The Sinister Cult of Mr. Ben

 While I was on paternity leave Noah joined his first cult.  Both of us fell prey to the smooth sounds of Mr. Ben, Portland's premier children's musician who puts on a heck of a show each Tuesday morning.  Noah and I went to three different Mr. Ben concerts.

When Mr. Ben sings, children obey.

I made sure my parents got the Mr. Ben experience during the show.  Even George "pops" Tucker was impressed as he commented "That guy has a hell of a lot of patience." Trust me, that expression on his face is one of unrestrained joy.

Mr. Ben preaching to his dark minions.  He always brings the house down during his Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ ABC's encore.

If you play Mr. Ben's songs backwards they all tell his followers to sleep.

Noah's first photo shoot

Noah Meets Thomas the Geriatric Pug

Last weekend Noah befriended the "Old Man" on our block, our neighbor Kathy's Pug Thomas.

Noah admires the years of wisdom in Thomas's glazed over eyes.  

I can't tell who is grumpier in this picture Noah or Thomas?  Thomas has the ruthless battle hardened thousand yard stare going on.

There was an encounter where Thomas barked at Noah, and Noah countered by laughing in Thomas the geriatric pug's face. We took a video of the incident but I am having trouble posting it.

Mommy Has Mad Skillz!

Julie is back at work this month, providing sustenance to Noah on a daily basis while fighting the man for the union members of  Portland (she's a labor lawyer).

Mommy needs to be jacked up on caffeine a lot when she has multiple hearings in a week AND Taco Bell style "fourth meal" feedings with Noah every night at 3 a.m.

Julie is a black belt in Kung Fu burping as shown above. I hope Oregon Child Protective Services is not monitoring this blog.

Julie is the MVP of our family.

Noah v. Food

Here are photos of some of Noah's culinary adventures.

A true Portlander already, Noah with homemade pickles.

Ready to dive into some pork broth soup for breakfast.

Transfixed by the Reggie Sandwich at Pine State Biscuits.  The Reggie is hard to ignore, especially during the digestion process.

Revenge of the Tuckers

Noah spent the week visiting with his grandparents George and Phyllis who prefer to be called "pops" and "gramsy."  They were a great help the whole week. Here are some pictures:

Feeding Noah on a walk in Laurelhurst Park. 

George at Happy Hour. He enjoys having a grandson because "I don't have to be a disciplinarian any more." Cheers to that! Noah you don't want to mess with this guy.

George helping out around the house.

It was a great visit!

Paternity Leave Update

I am sadly about half way done with my paternity leave.  It has been great, Noah has transformed from his shriveled old man phase into a super cute little guy.  I have gotten used to walking around with vomit on my clothes in the middle of the day, and commanding newfound respect at our local cross walks.

Here is a photo of the budding bromance developing between Otis and Noah.

Very difficult to pull off action photo of bottle feeding.

Noah protecting the house against intruders. You can tell no one is getting through him by the look on his face.

More pictures to follow, we are looking forward again to having the Tuckers in town to help.