That's Not My Name

It started innocently enough. I heard the Ting Tings "That's Not My Name" a couple of times and thought that it was fun and would be a good song to dance to in the kitchen. We are avid kitchen-dancers in this house and I am always on the lookout for good kitchen-dancing songs.

Little did I know where this was headed. We listened to it a few times and then Ben became obsessed. It may have been because of my awesome dance moves, I don't know, but eventually it was the only song Ben would let us (i.e., me and him) listen to. Harold, for some reason, is allowed to play a variety of songs and genres, but as soon as my phone is hooked up to the speakers Ben asks for this song through a variety of verbal and non-verbal mechanisms. And there's no getting away with listening to it just once or twice. When I play this song I'd better be ready to listen to it at least 3 or 4 times before the iphone has to take a "nap."



The timing of the sneeze in this video couldn't have been better.

PS - please ignore all the shoes on the kitchen floor.

A Different World

About six weeks ago I found Ben perilously perched on the rails of his crib in the middle of the night hollering "Mama!" We decided that maybe it was time to say goodbye to the crib, which was exciting and sad all at the same time. No more crib! No more baby!

I am happy to report that the transition out of the crib went much more smoothly than expected. Ben seems to sleep much better in a bed than in a crib. MUCH better. Getting him to fall asleep in the bed still requires some effort, and some nights I end up sleeping in there with him, but for the most part it works. We bought a rail to use with the bed, but we didn't set it up immediately. After he made it the first night without falling out, we decided to try another night and then another. It's been a couple of weeks now and he's only fallen out once. We keep the floor by the side of the bed padded with pillows to cushion any falls. I suppose we are awful parents for not installing the rail, but part of me thinks that maybe the best way to learn not to roll off the bed is to actually roll off the bed a few times? I'm not sure that many other parents share this view. And of course having written this he will likely fall off the bed at least three times tonight.

Cutest Kids Ever

On Saturday my friend Bekki and I met for a playdate at a park in Durham. Ben and Beckett are only 4 months apart in age and they are almost at the age where they can actually play together versus just play around each other.

They are clearly some of the cutest kids who have ever lived. I'm not usually given to superlatives except of course when it relates to my kid or my friends' kids. And seriously, how cute are these two little guys?

Investigating the water fountain.

Beckett hanging out in the center of the teeter totter, because is there any better place to sit?
Pausing for a much-needed snack break.

And this is quite possibly the best baby dance ever invented. I need to add music to this video. Full credit for this goes to Derek, Bekki's husband.

These poor kids. Oh how they're going to use this all against us someday.

Ben Knows His Chicken

It may be time for a nap, but it's not time to let go of the chicken.

Summer Stock

We've had a very busy summer, filled with lots of toddler-loving activities designed to exhaust our little energizer toddler.

Despite my fear of birds, we've spent lots of time at Lake Lynn feeding the ducks. Particularly a little Ben-duck. A great deal of time has also been spent preventing Ben from either getting his head stuck in the rails or falling into the lake.

We've also made quite a few trips to the Observation Park at the airport. Ben and I love to watch the planes go up, up, up, though Harold finds this activity to be incredibly boring. It may be related to his aversion to air travel in general. We almost always run into someone we know. as the airport is a pretty popular Mom/toddler hangout. It's a great thing to do on Sunday afternoons when it's not too hot.

A lot of our time has been spent at various parks around Raleigh. We go to a park almost every evening due to the mosquito-infested jungle in which our house is situated.

We haven't been to every park in Raleigh yet, but we have identified a couple of favorites that have great equipment and that aren't too crowded.

So far Ben isn't a fan of the really big slides, though he did succumb to some peer pressure and go down the big slide a couple of times when he saw a 2 year old do it. It's very important to impress the older kids.

My Name is Ben. I Like to Dance!*

Look for Ben during the 2020 season of "So You Think You Can Dance." (He can in fact dance better than Katie Holmes, as many of you who saw her much-hyped recent appearance will no doubt agree.)

*For those who don't spend a lot of time watching the Noggin, this is a reference to Ben's absolute favorite thing in the world: "Yo Gabba Gabba."

Family Photos

It's been a long time since the last post and I don't have any good excuses, except for that whole work/life balance thing (which only seems to be getting harder).

In April we had some family photos taken, and for once in my life I was pleased with the results.
We had the pictures taken at Mordecai in downtown Raleigh, which is where Harold and I were married three years ago.

Then...

... and now.
Ben was feeling a little under the weather, but we still got some great photos.

Seriously, how cute is he?