It's Called B-E-N

Last week Harold and I were discussing the possibility of going out for ice cream to celebrate the first day of summer. Because Ben is a very big fan of ice cream, I spelled it out because I knew that if I said the words "ice cream" there would be no going back. Ben doesn't just want ice cream, he NEEDS it as he frequently tells me. So I didn't want him to get wind of this possibility on the off chance that it didn't work out.

Anyhow, as I was spelling "ice cream," Ben yelled "It's called B-E-N guys!"

Ben has been aware that his name is spelled B-e-n for some time now, not that he really has any clue what that actually means. But he heard letters, so he quickly jumped in to correct my spelling, as apparently letters exist only to spell his name, not other words. I am not sure where he got this solipsism from - was it S-u-s-a-n or H-a-r-o-l-d?

The Little Drummer

We have quite the little musician on our hands. Almost every night after dinner Ben asks to get Harold's guitar out. He usually requests that I play it ("with a pick") and together we sing and strum our way through some songs (the ABCs, Hush Little Baby, Three Little Birds) until invariably Harold takes it away from us because we are making such a racket. That's what happens when you can't actually play the guitar or sing very well, but we have fun.

Anyhow, in addition to Harold's guitar, Ben recently rediscovered his toy drum and pounded out a few songs for us. This one is my favorite:

For those listening closely, or those who are especially adept at deciphering toddler-speak, you may have realized that Ben isn't singing about the little boy who "lives down the lane," but about the little boy who "went down the drain."

I don't know what to say about this. Mostly I am a little surprised that Ben is not more terrified of taking a bath if he actually thinks that there is a little boy who went down the drain. (Is this why he refused to sit in the bathtub for so long???) I am also surprised that Ben enjoys helping me let the water out of the bathtub, given the apparent possibility that he might go down the drain as well.

The Little Champion

This past spring we took Ben to The Little Gym every Saturday morning for a tumbling class. Basically it was just a safe, padded environment where he could jump, run, climb, and have occasional tantrums when some other kid was doing what he wanted to be doing.

Overall though it was a great experience. Ben loved going and by the end of the semester he was much better at participating in circle time as well as the various skills that were practiced each week.

Forward roll on the balance beam. The teacher flipped him over before he could object.

Spinning around in the parachute.

Back handspring on Ben's favorite mat, which the kids usually pushed around like a barrel. Competition for this mat was the source of much anguish every week.

The last class was held this past Saturday. Our teacher had told us that all the kids would receive medals at the end of the class, but I was a little surprised by all the pomp and circumstance, which included a podium, music, and the American flag as backdrop.

Fortunately Ben wasn't required to stand on the podium while the national anthem played.

He was enthralled by the whole process and very proud of his medal. I suppose we may ultimately be crippling his long-term ability to develop self-esteem by creating a lifetime expectation of trophies/medals/gold stars just for showing up, but it was pretty fun so I'm not going to worry about all that at the moment.

Changes

After almost 13 years working for a variety of medical communicatons agencies in various locales (Atlanta, Chicago, Durham, Raleigh - hey it kind of counts as two places!), I decided it was time for a change in my life. Tomorrow I will begin working with a clinical research organization as a proposal writer. This is definitely going to be a change of pace for me as it is kind of a step back but also a step forward into a new industry. The biggest perk of this job is that it does not require any travel and I will be able to work from home 1-2 days a week. This is huge for me! Though I haven't had to travel as much as some people, I have definitely had to travel more than I care to with a two year old at home. I am really excited but also a little nervous to be moving out of my comfort zone. But every now and then you need to do just that. I just hope it works out.

I took last week off before starting the new job tomorrow. I spent a lot of time doing nothing which was incredibly nice, but Ben and I also took a field trip to the NC zoo. The NC zoo is very big and very hot in June, but we saw a lot of fun animals. Before we got there Ben was very excited about seeing elephants.

However once we got there all he could talk about was zebras. The zebras were initially missing from their designated location, but fortunately we swung back by on our way out and managed to see one, though not necessarily from the best angle.

The thing that Ben liked the most, apart from the video screen where you could play various movies about different parts of the zoo, was a real helicopter (minus the rotors) located in the "elephant tracking station." I have to admit was pretty cool.

Removing Ben from the helicopter resulted in the only tantrum we experienced at the zoo, so overall that's pretty good for an outing that took the whole day and also involved one episode of car sickness. There were certainly some instances of strong stubborness but only one actual tantrum, so I count that as a pretty good day.

I have some exciting posts coming up later this week, including Ben's first medal ceremony and drum solo. I am hoping that my new job will allow me to have a life again, and hopefully that will also mean more regular blog posts!

Maybe Friday?

Ben has been learning his days of the week for a while now. At first he was really focused on Tuesday. Every day was Tuesday or "Toooosday." Now he's branched out into saying the other days of the week as well. He has no idea of how they relate to each other but he enjoys referring to them. His favorite new endearing trick is to ask if he can do something and if I say no, or not right now, he'll look at me and say "Maybe Friday? Maybe Friday we see Nanny Papa," and he'll nod his head as if that settles it. Just recently he's also started saying "In a couple days. See Beckett in a couple days." I suppose saying "maybe Friday" or "in a few days" has been my way of postponing saying no and he has clearly outsmarted me on this one.

Here are some recent photos from our recent trip to Topsail Island and around the house.

Hanging out on the pier.

He loved the outdoor shower almost as much as the beach itself.

The new swingset with the swing currently on loan from Riley. Thanks Riley!

It's Alright, Mommy

So a week and a half ago Ben's daycare called to tell me that he'd fallen and hit his head and that he needed to go to the doctor. He'd been running in the classroom and somehow manged to fall and hit the edge of the table. He had a huge gash over his left eye that was pretty deep.

Fortunately Harold was home sick that day and he was able to quickly pick Ben up and take him to the hospital. I met them at the ER where we were quickly put into the "kid room" in the ER. The kid room had a TV and paintings of trees and animals on the walls, so that helped to pass the time while we waited for Ben to get stitches. Ben did remarkably well this whole time. Apparently he never cried when he fell and hit his head and he wasn't crying when I got to the hospital. He was a little clingy, but otherwise okay. His teacher at school had done a very good job bandaging the cut, but when they took it off I couldn't really look. It was really deep and I've passed out once before in an ER and had no interest in doing it again!

The real fun started when Ben had to be strapped down to get the stitches. I won't even detail all the barbaric steps that were taken to ensure that he wouldn't be able to move while the stitches were being done, but I understand that it was necessary. Being confined is what upset Ben the most and he cried/screamed for the entire 20-30 minutes it took to put the stitches in. He also kept saying "My hand's stuck, Mommy, my hand's stuck." Which was just heartbreaking.

But once the stitches (14 total on the outside, and 3 on the inside) were in he was fine and ready to go home and "watch George." He had a nice big black eye for a couple of days but he was back to his normal, constantly running self. The stitches stayed in 5 days and then we went to the pediatrician's office to have them taken out. Which was the biggest mistake ever. Our pediatrician, who we normally love, did not do a very good job with the stitches removal. I went into it thinking that it would be hard, but not as hard as getting the stitches. In fact it was even worse because I wasn't prepared. For whatever reason she had a really hard time getting them out and I think it was painful for Ben even though it shouldn't have been. It truly was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. At least when we were in the ER I had felt like we were in good hands, but I felt like our pediatrician really didn't know what she was doing. However, once we were in the middle of it, it seemed like we should just keep going to get it over with. Although I certainly would do it differently next time.

Anyhow, once it was finally over and we were headed back home I had a bit of a breakdown in the car. And Ben said "It's alright, Mommy. It's alright," which certainly helped me to pull it together. My little two year old certainly seemed wise beyond his years at that moment.

The cute thing is he's now comforting his toys as well. This morning whenever one of his trains derailed, he would pick it up, say "it's alright, freight train," give it a kiss, and put it back down on the track. I hope he's always so compassionate (and maybe a little less bossy with other 2 year olds.)Enjoying some ice cream. You can see the stitches over his left eye.

Everything Is So Marvelous

Ben loves and adores Curious George, and he loves and adores him in a variety of media formats. We watch "Curious George" on PBS and we read Curious George books repeatedly. We have been celebrating Christmas with Curious George and his friend the man with the yellow hat for about 5 months now. We often join George on visits to the museum and the aquarium. When I heard that Curious George Live! was coming to Greensboro I knew we had to be there.


The show did not disappoint. Ben was mesmerized for the entire first act. He was completely silent and barely moved the entire time, never taking his eyes from the stage. After the intermission, he loosened up enough to start talking about George's whereabouts, as he was very concerned every time George left the stage.

Not only was this Ben's first musical, it was also the first time he ate nearly an entire bag of popcorn by himself.

I couldn't resist buying the Curious George balloon. They were ridiculously priced ($5!) but when the man came out holding dozens of them and I saw all the parents and kids lining up to buy them, I couldn't resist. Ben didn't even ask for one but I succumbed to indirect peer pressure and bought the balloon. Who can resist George? But of course I left it at my parents' house so we didn't get to enjoy it for long. Fortunately my sister and niece who went to the show with us bought Ben one of those things that spins around and lights up. We didn't forget to take that home with us, so we still have a nice souvenir.

On another note, here is a photo of Harold & Ben from our recent trip to the NC zoo. Personally I am not a huge fan of zoos as they are usually hot and smelly, but we went on a springlike day in February so that helped a lot. Ben had a blast. He liked seeing the animals, but mostly he just liked running around the zoo the entire time we were there. There were endless paths and stairs to explore. He was also very excited to see the "reindeer" (i.e., elk) pictured below.

It certainly looks like a reindeer to me.