brush with greatness.

Chris, Ben and I went to Chick-fil-A in South Philly for lunch today. We were eating our lunch when Chris mumbled something about Shane Victorino. Since he hasn't been able to stop talking about the Phils lately, I figured he was just continuing his diatribe.

I saw him looking past me, though, so I turned around. There he was, with sunglasses on, in line waiting to order. Chris was the only person in the restaurant to recognize him, and he went up to shake his hand and wish him luck tonight. Chris said he was kind of quiet and just said, 'thank you' pretty quickly - presumably because he didn't want to be mobbed by people while he was trying to eat lunch in peace. Chris came back to the table, a little starstruck.

We were trying to decided whether he was a jerk or just quiet when I glanced over at Ben. He hasn't yet learned that staring is impolite - which is one thing I love about him. He can stare at grumpy people until they break down and smile or laugh at him. So I wasn't surprised to see him staring, open-mouthed, past me toward the trash receptacle. I followed his gaze, and there was Shane, throwing something out and smiling right at him. He even gave Ben a big wave.

Fun times. Go Phils!

brigantine.

We are lucky enough to be staying at the beach in Brigantine this week. Mister Ben and I are flying solo for the days that dad can't be here. Tomorrow I think we'll go to the Cape May Zoo.

Tonight, just before dinner, we walked to the beach.

harrisburg

Chris has to be out in Harrisburg for work for part of this week, so Ben and I went and met him yesterday. We also spent time at Aunt Kelly and Uncle Joe's, where we saw cousins Lizzie, Jackson and Hannah. Uncle Bri and Aunt Ashley let us stay at their place last night. It was a great visit and we had lots of fun.

We had breakfast at a Bob Evans this morning outside of Harrisburg. Ben had a massive crush on the waitress and was trying his best to show off and impress her.


Here's a pic from this afternoon. Ben and Sophie both really like the drumsticks from the Bee-Bop Band set that Uncle Jason & Aunt Tara gave him.

the park.

We had a great weekend. Saturday we went to the zoo with Jeff, Danielle, and Cambelle. We thought Ben would love it, but he was tired and pretty disinterested. Next time, maybe.

Today we spent some good family time. Here are some pictures of Ben at the park.



And having his first taste of Rita's water ice (watermelon). He loved it.

go eagles!

We started the day with a trip to the Melrose Diner this morning. We left from there to meet my dad and stepmom at a rest area in Maryland. They were nice enough to meet us halfway with Sophie. We turned around and drove home... Ben was a little cranky in the car but Sophie slept the whole way. She loves car rides. And sleeping. Above, Ben in his Eagles Jersey. Thanks, Mo and Joe!

happy 1st birthday, ben!

Today is Ben's birthday! We can't believe it. To celebrate, we took him to his first Phillies game!


It was a 1:05 game, but we decided we'd get there at around 2.


We lasted an inning and a half.


Ben wasn't a fan of the big crowds, and the loud, drunk kids behind us.


In fact, every time a big play happened, and the crowd cheered, he got a little scared.


Chris and I have decided that it's because we're pretty mellow. In any event, we had pretty good seats.

Sunday.

Ben was kind enough to take two good naps today while we got some work done around the house. At dinnertime, though, Ben gave me some good material to share with you.

The first part of the video shows me giving Ben some carrots and walking into the living room to talk to Chris, while Ben stays in his high chair in the kitchen. It also provides documentation that Ben is trying to buy Sophie's love. You can't see Sophie, but she's off camera, lower right. Notice that our son is already sneaky.

In the second clip, Ben debuts his 'fake cry'. He's done this a lot lately, and I've been calling his bluff every time. Usually I know that if I can get a smile out of him, he's faking being upset. The second clip also shows why Ben makes me feel like a million bucks. He smiles at me, humors me when I'm trying to make him giggle... In his eyes I'm pretty fun (for the most part, except when I wipe his face and pick his nose). His Dad is Numero Uno, of course, but that's how it goes.

Also notice the frat-boy chug he practices at the end there. He's a piece of work.

saturday.

We had a nice day here in South Philly. After Ben woke up for the day, we went for a walk around the neighborhood. Chris got to push Ben in his car for the first time. Ben had a ball. Its so fun watching him.

Then this afternoon Chris blew up the baby pool we got for Ben. It's bigger than it looked on Amazon, so we had to move our patio furniture out of the way to help it fit out back. While I fed Ben lunch, Chris used the pump to blow up the pool and fill it with water.

It's nice that there's a little canopy over the pool, so Ben wasn't in the sun too much.


He loves the water. He also loves Sophie, so he tried convincing her to come into the pool with him.


But as usual, she was having none of it.


We love seeing him happy. He's a fun kid. Below, you'll see the smile we love.


If you look closely, though, you'll also see the reason(s) that Ben's pediatrician suggested we make an appointment with a pediatric dentist. Two of Ben's top teeth came in with some enamel missing. Not only is the enamel missing, but they're kind of gross and discolored. I'm pretty bummed about it, but it's how they grew in. I heard that sometimes the antibiotics that babies are given in the NICU can discolor teeth, so maybe that's what happened here.

No amount of brushing on my part can get rid of this. It's a shame because the teeth are just going to become more and more noticeable as he gets older. The one good thing is that they're his baby teeth, and they'll eventually fall out. But I hate the fact that people might look at him funny once they see his teeth. But yes, I am completely aware that this is a very small problem in the grand scheme of things.

So now you know my 'secret' - I haven't mentioned The Teeth here because I'd hoped they would eventually be pearly white like his others. And you can think good thoughts for us when we go to the dentist on 7/25, if you wouldn't mind. When I made the appointment, the receptionist said, 'umm, we usually don't see children until at least two years old....' so we'll see how the dentist is with a squirmy 11 month-old.

more obx.

Danielle took some great pictures while we were in the Outer Banks last week, and I wanted to show you some. Thank you Auntie D!

outer banks

We were in the Outer Banks this past weekend with our friends Jeff and Danielle, their daughter Cambelle, and Danielle's family. It was great! Ben got his first taste of the beach... and of sand.


Ben also got to play with Cambelle, though for the first few days he was in no mood to play with anybody. He had a little bit of a fever and wasn't really himself. Here they are, on our last full day, getting used to each other:


Soon enough, though, Cambelle was trying to teach him how to stand up. He's not all that good at it yet - his legs are pretty wobbly, and he does have cankles... He watches her and tries it out (a little unsuccessfully).


Ben's first 'trick' that we're working on... asking him, "How big is Benjamin?"

SO BIG!!! Granted, he'll occasionally throw his arms up without being prompted, and then we clap and tell him how big he is and then he gets all excited. He's a cutie.

And here Chris is with Ben, on our last night there. My boys!

recap

Happy Father's Day! I hope you've had a nice weekend. My dad came up to visit and we had a great time. He helped make our 'backyard' beautiful by planting lots of flowers and plants in containers for us. It looks great.

I still haven't been able to upload any of our videos... so to the anonymous poster who wants to see more of Sophie and Ben, I'm working on it!

In the meantime, a recap.

Ben's all boy. He's not a mama's boy - in fact, he's way too busy being interested in other stuff to even want to hang out with me. I try to snuggle close with him, get a hug, a kiss (he bites a cheek here and there if I let him) - but no dice. Here are two pictures to prove it. He'd really rather just be on the floor, crawling around.


Sophie and Ben watch Uncle Dan play xbox.


Ben likes edamame.


The child likes to relax, people. Don't hassle him while he's relaxing. This was Saturday morning, at the end of our walk. The way he was sitting was funny enough that Chris grabbed the camera. Ben tolerated it.


Ben at his lunchtime photoshoot.


Dad's subjects aren't paying attention to him. Sorry, Dad. (Ben picked out his special shirt for Father's Day. He digs his dad.)


Ben and dad, Father's Day 2007. My boys.


... and Sophie, trying to get outside because she's missing all the fun.

it's all happening

So I'm going to try and get some video of Ben soon... He is so close to crawling. He brings one knee forward and then gets confused about what to do next. We even brought out the video camera the other night but he was tired from trying to crawl.

Here, Ben and Sophie play a gentle game of tug-of-war:



And below is the scene you'd see any given night of the week after 7pm. All three of us (Chris, me, Sophie) on the couch and exhaling loudly after a long day of work and Benjamin-minding, and, in Sophie's case, begging for food and barking at leaves. Chris and I will try our hand at a crossword while we watch a Phillies game or some terrible movie on IFC. And we'll give Soph the attention she craves.


In the lower left of the picture, you have a glimpse of Chris' frightening foot. That is his foot in a state of relaxation. Sometimes I'll glance at it in a certain light and I'll recoil. I'm just waiting for the day when Ben sees it and cries.

chip off the old block

So for the playgroup Ben and I are enrolled in, we're supposed to bring swim shoes and a sunhat for him. I've had a hard time finding swim shoes, because the ones I find are Ben's size... but because he already has his dad's high arches, I actually can't get them on his feet.

But we found these today at LLBean:


They're basically a big flap on the top of the shoe. I put Ben's foot in and fasten it in with velcro. The lady at the store saw me trying to jam his foot (gently, of course) into a regular swim shoe and diplomatically suggested I try the Tevas. I think they're cute.

Also required: a sun hat. Clearly they didn't consult Ben before making this request, because if they did, he'd inform them that there's no way he's wearing one. Anytime I put anything on his head, including his cute Phillies hat, he rips it off as soon as he notices it. This fact is documented in the picture below, which was taken .2 seconds after I put his blue sun hat on his head:


But then, Sesame Street came on and Ben was distracted for a moment. Or two.