Daddy's Little Helper!

A couple of weeks ago, Patrick was outside with Ben, picking up dog poop.  Our new house does not have a fenced back yard (yet!), so we (and by we, I mean Patrick) try to be very diligent about picking up any dog poops that land in the neighbor's back yard.

Ben was outside, observing Patrick with seemingly minimal interest, while he wandered around the back yard, talking to himself.  All of a sudden (and this is one of those moments, where you know what they're going to do about a split second before they do it, but you are powerless to stop them in that split second), Ben announces, "BEN HELP DADDY!" And he reached down his bare little 2-year-old hand, and picked up a big hunk of dry dog poop, proudly presenting it to Patrick.

Patrick rushed Ben inside to wash his hands (the worst "punishment," because Ben LOVES to wash hands/play in the sink), all the while explaining that picking up dog poop is "only for grown-ups," and "only with bags."

You gotta love a kid who wants to help!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I haven't loaded pics from my phone to the computer lately, so no SPD pics for you!  Most of them are blurry flashes of face, as he runs past me and says, "No cheese!  No cheese!" (Which means, "Don't take my picture, Mommy!")

My New Year's resolution was to post on the blog once a month...so you can see how that's going.  But since I've given up Facebook for lent, I have some more free time! :)

Ben is getting bigger every day.  My favorite thing he does now is when I go into his room to get him from a nap or sleeping he says, "There she is!" in this huge, happy voice.  Makes a mom feel good to be so anticipated!  

He is also phasing out his high chair.  He prefers to sit in the "big boy" chair at the table, or at the little table that Great-Grandpa Ben made him for Christmas.  And don't, by the way, mistakenly call him a baby, or Baby.  He will swiftly remind you, loudly, that he is a "big boy!"  

We are working on swift corrections and instant demands.  We are trying to say, "More cheese, please." Instead of "CHEEEEEEEEESE!"  And still working on being patient (waiting, with no crying.)  It's hard to wait for things when you're 2.  

Here he is quietly reading a book.  What a kid.  (I actually think he was pooping in this picture!) But more and more he'll just pick up a book and "read" it to himself.  It's adorable, and we're so proud!

Here he is working out the kinks with the foam roller...Like father, like son!

There's a happy face!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

How to Speak "Benglish."

Ben knows about 20-25 Baby Sign Language signs...It's not like we speak real sign language, more like caveman sign language.  Single words, demands or exclamations, but it's pretty effective to know if he wants "Water" "Milk" "Night-Night""Play" "Book" or "Ball."  One day in Panera, I was signing something with Ben, likely "Chicken" or "Cheese," given the circumstances, and a lady came up and started speaking REAL sign language with us, very rapidly, and in full sentences.  Ben and I both stared at her, literally dumbfounded, because she was moving waaaay too fast for our baby sign selves. When she paused for us to answer we were like, "Uhhhh..."  It was pretty funny.  It's like me and German -- Just enough to be dangerous!

So...part one of speaking "Benglish" is knowing the high-value baby signs (see above).  

Part two is to decipher what his spoken words mean:

"Bee-bee" = Baby, used for anyone under the age of 20
"Pee" = Please (with sign), or pretty, used only after Ben's "helped" brush Mommy's hair
"He!" = Help!

"Ba!" = Ball or Bottle or Bath, depending on the context

"Mi!" = Milk

"Wa!" = Water or wash

"Tow!" = Towel, used to preface bath time, as Ben knows it is his job to get the "Tow" from the drawer for his bath.  Often confused with "Ta!" which is short for "Tabitha", the nanny

"Hi!" = "Hi!"

"Da!" = Duke or Doggie (who says "woo-woo-woo," by the way)

"Away" = Putting anything back in it's place.  Usually said in a series of 4-6 "aways"

"Uh!!" = Pick me UP!

"Dow!!" = Put me DOWN (we get this a lot lately)

"Na-Na" = No (we get this a lot lately, too)

"Boo" = Book or Spoons (big bucket of spoons on the kitchen counter that we get down for him to bang...this is usually followed by Uh! Uh! to get the metal mixing bowls to bang on...or if said with "Ree" he wants to you READ.)

"Ow-ba!" = Out Back (outside please)

"Wee-bee" = Wheel Barrow (this one is too cute)

"Moo!" = Moon or what a cow says or music, again, depending on context.  Music usually accompanied by sign for music

"Bye!" = Bye-bye or there is a BIKE going by.  Ben keeps a color commentary on all walks and runs in the stroller, noting everything going by.

"Tee" = Tree

"Ma-ow" = Mail (usually spoken in a series of 4-6 repetitions, because getting the mail, of course, means you get to be outside)

"Pop!" = Popper

And now I hear him in his bed saying "Mama!" so he's up from his nap.  

Hope you've enjoyed the update.  Feel free to call or Skype us to try out your Benglish skills!

XXOO

Other Fun Things

 Besides turning 1, Ben's been up to a lot of other cool things...

Getting introduced to the coffee shop culture of our beloved New Zealand.  Here we are at Black Eye Coffee, which approximates a kiwi coffee shop rather well.

 Ben's also been solidifying his obsession with dirt.

 ...And rocking in the chair with his friends.

 ...And eating snow.  This kid LOVES to eat snow.

 It's pretty much the most fun ever, if you're Ben.

 We put him down in the driveway, and since his hands were stuck in the Bear Suit, he had to just bend over and eat the snow directly.  (Obviously.)

 We also took him to his first National Western Stock Show.  I think next year we'll be sporting some cowboy boots, for sure.  When we went into the sheep room, Ben immediately started shouting "Baa!  Baaa!"  Too cute!

 And we also developed a larger obsession with water.  In which Ben constantly signs and says "Wa!  Wa!" Until you hold him at the sink.  Which, of course, you can't do all day, so we're also learning about not getting what we want all of the time.

 Nothing cuter than a baby in a laundry basket.

 ...Except maybe a baby in a bear suit!

 Ben loving being outside with his Popper ("Pop") - Thanks Aunt Lola and Uncle Jono!

As you can see, he's loads of fun!

First Birthday!

 As you can see, Ben had quite the fan club present for his first birthday!  Mim & Opa, Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Lola & Uncle Jono ALL came to celebrate with us!  That's a really big party!  Here is Ben holding court at his birthday breakfast.

Of course, one can't go to the park alone on the day of one's First Birthday Extravaganza, so everyone bundled up for a walk to the part to play. 

 Ben had loads of fun swinging with Aunt Lola.

 And going down the slide with Aunt Lola and Uncle Jono.

 And reading books with Grandma.

 And swinging with Mim & Opa.  Everyone was so nice to bundle up in the cold to play outside with Ben!  He is for sure a boy who wants to be "out! out!" all the time!

 Grandma got this wonderful picture of Ben with his cupcake.

 Mommy was pretty proud of her cupcake skills for the big day. Cupcakes are all the rage now, and it turns out, you can make them just as pretty at home.  We of course opted for the classic, yellow cake with chocolate icing!

 Mommy had practiced blowing candles with Ben all week, but he still needed a little help in the end.

 Ben got a lot of cool 1-year-old schwag.

 Daddy, Mommy and Birthday Ben! (Note - he ate the icing off of the top of the cupcake, then squished the actual cake part.)

 Obviously, Aunt Lola and Uncle Jono came to party.

 As did Grandma and Grandpa.

 ...And Mim and Opa.  Although right about now Ben was feeling ready for his nap.

 All tuckered out from cupcakes and noisemakers.

Hmmm...but had to get a quick bath to clean up before the nap.  Whew.  Birthdays are exhausting!!

Thanks everyone for coming to celebrate with me!!

Oh, Dear!

It's been too long since I've blogged.  I'm so sorry!  It turns out, taking care of a baby and looking for a new house takes up a lot of time!  But we've found a new house and are under contract, so instead of house-hunting this weekend, we're cleaning and decluttering.  And blogging!  And so will begin a barrage of posts of what we've been up to!

Here's Ben...just being cute!!

Ben's Baptism

Over the New Year's weekend, we had a lot of really special things.  Mim retired after more than 30 years as an Obstetrician.  We asked her if she wanted a party and she said she was "all partied out," (You know Mim, she's such a party animal!) so we decided to make our own party -- And get Ben baptized.  When you're Irish and Catholic, nothing says party like the opportunity to get rid of that pesky original sin. 

Our dear old friend, Father Jerry, who married Mim and Opa, baptized and married Aunt Megan, and married Mommy and Daddy, was able to do the baptism of our Ben, and we were so honored to have such a good family friend.  This pretty much made us VIPs, since there was a mass-baptism of several babies in the main church (at St. Agnes in KC) right after mass, but we got the chapel in the old convent all to ourselves.  It was really special!

 Of course, getting baptized right after the noon mass when this huge family is tuckering you out is hard.  Here is Ben making the sign for "night-night" right before the blessed event.  Luckily Father Jerry said it was OK to hold a blankie and drink a bottle during your baptism.  

 The obligatory god-parents-parents-priest picture.  My godfather, and Ben's Great-Uncle Sean and his Auntie Megan were the godparents.  

 And here we are with both sets of grandparents and a Great-Grandpa Ben and a Great-Grammy.  Thanks so much to Aunt Lois and Uncle Gail for bringing Great-Grandpa Ben, it was so special to have him with us!  

 What do you do after a baptism?  Well, this is Kansas City.  We eat BBQ!!  We had quite the spread, as you can see.  

 As you can see, poor Ben didn't get any attention at the party...

(I felt sort of bad once we came home and he sat in his high chair and ate with just me...sorry buddy, this is all you get at home!)

 Ben spent a lot of time playing on the floor with everyone.  Here he is rolling with Opa.

 Getting tickled by Daddy.

 And talking to Aunt Megan.

Here is a shot of our wild and crazy New Year's Party.  There's that party animal, Mim, again.  Yes, Ben went to bed at 7.  Yes, Patrick and I were in bed by 10.  Some day I'll be over those months of sleep deprivation.  But not yet.  I've seen midnight before.  It's not that cool.