Molding

 I'm sure there are times when every parent feels like he or she just isn't doing a very good job. Especially being a stay-at-home mom, I feel like I need to be creating a stimulating environment for Ben to learn and grow all the time, but it's just not possible. Sometimes dinner has to be cooked and the laundry has to be done and Ben sits in front of the TV by himself. Though I question the idea that TV is no good, because Ben isn't even 2 and he knows a lot of the alphabet partially from watching shows. But I digress...

I have a lot of those days lamenting the time lost because kids this age are such sponges and I could be teaching him calculus or French (if I knew calculus or French). However, occasionally I have days when I feel like Super Mom. Usually they coincide with days Ben's being agreeable and I'm not on my period. Yesterday was such a day, and we spent about 30 minutes playing with his 2-piece puzzles. The object is to match the item with its color, texture or pattern. Here are Ben's matches:

There are so many days when I feel completely distracted and even though Ben and I spend the entire day together, I don't feel like we really spend time together. It's wonderful when we find an activity that's fun for both of us and I can feel like raising a kind, intelligent, thoughtful, polite, curious child isn't the impossible task it sometimes seems.

Metamorphosis

What at first was merely a tunnel to crawl through has become a springboard for bigger things.

A ramp for cars to race. A cannon to expel nosy cats.

A place for imagination to grow.

Breakthrough!

I'm a big believer in saying "please" and "thank you." However, though I always use the terms around Ben, so far I haven't been very successful in getting him to use them. It was making me feel like a bad mother, because most of the kids in playgroup either say or sign "please" and/or "thank you." So I was overjoyed when Heath took Ben to his parents' and Ben finally said "thank you" for ice cream, when prompted. I have no problem having to prompt him to say those things at this age.

Then yesterday morning we were just bumming around the house. Ben always wants to watch TV when we're home and usually I try to wait until the afternoon when I'm worn out and could use a little down time. But yesterday he picked up the remote, looked at me and said, "Dino, please." How could I say no to that? So I praised him profusely for saying "please" and then we watched another thrilling episode of Dinosaur Train.

I'm so proud!

Independence Day

We spent our fourth of July out in St. Charles with Heath's parents'. During the afternoon we headed down to Frontier Park on the riverfront. There was a small carnival with rides and booths with crafts and food. Your typical Midwest holiday set up. Since Ben can be a bit of a daredevil, we decided to see how he liked carnival rides. First up, the mini-roller coaster:

Yeah, he wasn't too keen on it while we were riding, but he kept talking about the "choo choo" the rest of the day. He liked the carousel a lot better. He rode that one twice:

He also rode a little motorcycle ride all by himself, but by that time my camera was full. While riding he didn't seem too sure about it, but after it was over he did his triumphant "Yea!" Maybe he was glad to be getting off.

Rather than go to a professional fireworks display and spend two hours fighting to get out of traffic afterward, we watched my in-laws' neighbor's display. Let me tell you, I won't go to another professional display as long as he keeps doing them, because it was as good or better than anything I've ever seen. For a private display it was freaking amazing. Ben managed to stay awake and it was so fun listening to him say, "Wow!" through the whole thing.

Family resemblance

Heath has had a beard for years and Ben's never seen him without one. So lately whenever he sees a picture of Heath pre-beard he points and says, "Todd!" (Heath's brother)

Ben the Imitator

It's official! We've entered the "parrot" stage of Ben's life.

The other day I dropped something in the grocery store and said, "Shoot!" Ben immediately replied, "Shoot!" I'm glad I didn't say a different word.

Once more, with feeling!

Ben's first word was "no." Oh, what a joy that was. It took a long time for him to say "yes" at all. However, in the end it was worth it. These days whenever I ask him if he wants to do X and he does, rather than simply saying, "Yes," he says, "Yea!" If I ask him if he wants to have juice or watch his favorite TV show not only does he say, "Yea!" but he also throws his arms up in victory.

Gotta love the enthusiasm.

Vacation!

Two weeks ago we went to the Lake of the Ozarks and stayed at a resort with my parents, brothers and sisters-in-law. Although the trip had its ups and downs, it was fun to all be together as a family. There was swimming, there was 500, there was a boat trip that turned people against each other and had Heath cackling like a deranged pirate.

The first night Ben woke up at midnight and wouldn't go back to sleep until 5am. That pretty much made the entire trip exhausting for me, but I suppose I should get used to that. I don't see a relaxing vacation in my future for a long, long time. At least I'll have my memories of Hawaii...

Here's photographic proof that we went:

Using iPods as a family

A nice relaxing boat ride...

Hmm... Those are some menacing clouds in the distance...

Lesson learned: Don't f*** with Mother Nature 

(especially when nobody really knows how to drive a boat).

Ben the Nurturer

During a particularly nasty diaper change the other day, Ben started saying "Elmo, Elmo!" He never cared much about stuffed animals until about a month ago when he latched onto his baby Elmo doll and they've been buddies every since. After I was done with his diaper he grabbed baby Elmo and put him on the changing table.

"Does Elmo have a dirty diaper?"

"Poop! Poop!"

So I handed Ben a wet wipe, he cleaned off baby Elmo and threw the wipe in the trash. Then he tried to put a diaper on Elmo, without much success, but it was freaking adorable.