Bennett's First Attempt at Neil Young's "Heart of Gold"

Broken Bow

- This morning I was sitting in the kitchen having breakfast.  Bennett came around the corner with a proud smile on his face and said, "Hey Dad, here's your glasses!" (In baby babble, of course).  He had part of them in each hand.  (His thinking: two are better than one)  (My thinking:  an optimist thinks these glasses are half fixed, but they really look half broken to me).  Bennett must of known that he had to break them this month  . . . while they're still under warranty.
-  You've seen his dance moves before.  But have you ever seen him get funky on the dance floor?:

-   Watching music videos of Elmo have become a daily routine for Bennett and I.  You should have seen my jaw hit the floor when Bennett said "Ah-Choo" right on cue when the duck sneezed. (45 seconds in on the video below)  I could not believe it!  So, I replayed it again with Karah in the room.  Sure enough, "ah-choo" right on cue!  He's got the stinkin' song memorized:

Up

• Bennett is always bringing me books to read (My First Farm, Dr. Seuss, etc.).  Tonight he had an unusual request.  He wanted to crawl up in my lap with this bit of nonfiction (a sommelier in the making???):

• Monday Night Football was on TV tonight (yes on a Thursday.  Don't ask me.  Direct your questions to ESPN HQ Bristol, Connecticut).  Bennett spontaneously signaled "Touchdown" with both hands in the air.  Now, there wasn't really a touchdown . . . but I was impressed nonetheless.  
• I queued up some music on my iphone when I was giving Bennett a bath tonight.  Suddenly bath time turned into dance party (him, not me.)  Very funny. 
• Bennett's first deliberate word is "Up".  He uses it early and often.  He also seems to be a master climber of furniture and whatnot.  Coincidence?  I think not.  He may have been meant to grow up in the mountains (baby with an altitude).  
• Bennett loves chasing Brux around the living room.  Oftentimes Brux either doesn't know he's being chased or is completely disinterested in the game.  Bennett laughs hysterically regardless.  
• Some random summer photos:

We got Bennett a hot tub.  (easy on the hot, heavy on the tub)

Cheeser (the "S" stands for salesman)

"Hank, I'm about to give you a knuckle sandwich"

They call me the fireman, that's my name.
Making my rounds all over town, putting out old flames. 

Topless

Hey everybody.  It's Bennett.  Mom's gone and Dad is ignoring me.  So, I'm going stroke these keys so you know what's the haps.

Summer finally made it to the mountains.  I love being outside:  Hiking, playing in the grass, crawling around on the back deck . . . you name it. If I'm outside, I'm happy. 

Speaking of crawling, I'm about done with that nonsense.  I've about got this walking thing down (until mom puts shoes on me, Brux gets in my way, or Dad chases me down the hall). 

Last week was Fatherz Day.  I got to spend it with my Dad's Dad (aka Gido) and Dad.  We went for a hike and then had burgers in Beaver Creek.  (Don't worry, we did invite Grandma and Mommy too).

Why doesn't Daddy have white hair like us?

 
My other grandpa was climbing a ladder yesterday and fell from the sky.  He's in the hospital in Denver getting surgery on his back and L-bo.  I guess he won't be piching me fastballs or wrestling with me anytime soon.  Get better Poppy!





This photo is a violation of the patient privacy act and will likely get one of Poppy's daughters thrown in jail.


Since Momz in Denver with Pop.  Dad, Brux and I are at home alone (we call these days Dudesday (usually it's on Tuesday, but does it really matter?)).  Dad said we were going to have a guys weekend and said something about topless.  I was thinking "uh oh! mom's going to be mad about this topless thing when she gets home."  But, then Dad went to the garage and took the top off the Jeep.  Whew, I thought Dad was going to get us in trubble.  Riding in the Jeep just got funner. 

I took Dad to lunch today at Paddy's Irish Pub.  I was going to pay with my piggy bank money.  But, Dad is almost as lightening fast as Gido when it comes to grabbing the check. 

"I'll have the eggs benedict, extra english muffin and Hollandaise on the side"

Then we went to Home Deepo (it's not a guys day without a trip to the Deepo).  Dad says he's going to kill something.  He just bawt some spray so it's either bugs or weeds.

Dad, the Roundup is in aisle one!

We were going to the bike store (I suggested we go to the trike store) and Dad got mad that they were closed.  On the dore was a sine that said "RIDING".

Oh ya, one last thing.  Imma Monster!

Peace,

B.D. Maloley
(B.D. is for "Big Deal" or "Bad Dude", your choice)

TD!

• In preparation for the upcoming football season, I successfully taught Bennett an very important skill (Go Big Red!): 

Mr. Touchdown USA from David M on Vimeo.

• How intuitive is the ipad?  A 1 year old can navigate it.  I downloaded a PBS Kids app this morning and he was having fun playing videos of Elmo, Cat in the Hat, Dinosaur Train, etc:  



• He had one of his roughest days yesterday.  The pollen is all over the place (literally coating the back deck).  Bennett reminded me of my Army days when the showoff soldiers (not me) would intentionally keep their gas mask off during gas chamber training.  They'd come running out of the chamber with teary eyes, snot and drool.  Thanks to zyrtec he's feeling much better today (there were enough tears yesterday to last a week). 

Pedestrian

• "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
• "Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time." -Steven Wright
  
  
  

• The bottles are put away and there's no more formula in our house.  The boy is growing up. 
• Karah had a very special mommy moment last night.  She was singing "You Are My Sunshine" to Bennett (just as she has since the day we brought him home from the hospital) before bed.  He thanked her by giving her an unsolicited kiss on the lips.  It brought her to tears.   
• Bennett had his one year checkup last week.  Current stats:  30.5" long and 25.8 lbs. 
• A year ago every conversation involved, "So, ya gettin' any sleep?"  Now the FAQ is, "So, ya ready for another one?" 



Walk of Life

• We saw Bennett take his first two steps tonight (and by the looks of it he'd much prefer to run than walk).
• Clifford the Big Red Dog was on TV yesterday.  The cartoon kids started to applaud when Clifford arrived in their classroom.  Bennett joined right in.  That cracked me up (and left me astounded).
• I was watching Sesame Street (no, I wasn't by myself) for the first time in almost 30 years.  They still know their audience!  They had Elmo (& Rev Run) singing a rendition of classic Aerosmith/Run DMC ("ya ain't seen nothin till your down on a muffin, and theres sure to be a change in way") tune from my youth:

• I was 35 when Bennett was born and had heard my share of annoying parenting cliches: Enjoy it while you can.  They grow up so fast.  Don't blink.  Blah, blah, blah.  Well . . . all true.  He turned 11 months this week.  I feel like our baby has transformed into a little boy over night.  The rate of growth and learning is unbelievable! 
• Speaking of songs from my youth . . . thinking about Bennett taking those couple of unsteady strides towards Karah planted another song in my head tonight.  I must have been about 10 when this song and awesome video came out.  I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen!:  

• He got the action, he got the motion
  Oh Yeah the boy can play
  Dedication devotion
  Turning all the night time into the day
  
  
  
  

what a difference . . .

A few days makes:

hot shot from David M on Vimeo.

Crawl space

-Bennett had his nine month check on Thursday:

• Tale of the tape:  23 lbs, 29.25" (~80th percentile)
• He received a shot in each thigh (simultaneously).  He had a hearty scream and cry for all of 3 seconds.  He collected himself, gave the nurse a dirty look and pout, and then it was like nothing happened (I didn't tell him that he should not let the girls see him cry.  He must have just enough testosterone to know that innately).
• She mentioned that he'd be crawling soon (sure enough (see below)).    

The heart of rock n' roll is still beatin'

-Bennett made his first crawling movements last night (he was going after the keys, but he's not ready to drive just yet).  We busted out the camcorder at the end of the action:

-More wrestling matches with the stuffed animals:

Where's Waldo?

Man in the mirror

• Bennett is approaching his 9th month.  Rolling is his favorite mode of transportation.  But, he's on his hands and knees this week and it looks like there is a crawl in the near future.
• When Bennett started making predictable, replicable sounds a few weeks ago . . .  It was all da-da-daddy.  Something happened this week (I've accused Karah of brainwashing while I'm at work), but he will no longer make the da-da sounds (Boooooo!) and it's all about ma-ma-mam ma-ma-mommy (and an occasional Ba-ba-ba for whatever reason). 
• Bennett pretty much "owns" Brux at this point . . . especially, when he's in his walker.  Bennett is becoming an expert at running over toes and Achilles (including Brux's).  He often gets Brux cornered and is unmerciful in releasing (or in this case not releasing Brux).  Also note that he's so intent in keeping Brux out that he doesn't acknowledge my presence at all:  

What's the password?

• Here's another funny little vid.  Bennett must think he's good looking.  When he discovers the mirror, he wastes no time starting to admire himself:

I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!

• There's a pretty good chance that Bennett will be a daredevil.  He rarely cries when injured, he has thrill seeker tendencies, he has lots to climb (jump off of, ski down, etc.) in his backyard and he seems a little to interested in the Xgames that are on ESPN right now.   

• Bennett bought me a great book recently (he must think I could use a few parenting pointers). If I Were Your Daddy, This is What You'd Learn. It is a collection of chapters by 35 dads talking about teaching what they believe to be the most important lessons to their kids. Although I'm only about 1/4 of the way through it, I highly recommend it for both mothers and fathers (actually, anyone could learn a lot about themselves from this book). Here's a little more info on it:

Nothing but the tooth

Not toothless . . . still Ruthless

• Bennett better wish for a toothbrush and floss for Christmas because his first tooth started peaking through this week.
• Anyone seen Santa?  We need to track him down today so Bennett can get a picture and yank on his beard. 
• The little guy does some serious kicking and flopping in his crib. I went to check on him last night and found a leg sticking outside the friendly confines.  (No blankets, No ACL damage):

  

Thumb war

Christmas Dog
by Shel Silverstein

Tonight's my first night as a watchdog,
And here it is Christmas Eve.
The children are sleeping all cozy upstairs,
While I'm guardin' the stockin's and tree.

What's that now---footsteps on the rooftop?
Could it be a cat or a mouse?
Who's this down the chimney?
A thief with a beard--- And a big sack for robbin' the house?

I'm barkin', I'm growlin', I'm bitin' his butt.
He howls and jumps back in his sleigh.
I scare his strange horses, they leap in the air.
I've frightened the whole bunch away.

Now the house is all peaceful and quiet again.
The stockin's are safe as can be.
Won't the kiddies be glad when they wake up tomorrow
And see how I've guarded the tree.

• Bennett is now in his 7th month.  Since we last spoke, he's started sitting up on his own and motors around the hardwood floors in his walker (he thinks it's an Indy car - speeding, shifting, and maneuvering around hairpin corners). 
• I had so much fun buying Bennett's first Christmas present from Dad (not sure I can or will stop with one).  I trust it is something that he'll have forever (it's a secret, I'll tell you later).  
• We need to line up a picture with Santa Claus.  He's starting to develop a touch of stranger anxiety (so the photo might involve a projecting lower lip), we'll see how he accepts Nicholas and his curly beard.
• Bennett usually reserves his thumb for sleepy time, but last week he used it for an appetizer:

 

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.

Gimme 5

- As I write this, it's almost 10:10 AM on 10/10/10 . . . but we are going to talk about 5.  Bennett was born on 5/5 and therefore turned 5 months old last week (on the 5th . . . obviously (Karah, I hope you appreciate that I worked a Ricky Gervais reference into this blog)).  Milestones this month:
•Your baby is able to reach accurately for an object.
•He can hold his head steady when sitting upright.
•Baby can raise his chest with arm support while lying on his stomach.
•He can roll over in one direction.
•Baby can grasp a rattle.
•He pays attention to very small objects.
•Baby squeals with delight.
•He spontaneously smiles.
•Baby mimics sounds and gestures.
•He turns towards the source of a sound or voice.
•Baby gets attention by babbling.
•He makes different sounds for different needs.

- Speaking of 5 . . . Nebraska is 5-0 and very well could be #5 in the polls today (and has an explosive offense with #5 on the bench).  This week, we are driving over 500 miles to Lincoln to watch the Huskers vs. the Longhorns.  I digress. 

- A second attempt (yesterday) at quasi-solid food went much better than the 1st:

- It kind of reminds me of a TV commercial from my youth:



Lobsters & Monkeys

• Bennett had is 4 month check on Friday (albeit a few weeks tardy).  He weighed 17.2 lbs and was 27.5".  That makes him a:

• When Bennett is screaming and all else has failed to stop the madness, I've found my "ace in the hole".  Bennett and I call it the "Monkey Video" and it has a miraculous calming effect:

• I figured tonight was the night that I'd start strategizing for Bennett's first Halloween.  The lobster costume is a definite front runner:

• We've been a sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head household this weekend.  Bennett had an especially rough day yesterday (not even the monkey video worked).  But, thanks to a humidifier and a good night's sleep . . . he was a new man today!



4 Mo

Hi.  It's Bennett.  I want to tell you about my exciting weekend.

On Saturday, everyone in the house wore red and I watched the Huskers for the first time.  It was fun for me.  But, Dad was acting very strange.  He kept getting happy and mad, happy and mad and singing "There is no place like Nebraska."  And I'm not sure why they call it football since the ball is usually in somebody's hands. 

Game time

Huskered out

Check out my new set of wheels.  Mom bought them at a garage sale on Saturday.

On Sunday I went to the duck race in Vail.  There were so many rubber duckies in the creek, I couldn't find mine.  I was kinda bummed because someone else won my $3000 prize.  Maybe next year. 

Today is Labor Day.  Dad says he is going to teach me about work ethic (funny because he didn't go to work today).  Mom says she is going to teach me about how she pushed me into this world. 

I turned 4 months old yesterday.  This is what the "experts" say I need to accomplish this month(I've already done many of them.  Please let me set my own goals):

•squeal and laugh with delight
•make "raspberry" sounds with lips
•experiment by making new sounds
•make sounds in response to parents
•track moving objects as his head and neck development work together
•roll over—usually from front to back—as muscles continue to develop
•raise up on straightened arms while lying on her tummy, looking all around as neck muscles strengthen
•grasp a rattle with stronger hand muscles
•bear weight on both legs
•start to sleep through the night
•begin to show interest in solid foods by reaching for mom and dad's food at the table or other food in her line of sight
 
I gotta go.  I can barely keep my eyes open - naptime! 

Devoted father, absentee blogger

• It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged.  I might be a little rusty . . . so bare (as the naked child below) with me.
• I changed Bennett's diaper today and it went something like this:

 

 

• That statue is called Manneken Pis (I have no idea why) and is a famous landmark in Brussels, Belgium (bronze, 1619 A.D.) 
• Bennett has met a variety of "strangers" this week (i.e. aunts, uncles, & cousins).  After being in the arms of adorers for several days, he seems not to like his crib quite as much (Karah's assured me that they can't be spoiled at this stage).
• Bennett is now 6 weeks old.  His strength, hand-eye coordination, and sensory perception seem to increase daily.  I swear he was shoving me away as I tried to kiss him today.  He has some rather independent parents, but that's just ridiculous. 

Getting our due

• This is Bennett's due date . . .  "Mentsch tracht, Gott lacht." - Yiddish Proverb    (Translation: Man plans, God laughs.)
• One amazing thing about babies is they can go from angry as hell one second to content as a cucumber the next second.  This begs the question, why do we hold onto things (grudges, etc.) as adults?  Why can't we just get over it like the wise (albeit premature) infant?  
• At three weeks, he's becoming much more alert and strong as heck.  He almost frog-kicked himself out of my arms today.
• He generally wakes up with a whimper or solid cry.  This afternoon he was all smiles as I lifted him out of his crib.  Now, that's an phenomenal feeling!  (Smile on my wayward son :)
• RIP Mr. Linkletter.  You were absolutely right, kids do say the darndest things (& craftmatic adjustable beds look amazing!).

Security?

• Bennett received his Social Security card (you've just gotta laugh when you see mail addressed to a 3 week old marked OFFICIAL BUSINESS) yesterday. Just a subtle reminder that he better start working and saving soon.  He'll be about my age when the S.S. well will run dry.  In the meantime, we'll prepare for the IRS audit on his piggy bank.
• Bennett saw his dentist (me) today for an oral evaluation.  He was diagnosed with Epstein's pearls:  small, white, pearl-like spots that appear on the roof of the mouth of 70+% of newborns. These bumps are harmless and tend to disappear within a few weeks.

Some other kid with Epstein's Pearls

• 
  
  Speaking of Social Security (sorry, I promise not to use this blog as a political forum), isn't it really a pyramid scheme?:

  Social Security has been a pyramid scheme from the beginning. Those who paid in first received money from those who paid in second — and so on, generation after generation. This was great so long as the small generation when Social Security began was being supported by larger generations resulting from the baby boom. But, like all pyramid schemes, the whole thing is in big trouble once the pyramid stops growing. When the baby boomers retire, that will be the moment of truth — or of more artful lies. - Thomas Sowell, Economist