Lying Piece of Shirt!

Walk into any baby store, and a vast array of slogan-bearing clothing greets you. They range from predictable ("Cutie Pie," "Here Comes Trouble") to more progressive ("Protect My Earth," "Future Democrat") to downright questionable ("Diva in Training," "Future Republican"). Ahem.

I couldn't resist buying several of these shirts and onesies, some of which have turned out to be more fitting than others. One t-shirt which hasn't gotten much use proclaims "Grandpa and I have the same hair." This was never true, and especially not now. On the flip side, there are the shirts which, for better or for worse, are completely true...

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Then there are the shirts that true only some of the time...

And the ones that could be true or false, depending on who you ask...

Finally, there is the shirt with the only slogan that matters to me, because it's a slogan I try to live up to every day...

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As long as the tiny wearer of this shirt believes what's printed on it, then I've done my job.

Don't Call Them "Legwarmers"

A mere week after pledging to knit a pair of manly legwarmers for my son, I have finished... one legwarmer. Are you wondering why I'm already bragging about a half-finished project? Well, you should know that there are weeks when I don't find time to perform the most perfunctory of tasks. I mean, I can't remember the last time the caterpillars on my face have seen a pair of tweezers. So half-finished or not, I think I deserve a medal.

Another thing you should know is that I've decided not to call this article of clothing "legwarmers." A boy wearing legwarmers might get beaten up on the playground. A boy wearing BOOWARMERS, on the other hand, is safe from ridicule.

Like Mother, Like Son?

Benjamin kind of hit another milestone in recent weeks. I say "kind of" because I'm not sure if what he's doing really qualifies as a milestone. He started crawling. Backwards. He'll see something he really wants to grab (like a toy, me, or the pug) and bounce up and down with excitement. Then, with his eyes focused intently on the object of his affection, he'll start moving - in the opposite direction. It doesn't take long before he realizes he's getting farther and farther from his quarry, and that's when the tears start. I was pretty concerned until my mom told me that I did the same thing. I guess that means I have nothing to worry about, because just look at me now. I turned out fine!

Nolan and Benjamin flash goopy smiles while proprietor Theresa looks on.

Thankfully, things are going a little better in the eating department. My little Benjamin has quite a voracious appetite. He has yet to meet a food he doesn't like, though green beans are still somewhat of a hard sell. His current favorites are fresh mashed avocado, ripe banana, and steamed butternut squash. Since it's nice to eat out once in a while, my friends and I arranged a tasting session for our little ones at Homemade Baby, a company that specializes in making 100% organic baby food. I was hoping to expand Benjamin's gastronomic horizons, but he seemed more interested in hanging out with his friend Nolan.

Benjamin's best gal Lucy showed up a little later. Unfortunately, Lucy and her ma Catherine took a wrong turn somewhere and wound up in Crensha-- I mean, Lucy and her ma Catherine were a bit late because they had to stop and save a bunch of nuns from a burning building. As they were waiting, Nolan and Benjamin took time to do some male bonding. They talked about sports, beer, and how excited they were to start eating red meat. As soon as Lucy showed up, though, Benjamin only had eyes for her. And who could blame him? It takes a rare beauty to look this ravishing while covered with organic baby puree!

Endless Summer

The days have been getting shorter and the temperature a little chillier (which for us spoiled Angelenos is anything below 70 degrees), so we've been busy trying to squeeze every last ounce of fun out of Benjamin's first summer.

Last weekend, we attended the last of the free summer concerts in our neighborhood park with our buds Deb and George. As Deb and I sang along to every song the band played (Come on... What normal person doesn't sing along to Earth, Wind, and Fire?), George and Vince did their best to pretend like they didn't know us.

Benjamin watched from the sidelines at an outing to play beach volleyball. I didn't want to make Vince look bad in front of his son, so I decided to sit the games out and join Benjamin in the jeering- I mean, cheering.

We kicked it with friends of the pint-sized variety, too. Last Thursday was a double-whammy: Benjamin hung out with neighbor Nolan in the morning and then met up with ladies Lucy and Presley in the afternoon.

Not wanting the Daddies to be left out of the summer fun, we got together for a family day in the park on a recent Sunday. In the pic above, we see Benjamin holding hands with Bella; neighbors Julie, Shawn, and Nolan; Lucas having fun with Henry; Kylie munching on a chip; Pilar and Elijah watching brother Henry run around; and Vince and Benjamin saying "hi" to Jennifer and baby Hailey. Our neighbors Holly, Rusty, and baby Isabelle were there, too, but they left before I got it together enough to pull my camera out.

As I write this post, two things occur to me: #1. It looks like Benjamin has only two shirts in his wardrobe, and #2. Benjamin seems to have a lot of lady friends. In regards to #1, let me say that Benjamin has far more than just two shirts. It's just that these two are his Daddy's current favorites, so he's trying to get as much mileage out of them as possible. And when you're doing laundry every single day, one of those shirts is always clean. In regards to #2... Well, what can I say? Benjamin is The Man!