Only a few of you will understand this

The other night the three of us were driving home and Heath and I were having some inane argument. I won't get into the details, but I will say that I was obviously right and he was obviously wrong. Hey, it's my blog! :) However, as anyone who knows Heath knows, he won't stop arguing... well, ever. So he made some point which, to him, was the nail in the coffin and he said, "Pwn3d!" Then he said to Ben, "Can you say P is for Pwn3d?" And, of course, because Ben's in a serious parrot stage he said some toddler version of "P is for Pwn3d."

Heath managed to keep the car on the road, but just barely for all his whooping and celebrating.

For the uninitiated, "pwn3d" is basically an internet way of saying, "You suck. I'm right."

I will always have gum

I pulled my first all-nighter in a looooong time last night. But, it resulted in this:

Avery Geneva was born 8/23/10 at 3:48am. She was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21.5 in. Bekah had roughly eight hours of labor and did awesome. I was so glad to be there to support her the way she's supported me. Ian was a total champ. He was a wonderful partner and didn't show any nerves the whole time.

Both Bekah and Avery are doing wonderfully. She looks like Bekah's grandfather! Genetics are crazy things. I'm so excited to be an aunt! She's an adorable little girl and it's going to be great watching her and Ben grow up together.

Well, you're not wrong...

This morning Ben and I were fighting the daily struggle of fitting his t-shirt over his head. When his face finally popped through he looked at me and said, "Big head. Big head."

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Score!

Last night we went to Red Lobster with Ian and Bekah. Heath teases us about how as a family we always have to go there or Olive Garden, so my grandma sent us a gift card. She's an enabler!

So, despite bringing several toys to distract Ben, the dinner went pretty much like any dinner out with a toddler goes. In other words, not great. He was whiny at the table so Heath and I had to tag team taking him to the lobby or outside to run around (mostly Heath, since he's still the favorite and when Daddy's around Ben wants nobody else). When our food finally came he was fine and chowed down on his macaroni and cheese (a Red Lobster specialty), but as soon as HE was done, dinner was over.

Eventually we got the check and when Ian looked at it he realized the waiter had only put his and Bekah's food on there. So we flagged him down and explained the check situation. Then he told us that an anonymous person had paid for my, Heath's and Ben's meals because they were so impressed with how we handled Ben. We couldn't believe it! That was probably $50! I've received free drinks a couple times because a person bought the entire bar a round, but never a free dinner!

And we retained our Red Lobster gift card!

Reunion

Last Thursday through Sunday Heath and I were in Indianapolis attending GenCon. It's a gaming convention where people get together and play board games, card games, video games and role playing games. We met our friends Arianne and Jeff there and had a blast hanging out all weekend, playing games and meeting some idols.

While Mommy and Daddy had a weekend away, Ben stayed with Oma and Opa. The last time we'd been away from him this long was in November, when we went to Hawaii. He was only 14 months old at the time and though he did fine while we were gone, after we got back he held a little grudge against all the grandparents. So it's no surprise my mother was a little concerned that the same thing would happen again.

When we walked in the door on Sunday afternoon Ben's face scrunched up and he started to cry. My mother was quick to say, "This is the first time he's cried all weekend!" He seemed unable to run over to us, but when I knelt down next to him he threw his arms around me and held on for dear life. I was exhausted from the weekend and happy to see him and very happy that he didn't push me away in favor of Heath, so I joined him with some crying of my own.

For me, missing Ben is a novelty. I'm with him so much that I never have the chance. We're more like college roommates living in a tiny dorm room. We have days we're the best of friends and we have days we're on each other's last nerve. And I have to admit, I didn't miss Ben much this weekend. I was glad to be away, doing something I wanted to do, doing something fun for me. And I know Ben had fun, too. Who can resist a weekend of being spoiled by your grandparents? But in the end, the best part of a trip is always coming home. Though that doesn't mean I won't go next year!

I'm including this picture not because it has anything to do with Ben, but because it is freaking awesome:

 Me & Wil Wheaton

All those hours of Dinosaur Train are paying off

It seems like Ben learns at least one new word a day. His vocabulary is growing exponentially. Friday's new word?

Brachiosaurus.

No joke.

Conversations with a Toddler - Part 3

Me: Ben, do you want a drink?

Ben: Yeah.

Me: Water?

Ben *shakes head* No. Monkeys.

This will be funny if he becomes a mathematician

Heath has been working on numbers with Ben. So when they're playing they're always counting things. Heath will say the numbers and Ben will repeat some of them. And when Heath gets to 10 he always says, "Yea!"

Last night I was giving Ben a bath and he has letters and numbers that stick to the side of the bath. So I was grabbing ones that floated by, sticking them to the side and saying what they were. At one point I grabbed eight and then Ben said, "Eight, nine, 10, Yea!" Then he started repeating, "Ten, yea! Ten, yea!"

Pearly whites

*knocks furiously on wood*

*throws salt over her shoulder*

*uncrosses every part of her body*

I think we might be done with teething.

*glances around to make sure the Tooth Fairy isn't laughing at her naivety*

Ben went through a big growth spurt this spring/early summer, which was accompanied by teeth brushing madness. Every morning and evening it was like Wrestlemania trying to get the toothbrush in his mouth for even five seconds, when we'd never had that problem before. However, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. For a couple weeks now he's been brushing like a champ. So rather than the oncoming Terrible Twos, I actually think brushing his teeth was hurting him, which is why he was being so disagreeable. I only wish we could know these things as they're happening.

I haven't been able to get a great look into his mouth, but looking at the baby teeth chart in his baby book, I think he has them all in. This is cause for celebration because TEETHING SUCKS. The kid won't remember it, but I'll carry the emotional scars for the rest of my life. And I remember when I got my adult teeth and I don't recall it being all that painful. Maybe I blocked it out?

Now all we need to do is get his final round of shots (for a while) at his two year appointment and we'll be done with big, painful things that are necessary (for a while). Then it's on to potty training. Ugh.

Arianne, you may not want to read this one

Ben's evil gene has finally kicked in. No cat in the household is safe from his attempts at torture. His aim is horrible, so most toys hurled in their direction miss. And Crookshanks is smart enough to just stay out of his way. She spends most of the day sleeping under our bed. However, Minnie is such an attention whore and apparently has no self esteem that she consistently submits herself to Ben's torment. He has pulled her off chairs by her fur, he pushes her down to the floor to use her as a pillow, he tries to pick her up by her feet, and she takes it. It's ridiculous. She doesn't have front claws so she can't fight back very effectively, but she did bite him one time and I had absolutely no sympathy. He totally deserved it and yet it didn't deter him at all. I spend most days at home yelling, "Don't throw things at the cat! Be nice to her!"

What's so vexing is that whenever we meet an animal at the park, or when we spend time with relatives' dogs, he's perfectly fine. He pets them gently and that's the end of it. Maybe it's a quasi-sibling thing. You're nicer to strangers than to your own family. Hopefully this isn't a clue as to what's to come when Ben eventually gets a sibling. Though considering how Ian and I fought as kids, I'll probably deserve whatever they dish out. Karma's a bitch.