Very important update you have all been waiting for.

In last week's matchup between the two teams tied for second in my fantasy football league, I won by a whopping 1.5 points, thus improving my record to 5-2 and leaving me all alone in second place. Unfortunately, this week I am facing the 7-0 first place team with my Payton and Edgerrin on their bye week. Poo.

Benji, the smartest dog baby in the world.

There are certain developmental milestones that pediatricians look at to make sure that your baby is not lagging behind. Benjamin is doing no such lagging. In fact, here's a list of developmental milestones our not-even-three-week-old baby has already hit, and when he was supposed to hit them by:

* Smiles (end of month two)
* Makes noises other than crying (end of month two)
* May repeat vowel noises, such as "ah" or "ooh" (end of month two)
* Raises head and chest when put on tummy (end of month three)
* Lifts head up 45 degrees (end of month three)
* Kicks and straightens legs when on back (end of month three)
* Open and shuts hands (end of month three)
* Brings both hands together (end of month three)
* Kicks legs energetically (end of month three)
* Holds head up with control (end of month three)
* Rolls over [back to side] (end of month four)
* Lifts head up 90 degrees (end of month four)
* Explores objects with his mouth [if his hands are objects] (end of month four)

We figure at this rate, he should be speaking in complete sentences sometime around Thanksgiving.

I hate to taint all this innocent baby talk, but...

...this cover of "Baby Got Back" is simply the funniest thing ever (not to mention a pretty scathing critique of the overt sexuality of the original -- or at least that's my reading).

More baby pictures (for moM, of course).

If we get tired of raising a little boy, we do have options.

I heart the Weekly World News.

Baby update.

Went to the pediatrician for the second time during Benjamin's short life earlier today, and we learned that he's back up to the weight when he left the hospital (7 lb. 14 oz.), which is good but she'd like to see higher, and we learned his bilirubin levels (or jaundace levels) are down to 15.7, which is good, but not good enough to take him off the light. Otherwise, he's doing very well.

The incredible radioactive baby.

Hello, Benjamin.

Benjamin Dale Prins.

Born 1:43p yesterday (Tuesday) at 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 20½ inches. Baby got a one-minute 9 of 10 on the Apgar scale, which is pretty unheard of 60 seconds into life. (Unheard of in a good way, I should clarifty; his only demerits were for slightly blue feet.) At five minutes old, he was a perfect 10. Baby is doing very well. Mommy still has some residual pain from birth -- not a surprise -- but otherwise she's recovering nicely.

Pictures and video will be available here probably Friday or sometime this weekend. There may be a picture up here Thursday or Friday; use code 063-71519 to take a look at him.

Much more later, of course.

I do not often discuss politics in this journal...

...but I think it necessary to point out that anyone who says that President Bush "was the most brilliant man she had ever met" is a bad, bad, bad, bad nominee for the highest court in the land. Either she lied for cronyistic political reasons or she's mentally unstable, and either way that's not remotely what a Supreme Court nominee ought to be. I would have voted "aye" on Roberts, but there's no way I could vote anything but "nay" on Miers. (Clarification: I do not actually have a vote, as I am not a Senator. Wanted to make sure you realized that.)