Ben's new class, sibling rivalry, and Benglish

At Wee Creekers, they split the preschool class into two new classes because they were overflowing. I know they put some thought into which kids went into which new class, but I felt irrationally depressed when I saw who was in Ben's new class. I know it isn't true, but it seems like all the "popular" kids are in the other class (Zachary, Maya, Gavin, Clarkson, Teagan, Melissa, etc) and I hope Ben doesn't feel left out. He seemed fine after school and excitedly told me he had a new cubby and that "all his friends" are in his class. I don't need to project my own social insecurities on him already. He's fine and adaptable!

Several times lately when Ben is frustrated at Oliver (and when he is frustrated in general), he vehemently screams "I not like him!" I hate to see that kind of sibling sentiments already. I don't know how to handle that. I remember irrationally not liking Tessa, but it seems she was just a convenient target for my wrath, not really a true target of dislike. Hopefully that is what it is for Ben, too, and we'll have to work on ways to handle frustration.

And some more words Ben still mispronounces cutely:

rubberband = bubberrand
yogurt = yogret
cereal = siri

Conversations with Ben

Driving home just after twilight,
Ben: "Look, Mom, the moon is following us!"
Me: "Wow, you're right. It does look like it is going with us while the trees and houses stay where they are!"
Ben: "He wants to come with us. He loves us!"
Me: "You think the moon loves us?"
Ben: "Yes, he do."

Driving home from Wee Creekers,
Ben: "I love you too, Mom." (he often starts with 'I love you too')
Me: "And I love you, Ben. I love you so, so, so much."
Ben: "And I love picking [can't understand]"
Me: "What? You love picking?"
Ben: "Yes, I love picking boogers."
Ewww! What is he, a 3-year-old boy??!

Norton Carnival

We had a wonderful time in Almena with Grammy Pat, Grandpa Darrell, Aunt Wende, and Uncle Ron. We went to the Norton carnival and Tim and Ben went to the stock car races. Ben played for hours in the sprinkler, little pool, and with the hose. It is nice to be able to play with water, since we really can't at our house.

I think I heard Ben call Ron "Grandpa Ron" and Darrell "Aunt Darrell." Gettin' close!

Oliver again melted in the heat - outside he would lose all his energy and inside he was almost hyper. He had to warm up to each new person who appeared. The second time he saw Wende's friend John, he walked over to him and asked to be held and cuddled in John's lap for a long time. He also took a nap on Aunt Wende.

At the carnival, Ben wanted to run up and down the grass hill instead of ride any of the rides.

Ben slept with Grammy and didn;t get homesick.

More later!

Random updates

Yesterday morning Ben sat on the back of the sofa and said, "I just sit up here and smell the breeze" (from the front door).

One of Oliver's favorite activities is picking up imaginary things and handing them to the nearest person with a smile.

My friend gathered a few of us at her house to practice triathlon transition. As we finished putting on our bike shoes and sped off on the bikes, Oliver screamed and cried because Mommy was leaving, and Coltrane the dog barked and howled because his mommy was leaving.

At lunch after transition practice, Ben was feasting on fruit until there was one piece of fruit left on the communal plate. Ben picked it up and gave it to Liz. How sweet!

I always ask Ben how his day was at Wee Creekers. He always says, "Good." Then I ask him what he did and he says "good" again. Finally one day a few months ago, he said, "And how was your day, Mom?"

I hurt my wrist and Ben takes my arm and tells me he is doing something (can't understand him) "softly, softly," and he rubs the splint/cast. I asked him if he was ready for bed and he told me he wasn't finished with this process, whatever it is. I also told him I couldn't chop food with my hurt hand and he took a butter knife out of the kitchen drawer and said, "This how you do it, Mom" and he used it like a hatchet. Which is exactly what I had to do with my left hand - just chop like a hatchet willy nilly instead of holding the celery still and chopping neatly.

Ben hates to shampoo his hair most of the time. One time when the boys were watching me take a bath, I rinsed my hair with the shower hose and told Ben, "If you look at the ceiling like I tell you, you won't get shampoo in your eyes. See?" He then said, "Why you make that face, Mom?" and made a face with eyes scrunched closed, which I took to mean, "If you are telling me you aren't getting shampoo in your eyes, then why do you look like you are deathly afraid of the imminent danger of getting shampoo in your eyes?"

Oliver seems so much more happy now that he is mobile. He still wants me to hold him too much, though. If he is in one of his frequent, extra-clingy moods, he cries and screams if I walk 5 feet away from him. When I go to work on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, he stands at the screen door and wails. It really seems like he thinks I am abandoning him forever and I don't know how to convince him that I always come back.

I think Oliver looks like a chimpanzee when he walks, the way his shoulders kind of roll with each step. We need to work on sign language with him because his two modes of communication are high-pitched screams and whiny grunts. He knows what he wants, that's for sure. Ben tortures him so much and takes every toy away from him, so he has started to scream his high-pitched scream as Ben approaches him, in preparation for being tortured. We don't know how to handle this sibling rivalry that has surfaced already. Any advice?

One of Oliver's Wee Creekers daily reports says, "Oliver's sweet smile makes me melt." And Ben got a sweet card from his new best friend, Zeb, thanking him for being such a good friend this summer. We haven't met Zeb, and it sounds like he is going to kindergarten this fall, but Ben says he is his best friend.

Sorry for typos - I'm gimpy!

Two new videos of Oliver!

Oliver walks!

On Wednesday night after dinner, we encourage Oliver to walk and he walked back and forth between Daddy and me several times.  We were so excited!  I don't remember it happening suddenly for Ben.  His pumps his left arm in a strange way when he walks, and looks so proud of himself.  He fell flat on his face a few times and we expected him to start crying.  Instead he just lay with his head on the carpet for a few seconds and then stood up to try again.  Ben was a little jealous and wanted us to cheer for him as he ran fast and knocked poor Oliver down a couple of times. 

Yay Oliver!

Big Brother Ben

I've been trying to explain to Ben that Daddy and I are the bosses in the house, and that we decide many things, such as whether Oliver can play with a toy that Ben thinks is unsafe or a toy that he suddenly is dying to play with, etc. Ben tells me no, I'm not the "bus" and then later he'll bring it up and say he is the "bus." I guess he doesn't really understand, so we'll have to work on that more. He is constantly telling Oliver he can't play with something and ripping it out of his hands, causing a previously content baby to cry and scream. He also tells Oliver "No!" with his finger wagging back and forth. And, he warns Oliver not to use things as weapons (sounds like they've learned about that at Wee Creekers).  One day Oliver was flinging a shirt around and Ben told him "Don't use that as a weapon, Liv!"


Yesterday morning all four of us piled in Ben's bed to wake up and Ben gave me a hug and said "I'm here for you Mama, I'll keep you safe.  I'll keep your heart safe and happy."  Where does he get such sweet sayings?

Ben loves to say "Hey you guys!  Watch this..."  Tim and neighbor Todd have an agreement that Ben can go over there and Mattux can come over to our house without formal arrangement, so Ben is always watching to see Mattux outside.  When he sees him he yells, "Hey you guys!  I come play?"  I watched Tim take him across yesterday and then we could see a little bit of their playing when they were outside.  Ben was having a blast doing who knows what with Mattux and Alta and Boo.

I'm so glad he is outgoing and confident.  I've said it before, but it seems he can enjoy life more than I did at his age because of my shyness.  At the Wee Creekers picnic, which I couldn't attend, Tim says Zachary and Maya (best friends) went off to play together and didn't invite him, and his feelings were hurt.  How sad!  Tim said Linda went to talk to him and then he went to talk to him, so hopefully it was a learning moment instead of a sad moment.

If you hand Oliver a bottle of lotion or shampoo or something similar, he pretends to get some on his hands from the top and then rubs it on his head.

Words Ben still says cute:  "Mingo" for mango, "crayground" for playground.  There were a couple more but I forget.

Ben suddenly loves Flynn again and has been giving him lots of attention.  One day he asked Flynn to follow him around everywhere and Flynn did.  Tim found an old can of cat treats and Ben has enjoyed giving Flynn treats.  Ben also said that Flynn could jump in the air and catch, kill, and eat a crow.  Flynn has been killing lots of mice and gophers, so Ben thinks a crow is up next, I guess.