Cleaning Machine

Benjamin loves to be helpful! He also loves to imitate. The other night, I was trying to mop the floor and he ripped it out of my hands to do it himself. I finally had to pull the swiffer wipe off the mop, because he tried to mop the rugs with it! He worked so hard running around the house “mopping” that he broke into a sweat!

Here is he helping Daddy vacuum. Notice the spoon in his hand? He loves to run around with spoons. I don’t know why. They just are fun to hold I guess.

 

Crayons, icre cream and skinned knees

What an eventful few days it has been! This is going to be an extra long blog!

First, Jeremy and I wanted to show off our little Picasso!

Benjamin has shown a huge interest in coloring, and he sits still for 20 minutes at a time working on his masterpieces. We have to keep an eye on him, because he still tries to eat the crayons, but for the most part, he does well.

He hasn’t decided yet if he prefers his right or left hand. He uses both for every activity, though sometimes it seems he favors his left.

On Friday, Jeremy and I decided Benjamin needed to try out his first ice cream cone. I was given a gift certificate to The Cone, so it worked out perfectly!

He had so much fun, not only with his ice cream cone, but also with the large bear statue drinking fountain, the rides and the general atmosphere.

He made sure to check to see if Daddy’s tasted the same.

And, he kept saying “Cold!” This was funny, because his favorite thing to say when eating usually is “Hot!”

He ate every last bite.

DOG!

He LOVED the little rides, and was the perfect age for them.

The Cat in the Hat was quite amusing. Benjamin laughed every time he looked at it…over and over again.

 

 

We didn’t like the clown!

Saturday, we went to a wedding in Urbana. It was quite a trek!  Benjamin loved playing with all the toys the bride and groom provided at the reception, but the funniest part was how he reacted to the lights! He stood in the middle of the dance floor and just stared at the disco ball and the flashing lights. We had to drag him out of there so he didn’t get trampled!

You can’t see from this photo, but on his way into the reception, he wiped out and scraped up both knees. He is looking pretty beat up with all his cuts and bruises! He gets new ones daily!

Duck!

Benjamin has his favorite words (car, all done, dog… but lately, his two favorite are “igh” for light, to which he points at every single one he sees and is delighted when they are turned on or he gets a chance to turn them on…  and “Duck.” He typically interchanges that with “quack!” He thinks every feathered friend is a duck, so he finds them everywhere! This weekend, I took a quick trip to Findlay to pick up an extra sump pump from my dad ,so we could get it installed before our basement floods again. I have never seen a wetter Spring! It was nice, because I got a chance to take a few naps. I still have not gotten my energy back from the last time I wrote. It turned out I had strep, and I never really got a day off to be sick. I am still taking my antibiotic, and so far, Jeremy has not gotten sick. I am not sure how this one missed him, since several people at work got sick, and they blame me even though they don’t seem to have strep. I didn’t feel all that bad when I went to work Monday, compared to Sunday, but I suppose in hindsight, I should have stayed home. This is the hazard of having a deadline-driven job where one can never afford to take time off.

Anyway, back to Findlay. I really have wanted to take Benjamin to Riverside Park to feed the ducks. I was a tad disappointed that not only were there fewer ducks that I recalled, there also were signs posted not to feed the ducks. At least we got to see a mama duck here with her babies.

Then, we played on the playground. Benjamin had a blast.

He thought this tunnel was a slide, and he couldn’t quite figure it out. He kept trying to scoot through it.

He had no trouble with this tunnel, and no fear of any of this playground despite the big kids running around.

Garage sale queen!

I was discouraged Friday after work when I put Benjamin the stroller and headed out to find sales in our neighborhood garage sale. He lost interest very fast, and I didn' t find any homes with baby/toddler items.
So, it was with reluctance that I headed out for a walk Saturday morning while Jeremy started on his sump pump digging. It was quite dusty and not a quiet project! Low and behold, the first house I came upon was FILLED with baby/toddler stuff. They were just putting it out. I saw a slide, and asked for a price. It wasn't really for sale, but they said, "Why, not. How about $5?"
SOLD!
I was so excited. Then, I noticed they had an enormous kitchen for $10. I hesitated at first, because it has a lot of pink. But, I figured Benjamin wouldn't care, and I could always paint it.
So, I ran home to get more money and then set out again. Next, I found a tool bench and a picnic table for a total of $12! Finally, I splurged on this really impressive baby carrier, because it was only $20, and I know for a fact it sells for more than $200. It was never used! The lady said her kids didn't like it.
As you can see, Benjamin thought it was quite entertaining.


Benjamin helped me wash off the first of our items. The table is kind of beat up, but for $4, I figured he wouldn't mind.




As soon as we cleaned it, Benjamin climbed right up with his muddy shoes! Boys!



He LOVES his tool set. It has a power sander, a table saw and a HAMMER! If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening...all over the house. OK, my Peter, Paul, and Mary reference is a very bad attempt at humor. But, he LOVES to hammer on all the furniture, and we have had to make sure he knows the hammer is not for hitting people!


On to the kitchen. My brother already has given me a hard time about this one, but it is GOOD for boys to learn to be proficient in the kitchen. Benjamin's babysitter used to watch the cooking show every day with Benjamin on her lap. He likes to help us stir things, and gets so excited when we let him put away tupperware dishes in the lower cabinet. So, he was THRILLED, when he discovered this kitchen had MANY cupboards and doors to open and close. He spent more than 30 minutes moving things from one cupboard to the other yesterday, and today, he walked around sharing the pot of whatever it was he was stirring. He kept saying "Hah! Ma ma. Ha!" It was precious. I blew on the hot pot for him and took a taste, much to his delight.

He also got a kick out of the window. He walked behind it and said "hmmmboo!" His version of
"peekaboo!"




We don't have any play dishes or food yet, but that is on my list for our next shopping trip. If anyone has found a good supply somewhere, let me know. I am thinking of trying Target and maybe IKEA if I have time, because I LOVE their pots and pans and spoons. They look real, but are miniature. IN the meantime, Benjamin has been filling the shelves with sippie cups, cereal boxes, spoons and his plates and bowls. He isn't quite tall enough to reach the top cabinets, so he stands on his tiptoes and tries to slide things into them. This means I have to watch him like a hawk, because he keeps trying to put heavy items up there, and then inevitably crash to the floor, narrowly missing his feet.

And, finally, the slide. It is just like the one at Nana and Papa's house, which they saved from when I was little. Benjamin loves climbing up and sliding down over and over and over again. Each time he lands on his rear, he looks up at us and claps his hands. The little ham loves and audience!



Today, for Mother's Day, Benjamin got me a pretty flower basket and card, one of which he tried to pluck petals off one by one and the other he tried to eat all the glitter. It was a great day, though. We went to church ( a new one we were checking out close to home). Benjamin was quite the charmer, and had everyone in the nursery in love with him. He blew kisses to everyone we passed on the way out the door, and he waved bye bye the whole way to the car.




Unfortunately, Benjamin has been waking up the past three nights just about every two hours. Sometimes he goes back to sleep, but other times he just cries and cries. We can't decide if it is a possible ear infection, cutting molars or possibly a virus that hit me today. I hurt everywhere, including a major headache and a touch of a sore throat. But, I had to push through it, since Jeremy had to work. Luckily, Benjamin napped almost three hours, and I took advantage of the time to sleep as well. We went grocery shopping, dropped a meal off for Miss Linda, who started Chemo last week, and then went outside to play with the ball. Isn't he too precious! He got grass stains on his pants, but It was great to let him run around and burn some energy. He seemed like he was feeling better, and only was a little fussy today. Cross your fingers that he sleeps tonight!

I am in bed with my work laptop and am going to crash as soon as I hit post! Pray that this virus passes quickly and isn't something that will make me miss work. I don't have time to miss work!

Easter and Family

It has been too long since I have posted! Sorry! Things have been quite busy around here. We had a wonderful time with family last weekend. Mike and Christy had their camera and my dad took pictures with his, but alas…I have no photos to post of our time with my new nephew Brody and adorable niece Logan. When my sister-in-law posts hers, I will link to the blog.

In any case, I will post what I have for now. Here are the family photos my mother-in-law Jan took for us Easter weekend. It took quite a bit to get Benjamin to cooperate, so I was shocked when I saw he actually was smiling in the photos. Poor Jan had to practically stand on her head to get him to look at the camera. I love them though, and plan to order some soon. So, let me know if any of you want one and if you have a preference.

http://forgetmenot.jalbum.net/Jeremy%20Lindsey%20Easter%202011/slides/Easter%20april%202011IMG_7972.html

 

We spent time with both sides of the family, which was nice, though the visits were shorter than we would have liked. Jeremy had to go to work Sunday after church. I went without him to Bluffton and had a great time, though we missed him! Benjamin adores his cousins, and they are so good with him. They went on an egg hunt (more photos when Jan is feeling better…she took quite a few of their adventures, but has been sick) and they also colored eggs.

 

Benjamin was sad to leave after all the fun! It was tough to entertain him at home once we returned. Thank goodness for a few non-rainy days! It feels like the rain will never stop. Jeremy was off Friday, and since I had already planned to take the day anyway, we decided to go to the zoo together. It was a wonderful family trip. The tulips were all gone, which was sad, but we found some other pretty flowers.

We met Jeremy’s two classmates from this month’s rotation: Andrew, who is heading to San Diego for a residency, and Emily, who happens to live not far from our house and has an adorable little girl Claire who is 2. Her husband was working and couldn’t make it, but we are planning a cookout in the near future!

Benjamin fell in love at first sight… of Claire’s crackers. You can see from his bulging cheeks, he found this new friendship quite advantageous.

Here is a picture of Emily, Claire and Andrew, and below (or rather right behind them on the train, Benjamin happily watched all the animals. He was quite vocal about the whole experience, and has since been pointing out many animals on his Baby Einstein movie and also the books he has with zoo animals.  I imagine we will be taking many train rides this summer. We love having the zoo pass!

This was a wonderful weekend, since we got to spend much of it together. Jeremy and I landscaped quite a bit yesterday, and I wish I had taken a photo of Benjamin tied to the wagon. Yes, in desperation, Jeremy put the leash on Benjamin and then tied it to the wagon handle, so our escape artist couldn’t go more than a few feet. When we let him loose, he promptly dug his fingers in the dirt and sampled  the freshly turned soil. The smudges on his face were evidence of the feast, though I think he decided  that chewing on sticks was preferable. Anyway, we stayed outside as much as possible, but inevitably, we had to go inside. There were plenty of tears, but we promised him many more outdoor adventures in the near future.