the height of babydom

Ben has finally reached it--the height of babydom. He is chubby and uncoordinated and can't quite express himself. He looks like a beautiful cartoon character. He can crawl, and he's working on standing and walking. He babbles all day long trying new sounds in his mouth, his current favorite being "Ca." Holding his hands as he tried to take steps today, it hit me. In a little over ten months, he will be an official toddler, on his way to being a boy. I miss him already.

crawling boy

Yesterday Ben crept forward and instead of collapsing like he usually does, he moved his knee forward, and then his hand, and before Ryan knew it, Ben was crawling right before his very eyes. He only took three little creeps forward before stopping himself and pushing back to a sitting position, but now we know he is able to do it. He is such a clever boy, eh?

Unfortunately, I missed Ben's big adventure as I was in L.A. watching Wicked with Mary. It was the best show I've ever seen; the script was amazing, the singing was amazing, the sets were amazing...you get the idea. On the way home, Mary and I discussed politics among other things. Sometimes I feel as though I'm losing my faith in America. Everyone seems fat and lazy and money-grubbing and so, so complacent. Jail Karl Rove. That's all I gots to say. And Canada, I hope you're saving a spot for me up there. If the shit hits the fan here, you'll finally get yourselves a girl who can say "house" properly.

Introducing Monsignor Le Bear, the gayest teddy on the planet. 

swim lessons!! 

twinsies 

hi mommy! 

fat little man 

baby boy! 

cute pic w/ daddy 

with aunt jilly...good luck in europe!! 

baby teeth 

very little of this cookie actually made it in 

i hate crawling! 

this is MY toy 

who you talking to? 

the leaning tower of benjamin 

I'm pissed! 

two firsts in one weekend.

Benjamin went to swim class for the first time yesterday. And who do you think was rolling around and laughing and having a great time in the water? It was this other baby named Marshall, who has a problem and can't stop smiling, even if nothing funny is going on. Ben was another story. I had to dunk Ben under water. DUNK him. Asia, the very enthusiastic teacher, said that babies can't leave her class unless their heads are wet. So under the water Ben went, and when he emerged, his look of fear immediately melted to a look of rage, and he wouldn't stop crying until I helped him walk around in the shallow end. Because that's all this baby wants to do...walk. Which brings me to his second first of the weekend. Yesterday, with a little help from his friend (mom), Ben got on his hands and knees and started rocking back and forth. And he did it again this morning.
Pics will come soon, I promise. Hope you're doing well in Europe, Bridge. Ben says he misses you.

As a side note, I went to a candle party yesterday, which Mary and I decided should be called a candle coercion because they use really obvious tricks to FORCE you to buy candles that all smell like a blend of Cheez Its and peaches. They kept making us smell things and compliment the candles and exclaim, "I love Partylight!" They gave us raffle tickets and horrible, horrible prizes. I had to buy something so I wouldn't hurt my cousin-in-law's feelings, so now I have overpriced tea lights coming to my house that supposedly smell like the ocean but actually smell more like a bathroom. So that's what I did with my Saturday evening. My sinuses are still burning, and I had nightmares all night. So, no, Partylight, I will not be hosting a candle party at my own home.

Get. Out. Of. My. Way. 

beautiful baby boy 

my sister, me and my brother 

look at those muscles 

beach wear 

on the go 

ben's sneer 

reading with grandpa 

ben's hawaiian outfit 

fourth of july moving graduation anniversary parties birthdays i've got an ulcer

Hello everyone. Let me calmly explain that Ben turned 9 months old yesterday. And no, he's not walking or even crawling yet. He's not doing cartwheels. And he can't cook pancakes. But he is healthy and strong and gorgeous, and he's getting there. This past month, in addition to my five year anniversary, my family threw a surprise graduation party for me. I had totally completely forgotten about graduating in May because I couldn't fly to New York to walk due to it being finals week, and the real reason, which is that we didn't have any money. So my family surprised me and threw me a gradution party which required weeks of lying to me and intricate planning. I was so surprised and so excited (as this was my first surprise party) and there were drinks at the party named after me, like the "Ang-O-rita" and the "Ang-O-politan." There was even a drink menu with pictures of my face on it. I had so much fun. This month also marked our moving into a new house, our car breaking down and costing a ton of money, several birthdays, the Fourth of July, anniversaries and graduations, my late registering of my car at the DMV and the development of an ulcer. There was simply too much packed into a tiny time. HOWEVER, I am extremely happy and I feel extremely lucky, and I will spend the rest of this month trying to calm myself down.