Farmer Benji

A week or so ago Gramma made a special request for Farmer Benji photos. Although he wasn't terribly cooperative about wearing his John Deere hat (he prefers to play with hats instead of wearing them), he does look great in his new farmer overalls. The whole outfit was one of his birthday presents from Gramma and Grampa and seems so appropriate from his Iowa grandparents.

As a bonus, we also got some great playground photos in this set. A month or two ago Benji really didn't like the swings (he either cried or just looked terribly bored) but now he laughs so big on the swings, especially when Daddy gives him an "underdog"!

Benjamin's current habits

It's funny how Benjamin will love something one day and absolutely hate it the next. Case in point: chicken. In the past he has gobbled up chicken, especially at Chick Fil-A or Arby's. Recently that has become a small battle (in fact, he's refusing all meats at the moment). When we had Chick Fil-A last week, he refused to eat the chicken off of his tray. Instead he kept grabbing for my box. Eventually we figured out if we put his chicken in my box, he'd eat it. In the last two days at home, he's been refusing chicken no matter what we do -- on his tray, in a bowl, in Mommy or Daddy's hands. We hope this phase passes.

His current obsession is taking stuff out of boxes, drawers, etc. Matthew said that yesterday Benji spent half an hour taking every piece of mail off the stack and handing it to Matthew individually. He did similar stuff for me, taking each item out of the bathroom drawer and cabinet. He doesn't just drop the items, but rather hands them to you and expects to be thanked. We really hope he figures out putting stuff in soon since I have far too many Legos around the family room.

Although we try not to let him watch too much TV, we have a little game show junkie on our hands. Even if he's playing nicely and ignoring the TV, as soon as he hears Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune come on he'll turn around and give the game show his full attention. Why do game shows captivate him more than PBS Kids? The other show he's really into right now is Veggie Tales. NBC has started carrying Veggie Tales on Saturday mornings and Benji loves it. He gets upset when the commercials come on and the Veggies go away. I figure watching half an hour once a week isn't terribly harmful and is actually kind of nice to have him snuggle in my arms in our bed and watch together. He's so snuggly!

Benji also continues to grow up and leave some little baby habits behind. He's now taking baths in the real tub (he kept trying to climb out of the baby tub). He no longer takes any formula (whole milk instead). And he no longer has any bottles (just sippy cups, some of which really aren't all that different from bottles). But, one habit he hasn't left behind is the thumb. He still loves his right thumb!

Haircuts for a song

Did you know there's a real old fashioned barbershop in the Magic Kingdom? And that it's also a great place for kids' haircuts? We've now come to the point in the tripologue for Benji's first haircut. And I'm so glad I wasn't the one to do it. Clipping his fingernails makes me nervous enough that I really didn't like the thought of going near his head with scissors.

I think if Matthew had had his druthers, Benji would have had a haircut several months ago (his long eyelashes and longer curls made him look a bit like a girl in gender neutral outfits). My preference would have been to wait a while longer (my baby is growing up fast enough already, and I just love little curls). Overall it was a good compromise. Benjamin looks adorable in his new haircut, although I think the curls are starting to come back already. And the old fashioned barbershop was a great atmosphere as well as a great backdrop.

Central Iowa concert notice.

The choir and handbell groups at Memorial Lutheran Church in Ames -- yes, that Memorial Lutheran Church in Ames -- will be performing my original piece for choir and handbells, "Quem Vidistis Pastores," as part of the Memorial Bell Christmas Concert on Tuesday, December 12th at 7:00p. (By original, I mean the music only; I did not write the Latin lyrics, of course.) No, I won't be there, unfortunately. Yes, you should be.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

I'm not sure if Day 4 was the hottest day of our trip or if it just felt that way because we were at the Animal Kingdom and there were precious few places in the air conditioning. For those not familiar, the Animal Kingdom tries to cross the San Diego Wild Animal Park with an amusement park and I'm not sure that they're successful with either one and they end up with some weird hybrid. They have a safari tram ride that goes through the habitats of the real animals (similar to the Wild Animal Park). However, it also has a storyline about poachers and the tram has to go and rescue the animatronic elephants. I would have liked it better without the Disney part at the end and just the real animals. On the other side of the park, they have a brand-new roller coaster which goes through Mt. Everest and is fully themed in classic Disney style. That is a far more successful endeavor. Both Matthew and I enjoyed that ride, which focused more on Disney storytelling and thrills than on wild roller coasters.

While I certainly won't say a Disney park was bad, I will say this was our least favorite of the four. We think Benji would concur with this assessment. He slept more at this park than any other. And as we learned at the National Zoo over Memorial Day, Benji really isn't impressed with large animals so he was far more interested in the trees and other plants than the animals on the safari tram ride.

In the early afternoon the weather was looking threatening so we decided to call it a day at the part and go to Downtown Disney. Just as we were getting to the bus shelters the skies opened up and it poured. When we finally got to Downtown Disney (it takes a surprising number of buses to get there) it had stopped actively raining, thankfully. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening there, shopping, eating dinner, and dodging the periodic rain. Surprisingly I didn't buy very much there but it was still fun to go to the largest Disney store anywhere. So many ways they can rid you of your money. Some of our favorites include the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique in which they will give your little girl a makeover, hair styling, and/or manicure for exorbitant prices as well as the Princess Chest where you pay $18 and you can fill a tiny jewelry box with Mardi Gras beads. My actual favorite is the Disney Mr. Potato Head. Benji can now dress his Potato Head as Dumbo, Buzz Lightyear, or Donald Duck (with Mommy's help, of course).


Benji and Mommy on the safari tram.


We have no idea if Benji really noticed any of the animals on this ride.


An attempt at a family self-portrait.


Matthew just can't pass up anything musical. Of course, he's got so much natural talent in this arena that it always sounds good when he plays with random instruments.

Things not worth a post by themselves but might work in a post together.

Kim and Benji and I went to the National Folk Festival in Richmond on Saturday, and let me just say that anyone who can sing more than one note at the same time is both cool and freaky.

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Baby Girl Prins is not the 300,000,000th American. Boo hoo.

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This is how Kim and I are going to make ourselves rich. (I will come up with the ideas; Kim will build the model.) (Kim is laughing at the first part of the previous sentence.)

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This site is fun.



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Kim and I are still in the 2005-2006 season of Gilmore Girls. Yes. We still have to watch the final two episodes from last season. What is wrong with us?

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On Sunday, I received a tentative acceptance from a publisher regarding a handbell arrangement I did of a pop tune. Getting an arrangement of a piece published that you don't own the rights to is actually a bit of an arduous process: First, the arranger has to write to the piece's owner and get permission simply to arrange the piece (and pay them a fee simply for that privilege). (Sometimes, finding the owner is a pain in the butt, such as with this Super Mario Bros. piece I'd like to work on.) Second, the arranger has to find a publisher to like the piece well enough to publish it. Third, the publisher has to talk to the owner and see what sort of fee the owner wants to charge (generally 10 percent of the cover price). Finally, the publisher has to come to an agreement with the arranger on what percentage the arranger will get. Arrangers get a standard 10 percent on public domain and original pieces, but since the publisher's already probably paying 10 percent to the owner, the percent for the arranger is really up for grabs.

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Benji has a fourth tooth coming through -- I'd say it'll break through the gums by the end of this week.

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The best thing about YouTube is not the silly little self-taped things people put up there, but the professional bits you've never seen before, like this great Michel Gondry commercial, or this even better Spike Jonze Ikea ad.

A Day of Magic

If I had to pick just one day of Disney World, day 3 would be that day. We spent all day at the Magic Kingdom, and it truly was magic. I'm sure Benjamin thought the whole world was focused on him. I just adored watching his reactions to everyone and everything.

We started our day with a character breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends. This was his first encounter with the big characters, so we didn't know how he'd react. He loved them! Whenever they'd come around, they would squat down to his level and he would hug their noses. I think he loved to touch the fuzzy textures. And all of the characters except Pooh came by multiple times. Benji almost came to expect it. When one of them would walk past and not stop, he'd got a bit upset (although Cheerios and cheese quickly distract him). I had read about how the cast members will treat you special when you have the special "It's My Birthday" pin and how magical a trip can be. I think Benji got so much special treatment he might as well have had a spotlight on him.

After brunch we went to Benji's favorite part of the park. In Fantasyland we rode the carousel and I even put Benji on a moving horse. He gave such big belly laughs! (I don't have any pictures on the horse since we rode an inside row. The horses on the outside row were just too big and tall for me to feel comfortable holding him on the horse.) When we had ridden the carousel at Busch Gardens we only rode in a chariot, but I can definitely say the horse was better!

Later that afternoon Benji fell asleep in his stroller and we headed off for some adult rides in Tomorrowland. There was no line whatsoever for Space Mountain so we were able to easily ride it and swap Benji. At the same time we got a FastPass for Buzz Lightyear. It's funny how the "big" rides had no lines while the kiddie ones were the ones we needed FastPass for. After his nap we rode the Carousel of Progress while giving Benji his bottle. We also found some new favorite rides for Benji -- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the Peoplemover. After we had come around on the Peoplemover and it was time to get off, we asked to stay on which really confused the ride operator. This isn't exactly the most popular ride in the park but Benji laughed so hard on it. We think he really liked the wind in his hair, although he didn't like the part where we go through Space Mountain briefly in the dark (and he turned around to hold on to Mommy).

To finish off the day, we staked out our place along the Electrical Parade route (OK, so now they call it Spectro Magic, but it's the same idea as the old Electrical Parade). The park wasn't very crowded so we easily got a front-row seat back in Frontierland. Benjamin loved the parade! The wide-eyed amazement at each float was so much fun to watch. And as each float passed by, he would look towards the parade route waiting anxiously for the next one. In between some of the floats they have lighted characters walking around and sometimes interacting with the crowd. Throughout the parade four different characters came over to greet Benji (including Mary Poppins and Pluto)! I can not believe the attention he got and how happy he looked every time one of them would come over. That was the type of amazing experience I really wanted to give my baby and it was just as I imagined!



Throughout the trip Benji really wanted a good view from the stroller. He would sit up tall and peek around the corner to see everything.








Piglet was the first character to come around and greet Benji, and I think he came back more than any other character. I have no idea who was Benji's favorite, but Piglet sure ranked up there.





Even the adults get to act like kids at the Magic Kingdom!








I just love the composition of this photo. Such sweet profiles.





You'll have to ask Matthew about the trash cans in Tomorrowland.


How often do you see smiles like this on the Peoplemover?

"12" and 12 months.

Other than some stuff I worked on for the James River Ringers, my main musical endeavor the past month or so has been a three-movement suite (written for a contest) that combines handbells with piano. Also, sometime in the last month I was fortunate enough to find a horrible handbell soundfont that I edited to make an okay handbell soundfont, so I have made an mp3 of the first movement of the suite that actually sounds more or less like the piece would sound live. The movement is titled "12"; the more musically astute among you might figure out how that plays into the music.

Speaking of 12: At Benji's 12-month checkup today, he was just over 30" tall, 21 lbs. 11 oz., and now has two vaccinations that neither Kim or I has (chicken pox and Hep A).

Making Mommy's heart race

Benjamin now has yet another new skill, one that makes me more nervous than many of the others. He can climb down stairs! He's been climbing up the stairs for months (and is so good that I feel very comfortable when he does that) but yesterday he climbed down for the first time. And tonight he did it super fast. I almost couldn't get down the stairs fast enough in front of him tonight. He seems to throw himself into new skills with such gusto that I'm getting more and more nervous about walking. I figure he'll go from walking to running within a few days of his first steps. Scary!

Benji's Birthday Bash

Although Benji's birthday isn't until tomorrow, we've already had his big birthday bash. And I must say it was quite a success. We invited several families from church that we get together with about once a month, and most of them attended. So Benji had three little one-year-old friends and three older kids come to celebrate his special day.

For the party, we decided to do pottery painting which we thought would offer something for a variety of age ranges. The older kids were enthusiastic from the moment they walked in the door. The parents of the little ones, however, were a bit skeptical: "You want me to do what with my kid?" I figured that surely the kids had finger painted by now in daycare or at home. Once the parents suspended their disbelief, I think they all enjoyed it. Benji wasn't feeling quite as artistic as I've seen him, but we did get a nice footprint.

Of course we also had a great cake for Benji. Daddy baked it and Mommy decorated (the culmination of all those cake decorating classes). Benji enjoyed eating it (the first time he's had cake or much of any sweets). He didn't smash it all over his face or hair, but he did eat it with great enthusiasm. I think he actually had more cake than Mommy did. (Thankfully he didn't seem to react poorly to all that sugar, either hyper or ill.)

We ended the party with present opening. We tried to get Benji to rip open the wrapping paper but he really didn't seem to get it. He did, however, enjoy pulling the tissue paper out of the gift bags. And he wanted to start playing with his new toys immediately, despite the fact they were securely sealed in their boxes.

After all the planning and anticipation I can't believe the party is over, but it sure was a rousing success. What will we do tomorrow to celebrate on his actual birthday?

Breaking Tooth News

Tooth #3 is now making its appearance in Benji's mouth. It's the top right one and started poking through this weekend. We think #4 is close behind, but it's hard to get a good look at the upper gums. We'll be sure to keep you posted on future developments.