Half Birthday

Ben is 6 months old today! Since he is totally out of luck in the birthday department (December 30, so much for family planning), we are going to have to make a big deal about his half birthdays.

He celebrated his very first half birthday by eating all his carrots...

...playing a little music

... having a party in his crib (don't worry, he can't actually do this on his own yet)

...and by staying up until nearly 10pm, which is quite later than usual. I think it was the outfit that put him in such a festive mood (A monkey! On a bicycle! Too cute).

At his six month check up today the numbers confirmed what my lower back has been telling me for weeks: Ben is a member of the gigantosaurus variety of baby.

Height: 27 1/4" (I'm not convinced that this is accurate, as he was quite squirmy)

Weight: 20 pounds!!!

Head: 44 cm

His body has now outpaced his head, as he is in the 90th percentile for height and weight and only 55th for head circumference. His head got off to a very early start as you will recall, and it is now taking a break.

His personality is emerging more and more each day. It's such a delight to watch. Everywhere we go people remark on what a happy baby he is. He smiles and laughs for everyone.

His favorite thing to do is to reach for any and everything he can get his hands on. He is an indiscriminate grabber of remotes, cell phones, keys, necklaces, and eyeglasses (his favorite), amongst other things. He loves to pull my glasses off and have a good laugh at how silly I look without them. He then slobbers all over them with a very proud look on his face.

He's even picked up a few things from Mortimer in the tug of war department because when he has something he's not supposed to, like the straw he grabbed out of my drink today, it's quite an effort to get it away from him. He is also starting to get upset when not doing exactly what he wants to do (eating paper from a magazine, for example, or having to sit on his own because I sometimes tire of holding his fingers so that he can stand up and wiggle around). I'm sure these are just the beginning of many more battles to come as he learns to exert his independence more and more. I just wasn't expecting it to happen so soon!

America's Next Top Toddler

He's a long way from toddling, but I just couldn't resist that title once I thought of it.

Huckleberry Ben

Maybe it's just me, but Ben's little baby sunhat always makes me think of Huckleberry Finn. I know it's not a straw hat, nor does he have a corncob pipe, but nevertheless it always comes to mind. So Huckleberry Ben is yet another of the many nonsensical nicknames Ben has acquired: the big guy, the big man, little man, booger bear, the amazing standing baby, etc. The good news is that as he grows up none of these nicknames will stick.


In other news, after much deliberation and investigation, Ben and I made our first foray to the pool this past weekend. I was a little nervous about juggling all of the various baby gear, not to mention the actual baby. I also wasn't sure of the exact baby-to-pool protocol: should I put his swim shirt and swim diaper on at the house or keep him in a regular diaper as long as possible, given that the pool is 10-15 minutes away? Is it better to apply sunscreen before leaving the house or should it be applied just before entering the pool? Can you take strollers to the pool or is that regarded as a majorly obnoxious, oblivious mom move? What exactly is a swim diaper and is it really any different from swimsuit bottoms? Would the other babies and baby Moms look down their nose at Ben if he was wearing the disposable Pampers swim diapers? (I feel it's important to note here that he was not wearing the disposable Pampers.) Lastly, if Ben poops in the pool do I pretend not to notice and casually exit the area, as I do when I walk Mortimer and forget to bring a bag?

Fortunately Ben did not poop in the pool. Despite all my anxiety, we had a successful trip. We hung out in the baby pool for about two minutes, as it was pretty boring (and it also kind of looked like maybe some of the other babies had perhaps pooped in the pool). So we moved on to the big pool, where we bounced our way around for a while. He appeared to enjoy the experience, though in a very subtle way. I suppose your first trip to the pool is a lot to process. But he was not at all fussy or scared, so that was good. We only stayed for about 30 minutes, as I wanted to make sure we left on a high note.

As with most baby events, preparation for the event was much lengthier than the actual event itself. I haven't actually done the math but it appears that it's about a 3:1 ratio (if not higher) in terms of time spent planning and preparing versus the event itself. I am hoping that this ratio gets better with age.

There Will Always Be Cheeseburgers

A couple of months ago I eavesdropped on a conversation Harold had with Ben as he changed Ben's diaper. Harold was busy telling Ben all about the world and how different it would be by the time Ben was our age, when he said that he wanted Ben to know that no matter how much the world might change, there would always be one constant. I got a little sentimental, thinking how sweet it was that Harold was going to tell Ben how much he would always love him. But what he said was: there will always be cheeseburgers.

This is classic Harold, and I can think of no better way of celebrating Harold's first Father's Day (though, alas, it is the day after) than by sharing this anecdote. The only thing that will make Harold's future Father's Days even happier is that Ben will be able to share a cheeseburger with him.

Adventures in Baby Sitting

No, I am not referring to that oft-forgotten classic of 80's cinema (that I also love dearly), but to my own sitting baby.

He's still a little wobbly, but he can sit up on his own for a couple of minutes before toppling over (which is also pretty cute). This is a very exciting development.

He's also becoming more adept at his army crawl. He can manage to inch himself along on his belly enough to get to the toy of his choice as long as it's not placed too far out of reach. It really will be a whole new world once he masters an actual crawl. I suppose I should enjoy these relatively lazy days of not constantly chasing him around.

Foodwise, Ben is loving sweet potatoes and bananas. If he thinks you are taking too much time between bites, he starts kicking his legs to let you know that you need to pick up the pace. He also enjoys carrots and green peas, but he is not at all fond of peaches, at least not the kind that come in a jar. Which is quite a surprise to me, since I continued to (occasionally) eat peach baby food well into adulthood. But only because we usually had some around the house due to my numerous nieces and nephews (7 to be exact). Anyhow, between me and Mortimer, there will be no need to worry about wasting any of Ben's leftover peaches.

Five Months

Ben is now 5 months old. By our unofficial estimate, he weighs 17.5 pounds. He is one big guy, but at least he hasn't broken the 20 pound barrier yet.

His current favorite activities include:

Drooling excessively

Putting any and all things in his mouth

Hanging out in the exersaucer

Befriending Mortimer

One of the first things people notice about Ben is the hair (or the lack thereof) on the back of his head. Ben is blonde on top, with a nice bald spot in the middle, followed by some longish darkish hair on the nape of his neck. Some insensitive and uncaring individuals (including his own father) have referred to this pattern as a "baby mullet." I do not agree.