Buster at the Water Park

Here is Buster getting a bucket-full of water in his grill. He is hilarious at the park - running from under one dumping bucket right to the next.

For a Remarkable Grandma

Today marks the 85th birthday of a most remarkable person: my grandma. She is and always has been a wonderful part of my life and, more recently, of my kids' lives as well. Two years ago when I visited, we took this photo-
Peter was just a baby! But he can still give that same look. Buster warmed up to Grandma then but it was really last summer that they both began to make memories. The boys and I enjoyed an especially memorable summer last year when we lived with my mom and dad while organizing a move from Connecticut to Nebraska. We often saw Grandma, and the boys truly began to know her, for which I am most grateful. Here they are with her when we were celebrating her birthday in August of 2010-When we would go over to her house, she'd give the big boys popsicles and to them I think now the two are inseparable: Great-Grandma...that means...horray!! we are having popsicles! After a refreshing treat, Buster usually wanted to go down into her basement to see if the furnace was still broken or into the shed to see her spread of lawn mowers and weed whackers. Peter's memory is of one time later in the fall when the acorns had started to fall and were collecting on the deck overlooking the ravine. He had a lovely time showing her how he could shoot them over the edge. Nathan was, of course, always with us and happy, the angel baby that he was. The next photo is one of my favorites ever, taken by my dad. You look beautiful, Grandma.
Now that we live in Nebraska, we look at pictures to remember. And we make popsicles in the Zoku. And we send letters. I love that you type yours on an old typewriter, Grandma. They're always such a treat to get in the mail. Thoughtful, and always witty. I hope you have a very happy birthday, Grandma, and that this year is the best ever for you, too.
Love, Erica, and love from Ben and the boys.

Nathan Alexander Jacob

June 5, 2010. Here's how this guy decided to make his entrance. Erica and I had been minding our own business for some time (9 months?). The date of his due came and went and the doctors decided he had yet to pack his things so he needed to extend his stay in the womb just a bit. We were very relieved as our man-to-man defense was working its magic on the 2 kids we had already. Our zone defense was in need of a few more tweaks so the extra few days were quite welcome. Friday night after his due date the contractions began and we knew he was close. Erica was able to sleep throughout the night somewhat as they subsided just enough, but the next morning it was time to go to the hospital. Erica kept trying to put it off while mowing the grass and trimming the hedges and cleaning up around the house. So after the boys went down for their afternoon naps we figured we'd take a little drive to the hospital to see if our baby was ready yet.The nurses checked and he wasn't quite ready yet - still hadn't packed up his umbrella or 7 dogs playing poker painting (he wouldn't cheat if he were neutered). Since it was a Saturday and doctors control nearly everything in our universe, there was very few staff already there on duty. So the nurse that was there told us to start walking around the halls to try to convince the baby to get things rolling and that the doctor was on her way. We laughed as we thought, "Silly nurses don't know anything. What's walking around going to do?" 15 minutes later contractions had gone from 7-8 minutes to 3 minutes. But still we walked as we reflected on all the modern advances science had made in forms of birth control. 30 Minutes later the doctor, looking very calmed and relaxed and well rested, strolls into the hospital and announces to everyone within 3 zip codes, "I think we're having this baby. She looks awful!" Now that's what every 9+ month pregnant woman loves to hear - right after "So. Did you have the baby yet?" and right up there with "Are you having triplets because you look HUGE!"

The nurses ushered us back to the room where we could relax - until the doctor came and broke Erica's water. They did offer her some to drink to replace the one they broke though so...bonus. Next came the finest drugs known to woman - the epidural! In the right hands an epidural can make anything tolerable - even child birth. I had witnessed it twice before - the power of just such a drug. But this time was to be different. The anesthesiologist came in and we knew immediately we were in trouble.
He assured us that he had done thousands of these procedures before and we had nothing to worry about. Of course he didn't tell us until after that his success rate was a mere %20. True story - all joking aside. He prepared the needle - which appeared to have been on loan from the city of Seattle. It was huge. Erica said, "I'm going to pass out." (I said the same thing but no one listens to the expectant Father). To which both the nurse and good doctor simultaneously reply, "No you're not." Then she collapsed in their arms and they both got a very unwelcome surprised look on their faces. She comes around and the next thing the good doctor said when he'd finished tapping Erica's back for maple syrup was, "Its kind of crooked." Erica, still trusting of these strangers to actually attend to her bodily needs, exclaimed, "I'm going to throw up." No nurse ever moved quicker then this one did as she learned her lesson with the whole fainting ordeal. She returned the bed pan promptly enough to avoid calling in the clean up crew. All done? Not even! The crooked nature of the needle left poor Erica's right side with almost all of its feeling and the left side number than Keith Richards at a Bob Dylan concert. Repeated attempts to convince the good doctor of the discomfort went unnoticed. He even convinced himself she wasn't in any discomfort and then promptly left the room. The pain continued but eventually getting the baby out was the only thing that would stop it.

The doctor returned and now its time for delivery (not DiGiorno's). I'll spare you of the exact details of delivery but know this, the baby was 2 pounds bigger than Grant and Peter. So out he came and he was beautiful. 8 pounds and 6 ounces and 21 inches of screaming fury. They cleaned him up and wrapped him up tight and finally handed him over.
5:52 PM he was born after we had arrived at the hospital around 2:30 PM. Not bad but I challenged Erica to keep it under 2 hours the next time (The stitches come out of my lip next week BTW). Now, about the name. We have yet to decide on any name for our boys before they were born. Being as it was a Saturday and we wouldn't leave until Monday, the nurses weren't too pushy with getting us to name our child this time. They did give us a book of 50,001 baby names which did not help as we are not from Asia. Nothing felt right. Grant and Peter and Erica's mother came on Sunday to visit the little guy and one of the nurses asked Grant what his little borther's name was. He answered, "Natalie." We don't even know a Natalie so where he heard this name is quite a mystery. The nurse says, "Well maybe you can name him Nathan." Great idea! I hadn't thought of that as its too close a name to my brother Nate's but it seemed to fit just fine. So we had a first name and a good one at that. Now for the middle.
Alexander. Many will surely think it comes from Alexander the Great - the king of Macedonia and world conqueror. Others will surely attribute it to a baseball great - Grover Cleveland Alexander - Hall of Fame pitcher for the Phillies, Cubs, and Cardinals. And some of you will say it must be from Alexander Graham Bell - inventor of the telephone. All would be wrong. Alexander comes from my best friend from the first grade. He moved away after one year and I don't remember where or even his last name but the name stuck with me.

Here's one more picture for you:


Cute huh?

Grant turns 3!!!

Happy Birthday to Buster!!! Erica did a great job with the cake shaped like Grant's favorite stuffed bear. Ice Cream cake - delicious





Here he's opening his new weed wacker. We figured as much as he likes to mow with Dad it wouldn't hurt to get him out on some trimming duties as well. A good birthday to say the least.

Grant and Goodnight Moon

Grant can't read yet but that hasn't stopped him from memorizing his favorite book - Goodnight Moon. He has an amazing memory, as demonstrated by earlier posts that he can recognize all 50 states. He's a little too young to be called a genius (he still hasn't completed the family taxes) but he is no doubt very smart and observant.

Halloween 2009

This is Grant in action - headed for the first house. If it looks like we're in a hurry that's because it was starting to rain.


Peter being Peter and giving one of his classic serious looks when he should be smiling. He had a great time.


The 2 boys before we headed out. Grant actually had a scary pirate costume to where but he was too scared to put it on - classic Grant. Fortunately for us, he has pajamas that double as an outfit for a Republican.


Peter doing his part to carve the pumpkin - his tool of choice was his teeth. He actually took a few bites and I think we skipped his dinner that night too, so...bonus.


Grant here is doing the grunt work on the pumpkin. Nothing springs this boy into action faster than an opportunity to make a mess. The Jack-o-Lantern turned out to be needless as we didn't even get 1 trick-or-treater all night. Maybe next year.

Camping at Watkins Glen

We went camping in Watkins Glen NY with Erica's parents and brother Adam and his wife Dorothy over Columbus Day weekend. Here's Grandpa Mark holding his favorite grandson Grant. (I wasn't sure if this picture would come out so nice because of their camouflage but it looks great.)

Here are the 2 boys warming up by the fire after a cold night's sleep. It was cold even with all of us in the same tent together; but not cold enough to prevent tossing and turning, the occasional crying outburst, or the need to pee and I only speak of myself.

This is the Gorge Trail we walked. Its pretty cool. I recommend a visit if you ever find yourself 5 hours from New york City, 3 hours from Rochester, and 15 minutes from the nearest mullet grooming salon. (You'll know you're close by all the Iroc Zs)

The Gorge Trail is not too hard to describe even for a stooge like myself. Its a Trail that traverses the inside of a ......Gorge. All kidding aside, its very cool. Here the trail goes under the stream which has slowly been carving the gorge since the latest Ice Age (or at least since the very first Ice Age movie came out!)

Here's a view of Base Camp Echo (sounds cooler adding random word). It was our launching point for various expeditions to the latreen, playground, sling shot target range, and hiking paths. This picture represents the majority of how our time was divided - making a fire while discussing the latest trends in plaid and food preparation. It was a great trip.