the stuff of legend

it's 9:10 pm, friday night, and i'm mind-numbingly tired. ben and i made a quick trip to omaha to check out a few houses wednesday and came back thursday (without having found "the" house). it may not sound like much, but just getting out the door was an effort worthy of hercules. here's the short version:

step 1: wash ben's clothes (one load, one hour to wash and dry) while he howls from his baby seat

step 2: collect and pack his clothes, bibs, burp cloths, diapers, wipes, wash cloth and towel, shampoo, ointment, blankets, toys, bed, jungle gym and baby seat

step 3: feed and change ben

step 4: make sure there's enough milk for a bottle while i'm away from him (involving a 10 lb. pump, it's 20 small plastic parts, a cooler with ice pack, and a bottle)

step 5: pack my stuff (and inevitably forget half of it, or pack the wrong clothes just because i'm trying to do half a dozen things at once)

step 6: shower and get myself ready while ben howls from his swing

step 7: bathe and dress ben

step 8: feed ben while eating a balance bar and an apple for lunch

step 9: change my clothes because of projectile spit-up

step 10: change ben's clothes for the same reason

step 11: load all our luggage (usually takes three trips to the car, although andrew was here to help this time) while ben howls from his bed

step 12: feed and change ben again

step 13: bundle him into the car, making sure his shade is down, his hat is removed (he gets too hot really quickly) and his pacifier is in reach

step 14: bundle myself into the car, drive.

on the return trip, it was just the same. only this time, there was a blizzard, so it took 6 1/2 hours to get back. thankfully, the roads weren't so bad, but traffic moved like a herd of snails. ben didn't take kindly to that and screamed the last two hours. he was somewhat comforted by my loud, loud singing ("he's got the whole world in his hands" and "baby beluga in the deep blue sea"). when we finally got back to iowa city, exhausted and nerves completely frayed, i was carrying him in his car seat up to the apartment and slipped and fell into a little snow drift. he wasn't bothered, and i wasn't hurt, but i just wanted to lay there and die. (cue the "rocky" theme song) but i didn't! i got to my feet! i lifted that baby in his car seat! i put that backpack and diaper bag on my shoulder! and i climbed! up! three flights to the apartment! and once inside, sweet relief. hercules himself couldn't have felt more satisfaction at the completion of his three tasks. in fact, i bet he couldn't beat me in a mom contest.

ready to go

i grabbed the camera to take a quick shot of ben all bundled up in his car seat. isn't that blue hood sweet? he looks pretty cute, if i do say so.

today's his four-month birthday. he's rolling around a lot when we put him down on a blanket, he loves to talk especially in the morning or when he's being changed, and he's just started giving a big belly laugh when andrew says, "are you benny whealy?" in a certain goofy voice. his little personality is getting more and more pronounced. he really is a little sparkler, unless his tummy has bubbles, and then he's not shy about making his discomfort known.

i was just thinking that i first felt him move about a year ago. amazing to think that little flutter was the beginning of our kiddo.

it's good to be ben on valentine's day!

ben's first valentine's day was, all in all, pretty successful! here he is in his red suit from joycie (note the funny little "trap door" in the back), laying on his rainbow afghan from cindy ramirez (gorgeous!), wearing his super cute hand-made tam o' shanter from grandma b's friend marsha (all the way from atlanta) and his collection of valentine cards and bibs from grandma b and aunt linda. he also got valentines from grandma arlie and grandpa ray. what a day!