I took his picture - you have to love the pose. He asked me if everyone would see it, so I felt it was my obligation to write about it and share it with the world or the 4 people who read my blog. Hey, I at least tried to put it out there.
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Score! 2 Points for Mom!
On my way home on Monday, I spotted it. I knew that Ben would be more than excited to see it up close and I knew what I had to do. Yesterday after picking Ben up from aftercare and dragging him to my chiropractor, I told him I had something to show him. He didn’t notice it at first, so he was still begging me to tell him what the surprise was. I told him “well, we are at a Chevy dealer,” no response. “We are at a Chevy dealer that just happens to have a yellow car with black stripes!” That’s when he lost it . . .”it’s really here! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. It’s really here!!” See, to the average person, a yellow Camaro with black stripes, is just a yellow Camaro with black stripes. But to Ben, this car was Bumblebee!! (The transformer, for those of you scratching your head). Ever since the Transformers movie came out, Ben has pointed out every (and I mean every) yellow car with excitement saying it looks just like Bumblebee. I didn’t matter if it was a yellow Dodge pick-up truck, it looked like Bumblebee. He says, “look, it’s just like Bumblebee, except it’s a truck, and there aren’t any black stripes,” or “look, it’s just like Bumblebee, it has stripes, but it’s a Ford and top comes off.” Telling him that he can just say it’s the same color as Bumblebee has never worked. Maybe one day it will stick.
I took his picture - you have to love the pose. He asked me if everyone would see it, so I felt it was my obligation to write about it and share it with the world or the 4 people who read my blog. Hey, I at least tried to put it out there.
I took his picture - you have to love the pose. He asked me if everyone would see it, so I felt it was my obligation to write about it and share it with the world or the 4 people who read my blog. Hey, I at least tried to put it out there.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Milestones
As a parent, you get to look forward to all sorts of milestones. With Ben, everything was a first for us. First smile, first tooth, first time he rolled over, you get my point. Each was so exciting and I found myself always saying “I can’t wait until he . .” forgetting that each and every milestone goes by so fast. So fast, I can’t even believe my son is getting ready to start another milestone. On Tuesday he will attend his first day of school. OMG! Didn’t I just have him ripped out of me??
So with Mikaela, I tried so hard not to rush things. I enjoyed each milestone as equally as I did with Ben, but I tried not to anticipate the next thing too much. And man I’m glad that I didn’t. I’m just going to come right out and say it, my daughter is lazy. Maybe it’s the diva in her, but she is slow with the milestones she has control over. It’s not that she can’t hold her bottle or sippy cup, she just refuses to. Her talking has improved lately, but there for a while she was grunting and pointing at everything, which is normal for a second child. She was also saying a word once, catching us all off guard, but refusing to repeat it. She just smiled at us like “psh! Fools, I’m not gonna say it again! You say it!” Finally, there’s the walking issue. Mikaela technically has been walking for the last 2 months. She’s taken steps from the couch to a toy or vice versa, but anytime we would stand her up and try and coax her to walk, she would sit down or start to cry. I had just about given up until last Wednesday night (her 14 month birthday). In order to keep her in a safe environment and away from the 5 bizillion legos that Ben has, we blocked of an area by the couch. It was a happy little place with a bunch of baby friendly toys. I could walk out of the room for 5 seconds without the fear that she’d choke on a power ranger head. Well, on Wednesday, Mikaela decided that she’d had enough and planned her escape. She climbed onto the couch and scooted her way to the side and slid down to the floor. She stood up and off she went. I stared in disbelief. I whispered, you know, scream whispered to Ben “look, look, she’s walking, look..” He joined me in disbelief. I mean, we’ve only waited months for this. Ben was so flippin’ excited. And just like that, my daughter walks. A little later than some, but hey, I wasn’t trying to rush it. I could watch her walk all day. She’s got the Tramp walk. No, not the hip swaying provocative tramp walk, the Charlie Chaplin “Tramp” walk. Too old of a reference? A penguin? Are you getting my point yet? I can tell that she’s happy about it too. She smiles her cheesy smile the whole time she is walking like she doesn’t have a care in the world. I’m jealous :) On the downside, it took a whole day of more child proofing and tense negotiations with Ben to move the choking hazards elsewhere. It was a success. Master Yoda, his peeps, the MegaZord, along with the power ranger fleet, and all 5 bizillion legos will reside in the basement playroom. In return, our child won’t choke and we will bring up larger “everybody” toys. All will be well.
If I can offer any advice to new parents, it would be, don’t rush anything! If your kid isn’t doing something yet, they will. Without warning, they just will. You can’t control it, you just have to adapt to it.
I can honestly say that I don’t really have a favorite milestone. They are all so very special in their own way. I’m sure as my kids get older there will be a few I don’t like (hello puberty!) and you can be sure you’ll hear about it!
So with Mikaela, I tried so hard not to rush things. I enjoyed each milestone as equally as I did with Ben, but I tried not to anticipate the next thing too much. And man I’m glad that I didn’t. I’m just going to come right out and say it, my daughter is lazy. Maybe it’s the diva in her, but she is slow with the milestones she has control over. It’s not that she can’t hold her bottle or sippy cup, she just refuses to. Her talking has improved lately, but there for a while she was grunting and pointing at everything, which is normal for a second child. She was also saying a word once, catching us all off guard, but refusing to repeat it. She just smiled at us like “psh! Fools, I’m not gonna say it again! You say it!” Finally, there’s the walking issue. Mikaela technically has been walking for the last 2 months. She’s taken steps from the couch to a toy or vice versa, but anytime we would stand her up and try and coax her to walk, she would sit down or start to cry. I had just about given up until last Wednesday night (her 14 month birthday). In order to keep her in a safe environment and away from the 5 bizillion legos that Ben has, we blocked of an area by the couch. It was a happy little place with a bunch of baby friendly toys. I could walk out of the room for 5 seconds without the fear that she’d choke on a power ranger head. Well, on Wednesday, Mikaela decided that she’d had enough and planned her escape. She climbed onto the couch and scooted her way to the side and slid down to the floor. She stood up and off she went. I stared in disbelief. I whispered, you know, scream whispered to Ben “look, look, she’s walking, look..” He joined me in disbelief. I mean, we’ve only waited months for this. Ben was so flippin’ excited. And just like that, my daughter walks. A little later than some, but hey, I wasn’t trying to rush it. I could watch her walk all day. She’s got the Tramp walk. No, not the hip swaying provocative tramp walk, the Charlie Chaplin “Tramp” walk. Too old of a reference? A penguin? Are you getting my point yet? I can tell that she’s happy about it too. She smiles her cheesy smile the whole time she is walking like she doesn’t have a care in the world. I’m jealous :) On the downside, it took a whole day of more child proofing and tense negotiations with Ben to move the choking hazards elsewhere. It was a success. Master Yoda, his peeps, the MegaZord, along with the power ranger fleet, and all 5 bizillion legos will reside in the basement playroom. In return, our child won’t choke and we will bring up larger “everybody” toys. All will be well.
If I can offer any advice to new parents, it would be, don’t rush anything! If your kid isn’t doing something yet, they will. Without warning, they just will. You can’t control it, you just have to adapt to it.
I can honestly say that I don’t really have a favorite milestone. They are all so very special in their own way. I’m sure as my kids get older there will be a few I don’t like (hello puberty!) and you can be sure you’ll hear about it!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
My Ben
My son Ben is quite a character. He has had an uncanny sense of timing. For example, when he was 2, my Mom and I were driving to see my house that was under construction. As we drove, a squirrel ran out in front of us. My Mom slammed on the brakes. Before I could even think it, Ben yells out “oh shit”. Now, I do not know exactly where he heard those words, but the fact that he knew exactly when to use them impressed me. That should have been my first sign of things to come.
He is also quite the teaser. He carries around “Tasha”. Tasha is a Backyardigan. The Backyardigans are cute little animals that have adventures in their backyards. She is a yellow hippo that wears an orange dress with flowers on it and red shoes that have a single strap. Yes, there are male Backyardigans, but Ben took to Tasha. He’s also latched on to Dora, Minnie Mouse and Zoe from Sesame Street over the years. Don’t ask, I don’t know. Maybe he just likes his ladies. Anyway, Tasha goes everywhere. Even though I wash her often, she is always filthy and possibly carries a number of diseases. One day while out shopping, my Mom bought Ben a Backyardigan book that had a picture of Tasha on the cover. Tasha was barefoot. Ben became obsessed with Tasha having her shoes off. (Damn you mother!) The only problem was, Tasha’s shoes are actually part of her feet, made to look like shoes, with the exception of the strap which was loose. Trying to explain this to a 3 year old was next to impossible. But that didn’t stop me from trying. I told him that if I took her shoes off, her stumps would spew stuffing and she would never be able to walk again. “You don’t want her not to have any feet do you? All of her insides will come out.” He screamed at the mall for over an hour because he just wanted her shoes off and I couldn’t magically make it happen. What a horrible mother. Geez. I cannot remember how we ever got him to stop. Maybe he fell asleep, I have no idea. About a week later, he came to me in the kitchen and asked me if I would cut the straps off of Tasha’s shoes. I explained to him that once I cut them off, there was no way I could sew them back on. (They are practically microscopic) Of course he says “that’s ok.” I asked him 3 more times because I am not about to relive the hour of crying. I reluctantly cut the straps and he carries Tasha off with a big smile on his face. Three minutes later he returns and asks if I can put them back on. Shit. I’m about ready to explode and lecture him when a smile starts to appear on his face. “I’m just kidding Mommy.” I’ll be damned. A three year old just set me up!
Like many kids, Ben is good at making up stories. The kind of stories to cover his tracks. When I was pregnant with Mikaela, Ben occasionally had to come with me to the doctor. When you are pregnant, all routine doctor’s visits start with a urine sample. Woohoo! Unfortunately, I had no choice but to take Ben with me to the bathroom. This came with MANY questions. One afternoon, I noticed a paper cup floating in Ben’s toilet. When I asked him about it, I said “Ben, do you have any idea why there is a cup in the toilet?” He responds, “no, it must have been magic.” Mmmhmm. I could only laugh, because I knew exactly what happened. (Jenni, thanks for reminding me of this story. My how things slip from the mind over time! )
Speaking of toilets, when Ben was very young he was terrified of the Easter Bunny. He worried constantly that the Easter Bunny was going to get him. This went on for over a year. We came up with all sorts of comforting things to tell him. We even tied his closet door shut. Oh, and the smoke detector was not a smoke detector, it was an Easter Bunny alarm system. One night when he was in the bathroom Ben spotted a spider. I came to his rescue. After killing the spider, I flushed it down the toilet while Ben watched. I told him I was flushing the bad spider way down the toilet where it couldn’t get him. He responded, “is it going to live with the Easter Bunny?” I guess in a desperate attempt to get Ben to go to bed, we told him we flushed the Easter Bunny. Although I don’t recall doing this, it must have worked, because from then on we never heard a word about the Easter Bunny. So if you ever wondered where the Easter Bunny goes when it’s not Easter, he lives in my toilet with a herd of spiders.
Right now, we are having trouble with words. Everything Ben says has an “ded” on the end. Like fixeded, of runded. He also seems to make up words that sound close to what he is hearing. Like lightsaber, he says lightsaver or when he sings Jingle Bells, he’ll sing one horse something sleigh. My favorite Christmas song flub is “he’s gonna find out who’s naughty at night.” It’s entertaining to say the least. He has also been very curious about cars brands. He now points out Fords, Chevy’s, Dodges, etc. I will have you know that according to Ben, we drive Hanukkahs (Hondas). Yesterday, he pointed out a silver Zucchini.(Suzuki) Every time he does this it catches me off guard and I laugh uncontrollably. Which is never good while you are driving. He also is beginning to throw out big words, like nemesis. He told me recently during a conversation about the devil, that he (the devil) is Jesus’ nemesis. A pretty good observation if you ask me.
The time really does fly. Ben starts school in less than three weeks. I still can’t believe it. My little baby is going to start school. I hope that he does well and makes lots of friends. I know how tough school can be and how mean kids can be. I want to protect him from all of that, but I know he will have to try and hold his own now. I have always assumed, since he was very small, that Ben would be the class clown. Now’s the time when I get to find out. It’s a whole new chapter. I love you buddy.
He is also quite the teaser. He carries around “Tasha”. Tasha is a Backyardigan. The Backyardigans are cute little animals that have adventures in their backyards. She is a yellow hippo that wears an orange dress with flowers on it and red shoes that have a single strap. Yes, there are male Backyardigans, but Ben took to Tasha. He’s also latched on to Dora, Minnie Mouse and Zoe from Sesame Street over the years. Don’t ask, I don’t know. Maybe he just likes his ladies. Anyway, Tasha goes everywhere. Even though I wash her often, she is always filthy and possibly carries a number of diseases. One day while out shopping, my Mom bought Ben a Backyardigan book that had a picture of Tasha on the cover. Tasha was barefoot. Ben became obsessed with Tasha having her shoes off. (Damn you mother!) The only problem was, Tasha’s shoes are actually part of her feet, made to look like shoes, with the exception of the strap which was loose. Trying to explain this to a 3 year old was next to impossible. But that didn’t stop me from trying. I told him that if I took her shoes off, her stumps would spew stuffing and she would never be able to walk again. “You don’t want her not to have any feet do you? All of her insides will come out.” He screamed at the mall for over an hour because he just wanted her shoes off and I couldn’t magically make it happen. What a horrible mother. Geez. I cannot remember how we ever got him to stop. Maybe he fell asleep, I have no idea. About a week later, he came to me in the kitchen and asked me if I would cut the straps off of Tasha’s shoes. I explained to him that once I cut them off, there was no way I could sew them back on. (They are practically microscopic) Of course he says “that’s ok.” I asked him 3 more times because I am not about to relive the hour of crying. I reluctantly cut the straps and he carries Tasha off with a big smile on his face. Three minutes later he returns and asks if I can put them back on. Shit. I’m about ready to explode and lecture him when a smile starts to appear on his face. “I’m just kidding Mommy.” I’ll be damned. A three year old just set me up!
Like many kids, Ben is good at making up stories. The kind of stories to cover his tracks. When I was pregnant with Mikaela, Ben occasionally had to come with me to the doctor. When you are pregnant, all routine doctor’s visits start with a urine sample. Woohoo! Unfortunately, I had no choice but to take Ben with me to the bathroom. This came with MANY questions. One afternoon, I noticed a paper cup floating in Ben’s toilet. When I asked him about it, I said “Ben, do you have any idea why there is a cup in the toilet?” He responds, “no, it must have been magic.” Mmmhmm. I could only laugh, because I knew exactly what happened. (Jenni, thanks for reminding me of this story. My how things slip from the mind over time! )
Speaking of toilets, when Ben was very young he was terrified of the Easter Bunny. He worried constantly that the Easter Bunny was going to get him. This went on for over a year. We came up with all sorts of comforting things to tell him. We even tied his closet door shut. Oh, and the smoke detector was not a smoke detector, it was an Easter Bunny alarm system. One night when he was in the bathroom Ben spotted a spider. I came to his rescue. After killing the spider, I flushed it down the toilet while Ben watched. I told him I was flushing the bad spider way down the toilet where it couldn’t get him. He responded, “is it going to live with the Easter Bunny?” I guess in a desperate attempt to get Ben to go to bed, we told him we flushed the Easter Bunny. Although I don’t recall doing this, it must have worked, because from then on we never heard a word about the Easter Bunny. So if you ever wondered where the Easter Bunny goes when it’s not Easter, he lives in my toilet with a herd of spiders.
Right now, we are having trouble with words. Everything Ben says has an “ded” on the end. Like fixeded, of runded. He also seems to make up words that sound close to what he is hearing. Like lightsaber, he says lightsaver or when he sings Jingle Bells, he’ll sing one horse something sleigh. My favorite Christmas song flub is “he’s gonna find out who’s naughty at night.” It’s entertaining to say the least. He has also been very curious about cars brands. He now points out Fords, Chevy’s, Dodges, etc. I will have you know that according to Ben, we drive Hanukkahs (Hondas). Yesterday, he pointed out a silver Zucchini.(Suzuki) Every time he does this it catches me off guard and I laugh uncontrollably. Which is never good while you are driving. He also is beginning to throw out big words, like nemesis. He told me recently during a conversation about the devil, that he (the devil) is Jesus’ nemesis. A pretty good observation if you ask me.
The time really does fly. Ben starts school in less than three weeks. I still can’t believe it. My little baby is going to start school. I hope that he does well and makes lots of friends. I know how tough school can be and how mean kids can be. I want to protect him from all of that, but I know he will have to try and hold his own now. I have always assumed, since he was very small, that Ben would be the class clown. Now’s the time when I get to find out. It’s a whole new chapter. I love you buddy.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
At Random
I really don’t have one large thing to write about today. So I thought I’d write down random thoughts and complaints instead.
I am tired today. Not the normal tired, because, let’s face it, I’m ALWAYS tired, but the bad tired. What’s the difference. I can tolerate “normal” tired, but with “bad” tired, it’s hard to function. I am struggling to keep my eyes open and my brain focused. I stood for a while, but only because with the “bad” tired do I get restless legs. If you have never experienced restless legs, consider yourself lucky! It is hard to describe, but basically, your legs want to move while the rest of you wants to sleep or sit still. It is almost impossible to keep them still for more than a few seconds. Let me just tell you, when this happens during a meeting, on a car ride, or at the movies it is agonizing. I have actually resorted (once during a car ride, not a meeing) to hitting my legs, because I couldn’t take it anymore. So why does this happen when I’m tired? I have no flipping clue. In an attempt to stay positive . . . maybe it’s my body’s way of keeping me awake. Nice, thanks a lot.
I got in a verbal argument with my co-worker yesterday. The backstabber. She’s back at her stabby ways. According to her, I steal documents. Yep. My boss, who’s office we cleaned last week, called me and asked if I had seen the applications for job opening we are interviewing for. He said it was a large stack. I did not see a large stack of anything when I was in there, and hell to be honest, if Annie or I saw the applications, I am sure we would have at least taken a peek to see who the contenders were. I mean, we will be training and working with this person. It’s common knowledge around here that Stabby has been tasked with reviewing the applications and setting up the interviews. So, one would assume that she had the application packets. I also spotted her walking around with a large stack of packets last week. Anywho, I suggest to my boss that I “thought” Stabby had them last week. So after he goes down to her office (did I mention that Stabby has an office, unlike the rest of us) and again accuses her of having them, he comes back and says that she said I took them. WTF? Now, I guess she is mad that I suggested that I “thought” she had them, but come on, why in the hell would I take them?? Why would you even suggest that? I know without a doubt (confirmed by Annie) that they were not in his office on Thursday. So as she was huffing by me in the hall, I confronted her. I’m fired up at this point, so why not, right? I looked right at her Stabby eyes and said
Me: “I did not take the applications.”
Her: I didn’t say that you did
Me: According to the boss, you did
Her: Well, I don’t have them
Me: I thought I saw you with them last week
Her: I don’t have them and I don’t like being accused
Me: I wasn’t accusing you, I just thought I saw you with them last week
Her: blahblahblahblah blah . . . .BLAH$%$^#& (walking away)
Me: You know, you don’t have to be so nasty (loudly)
Ok, so maybe it wasn’t the cat fight you were looking for, but I put up with this BS all the time. No one is mean to her, yet she tattles on us (it’s usually inaccurate), looks right at you when you say “good morning” and just keeps on walking. Not even a smile. Is she human? She’s certainly not professional. However, I’ll admit I was not professional yesterday. Rethinking the whole situation, I could have handled it better, but at least it made for an interesting morning :) Also, my boss tends to instigate. I am sure words were twisted and he probably had his feet up and a bowl of popcorn waiting for the fight. I still have no clue if they ever found the applications.
My kids are so stinkin’ cute. I know I’m their Mom and I am bias, but I still think they are the cutest!! They are each at a different stage of cute. Mikaela is obviously still at the baby cute phase. I love watching her. It’s exciting to see all of the new things she learns. When she finally figures out how to do something, like put the mail in the toy mailbox her Aunt Angela gave her, she immediately looks at you and waits for the “yay!” and then she starts clapping and grinning from ear to ear. It always brings happy tears to my eyes. Every single time. She is so close to walking full time. By this, I mean, she does walk, but only when she’s not paying attention. As soon as you put any type of focus on it, she sits right down. For now I’m ok with this. Life goes by fast enough and I don’t want to rush things, but I know that she would be a much happier gal if she could walk around and be an even bigger diva than she already is.
Ben is at another level of cuteness. He amazes me everyday. He is very loving and sweet and so good with Mikaela (she loves him too). Ben’s wheels are constantly turning. Constantly. He asks a lot of questions, which at times is exhausting. He is getting ready to start school and it is bittersweet for me. We have come so far with him. It’s great to see him finally doing so many things by himself. I feel like I did something right! The one incredible thing I’d like to mention about Ben (because I could say so much) is his ability to build things. He loves Lego sets. However, they never stay together long. He takes them apart and builds new things. First he went through the car building phase. Then he started on transformers. It was then that I knew my kid was super smart. Every transformer he built, he would show us the robot version and then would take it apart. Using all of the pieces, he would transform it to something else like a car or a plane. Not one piece left. Each had a purpose. This left us both dumbfounded. I’m not just talking about 10-15 Legos, we’re talking 35-50+ pieces. I don’t have a clue how he figures these things out, but he does. Lately he’s moved on to Star Wars things. The ships all look realistic and are really very impressive. And of course there is ample room for the Storm/Clone Troopers. I can’t wait to see what he builds next.
I am tired today. Not the normal tired, because, let’s face it, I’m ALWAYS tired, but the bad tired. What’s the difference. I can tolerate “normal” tired, but with “bad” tired, it’s hard to function. I am struggling to keep my eyes open and my brain focused. I stood for a while, but only because with the “bad” tired do I get restless legs. If you have never experienced restless legs, consider yourself lucky! It is hard to describe, but basically, your legs want to move while the rest of you wants to sleep or sit still. It is almost impossible to keep them still for more than a few seconds. Let me just tell you, when this happens during a meeting, on a car ride, or at the movies it is agonizing. I have actually resorted (once during a car ride, not a meeing) to hitting my legs, because I couldn’t take it anymore. So why does this happen when I’m tired? I have no flipping clue. In an attempt to stay positive . . . maybe it’s my body’s way of keeping me awake. Nice, thanks a lot.
I got in a verbal argument with my co-worker yesterday. The backstabber. She’s back at her stabby ways. According to her, I steal documents. Yep. My boss, who’s office we cleaned last week, called me and asked if I had seen the applications for job opening we are interviewing for. He said it was a large stack. I did not see a large stack of anything when I was in there, and hell to be honest, if Annie or I saw the applications, I am sure we would have at least taken a peek to see who the contenders were. I mean, we will be training and working with this person. It’s common knowledge around here that Stabby has been tasked with reviewing the applications and setting up the interviews. So, one would assume that she had the application packets. I also spotted her walking around with a large stack of packets last week. Anywho, I suggest to my boss that I “thought” Stabby had them last week. So after he goes down to her office (did I mention that Stabby has an office, unlike the rest of us) and again accuses her of having them, he comes back and says that she said I took them. WTF? Now, I guess she is mad that I suggested that I “thought” she had them, but come on, why in the hell would I take them?? Why would you even suggest that? I know without a doubt (confirmed by Annie) that they were not in his office on Thursday. So as she was huffing by me in the hall, I confronted her. I’m fired up at this point, so why not, right? I looked right at her Stabby eyes and said
Me: “I did not take the applications.”
Her: I didn’t say that you did
Me: According to the boss, you did
Her: Well, I don’t have them
Me: I thought I saw you with them last week
Her: I don’t have them and I don’t like being accused
Me: I wasn’t accusing you, I just thought I saw you with them last week
Her: blahblahblahblah blah . . . .BLAH$%$^#& (walking away)
Me: You know, you don’t have to be so nasty (loudly)
Ok, so maybe it wasn’t the cat fight you were looking for, but I put up with this BS all the time. No one is mean to her, yet she tattles on us (it’s usually inaccurate), looks right at you when you say “good morning” and just keeps on walking. Not even a smile. Is she human? She’s certainly not professional. However, I’ll admit I was not professional yesterday. Rethinking the whole situation, I could have handled it better, but at least it made for an interesting morning :) Also, my boss tends to instigate. I am sure words were twisted and he probably had his feet up and a bowl of popcorn waiting for the fight. I still have no clue if they ever found the applications.
My kids are so stinkin’ cute. I know I’m their Mom and I am bias, but I still think they are the cutest!! They are each at a different stage of cute. Mikaela is obviously still at the baby cute phase. I love watching her. It’s exciting to see all of the new things she learns. When she finally figures out how to do something, like put the mail in the toy mailbox her Aunt Angela gave her, she immediately looks at you and waits for the “yay!” and then she starts clapping and grinning from ear to ear. It always brings happy tears to my eyes. Every single time. She is so close to walking full time. By this, I mean, she does walk, but only when she’s not paying attention. As soon as you put any type of focus on it, she sits right down. For now I’m ok with this. Life goes by fast enough and I don’t want to rush things, but I know that she would be a much happier gal if she could walk around and be an even bigger diva than she already is.
Ben is at another level of cuteness. He amazes me everyday. He is very loving and sweet and so good with Mikaela (she loves him too). Ben’s wheels are constantly turning. Constantly. He asks a lot of questions, which at times is exhausting. He is getting ready to start school and it is bittersweet for me. We have come so far with him. It’s great to see him finally doing so many things by himself. I feel like I did something right! The one incredible thing I’d like to mention about Ben (because I could say so much) is his ability to build things. He loves Lego sets. However, they never stay together long. He takes them apart and builds new things. First he went through the car building phase. Then he started on transformers. It was then that I knew my kid was super smart. Every transformer he built, he would show us the robot version and then would take it apart. Using all of the pieces, he would transform it to something else like a car or a plane. Not one piece left. Each had a purpose. This left us both dumbfounded. I’m not just talking about 10-15 Legos, we’re talking 35-50+ pieces. I don’t have a clue how he figures these things out, but he does. Lately he’s moved on to Star Wars things. The ships all look realistic and are really very impressive. And of course there is ample room for the Storm/Clone Troopers. I can’t wait to see what he builds next.
Friday, July 24, 2009
The weirdest thing happened
This is completely out of order as far as the days events, but I couldn't start this any other way. So there I am sitting on the floor at home with Mikaela helping her practice ring stacking when Ben comes in with his arms stretched to the side and says, "Mommy, the weirdest thing happened." He continues like he's telling a story, that is sure to have a funny ending. "I was going potty in the toilet, and somehow I got pee on the floor. I have no idea how it happened." Mmmhmm. So I respond, "is it just a little pee." he just looks at me. "Well Ben, get a little toilet paper and wipe it up." He's 5. I think he can handle it. He replies, "well, its kind of a lot." Great. So, I get up off of the floor, grab the paper towels and some cleaner and head to the bathroom. Oh, my, God! There was a puddle of pee all around the base of the toilet, like someone took a bucket of water and poured it on the floor. I ask, "Ben, did you get any pee in the toilet?" Of course I can see that he did, but I am completely puzzled as to how my 5 year old could produce so much pee! I've even asked if he was sure it wasn't water. I thought, maybe, just maybe, the toilet leaked. No. It's pee. Damn it. So I ask again, "how did this happen." He has no clue. Maybe he fell asleep for 5 seconds, or decided, "ah, it's mom's day off, she needs to clean up some pee." I don't really know. The strangest part is, as I was cleaning up, I noticed that there was not one drop of pee on the toilet seat. WTF? Ah, parenting. Never a dull moment. Never.
Now, back to the other event of the day. The blood draw. Another prize of parenting, taking your 1 year old to have her finger pricked and squeezed for a lead test. Fun. Actually, things went pretty well. After we went to the wrong office, good move, we found that the waiting room was empty. Fabulous!! Ben immediately dumps the entire contents of his backpack in the middle of the floor, but thankfully, there is no one there to piss off, exept for me. Mikaela wants down right away and starts to explore when the nurse comes out. After what seems like 5 minutes of waiting for Ben to pick up his stuff, we finally go back to the torture room. I manage to catch Ben before he dumps his backback again, while Mikaela hangs to one side grunting to be let down. Not gonna happen. So, I give her my insurance card. Who knew it would have such a calming effect? She sat on my lap and smiled at the nurse as she prepared to jab her finger and squeeze the hell out of it until she got the 2 tubes of blood she needed. Let me just say, my girl is brave! Not one tear. Turns out she's quite the bleeder. A good thing to know. After the nurse was finished, she put a ginormous bandage on it.
Seriously, was all this necessary? It really was. As soon as I took it off, it started bleeding again. I thought an hour would be enough, but apparently not :)
Now, back to the other event of the day. The blood draw. Another prize of parenting, taking your 1 year old to have her finger pricked and squeezed for a lead test. Fun. Actually, things went pretty well. After we went to the wrong office, good move, we found that the waiting room was empty. Fabulous!! Ben immediately dumps the entire contents of his backpack in the middle of the floor, but thankfully, there is no one there to piss off, exept for me. Mikaela wants down right away and starts to explore when the nurse comes out. After what seems like 5 minutes of waiting for Ben to pick up his stuff, we finally go back to the torture room. I manage to catch Ben before he dumps his backback again, while Mikaela hangs to one side grunting to be let down. Not gonna happen. So, I give her my insurance card. Who knew it would have such a calming effect? She sat on my lap and smiled at the nurse as she prepared to jab her finger and squeeze the hell out of it until she got the 2 tubes of blood she needed. Let me just say, my girl is brave! Not one tear. Turns out she's quite the bleeder. A good thing to know. After the nurse was finished, she put a ginormous bandage on it.
Seriously, was all this necessary? It really was. As soon as I took it off, it started bleeding again. I thought an hour would be enough, but apparently not :)
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