Jackson Loves His Dog - And Chewing on Things

We got to spend today with Jackson and were reminded that he doesn't nap. I feel for the day care folks and Susan who get to watch him regularly. He's exhausting and by about 5p he's over tired and pissed off so he just starts crying. At least he sleeps through the night! Without that ..ugh...don't want to even think of it.

Jackson was in a good mood this evening after eating some sweet potatoes so we decided to let the boys play together while the camera ran. This kid has a great personality. He's pissed off sometimes but mostly he's smiling and laughing, which in turn makes Ally and I smile and laugh. He's a great baby and we are truly blessed...but he's starting to crawl.

Enjoy!

Fetch


Chewy

Mall Santa is Creepy

Holiday Greetings to the 4 of you who read this blog...

So, not only is the mall Santa a little creepy (IMHO) but i believe it would be behoove everyone if he sanitized his hands after every child. How many germs must this man come into contact with in a given day? Gross. BAH HUMBUG!

Ok, with that all out of my system Ally and I are happy to present Jack's first pictures with Santa. He smiles ALL THE TIME at home but we had a lot of trouble getting him to smiles for Santa. Without further ado our beautiful child and creepy, germy mall Santa...

AND

AND

Monday

Oh, hello. Back to the grind after a nice relaxing weekend with family, food and fun. To help kick the week of here's another video of the little man. Have a great week.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope all had an enjoyable and happy Thanksgiving.

We are very very thankful for our little one, Jackson James. He has brought so much joy to our life in the 5 months (to the day) since he was born. We are very blessed to have such a wonderful little guy!

Below is a video from today. He is trying to crawl but still can't put it all together. He also screams a lot. Stewie still doesn't care for him...Also, we had some lighting issues.

Happy Thanksgiving!



PS: Ally said watching this video is like watching paint dry...consider yourself warned.

More of the JJ Videos

We had a big "dog weekend".  We babysat our neighbors dog, got to play with Ally's folks dog Max and of course there is the princess himself Stewie.  JJ LOVES dogs.  Dogs love JJ too...except for Stewie.  Stewie puts up with JJ but does not really care for him.  He's still having issues "sharing" Ally and I will JJ.  

Anyway, we took some video of JJ playing with Coco, the aforementioned neighbor's dog.  Enjoy.  

JJ Videos

Actually, I thought posting some new videos of JJ would be easier than doing a full entry.  Not so much.  Took much longer.  Funny how things work out.

Below are two new videos featuring JJ.  He is doing many more things these days including "Eating" oatmeal (some of it gets eaten) and "Protesting": showing us he's not interested in what we are selling.  

He is also doing his best to try to crawl.  He's got the idea but can't put it all together.  I will try to capture that on video but it's like an elusive creature in the wild: you never know when your going to see it but you know you always have to be ready.  Not sure where I was going there...

Without further ado...

"Eating"

"Protesting"

Yep

So i haven't posted in a while. I have no excuses. Here's a video of JJ. Not much going on, just wanted to post a video so you all can see him!



Hope everyone has a nice weekend. We are going to the pumpkin patch (again) this weekend!

Fits and Starts - Random Rant

It seems like just when I get a good head of steam going on this blog I get pulled in a million different directions, or get really busy, and stop making entries. Here's the rub, it's not a tremendous amount of work to post; it just goes to the back of the queue and thus isn't something I get around to during the course of the day. I need to work on that. I always say that.

So, now that I am posting again, at least for the short term, allow me to start with a picture of angry baby: see above.

(Note: this next part, for some reason, got chopped and I had to retype this part...it was much better before since it was stream of consciousness. Maybe Disney has access to my blog and deleted it...that will make more sense as you read)

The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus suck. I mean really suck. What do kids see/hear in these folks? Musically they are the equivalent of tone deaf monkeys. I get the marketing aspect of it all. I mean I get it. Disney has done a good job with them AND the High School Musical groups, aside from the naked Internet pictures of Vanessa Hudgens. Oops. Anyway, if there is anything I can do, any way to avoid it, JJ and any future children will only listen to good music, or at least not awful "designer bleach" music like the crap Disney pumps and pimps out. It's not good music on any level. Have you ever heard it live? Well I have (research for this post) and it's worse. Plus the main Jonas person looks like a girl. Am I wrong?

JJ is going to listen to real music, as long as there is no profanity. Now you are probably saying "but Ben, that's irresponsible. what about the suggestive lyrics that will corrupt his impressionable mind". To that I respond NUTS. I can't understand half the lyrics of the songs I listen to and even when I do I can't make heads or tails about what they are talking about. It took me many years to figure out what "Afternoon Delight" was about...I might be special because that one couldn't have been more clear. Anyway, if he starts putting the pieces together, that's another story...we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

So now JJ (angry: right >) goes to sleep to the smooth tones of his baby iPod chalked full of Jack Johnson, The Shins, Death Cab for Cutie. Donovan Frankenreiter, G-Love, Alison Krauss, Dave Matthews and other mellow night time tunes. While most of that can't be considered GREAT music, it's WORLDS better than the Jonas crap. When he's in the car he gets steady dose of The Beatles, The Jam, Weezer and The Raconteurs. I literally just rattled off what's in the CD player now. See, the kid already has good taste in music.

Before I sign off wanted to update on the kid...he's 16 pounds, still sleeping, has a thing with grabbing his parents by the face and pulling them close, doesn't like to be held if the person holding him is sitting down UNLESS there is a bottle in his mouth and is quite shy but also laughs like crazy. He gets more interesting every day.

In closing, this post took 10 minutes which really leads me to question why I can't set aside 10 minutes every day or every other day to post? Maybe I need to set a time in my calender as a reminder? Either way, I am trying.

NOTE: I would like to apologize for getting quite angry about the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Cyrus.

Spooky

I just noticed that my post yesterday was posted at 9:02 and it talked about 90210...SPOOKY. That is all.

Checking In - Eat a Sandwich

Hello. I know everyone is ANXIOUSLY awaiting my 90210 piece. Well you'll have to keep waiting for at least a little bit longer. I am not trying to create false demand by holding out on the details. I just haven't had time. That said, I have another episode under my belt and my thoughts on the show are quickly evolving. It's coming. In the mean time I will leave you with a discussion item - The girls of 90210: Too Skinny or WAY Too Skinny? There is photo reference on the left to help kick start the discussion...

Ally is spending her last week with JJ before returning to work on Monday. She is not looking forward to leaving the little guys (Stewie too) and I am not either. Hopefully soon she can be a stay at home mom, or worst case get a job MUCH closer to home.

Hope everyone has a nice day. It's almost the weekend again! I keep telling myself that...

What Are They Looking At?

For some reason this picture makes me laugh. If I had to guess I would say Stewie is pursuing one of his favorite pasttimes, lizard hunting...

5 Years - Anniversary Celebration Our Way

Yesterday was Ally and my 5 year wedding anniversary and celebrated our way; a UA/UCLA football game at the Rose Bowl followed by some BBQ from a local BBQ joint. There is no more appropriate way for us to celebrate.

So, at the risk of getting overly sappy on the internet, I will keep this brief.

Ally, you are an amazing mother, my best friend and the love of my life. I love you and can't wait to spend many many more anniversaries with you, preferably at college football games. :-)

More Sleep and Baby Toupee's

I guess the little dude has a new sleeping regimen. We are happy and well rested...until he starts having trouble sleeping because of teeth coming in or something else. I find (like billions of parents before me) that once you get through one thing another thing pops up that needs to be dealt with.

On another note I am starting to get concerned that he hasn't shed his "baby mullet". I figured by this point he would start getting hair on top to go with the party in the back but so far that's not been the case. I mean he's grown a little but nothing compared to the shrub draping the back of his head and neck. I am starting to think "Baby Toupee".

The attached Baby Toupee called "The Donald" after the man who inspired the look, Donald Trump. There are others but I was really drawn to this one.

We are going to give it another month and if there hasn't been progress in hair growth it's Baby Toupee time! Have a look at the before and after shots...

BEFORE (notice difference between mullet and rest of head)

AFTER (notice fullness and body in hair)

This is Getting Silly

He slept through the night AGAIN. 3 nights = trend. We are pleased.

In another development the young man has two white bumps trying to protrude his front-lower gumline. Yes, he is starting to get teeth. He's not quite 3 months old yet. It's all happening too fast.

Reason for Optimism

Well, we are 2 for 2 with operation "Keep the Baby Up Longer and Feed Him Later So Mom and Dad Don't Lose Their Freaking Minds from Lack of Sleep".

Last night was much of the same...in bed at 8:45 but this time slept until 6:30. Fed him a little more before bed too. Things are looking up and just in time since Ally is going back to work a week from next Monday.

Things are starting to look up...

Cautiously Optimistic

Operation "Keep the Baby Up Longer and Feed Him Later So Mom and Dad Don't Lose Their Freaking Minds from Lack of Sleep" went very well it's first night.

As the "code name" would indicate, we kept the baby up longer and fed him later and son of a gun if he didn't sleep from 9pm through to 6am. He did stir a bit throughout the night but stayed asleep for the most part.

Now, this is only one night so we aren't going to throw a victory party quite yet. However, we are going to keep on doing what we're doing and see if it keeps working.

On another note, it's amazing that outsmarting a 11 week old baby can make a person feel so satisfied. He's 11 weeks old. What's it going to feel like when I outsmart him as a teenager? Will it be less satisfying? Probably. I have a theory on that but can't really articulate it right now...probably still tired.

By the way, there is no good information in "baby books". Save your money and spend it on diapers.

I Haven't Forgotten

Need another episode under my belt before the big 90210 review.

Also, trying out a new nighttime strategy for the little guy. I'm sure there will be notes on that as well.

Sleep Update

The child woke up twice last night:

1) He ended up on his back - GOD FORBID JJ SHOULD HAVE TO SLEEP ON HIS BACK - so Ally went in and put him back on his side. We use the little sleep positioners to keep him in place but as mentioned before he's a strong and determined little guy. Ally tightened up the sleep positioner deal, put him back and was right back to sleep. So you know, JJ doesn't like sleeping on his back because his little brain isn't smart enough yet to figure out how to get hand to mouth to sooth himself. On his stomach - no problem. On his side - not easy, but he makes it work.

2) Normal feeding. He slept about 5 hours straight (excluding when he was awaken by his re-positioning to his back) before he needed to eat. He then went back to sleep for another 5 hours.

We, but mainly Ally, needed last night.

Biggest Post EVER!

Attention grabbing misleading headlines are great, aren't they? Matt Drudge has made a career out of them. ZING!

We've been talking about this kid for a while now so I thought it was time to mix it up. Actually I just am so excited about this subject (not that I am not excited about my previous blog subjects) that it's time for me to pontificate about it's greatness/awesomeness!

So with that lead in it's time for my comprehensive review of the first 2.5 episodes of 90210, possible the biggest show in the history of television (or at least the history of the CW). All 4+ of you who read this blog (Mom, Aunt Adelle, The Williams, maybe Adam and Mer - notice anybody missing - i'm looking at you Ally) will not be disappointed. Whoa, I better come through with something compelling.

It's truly a cultural phenomenon (at least among my Facebook friends) and I am strapped in for what's going to be an awesome 10 year ride*, just like the previous iteration of BH! However, I am a bit leery about how quickly they are diving into various issues...they have cranked through more issues in the first 3 hours than Beverly Hills 90210 ("The Original") did in the first 3 seasons. More on that in the review.

Anyway, until it's arrive, allow the excitement to permeate your lives. The review is forthcoming.
_______________
*It actually could last 10 years because what the hell else is the CW going to air? Part of the reason it lasted 10 years the first time was because FOX had nothing else to put on the air and dumbasses like me kept tuning in every week. Or it could last 1 season. What the hell do I know!?!?!

The Child

We slept poorly again

Baby reason for fatigue

Must sleep better soon

_____________

EDITOR'S NOTE: I have it easy compared to Ally who has been up with the kid the last 2 nights so I could be rested (relative term) for work. She's a great mommy!

Organic Alarm Clock

The boy had some trouble sleeping last night.

He woke up wailing every...hour...on...the...hour.

I am not exaggerating.

Probably the worst night yet.

Stewie was the only member of the family who slept reasonably well.

Ally hardly slept at all.

I slept on and off for about 4-5 hours.

He seems to be reverting, though last night might have been gas related.

Not good times.

Thought I would share.

I hope I can stay up long enough tonight to watch 90210.

I am going sleep under my desk now...days like this I wish I had a bed underneath my desk George Costanza style.

Short Monday Update

Hello. So over the weekend we had 2 breakthroughs:

1) JJ rolled over! Ok, he didn't REALLY roll over in the traditional sense. He was on his belly and rolled over to his back. Not the other way around. Still, it's pretty neat to see. Trying to capture it on video but he won't do it when I try to record it. Stubborn. It's neat to watch him hold his head up and look around/try to move. He's a strong little bugger.

2) This is really only for my edification. For some reason I couldn't connect online with my Xbox360 or Wii downstairs. Both are wireless connections to my router that is upstairs. I finally figured out why on Sunday; the baby monitor is killing the signal. It's quite the powerful little monitor. The picture says "Mom-Tested", but nothing about Dad trying to use the online functionality of his video game console. It's not the end of the world, but an example of a little tiny thing that has changed around our house. There are plenty of big obvious things but every day we find little things we didn't anticipate. Maybe not the best example but an example nonetheless.

We took a bunch of pictures this weekend we will upload ASAP. He smiles A LOT, unless he's in his car seat where he WAILS. We need to figure out how to fix that because right now we can't take him anywhere, in the car or in public. Any ideas are appreciated.

Until later...

Tired

Two posts in one day! WOO HOO!

I stumbled upon this post apocalyptic scene while looking for Allyson a few minutes ago...turn up your speakers if you want to hear the audio, though I found that whispers aren't picked up that well on our camera...



It's been a long weekend and not a lot of sleep to go around.

The Ring

Some of JJ's best work takes place on the tummy time mat. Whether it's the spastic gyrations of arms and legs (think Elaine Bennis...) when the music starts playing, staring at himself in the mirror, Stewie trying to evict him from his mat (his = Stewie), or even whacking the rattle, all are quite entertaining not only to Ally and I but JJ as well. This is one part of the day he truly enjoys.

Today JJ added a new bit to his repertoire...grabbing and holding the ring. Here's the kicker...once he grabs it he can't figure out how to let go. Observe:



Every day it's something new. We are loving every minute of it. Now if only he would consistently sleep for 8 hours a night. Actually 5 would be nice. Even 4. Ally would be beside herself with happiness.

Until next time...

Another Extended Absence

I returned Sunday from what seemed like a year-long series of business trips but in reality it was one three day trip to Vancouver and one seven day trip to Leipzig in the former East Germany for the Games Convention. I am back now but the last few nights were spent reacquainting myself with my wife, dog and somewhat larger child. I think he had what the doctors call a "growth spurt" while I was gone. He also cries differently which is odd. I don't want to go away for a week again.

I will post more including some pictures from the former East Germany soon...probably as I am camped in front of the TV this weekend celebrating in the return of college football!!! In the meantime I've included a picture of our large child.

Back soon....

Stewie - And a Swimming Tangent

As I've mentioned before Stewie has had some issues with JJ the last 6 weeks. Mainly because JJ is cramping his style and stealing some of Stewie's spotlight. Stewie is nothing if not a princess and needs things his way. Yes, he's a dog.

Well the last week or so he has warmed up a bit to the little guy.

They share meals (Stewie licks up JJ's spit up)...

Stewie helps JJ take a bath (Stewie licks the water off JJ, probably because he's thirsty)...

Most importantly Stewie helps change JJ (he mainly sniffs the dirty diapers and rarely tries to eat the poo)...

Allyson tells me today, and this is so cute, JJ spit up, so what did Stewie do? He spit up too...on the couch...awesome! We are a special family.

However one thing that hasn't changed is Stewie's disdain for JJ's late night wailing jags. Stewie still hates these. I guess the point I am trying to make is that Stewie is warming up to JJ but still doesn't share he toys with him and totally belives that all JJ's toys are his. I also needed a reason to post those pictures of the brothers together.

On a COMPLETELY unrelated note; that 4x100 relay last night the US team turned in was amazing. I know the announcers did a good job explaining how improbable that comeback was but I am not sure people who don't "understand" swimming as a sport (not something you do in your backyard) really get. These swimmers can pretty much predict what they are going to swin on a given night based upon previous swims and how they've trained. There are variables such as the pool and other things but all told they know how they are going to perform. The swim by Lezak last night was simply unbelieveable and borderline impossible. Not improbable...impossible. Amazing.

Here's the link (just install the program it asks you to install...you'll use it again). Watching it again. Ally cries when she sees it. I get the chills. Listen to the annoucers. They weren't trying to create drama. They were speaking the truth. On paper there was no reason the US should have won that race. Amazing.

Where Have I Been?

Honestly, i'm not too sure. I just haven't posted in a couple of weeks. We were out of town last weekend. JJ went on his first car trip and was a trooper. He only cried (wailed) when he was ready to eat but once he was done went back to sleep until it was time to eat again. I assume it's going to get worse as he gets older and starts talking (are we there yet? I have to pee. etc...). For now, he was awesome. The wedding was nice but to be honest I am pretty glad it's the last one for a while. I looked good >>>>>

Oh, Ally looked nice too. :-) The wedding was another of Ally's sorority sisters. All told all but one is hitched. I do have to say part of me is sad because the girls all have great husbands and we all have a great time together (read: get drunk). Here's pic of the ladies. The girl in white, Jenny, is who got hitched. In case you were wondering. I think Ally is the prettiest!

Grandma and Grandpa came over from Gilroy to watch JJ during the events so it was a win win for all involved. I'm sure they didn't mind spending time with the little guy.

JJ had his 6-week birthday yesterday. He's getting quite big: 11lb9oz and 23 inches as of Wednesday. He's also starting to hold his head up more frequently and the most exciting part is he is sleeping 5 to 5.5 hours straight at night! I can't function on 5 hours of sleep! This is JJ as of 10 minutes ago...

Poor kid doesn't have a chance in that A's onesie. I am sure he'll choose his own team (as long as they aren't the Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Patriots or Lakers among others). Or he might not even like sports...HAHAHA.

Until next time...

Unorthdox Lullabies

JJ had a very rough afternoon. Lots of awake time. Lots of crying. Hours of this. I got home about 7:30, hour 3 of "screaming awake time" and got JJ from Ally. I tried everything I could think of to calm him down: the gentle walk, the big dip knee bend the walk and rock but it was the "rock and roll" that ultimately did the trick. Sorry for the cheesy pun but it really was some good old fashion rock and roll that put him to sleep. Let me recap.

As I've mentioned before JJ likes music. Good music. So I thought I could get him to calm down by singing to him...it seems to work when Ally does it. I don't know a lot of baby songs so I started off by making up ridiculous songs mainly about Stewie and JJ. He didn't like those. So I decided it was time to channel my inner Axl Rose, and try out some Appetite for Destruction. I didn't have any other ideas so why not?

I started at song number 1, Welcome to the Jungle and ended at song 7 My Michelle when JJ was sound asleep. Of course I was singing the "Walmart Edited Version" as to not corrupt the young fella. I also sang it a little sweeter than Axl ever did and vocalized the rhythm sections in a way that would make Izzy Stradlin cry.

I listened to that album (yes, album) so many times I lost track. I know it backwards and forward. However, today it was the first time it ever actually was good for anything. Usually GNR is reserved for playing loud after a tough day at work to let off steam. But today it found it could serve a much greater purpose; it could put my baby to sleep!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I decided I am not a bad dad just because I sang my child songs from an album that is pretty much only about doing drugs and living in Hollywood in the late 1980's. Right? It put him to sleep.

"Ben, how did you spend your Sunday afternoon?"

JJ fell asleep like this about 2.5 hours ago and hasn't moved since. I could think of much worse ways to spend the day. Catching up on some recorded TV while blogging from my iPhone with JJ sound asleep on my chest. Good Sunday.

Stewie Sharing "His" Tummy-Time Mat...

I was always the guy who would make fun of the parents who documented every movement (bowel or otherwise) of their child. It's clear I didn't get it. I get it now and fully understand. Baby is changing every minute of every day and I don't want to miss a thing...which is tough due to me being gone 12 hours a day during the week. Not sure where I am going with this so I will just get to the video.

I present to you Stewie and JJ...Enjoy!

Gratuitous Baby Video

I want to start out by saying this could be one of the most boring videos ever made. But we think it's neat...well everything is neat at this point. He gets more and more aware every day and it's pretty amazing. I hope you enjoy the video, as well as Allyson's phone call in the background.

Quick Hitter

I wanted to pass along a sweet picture that Ally took tonight. That's it.

Whole Lotta Nothing

Another week come and gone. JJ is getting SO BIG. It's amazing watching him grow and feeling the additional stress holding him puts on mommy and daddy's joints and limbs.

Yesterday was a big day for us. First, we took JJ to his first "non-family" outing, a BBQ put on by our friends/neighbors Audrey and Phillip. As a side note, when I say BBQ I don't mean somebody schlepping around the back yard, firing up the Weber or gas powered grill. I mean out of this world Santa Maria style BBQ cooked over oak. Check out the Santa Maria visitor information website. It's amazing stuff.

Anyway, JJ got there and slept the entire time in his car seat. He's still boring. But the good news is that I think we can bring him into public venues with friends and not worry about him freaking out! In his defense though he only has meltdowns when he's a) hungry, b) gassy or c) not hungry but wants something to suck on be it finger or his "paci". We've figured him out, for now....

Stewie had more fun than anybody running around the yard and playing with Coco the dog. If there is a cuter dog than Stewie please show me. I don't buy it.

Stewie is still having issues with JJ in that he's no longer the center of attention. He acts out by grabbing the toilet paper and running as far as he can then shredding as much of is as possible until Ally or I stops him. We need to work on leaving the bathroom doors closed. That's our bad.

He also doesn't like his new sleeping pattern or the baby screaming. He has a new look that he uses...it's a look of annoyance. I didn't know dogs could project annoyance but Stewie seems to have it down pat!

I got off topic...Anyway, yesterday was a big day not only because we have killer BBQ but because I got to feed JJ for the first time out of the bottle. It was really amazing and I can't wait to do it agian when I get home. He took right to it, like he's being doing it all along and polished it off in no time flat...then spit up on me a few times but it was all worth it! I really can't explain how great it was, but those of you who have done it before know what I mean. Pretty amazing stuff.

Ally wants me to talk to the baby, but I am not sure what to talk to him about so I end up touching different parts of his body then saying what they are called in both english and spanish. 4 years of spanish and that's all I know. Any ideas? I also tried to tell him the story of Star Wars but that seems to scare him...maybe need to lay off the light saber noises? It was a little concerning that it scared him. I am going to try telling him the Godfather tonight.

One more thing we (I) learned about JJ. Don't watch a Led Zeppelin concert film when trying to put him down. He really liked the music, especially Misty Mountain Hop, but something about the flashing strobes and other visuals (possibly Robert Plant with painted on jeans and shirt open?) seem to bother him. The moral to the story is point him away from the TV during a Led Zeppelin concert film and he enjoys it just fine. Point him towards the TV, shrieking baby. Who knew? I just hope I didn't cause permanent damage.

It's been brought to my attention that I need to post more and I will try. I will also try to add more video but he really doesn't do anything yet. Really.

In the meantime, enjoy. Happy Monday!

Tired Family

I took this picture as I was leaving this morning.

Baby woke up crying as I was getting out of bed so Ally picked him up to sooth him, laid down and created this very cute picture.

Don't worry, there was a fortified "pillow wall" keeping the baby from rolling out of bed and a "dog wall" on Ally's right to prevent rolling over that way.

Everyone is snug and content!

Huston Street Stinks

Sorry about then subject...just venting over another A's loss to the Angels thanks to another blown save by Huston Street. I'm over it.

So, JJ still doesn't do all that much, HOWEVER he has taken to staying awake for extended periods of time during daylight hours (as mentioned in my previous post) but his new trick is to fall asleep roughly 10 minutes before feeding time. And when he falls asleep it's a SOUND sleep. Good times.

Another cool new "feature" we discovered about JJ is his love for music and the soothing effect it has on him. For some reason nothing calms him down faster than music. On a side note, if you like internet radio and aren't using Pandora you don't really like internet radio and you hate me. Ok I got carried away...bottom line is Pandora rocks (see what I did there...Pandora plays music, rock is a kind of music...).

Anyway, music settles him down immediately. If he's wailing, which he's been known to do, I put my iPhone into the doc, put on my station called "Super Cool Music" station on Pandora and within 2 seconds he's totally calm and relaxed.

Now, I am sure he's not he only kid who does this, but it's the first we've seen it so it's totally new and unusual for us. The coolest part is that he gets upset when crappy songs play so I go ahead and give that song a "thumbs down" and we move on to the next song. It's awesome.

Despite the look on JJ's face, he's having a grand old time. He might have gas (takes after his parents). Either way, he's quiet!!!!

Hope everyone had a great Sunday and a great next week.

My Kid Is Boring...

I would be willing to bet that nobody expected to see a subject line like that on the first baby post. Fact of the matter is that it's true and that's not a bad thing. He sleeps, cries, eats, poops, pees and then does it all again.

I am not totally sure what I expected other than being sleep deprived (eh) and overwhelmed (eh). On the first note, JJ did test our patience for the first week or so, then magically started sleeping consistently between feedings. Not to jinx it but this has been going on since last Saturday night. The trick, it seems, is to bring him upstairs around 8:30-9pm and do his final feeding at that time, burp him, check the diapie and VOILA, he's fast asleep for between 3-4 hours. All I pray for anymore is that this continues until he can sleep even longer between feedings and not a moment earlier. In other words we need to keep gaining ground on the hours of sleep and not go in the other direction.

That covers nights. Days are a different story. JJ has been a terror to mommy this week, rarely sleeping and generally acting like a turd. He's helping out dad but mom, not so much.

Regarding the second point, I haven't really felt overwhelmed. Again, the whole sleeping at night thing. Mommy, again, probably feels a little differently. I will allow her forum to express her feelings should she so desire. For the record, she's an amazingly patient and loving mommy. She's everything I expected her to be and then some. She's a great mommy and a great wife! I am lucky to have her. However, she's been in training "raising" me the last 7 years so she's had some practice...and it's paid off.

There is so much to write I could go on for hours. I have many topics to cover in later posts. I will probably delve into how master Stewart is handling all this...as a teaser I can tell you he's rediscovered his love affair with toilet paper rolls. He's special.

To round this up I just want to say that JJ is amazing and being a dad is better than I ever imagined! Ally and I are truly blessed to have each other and now our special little guy, Jackson James.

Stay tuned...

Jackson James Brinkman - The Prologue

I know there are some folks who are anxiously anticipating a new post on young Jackson (is anxiously anticipating overselling it?). Unfortunately the waiting will continue at least until this evening when I get home and have some time to properly encapsulate the past 10 days. Told hold you over is a picture of the little guy from this past weekend...



More to come ASAP...I promise.

The Future of Brink-Blogging

This is a quick test to see if this whole mobile blogging deal works.
If it does I'll be posting from the bathroom in no time! Here goes...

Update: It works. The thumbs up in the picture is that of satisfaction of a job well done. The picture was taken on my IPhone in my office and sent with the original post.

This whole mobile posting deal could be bad news...

T-Minus Any Minute

I imagine I will pick up the pace on these entries. There hasn't been too much to write about recently. All has been going great with Ally and baby. That doesn't make for a very interesting read I wouldn't think. Also, I have played like 40 hours of GTAIV as well as finally playing Portal (and LOVING IT). So between the mundane lack of details and being otherwise occupied with work research, I haven't updated in like 4 months.

That will change. Furthermore, expect to see exciting multimedia elements added in the form of "videos" and "pictures". We have more contraptions for capturing the baby in action (or sleep) that you can shake a stick at (Ben pauses to pantomime "shaking a stick") and plan on keeping everyone up to speed on every boring and mindless detail that we will no doubt find utterly facinating and amazing like millions of parents before us: "Look at the poopie diaper! It's amazing! My kid makes the best smelling poopies ever!" Ugh. I will become that guy and Ally that woman. Good times. That also might have been one of the longer sentences ever typed. Looking that up now.

So, Ally is officially on maternity leave and has been for a week now. I thought for some reason that once she went on mat leave (that's what the cool kids call it) she would get bored quickly and decide to have the kid. Turns out I was wrong and that's not in fact how the miracle of birth goes down at all.

Turns out the kid comes out when HE is ready. I for one and hoping for a Friday around noon start to "go to the hospital" labor. What you are about to read if incredibly selfish but the way I look at it, this is my last chance to be truly selfish. Anyway, Ally needs to go to the hospital Friday around noon. I will leave from work and meet here there, thus not taking a full day off work. Baby is born anytime there after, hopefully shortly thereafter. Now here is where the idea really takes off. I will take the following week off work, AS WELL AS the following Monday. Why, you ask? Because July 4 is a holiday not counting against my week long paternity leave. SO, in short if baby arrives this Fridayish I get 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, yes 10 full days off work and 1 half day.

I mean, this baby is coming one way or another, why not have him help his dad (and mom for that matter cause more days off work means more help for mom) this one time?

There is a second scenario, albeit not as beneficial to Ally. In this scenario the baby is born Monday. Why you ask? So we (including Ally here) can have one more weekend to ourselves we can spend playing video games and generally lounging around. I am not sure what Ally would do all weekend. Really her call.

This is how my mind works. Scary. All told the baby isn't coming any later than Monday since we have an appointment at 7am to get him out once and for all.

We made a short list of names for the little dude. Both Ally and my initial choice are out of play due to the fact we couldn't agree. We went back to the drawing board and came up with 3 solid choices. We will meet him prior to deciding on the final name.

Stewie 2 (The "One and Only" Stewie seen at left with sleeping Mommy) is not in the running.

Anyway, Ally is ready (see above...my thumb adds to the experience I think). I am ready. Now baby needs to get ready. Any day now...

In closing, I wrote this at work so there are probably 1000 grammar mistakes and other things I will have to go back and edit later. Keep thinking good thoughts!

Sunday, Monday, Happy Days!

Well, Ally has officially outgrown her clothes. I continue to tell her she's not fat, but instead carrying a living person, our child, inside her and that if she didn't gain weight we'd have issues. We've agreed to disagree.

First things first, Ally got an IPhone and all the pictures we took for this bad boy are from that phone. I gotta tell you I am a little jealous. The phone is awesome. I can't believe I didn't buy Apple stock before the IPod...if I had this entire post might have been moot. Keep reading and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, i took numerous pictures in Gap Maternity and caught a few sideways glances from over protective parents (something I am soon to be) who thought I was a taking picture of their kids and pregnant ladies who thought me a perv. Rest assured I was merely chronicling the times as they are a changin' and keeping records for future reference. I think it would be kinda cool to have little Stewie 2 (yes, that's what we are calling him right now, Stewie 2, or Stewie Too, after our lovely and obedient dog) look at pictures and read what his parents were experiencing as he was "in the oven". In case you were wondering, Ben Jr. didn't really take. I tried, but we went with Stewie 2. It really confuses the hell out of the dog which is an added bonus.

Here is how the trip to the mall began. Ally threw me a bone and allowed me to get a pair of shoes at the Foot Locker and browse at the Apple store, before we fell into the Gap. Allow me to preface it with a simple fact: I suggested we go to Goodwill/Salvation Army or similar store, buy some cheap stuff, then sew elastic into the waist to make them fit. Those of you who know Ally know that wasn't going to fly and sure enough it didn't. What can I say, I am cheap. I also like gadgets though which tend to be pricey. Therein lies the dichotomy of Ben. But we'll save that for another post. Note to self: The Dichotomy of Ben is a good name for my memoir...now I just need to do something interesting to merit a memoir.

Anyhoo, Ally took to Gap Maternity like a fish to water. She was trying on just about everything she could get her hands on. It was at this point that something Ally has been saying over and over for the last week plus finally hit home. Her clothes not fitting are not a problem on the fashion side of things, but a problem on the "I am uncomfortable all day long until I get home and throw on my sweat pants" side of things. These clothes have more spandex than a Richard Simmons workout video. It's amazing. She was so happy that she had clothes that fit AND an added bonus is they are somewhat stylish as well. However, they are not cheap.



This brings me back to my "Used Clothes" idea. I would venture a guess that we could have bought a sewing machine for less money than we spent at Gap this fine day. I would have learned how to sew and made Ally tons of maternity clothes on the cheap! That dream is over.

Oh, I also got chewed out by the clerk lady at the store for taking a picture of the total price of our shopping trip. It went a little something like this:

Obnoxious Lady: Did you just take a picture of the total
Obnoxious Ben: Yes, I am documenting all the splendor of fatherhood...including how much it costs to buy clothes she's only going to wear for 5 months.
Obnoxious Lady: Well she will probably wear them after she has the kid for a while too. She can do what she wants
Obnoxious Ben: You don't know her. These clothes are getting boxed up as soon as she gives birth. She will probably send me home to box them up after the baby is born.
Obnoxious Lady: Rolls, eyes. Looks disapprovingly at Ally. You know you should come back and see if any of these clothes have gone on sale and we will refund the difference.
Obnoxious Ben: Fist pump

Look, I understand this is just the beginning. I know baby's, like wives, ain't cheap (I KID ALLY! I KID!). I get it. But I need to get used to ALL THIS STUFF. We were flipping through channels today and somehow ended up on some show on VH1 with Scot Baio, Chachi of Happy Days fame. He too is having a kid and was at some kind of "Becoming a Father Class". On a side note, do I need to go to class to learn about how to become a dad? I am going to play that by ear. Anyway, they were going through all the different expenses that one incurs upon having a kid. It was overwhelming for both Chachi and I.

I am quickly coming to the realization that Stewie 2 is number 1. He always will be. I can't wait for that.

All that said, how old do you have to have to be to get a job? Anybody know any agents who cast babies for commercials?

All in all, it was a great trip. Ally has clothes she will be comfortable in. I learned not to make snarky comments to bitter Gap sales clerks. But my biggest take away from our trip was that I really don't care how much this is all going to cost because when it's all said and done I am going to have a son who I will probably spoil rotten at least until he can get a job to spoil himself and ideally something we can gravy train off (seriously, we need an agent for the kid). In all seriousness, child actors get a bad rap...just ask Chachi. He turned out GREAT and has his own reality show on VH1 to prove it!

Our Trip to the Doctor

Today was the day we were to find out if our baby was sporting "frank and beans" or a "vajayjay". In case you don't know me very well you should understand I am not going to be speaking in clinical terms here. Slang and off-color lingo only on this site. If you are easily offended, tough.

These appointments in general are pretty stressful. Right now we are 3 weeks between appointments with our doctors so for those 3 weeks we freak out any time anything is out of the ordinary. Ally eats cheese, gets a stomach ache, freak out. Ally is tired, freak out. Ally has a head ache, freak out. You see where I am going with this. We freak out a lot because this whole "having a kid thing" is new to us.

And don't get me started on the internet or pregnancy books. These make me crazy. For example, type in "cramps: lower stomach". The search returns are veritable cornucopia of stories from "real people" who at one time or another while they were pregnant had cramps in their lower stomach. In Ally's case, it was the baby growing. And the books are worse. I think the only thing I've learned is that everybody is different.

As I was saying before I lost track, these appointments are stressful because it's been 3 weeks with no feedback, no doctor telling us things look good. That drives people like Ally and me (control freaks? maybe?) up the wall. Ally is going all Tom Cruise and wants to buy an ultrasound machine. When she calms down she settles on stealing a stethoscope from her Grandmas place in Ojai. The thing is, there are times during those 3 weeks where I don't think either of those are bad ideas.

Today was especially stressful because we decided we were tired of calling the baby "IT" and wanted to know what "IT" was. When we started out Ally didn't want to know but over time I wore her down and she agreed to find out. We don't like surprises.

So here's how it went down, and it didn't take long. Ally told the nurse we wanted to know and within 3 seconds of touching the ultra sound to her pooch (Ally loves it when I call it pooch...it's not a belly yet...too small) the baby appeared. IT (still IT at this point) appeared to be sitting back with his legs spread and his junk hanging out for all to see. There he was, OUR SON.

Here's the first look.....

Quite a day. Quite an appointment. Quite a package. Today I am a proud dad. It's the first of what I expect to be many proud moments in fatherhood.

Don't Call It a Comeback...

Well, it's been about 1.5 years since I've graced this page. 1.5 years since i've been at my current job. Coincidence? Absolutely not. My job has absolutely monopolized my time for the past 1.5 years.

1.5 years isn't that long, but it really is. What happens in 1.5 years. One only need look as far back as this specific blog to see. Let's catch up on where the subjects of some of my previous blogs are today:

• This "pundit" thought UofA forward and prodigy Marcus Williams was going to set the world on fire during the 2006-2007 season. What happened? He turned out to be a fraud who left school early and is now playing in Kazakhstan (HIGH FIVE!). Good bye.
• What About Brian. I had high hopes for this show. I lost interest quickly when they put it on at the same...time...as...Horatio...*lower sunglasses*...Caine.
• Tom Cruise - Still crazy and I still don't care about his kid or Stepford Wife. Jerry O'Connell, awesome
  
• I still LOVE the TV.
  
• I still LOVE me some UofA hoops
• I just finished the second version of the MLB video game that I bagged on in previous entries. Good thing they didn't see those posts before they hired me...actually, that might not have been a bad thing.

So that's a brief overview. So, some things have changed but I am mostly the same. A little older. Somewhat wiser. Better dressed (thanks Ally). Sometimes bitter. Sometimes very happy (am I bi-polar like Britney?). Always interesting.

SO, you might be asking why the hell I would start blogging again. The reason is twofold:

1) I love to write. I love to take what is on my mind and after some heavy editing of profanity and objectionable content, letting other people read it. I just like to write.
2) Mine and Ally's life is about to change dramatically for the BETTER. We have a son on the way in a few months (June to be exact) and I feel like other folks *could* want to know what's going on in our lives. My cousins Josh and Erin do a GREAT job keeping family up to date on their adventure in the Northwest and their beautiful daughter Abigail. I thought, "hey, this is interesting stuff. Maybe my family might be interested in what we're doing?!?!" This is VERY exciting news.

Anyway, this won't be limited to baby talk, though me thinks there will be a fair amount of that. I will continue to go off on tangenets, rants, sidebars, Non Sequiturs, rants, rants and more rants. I am what I am.

Without further ado, I'm back and I hope you enjoy or at least aren't offended. I can't promise you will or won't be either. That didn't make sense. I'm done now.