Daddy’s not the only one that can make his face turn a darker shade.  Look, I’m all grown up!  And I haven’t shaved all day!

Maybe next time I’ll see how I look with a goatee.

Here I am, working tirelessly to improve human-feline relations.  Actually, it’s not bad work if you can get it!

This session is helping Atlas appreciate all the more those times when I’m not around to pet him, and he can just sleep peacefully.

(Ed. Note: Atlas seems to be putting up with Ben better as time goes on.)

Ben 1, Dirt 0.  Yeee haaa!  Take that, dirt!

Ben 1, Dirt 1.  “The Dirt Strikes Back”

(Ed. Note – in case you can’t see it, Ben’s right eye and temple had a run-in with the dirt.)

I’ve found that sometimes the best toys aren’t “toys” at all (much to the chagrin of new parents M&D).  For example, the cat dish (sorry, Atlas) makes a wonderful sound when it crashes on the floor.  And the door stop stick is just good for carrying around.  And the rug can be appreciated much better when you can see (and feel) both sides, don’t you think?

Now, where’d that trash can go again?

This time Daddy actually managed to get the pulling up part on video, so I thought I’d share.  Now if I could just work up the confidence to walk off without holding Mommy or Daddy’s hand!

There’s a race that’s run every year in San Francisco called ‘Bay to Breakers‘, where contestants run across the city from the Bay side to the ocean (Breakers) side.  M&D shot this training video of me:

(Ed. Note:  If this video doesn’t make sense, please visit the Bay to Breakers link.)

My new top teeth are rapidly making their appearance.  I’ve got a new skill now: flashing the toothy grin!  (Oh, and having enough hair so that it sticks up is good, too.)

…at least according to the tulips and daffodils.  Mommy’s hard work is paying off in the form of pretty flowers which I love to grab!  So this is what “Spring” is, eh?  Lemme at ’em, Mommy!

You can see in these pictures the top teeth that I’ve been working on for the past couple weeks.

While I’ve been getting along quite well lately with my finger foods, I can see the benefit of some top teeth go with my bottom ones.  But getting these babies installed has been a real pain!  I’ve heard of this thing called ‘outsourcing’.  Maybe I could hire out this unpleasant job?  Can any of my readers provide references?

(Ed. Note:  In light of the last couple weeks’ painful developments, Ben’s new best friends (after M&D, of course) are Mr. Motrin, Mr. Acetaminophen, and Mr. Orajel.)

Today,  Daddy took me to Home Depot – and we left Mommy at home!  While we were there I was making noises like “OOOOmmmm” and “ga ga ga ga”, which apparently makes me fit right in with all of the other guys there,  particularly in the power tools section.  Daddy was saying something about “rite of passage” and “this not being my last trip here”, which I’m not sure I understand.  I did think the zillions of things stacked floor to ceiling were pretty cool, so I don’t think I’d mind coming back.

Ben and Daddy, self photo.