Big Brother Benjamin (week 146)

In my second week as a big brother, I have registered some of my best days and some of my worst days on the planet. On my best days, I hold Christopher in my lap and give him his nuk. On my worst days, I can't seem to get away from time out. Some say my mood swings are because I am approaching (3) years old...others say it is the emotional overload of having a new baby in the house. Dada says that we now have (4) people living in a (2) bedroom house and that the space seems to be shrinking even though the mortgage stays the same. Whatever it is, I know that it makes Christopher anxious when I throw a fit...so dada and I take a walk around the block to cool off and touch each of the stop signs.

Saturday, we made a deal that if I could make it through the day without a time-out, mama would take me bowling Sunday morning. As it turned-out, there were many twists and turns throughout the day (and many close calls), but we stayed extremely busy and I kept my cool. Throughout the week, we weren't so lucky...there was hair pulling, hitting, and even spitting (don't tell grandma)...but, I made it through Sunday morning and got a return ticket to Cal Bowl which I love more than Disneyland.

Speaking of which, last week Uncle Mark and I went to Disneyland to visit Small World and get out of the house. I worked-up the courage to approach the Tiki Room but lost my nerve (twice), and couldn't get past the red parrot and the low-lighting. Almost immediately after the announcer pointed-out the emergency exit were we headed through-it in tears. Of course, I told mama on the phone that I did it all but dada will never rat me out. We did get a "sugary" (Mickey Lollipop) and some popcorn so it was a great day overall.

Dada says that this is the college football season to forget about...but I love the Colesium! As everyone knows, I love stadiums in general (football, baseball, basketball arenas, you name it), but there is something very special about the "castle". Although I have yet to make it through an entire game, dada and I spent time at USC Saturday afternoon and saw many of my friends in the stands. We yelled on third down and cheered for the Trojans in a losing effort. Someday, dada says our season tickets will move down from Row 91 over time, especially if USC has a few more seasons finishing 5th in the Pac 10. I guess Keislers can figure an upside to anything.

New Feature: Raising Your Rents
Keep moving. As they say, idle hands are the devil's playground and it is essential that we keep our parents busy and focused or they will look for other ways to get involved (and make a scene). Assume that you will have to change activities every (10-15) minutes and be ready to begin each of the new activities with your parents (e.g. Legos, Drawings, Water Color Painting or a walk around the block to see specific sights).

Word of the Week
Excuse Me?: a substitute for the notorious (2) year-old response to everything--"huh?"--that is learned in pre-school from the other (2) year-olds. Whenever "huh?" is uttered, parents respond with "excuse me?" as many times as it takes!