Benjamin's First (Fun) Snow

As hard as it is to believe, we just got our first real snow of the season.  I feel like I've cheated two months out of winter!  Yay!  But it was nice to finally enjoy the coziness of cuddling up under a blanket with a book and some hot tea while we watched the snow fall.  

And this morning, we decided to suit Benjamin up and take him out to play in the snow.  Now, last year, this endeavor did not go well.  In case anyone needs any reminders … 

Yeah. not a happy camper.

So, I was curious to see how it would go today, and he didn't disappoint!  After getting all layered up (Mommy's workout for the day), we ventured outside to see exactly what this snow stuff was all about…

Yay for snow!

Benjamin's First Christmas Cookies

First we stir them up...

Then we roll them into balls...

Next we get to put on the "pink-o's!"

And wait for them to bake … Yummy!

Dee-Zish-us!

"Hey!  I smell cookies!"

On being the second...

Hello everyone!  This is Joshua, and I thought it was time I let everyone out there know what it's really like to be the second-born.

Me, sleeping peacefully while my family put
up our Christmas tree.

Me, realizing they were actually letting my
big brother help put on the branches.

First, have you realized you've seen no pictures of me in the bath-tub yet?  I have it on good authority that by the time my big brother was two-months-old, there were already almost 100 pictures of him at bath-time.  Me?  Notta.  Not that I'm complaining that much.  After all, I won't have to endure those pictures being shown to future friends, girlfriends, graduation or rehearsal dinner slideshows.  I don't envy Benjamin those embarrassing moments.  But still.  How did bath-time go from bask-in-how-cute-the-baby-is to just-get-everyone-clean-and-in-bed-as-soon-as-possible?

Second, I'm pretty sure that when my big brother was a baby, Mom had soft, clean blankets stocked in every room of the house in case he got cold.  Yesterday, Mom had me on her bed while she did her hair.  I was getting chilly, and do you know what she did?  She grabbed Daddy's sweatshirt off the floor and threw it over me.  I mean, really, a dirty sweatshirt, Mom?

Also, people tell me that when Benjamin was a baby, his cry got Mom's attention in a millisecond.  She was constantly aware of how he was doing and whether he might be on the verge of maybe thinking about being upset.  Last week at Bible study, I started crying and Mom looked around for a full five seconds wondering whose baby that was fussing.  "Hello, Mom!  It's me!  Your second-born?  The one in the infant carrier by your side?  I need outta here!  Earth to Mom!"

Finally, I would just like to say that I bet Benjamin never heard this come out of Mom's mouth… "Hang on just a second, dear.  I need to finish changing Elephant's diaper!"  You see, my big brother has decided that anytime I need a diaper change, his stuffed elephant needs a diaper change, too.  Meaning that Mom has to tie a new blanket around the elephant's waist.  And I understand that this is a healthy way for my big brother to deal with the fact that Mom has somebody else besides him to take care of now.  But do I really have to sit in my yucky diaper while mom ties a pretend diaper on a stuffed animal?

Ah well, even after all that, I can't complain.  I'm getting tons of kisses and cuddles and Benjamin even tries to share his toys and books with me.  I can't wait till I can actually play with them!  Merry Christmas, everybody!

Love,
Joshua

Tales from Toddlerhood: The Christmas Song, Part 1

Each year, the children in our church sing a song in front of the congregation for Christmas.  It's really been a quite precious experience for me thus far, watching our friends' kids sing their song in varying degrees of fear or enjoyment, depending on the child.

I was totally unprepared to find out that Benjamin's Sunday School class would be joining in this year.  How it's possible that I have a child old enough to be a part of a "children's chorus" is a topic we will leave for another time.  I'm enjoying my denial right now.

For those of you who might not have met Benjamin, he's a little shy.  Or a lot shy.  He just needs to be in his element.  Which is at home.  Or occasionally at Aunt Sherry's house.  With no one watching.  Unless it's on Skype, but that also is a totally different topic.  (The kid knows how to show off for the grandparents!)

Anyway, we decided that we would encourage him to join the children in singing, even to the point that Daddy would accompany him up to the front and crouch with him in the line of two and three-year-olds.  Realistically speaking, there is no way he's going to actually sing.  We will consider it a victory if he stands beside Daddy for the whole song.  After all, he's barely two, the youngest little squirt up there.  (I'm comforting myself with that fact instead of dwelling on how-in-the-world-my-baby-boy-is-old-enough-to-be-doing-this-at-all.)

So this Sunday, Daddy and Benjamin came home from church with a copy of the song's lyrics and we decided that we would all practice together.  It was both precious and heart-breaking … Benjamin clearly knows the words to the song.  He can fill in whatever blank Daddy leaves while saying the lines.  And when Daddy sings it, Benjamin is barely, almost imperceptibly mouthing the words along with him.  But as we practiced, I could sense the anxiety building up in him.  His normally fair complexion got even more pale.  He stood as still as could be, as opposed to running around chaotically as he normally does when we're singing.  He nervously played with his fingers, his pants, his "xyna-done" (xylophone).  And after he a while started quietly repeating to himself, "Simmy sing with you.  Isaac sing with you.  Simmy be right back.  Isaac be right back."  (These are names of his friends from church.)

I teared up it was just so precious and pitiful and I could so remember feeling that exact same way as a child … or an adult, but that yet again is another topic.

Today, we've been continuing to practice the song periodically and he's doing a bit better.  However, according to Benjamin, the words to the chorus are….

"Ho-va, Ha-way-hoo-wa, da Werd will ter-bide." (Jehovah, Hallelujah, the Lord will provide)

I'm sure Mrs. Barb will be thrilled.  :)

We'll let you know what happens on Christmas morning!

*Update: since I first wrote this post, we've continued practicing and improving his comfort level.  Last night, he even said/sang the chorus for Miss Jenn, a friend who stopped by.  Way to go, Buddy!

Nativity

Advent devotions … this is the first year that Benjamin has really been able to understand and anticipate the Christmas season.  He loves singing "Cif-mas songs" and turning on the lights every morning.  Each evening after getting his pajamas on, he goes to get his "Tiw-ee" set.  We read the Christmas story together - from the Bible or one of his childrens' books - as we put together his Fisher-Price Nativity set.  And if Daddy ever happens to be late, he plops the Nativity set basket on the living room floor, then says, "Waiting Daddy for tiw-ee set!"  So precious.

Some of his Nativity arrangements are unconventional...

but we've enjoyed every one!  :) 

Tales from Toddlerhood … Greetings and other miscellany

I think Benjamin may be practicing to be a greeter at church …

Today, coming home from the grocery store, climbing the steps up to our porch, Benjamin turned around and waved to no one in particular, shouting, "He-woe, pee-poe!"  (Hello, people!)

While I was unloading the groceries, he wandered into the kitchen and saw some of his trucks on the shelf … "Oh! He-woe guys!"

And when he saw the mailman pull up in front of our house, he waved and said, "He-woe, may-nan!"  (Hello, mailman!)  Then, "Look, Money!  I waving!" so proud of himself!

….

For the majority of this morning, Benjamin played independently in his room.  As I passed back-and-forth, I would hear him playing with his trucks/trains/boat or talking to his stuffed animals or looking through his books.  I was so proud of his independence and thankful for a few moments to get things done, I never investigated what was really going on in there…
I'm contemplating whether we need to call in a disaster recovery team.



One of Benjamin's new favorite games is to build a house/tunnel/castle in the living room with blankets.  Fleece blankets + dry winter air + fine baby hair = some pretty hilarious moments.

It's incredibly difficult to get a picture of these hair-raising experiences, but here's the best one so far...

Same song, different verse

At ladies Bible study

green-eyed me in gray

blue-eyed baby in red

a bit of deja-vu

Benjamin, January 2010

Joshua, December 2011

is it just me, or do i look older?  :)

Tales from Toddlerhood … Trading Bites

Benjamin has been familiar with "trading bites" for about as long as he's been eating solid food.  He gets a bite of something he likes (sweet potato, banana, etc.) after he eats a bite of something that's not his favorite (green beans, bland chicken, etc.)

He's even been offering to do it lately... "Tade Bites, Money?"

But he's been growing up to the point that his meals are not just about favorite foods vs. not-favorite foods, but about what he wants to eat at this moment vs. what he will want to eat at the next moment.

The other night he was eating hot dogs and something else i can't even remember.  Daddy was trying to get him to eat the "something else" but Benjamin looked up totally seriously and said, "But Daddy, der's more hot dog right der!"

He's found us out. Perhaps our "trading bites" days are over .

Tales from Toddlerhood, Part 4

Benjamin was playing around with an envelope when Daddy came home from work yesterday.  As soon  as he walked in the door, Benjamin ran over, pulled his empty hand out of the envelope and yelled excitedly, "Yook, Daddy!  I got an e-mail!"

….

At the grocery store recently, we heard a nearby phone start ringing.  Benjamin piped up, "Oh!  That my cell phone!" then, putting his hand up to his ear, "Heww-o?"

….

Benjamin gets excited every day when the mailman comes to our door.  Today, the mailman and the UPS man came at the same time and when Benjamin heard them talking outside, he ran to get me, feeling a little uneasy about this new development … two men outside our door talking, instead of the normally quiet little mailman just sticking junk mail in the slot.  As he ran into the kitchen, I heard him saying to himself in a faintly reassuring tone, "Not gonna get you.  Not gonna get you.  Not gonna get you."

Oh, Joshua!

I'm tired. I'm hungry.  I WILL NOT SMILE.
I don't care how "cute" you think this bear sweater is.

You can stick this thing in my mouth,
but it will NOT make me happy.

Daddy's acting silly … I will NOT smile.
… but he's pretty funny.

OK, you got me. I can't help myself!
I love being part of this family!

Tales from Toddlerhood, Part 3

We went shopping last weekend to find Daddy a few things for his work wardrobe.  I was little nervous at the prospect of dealing with an infant and a toddler both in a crowded clothing store, but it went great… Joshua slept in the sling the whole time and Benjamin thought of no shortage of cute things to say.

"Ooh!  I yike dose!"
"We gettin cose fer Daddy yerk"

and our favorite, pointing to each appropriate rack, in a musing little voice, "We have … shirts!  We have … pants!   We have … sweaters!"

And after hearing Mommy and Daddy quote prices to each other over the racks, he start quoting prices, too.  "Dis eighty dodders" (shockingly, the thing he was pointing to at that moment was the ugliest shirt you've ever seen, priced at … drum roll please … $79.99!  What are the odds?  or is my child just that brilliant?  :)

Unfortunately, the dollars discussion seems to have confused his weather predicting skills, because now anytime we mention the weather he says, "It forty degees-dodders outside!"

Tales from Toddlerhood, Part 2

Our house is decorated for Christmas and its been so fun to watch Benjamin gaze in awe at each new thing we've put out.  This week, I got out our Fisher-Price nativity set … finally a decoration I don't have to guard!

Leaving to run errands yesterday, I asked if Benjamin would like to bring one small toy with him.  "Yes!" he shouted, "I bring Baby Jesus!"  And he ran, grabbed the little plastic figure and marched out the door.

Well, my little heart just swelled to bursting … yes, you sweet boy, let's bring Jesus with us!  Let's always bring Jesus with us!  Oh, thank you, Jesus, that you are always with us, never leaving or forsaking us.  Help me impart this precious truth to my children …

And I was just about to start tenderly teaching in this sweet moment when I looked up from locking the door to find my sweet, precious, lets-bring-Jesus-with-us darling throwing his little plastic Jesus against the concrete wall of the porch.

"Oh no, buddy, let's not throw things" still trying to maintain the preciousness of the moment just past and reaching for the poor little plastic toy.

"NO!  MY JESUS! MY JESUS!  NO MOMMY!"

ok, so maybe we have a little ways to go.

and yet, Jesus IS with us always.