Once upon a time...

... there was an architect. Or was he a designer? Or a painter? Either way, he was Swedish and designed a high chair. And he brought his idea to the US. He met Gene Krupa in a bar in New York and had his design pirated away from him for use all over restaurants and homes in North America. But those two things aren't related. The original design he built in Sweden. His kind and good looking brother-in-law named Bedstefar flew one of the chairs back to North America. Or was it two chairs? It's a long lost story about why there are now two copies of the famous chair. The chair was used by Mamma, and Morbror. And then by two of their cousins. And then by two of their cousins. And then by one of their kids. And now I get to use it.

With each meal, I hear the story of my high chair. I wish Mamma would get her facts straight. Or not.

Vffth phfits in my mff rlly wll

What? Vffth phfits in my mff rlly wll. What? This fits in my mouth really well.

Truth in advertising

Three times today!

Super powers

I shall use my mind powers to pull the table to me. (Why does Daddy keep calling me Jean?)

Typing

I'm a pretty slow typer using the hunt and peck method. Mamma and Daddy assure me I'll get faster with practice.

?

What happened to my toes?

Love

I'm head over heels for Daddy.

Cruising

The coffee table is my exercise machine. I use it for pull-ups and sometimes for support with standing (yes, I'm standing independently). I do lengths walking with support up and down one side, and occasionally turn the corners. I must maintain my girlish figure. Someone in the family has to look good; Mamma and Daddy are eating too much McD's.

And yes, I'm feeling a little better today. Thanks for asking.

Sick baby

I don't feel good. My belly hurts, I'm hot and I keep throwing up. I don't feel good at all.

Yay me!

When I pull up on the table/Mamma/Daddy/toy/sofa, I can stand on my own for a long time. And today I pushed up to stand without any prop! While it didn't last long as I had nothing to hang onto for balance, just watch out, I'll figure it out while I'm awake tonight at midnight.

What last night wasn't

I've been practicing the steps that Mr Ferber taught me and have been doing really well on his plan. Unfortunately I had a relapse last night. I woke up at midnight and stayed awake for 2 hours. I'm ready to take responsibility for my own actions. Today is another day, and I'll do my best to stick with the plan from here out.

Someone said my name?

When babies attack

Diet

Here's what I'm eating so far: Apple sauce, apricots, avocado, bananas, beef, carrots, cheerios, cheese, chicken, cottage cheese (yuck!), green beans & ham, Mamma's hair, Mamma's milk, oat cereal, peaches, pears, peas, prunes, rice cereal, spinach, spoons, squash, sweet potato, turkey, veal, yogurt. I'm able to feed myself the cheerios, Mamma's hair and small pieces of banana.

Proposal

Is Mr Ferber married? Because if he isn't... I mean, he's a miracle worker. He's helped me learn to fall asleep on my own. To sleep 12+ hours without waking. And to sleep in. OH. MY. GOD! I love him. And Mamma and Daddy love him too.

New words

Why did no one tell me that I was pronouncing Mamma's name wrong? I just figured out this week it's "ma-ma" and not "da-da". Next they'll tell me that I'm mispronouncing GranmaNee's and my name by saying "nee-nee".

Oh. And vintage hat from Daddy.

Soundly sleeping

Ah. Mr Ferber. I love you.

No I Will Not Sign Those

I didn't come here for this. I'm trying to have a nice meal, all of a sudden there's these cameras everywhere. It's like, I need some downtime too, you know? You people out there with your normal lives don't understand the kind of pressure people like me have every day. Pressure to look the best. Pressure to BE the best. People ask me, what happens when you get recognized walking down the street? Well, nothing, because I can't walk. But I'm through with this. No more questions! I just want to eat my dinner in peace! Get this camera out of my face!

Balance

Steady goes it. I'm standing on my own!

Mr Ferber

I liked being rocked to sleep in Mamma and (mostly) Daddy's arms. Of course, I would wake up every hour, miss them, and want to be rocked back to sleep again. But now, after talking with Mr Ferber, they're leaving me to cry a lot before I fall asleep! I know I should be mad at them for being so mean (well, they do come in and check on me every 5 minutes), but I can't be. I'm sleeping better. And I'm finally learning how to get myself to sleep. So thank you Mr Ferber.

Planet Earth

And now, David Attenborough: (whispering) "One of the most dangerous creatures alive is the Wild Baby MacBensen. Haunting the floors and laps of southcentral Wisconsin, this tiny mammal is responsible for some of the most startling and unprovoked wee wee attacks ever reported. One of the favorite tactics of the Baby is to lull something -- a favorite stuffed animal, a blanket, or hypothetically, and in no way having to do with any specific example that may or may not have happened this evening, the Baby's own Mamma -- into a false sense of security by moving safely from the changing table to the bath, naked, with nary a drop of wee. This pattern of behavior is repeated many times, to entice the Mamma -- again, hypothetically -- to make a pit stop, as it were, on the way from the changing table to the bath, perhaps to check blogs or perform another type of innocuous task.

"It is at this very moment, when the Mamma is most distracted, either by the flashy thing or by the thing that makes the fun noises when you hit the things, that the Wild Baby -- unprovoked, mind you, and hypothetically -- strikes. Unleashing a veritable torrent of wee, the Baby saturates the Mamma's lap and the surrounding environment, producing a startled cry from the Mamma amidst much laughing and yelling for the Daddy.

"Bringing a towel from another room, the Daddy arrives on the scene and can only look on, with horror, at the carnage around him. I'm David Attenborough."

Daddy's girl

Daddy stays home with me. We play all day together. He rocks me to sleep. He gives me bottles and we watch the Judy together. I realized Mamma might be feeling a bit left out. So to make her feel better, I've started to reach for her when I want to be comforted over Daddy. Daddy understands.

9 months!

Better late than never.

The doctor says I'm growing up beautifully (how much does he get paid to say what I already know?), and meeting all of my milestones. I didn't know I had stones, much less miley ones.

I've gotten the hang of using my fingers to pick up small items, and to feed myself. Mmm. Cheerios. When Mamma and Daddy feed me, I love to play with the spoon and bowl, and to drop both of them. But they must give me back whatever I drop, I don't like to have things taken away from me.

I wave bye-bye (or is it hi-hi?) to everyone. I love the attention I get in return from complete strangers. But I don't let or like when strangers touch me. I have to know them for at least 5 minutes before we can be friends. I clap my hands, drink from a cup with (lots of) help. I call Daddy "da-da" and Mamma "da-da".

I'm sitting, pulling up to standing, supporting myself to stand, crawling and starting to cruise. I can even stand alone for a couple of seconds. Thank goodness for the diaper padding when I fall on my tush! Walking is next, and then cold fusion.

Travel fun

Mamma and Daddy gave me a surprise present for my 9-month mirthday - they threw me a party with a bunch of people in the Detroit airport! I thought it was going to be a boring flight home from Bedstemor and Bedstefar's house. We flew to Detroit and Mamma and Daddy were rushing to feed me before the connecting flight. But then - SURPRISE! The connection was delayed until the next morning due to fog in Madison! I love airports and all that there is to see, so many people, so many lights, so much stuff going on. I was very pleased to spend more time there. But then I found out I got to ride on a shuttle bus. And sleep at the Days Inn - they have the nicest sheets, I slept like a baby. But the presents didn't stop there. Mamma and Daddy then had another present for me the next morning. When I woke up, we were waiting for another shuttle, and I was surrounded by people. The party hadn't ended when I went to sleep. Though, once we got back to the airport at 4:30am, the party was a little slow in picking back up, as there weren't a lot of people there yet. More cancellations and delays later, Mamma and Daddy ended my mirthday party and took me back home. I know they don't like delays, so it was especially kind of them to give me this mirthday present. I can't wait to see what they have planned for my birthday!!

Beards

I love hair. I love eating hair. I love playing with hair. I'm happiest when I have my hands running through hair. Beards? They perplex and fascinate me. Especially why they're so common in my family.

Four generations

Mormor, Mamma, me and Bedstemor.

Glamma, Mormor Anna, Farmor Margit and Bedstefar.

And I get presents?

Can I please travel more? I like presents.

What did they expect?

Mamma and Daddy were a little surprised at how good I was at the airport and on airplanes. I don't know why. I'd been on 7 trips in Mamma's belly, so I'm already an experienced traveler. And this time, I got to see people and enjoy the view much more! When are we traveling again? And to what destination?

Flying up highing

We're flying you say? We'll fly the next day? On a table I lean, while chewing on green. Awaiting my travels, my drool unravels. Yes my juice is loose, cuz I'm hitting the Seuss.

Standing

Have I mentioned how much I love to stand on my own two feet? I'll be independent of my parents, living on my own and earning my own income before they know it! Darn, I should have made that my resolution for 2008.

Resolutions

As I've learned how to stand, I resolve to learn how to walk. As I've learned how to feed myself cheerios, I resolve to broaden my menu. As I've learned to wake every hour during the night, I resolve to wake every 30 minutes. Hopefully I'll keep at least one resolution through the end of the month.