and Daddy know that I was ready to go home. The sky stopped flashing, and I was buckled into my seat. Mom let me hold her hand, and I don't remember the rest.

Time flies when you're having fun! (And boy do I have a lot to tell you!)

Seriously!

People always talk about how time goes fast when you get older. Well, I may be just a baby, but my days haven't been exactly dragging. And you know what? I'm not going to be a baby for much longer- I'm almost 10 1/2 months old, thank you very much! I get to eat all kinds of yummy things now, like something dad says is his favorite- he calls it steak. Since I have four teeth, it's a little bit easier to chew. What's weird though, is when we're out driving past fields and dad points and says "Look, Benjamin! Steak!" I never see any. All I see are cows!

Now that it's warm out, mom takes me outside, which is one of my favorite things. Sometimes I'll check out the bugs in the grass, and even pick the yellow flowers I see for her, and sometimes she'll push me in a swing. I love feeling the breeze in my hair. When we're tired of that we'll go and look at these rows and rows of little green plants. Mom calls them corn, and says they grow so fast they'll be taller than me soon; and then after a while we can eat them! Not quite sure how that works when she won't let me eat grass, but I'll keep you posted.

This is me, watching for Dad to come home from work!

I have to tell you about my latest trick! I like to pull myself up on the couch, on chairs, on kitchen cabinets, on mommy and daddy, etc... but lately I've started letting go once I'm upright. Then mom and dad get all excited. They try to get me to take steps from one of them to the other- without holding onto anything! Are they nuts?? Besides, it's faster to crawl. I've got super-speed. I'll probably look into this walking thing a little bit though, just to keep my options open.

So mom and dad tell me that we have a busy week coming up. Dad talks about doing a wedding (um, aren't he and mommy already married??), and then we get to see my cousin Sean get baptized! I'm looking forward to seeing him and my aunties and uncles, and also to some good, quality Mim and Poppi and Grandma and Grandpa time. Then after that, mom and dad say we have to go down to Great Grandma's house for a funeral. They tell me my Great-great Grammy went away to be with Jesus. They sounded a little sad about it, but I don't know why. Isn't that a good thing? Say hi to Him for me, Grammy!

Oh, one more thing before I sign out! My Auntie Rachel and my cousins came to visit me! Christopher and Andrew and I had such a good time doing boy stuff! They brought me an early birthday present, and I got to open it. It's a cool box that stands up tall, and I can see inside it. Four balls sit on the top, and when I hit them with the hammer (which I've been working hard on), they roll down the ramps inside the box to the bottom. It's so cool!

Anyway, apparently it's time for me to go to bed, but as I'm sure you can see, I've been keeping mom busy.

Happy Cinqo de Miracle Whip!!!

Hey, that's me in the picture there.  It looks like I am upside down.  But in fact, everything else was upside down.  I'm not really sure how it happened or why, but it were so.  And then Mom fixed it.  Here's a poem.

I like to laugh
And crawl about.
I like to giggle
And to shout.
They call me fat,
But I'm just stout
Hey, ho, hey!

A Father Son Conversation

Baby Moose:  I'm a little baby, short and stout
Fiftieth percentile just about.
When I drink my bottle I just shout,
"Wait, fiftieth percentile?  You've got to be kidding me.  I thought I was ninety-fifth percentile.  What happened?

Dad:  You probably cry off a lot of calories when we put you down for naps.

Baby Moose:  Just so that we're clear, I will not sacrifice justice just to gain a few pounds.

Dad:  Right.  Justice.

Baby Moose:  I heard sarcasm in your voice.

Dad:  You pipe down with the justice and I'll keep the sarcasm to a minimum.

I don't think we're in Iowa anymore

We drove to Minneapolis so I could visit the Sem and so we could catch a flight to Arizona. The plane left a few hours ahead of yet another ice and snow storm, but we made it to the land of sunshine, sand and saguaros.

My shades? Well, in the immortal words of Timbuk 3:

Well I'm heavenly blessed and worldly wise

I'm a peeping-tom techie with x-ray eyes
Things are going great, and they're only getting better
I'm doing all right, getting good grades
The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades
I gotta wear shades

In the Immortal Word of REM, "Stand"

Guess what I did yesterday!

When Daddy put me down for a nap I eschewed his admonition to "sleep sweetly" and yelled my head off.  But fear not, it was not a simple fit of pique that caused my cries to so reverberate through the house.  No, it was the effort of...

wait for it...

STANDING!!!!!  that cause me to yell.  Yes, I yelled.  Baby overcoming his leaden constrictions is worth a howl.  And so is victory!!

Of course, once I stood up I hadn't the foggiest idea what to do.  Hitherto, I've never paid much attention to such things.  Clearly this will change.

[Picture is a bit dark.  Mommy was being sneaky.]

Baby on the Move

Look!  On the ground.
It's a race car!
It's an intercontinental ballistic missile!
No, it's Benjamin!!!

I am a baby on the move.
I move so fast the camera can hardly catch me.
Yes, I am crawling.

There are certain advantages to crawling.  I get to explore, exercise, touch new stuff, and impress the ladies.  On the downside, I have, on occasion, touched the wrong stuff.  At least, I presume it was the wrong stuff because Mom and Dad say, "No Benjamin.  Don't touch that."  And then they flick my fingers, which truth be told is a little unpleasant.  But I've found that I can avoid this by NOT touching the item in question.  It seems like a pretty simple set up.  I plan to master it.

From where I sit

What a busy time it has been the last couple of months! I've logged nearly 1000 miles in my MMS - Mobile Moose System (please, don't call it a "baby seat") - going from South St. Paul to Alexandria for Daddy's ordination and back, and then from South St. Paul to LeMars, Iowa, then back to South St. Paul with Mommy to surprise Aunite Ninja for her birthday, and finally home again to LeMars.

Yes, I did say "home".

While I will always have fond memories of Mim and Poppi's house as the place where I was born and got my start (and this blog), I'm nearly seven months old now and it's time to move on. Mommy and Daddy and I have a huge new house. It's so big, I even have my own room!

I also have a place at the table where I can sit in my floating high-chair without anyone having to hold me up. This also makes it easier for me to feed myself. You probably saw the photo earlier where I was holding my bottle myself. Well now I can pick up vegetable puffs and even get most of them into my mouth! (All this typing has really helped my dexterity!). Meanwhile, Mommy has been feeding me sweet potatoes, pears and other nums, including my favorite - oatmeal and banana! Mim served me some lentils with curry and coriander and those were really good, too - but nothing prepared me for when Poppi gave me a little bit of his muffin the other day. Hoo-ahh! And you can quote me!

Anyway, we're here, we're mostly settled, and most importantly, we've got wi-fi! Just last night, in fact, Mommy "Skyped" Auntie Ninja. That sounds painful, but it's really a good thing. Skype allowed Mommy and me to see and talk to Auntie Ninja, Mim and Poppi - even though we're more than 200 miles apart. That seems normal enough to me, but some have told me that this is a remarkable new development.

Wow, floating high-chairs, Skype, what next? Oh, yeah - where's my SmartPhone?

Shout Out to My Baptism Peep

My godmother's great


My godmother's grand


My godmother's name


Is dear Mrs. Sand-


Y.

How Time Flies

See that photo on the right?  That was me about six months ago, back when I was a baby.  Those days are LONG gone.

These days I am sitting up by myself, rolling around on the ground, displaying a vocal range that bespeaks a latent musician, and eating solid food, albeit no steak for the time being.  Not bad, eh?

So basically what I'm saying is, "Happy Half Birthday to me!!!"

Independence

For these past months I have had to rely upon others to fulfill my needs.  Got a poopy diaper?  Cry.  Get changed.  Feelin' peckish?  Cry.  Get fed.  Getting sick of lying in my bed?  Cry.  Get picked up.  What a drag!

Now, I am happy to report, everything has changed, or at least started to.  I have taken up the bottle!  Er, I'm able to hold the bottle.  Look and be amazed!

I am so pleased by this development that I will be trying to assert my independence in other ways in the near future.  Yes, that's right, I will be rooting for the Bears on Sunday.  Feel the burn.

Vroom vroom

I'm rolling.  Yes, that's right.  I am mobile.  Trying not to freak anyone out by going too fast or too far, but it won't be long.  I'm just warming up my engines.

Look out world.  Here comes Benjamin!

Baby Got Verse

Some call me fat.
(I think I'm big-boned.)
Some call me handsome.
(Perhaps I'll be cloned?)
Some point and laugh
As they point at my butt.
(I just shrug my shoulders
And give them a "What?!?")