Beatbox & eatin' socks

• Bennett has gotten to be pretty rowdy in his crib.  I just walked into his bed room and he had taken both his socks off and had one of them in his mouth (we've had several incidents of Brux gobbling up socks, but I never expected this of Bennett).  Karah found him fast asleep one morning this week turned sideways with both legs hanging out the railing of the crib.  These stuffed animals are usually assembled in a very orderly manner in the corner of his crib (no surprise if you know his mom).  He turned it into a steel cage pro wrestling match:




The Ultimate Warrior


• Bennett taught himself to "beatbox" this week (if he's got the beats, I got the rhymes. Dad and Bennett D always have good times.)  I'm going to have to get him a pair of turntables and a microphone for Christmas:

• He might be aspiring to this: 

• I've discovered I can do a pretty solid Elmo impersonation.  Bennett thinks it's hilarious.
• A few recent photos:  

Watching the game with Dad.  Go Big Red!



Thanksgiving dinner with Mom. 
Up the Creek in Vail



Crocodile Hunter



Josiah's Time

Don't quit

• Today I was trying to capture some "roll over" footage.  (As usual) When the camera is rolling, Bennett stops performing whatever activity we are trying to capture.  I was about to put the camera down, but decided to first lay down a challenge.  I hope he's always this coachable: 

"You givin' up?"

• Reminded me of a poem:  

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow--

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

• And an incredible speech:

"Don't give up. Don't ever give up!"

Skype hype

• Bennett has recently learned to "skype" with his family in Nebraska.  Here's what our webcam view looks like: 

What Bennett sees when he's skyping to Elkhorn.
Back row:  Cousin Ben, Aunt Katie, Grandma Linda
Front row: Uncle Matt & Gido Joe


• Odd fact (and bad timing):  I don't change most of Bennett's diapers . . .But most of the diapers I change are dirty ("a crapsack").
• Bennett is taking is 6 month growth and tricks seriously . . . In the past couple of weeks he's hung up the phone on Grandma Linda, turned the channel when daddy was watching TV, damn near rolled off the bed and couch, and is motoring all over the house in his walker.  He's also very interactive and likes to tease back now.  
•  He's been recently introduced to Cereal and some Sweet Pea & Garden Green Bean mush.
• No teeth yet (and we all know the world needs more teeth :))
• A couple of quotes that were in my Franklin-Covey planner pages yesterday:
• In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings. - Ann Landers
• Too often parents are also trapped in the management paradigm, thinking of control, efficiency, and rules instead of direction, purpose, and family feeling.  -The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, pg. 103

1/2

• We put Bennett to bed on his back last night and he woke up on his belly (much to his mom's dismay).  We are assuming he rolled over  (But, there are no witnesses and he will not confirm or deny the event).
• Born on 5/5, Bennett's .5 today (aka 6 months old).
• Bennett is being cast in a movie.  It's a Mexican spoof of Oliver Stone's (and Tom Cruise's) Born on the Forth of July (ca. 1989) . . . it's called Born on El Cinco de Mayo.  (BTW, That's complete B.S. (aka jk)).
• Bennett had his 6 month doctor's visit today.  He's 19.0 lbs. and 27.75" long.
• Bennett had his first round of vaccinations today.  Ya, ya we're starting late and a still quite skeptical about injecting our child will all that cure (insert your tree-hugging, organic, Colorado jokes here).  He took that needle in the quad like and champ with nary a tear (but mom left the room, so there was more pressure to "be a man" about it). 
• Future attractions - Milestones this month:
  •Your baby now can sit on his own.
  •He rocks and pivots while lying on his stomach.
  •Baby can roll from his back onto his stomach–and back again.
  •He digs his fingers and toes into the floor to push himself toward a favorite toy.
  •Baby can eat a cracker.
  •He can pick up cereal or other small objects.
  •Baby has more than doubled his birth weight.
  •He can say vowel-consonant combinations.
  •Baby expresses unhappiness when an object or toy is taken away.
  •He can pass objects from one hand to another.
  •Baby looks for dropped toys.
  •He has discovered himself in the mirror, and loves having conversations with this new little friend.