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As many of you know, I have never had the reputation of being a morning person or a multitasker. I'm sure that very few of you have witnessed me string together a series of coherent phrases before 11AM. This problem only gets worse on Saturday mornings. Lately, my Saturday morning responsibilities have been expanded, and the caveman in me has been forced to adapt accordingly. The following pictures show off some of the new skills I have picked up as a dad.
The unforeseen side-effect of this morning multi-taskedness is that I have started to grow long spaghetti-like tentacles out of my face. (It's actually Benjamin's suction machine tubing hanging perfectly in the background).
Speaking of tentacles, the reign of terror in our household is coming to an end. The sun is quickly setting on the Claw's dominion as the Chasm's time has come. This past week Ben discovered how to fit the entire Claw inside his mouth, reducing the Claw to a slobbery shell of its former self. I have documented this changing-of-the-guard with before, during, and after photo evidence.
Just one more proof that good always triumphs over evil in the end,
Whit, Adrienne, and the Chasm
It amuses me that Benjamin's most sinister enemy during his first three months of life has been his own hand. Sure it looks so little and innocent, but when left unattended, it becomes an eye-gouging, face-scratching, hair-pulling, ear-pinching, nose-picking, daddy-punching claw of destruction. Imagine its power if we could harness it for good and not evil.Ben and the claw had their first chance to meet with the church two weeks ago. The claw was on its best behavior, and Benjamin managed to keep from crying the whole time he was up front being introduced to the congregation. Shane gave us the opportunity to thank everyone for all their prayers and generosity, and we all gave God the glory for his mercy and power in Ben's life. After we sat down, Ben was quickly ejected from the auditorium for fussing, but we had a pretty good ten minute run of happiness before he had to leave.
The big news is Noel and Kay's arrival in Oklahoma last week. I joke about outlaws, but things have gotten much better around here since they showed up. It's a huge blessing to have grandparents around who can help us take care of our little guy. Here are a few of Ben's reactions to the new arrangements.
I've got a game for you to play. Can you find the difference between the following pictures? Take your time.
Give up? The first picture is before seven-foot tall, powered, inflatable stork with sign (BSFTPISWS for short), and the second picture is after seven-foot tall, powered, inflatable stork with sign (ASFTPISWS). I'm surprised you didn't get that. Our friends Bobby and Melissa Smith are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl named Olivia Rose who was born on Saturday. I figured there was no better way to celebrate than installing a massive lawn ornament in their yard during high wind season in Oklahoma.
Unfortunately, after I drove all the way across town to put it up, I realized that it had to stay plugged in to stay inflated. Of course there was no outlet on the front of their house to plug into, and my plan was almost foiled. Just as I was about to give up, their next-door neighbor, who I have never met before, drove up and saw the sad deflated scene. I'm pretty sure she thought I was a crazy person, but I told her what I was doing, and she found an extension cord and let me hook up the stork to her garage outlet. The great stork disaster was narrowly averted, and the big guy was there standing tall and proud to greet them when they came home from the hospital. Big thanks to Mary Daugherity for coming to our baby shower and providing us with this gift that just keeps on giving. You give the best gifts Mary.
Back at our place, over the last few weeks Benjamin has discovered the dieting "holy grail" of eating all you want without gaining an ounce. If I can just get him to share the secret with me, I'll make billions. I've tried to teach him the one blink for "yes", two blinks for "no" system, but Ben is master of the staring game and can go for quite a long time with his eyes plastered open. He has earned the nickname Moth Man in our house for the way he stares at any light that happens to be on. Don't quit your South Beach diet yet.
Since Ben is still short of 9 pounds the doctors have ordered that he be put on a continuous feeding machine for twelve hours a day. I've got to tell you this kid is a sneaky one. I'd thought we'd seen the last of that machine in the hospital, but he's figured out a way to get it back. Hopefully, the machine will help Ben transform from a stick figure into a sumo in the next month or two.
Moth Man also got to meet with the church for the first time on Sunday. But I'll save that story for next time.
May all your storks be powered,
Whit, Adrienne, and Benjamin
Hide the women, children, small furry animals, and household electronics. The outlaws are coming. They'll be sweeping down from the frozen tundra of the North and descending upon Tulsa in two weeks. But this time around they'll be staying for good. Benjamin is going to be living the good life with his ouma and oupa living in the same town. What will happen to the rest of us? I have no idea.
Some of you might have noticed that you can now leave comments on the site without registering. When I first made this blog, I didn't require registration, and within 3 minutes of posting my first entry I already had someone leave an advertisement in the comments. Well, I'm going to give it one more shot so comment all you want, but if I catch you posting ads telling me how much money I can save by refinancing my mortgage, I will be forced to turn you over to the outlaws, and I know you don't want that.
I had the pleasure of eating lunch on Thursday with some of my former coworkers from ChoicePay. When I showed up at the restaurant, they surprised me with a cake made entirely out of diapers. I've always preferred the kind with white cake and chocolate icing, but I have to say that this one was pretty impressive if a little less tasty. Big thanks to Sandee and Elspeth for their incredible cake-making talents and thanks to all my friends at ChoicePay for thinking of us.
You'll be happy to know that I'm over the shingles for the most part, which means I can hold Benjamin without wearing gloves and three layers of clothes. It also means I get to see many of you at Memorial Drive in the morning. Hopefully, if Ben keeps doing well, we can bring him with us next weekend. I know Ben wants to meet some of the people that have praying for him over the last two months.
See you soon,
Whit, Adrienne, and Benjamin
