Ben also got several compliments recently:
- One dad friend told Tim he was really impressed with the way Ben shared.
- One of Ben's friends told her parents she loved Ben and wanted to have lots of playdates with him.
- Another of Ben's friends told her mom she wanted a playdate with Ben and Oliver, "not with those other boys!"
- Several parents have been amazed that both Ben and Oliver will eat salad.
OK, enough bragging, huh?
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Thoughtful Ben
Some thoughtful things Ben has done lately:
- Oliver fell asleep on the way home from shopping, and Ben volunteered to go outside and keep an eye on him in the car. He woke up and Ben got in the car with him to keep him company. Then Ben found a juice pack and instead of drinking it himself, he opened it and gave it to Oliver so he would wake up nice from his nap.
- Oliver hates it when my hair is in my eyes, for some reason. He gets kind of upset and does his best to push the hair out of my face. The three of us were upstairs doing something, and I put my hair in my eyes and asked Oliver to brush it out of my face (my ploy to get some hair brushing). He brushed a tiny bit and then got distracted. Meanwhile, Ben went and got another brush and came back to brush my hair!
- After reading to Ben at bedtime, I stole Joseph from him and pretended to go to sleep. Ben grabbed Joseph back, but then stood up and got another teddy bear from the shelf to give to me.
- We had some friends over for dinner and Ben handed out pieces of "Oma's gum" to all his friends. Not sure if the parents were too happy about that, but his friends were excited.
Please excuse typos in these posts - I have to do them really quickly at work.
- Oliver fell asleep on the way home from shopping, and Ben volunteered to go outside and keep an eye on him in the car. He woke up and Ben got in the car with him to keep him company. Then Ben found a juice pack and instead of drinking it himself, he opened it and gave it to Oliver so he would wake up nice from his nap.
- Oliver hates it when my hair is in my eyes, for some reason. He gets kind of upset and does his best to push the hair out of my face. The three of us were upstairs doing something, and I put my hair in my eyes and asked Oliver to brush it out of my face (my ploy to get some hair brushing). He brushed a tiny bit and then got distracted. Meanwhile, Ben went and got another brush and came back to brush my hair!
- After reading to Ben at bedtime, I stole Joseph from him and pretended to go to sleep. Ben grabbed Joseph back, but then stood up and got another teddy bear from the shelf to give to me.
- We had some friends over for dinner and Ben handed out pieces of "Oma's gum" to all his friends. Not sure if the parents were too happy about that, but his friends were excited.
Please excuse typos in these posts - I have to do them really quickly at work.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Heart-warming
I thought Ben would have trouble adjusting to eating at the table twice a week, but it's Oliver who hasn't done well. Twice he has cried and screamed the whole time about something, making it a very unpleasant dinner time.
Last night, when I told Oliver it was time for dinner at the table, he started a tantrum, so I put his dinner in the living room, giving up. :-) I brought Ben his dinner in the living room and he looked at me questioningly. I went back in the kitchen for my dinner, and turned around: Ben had brought his dinner from the living room and sat down at the kitchen table! Then Tim joined us, and then Oliver brought his dinner from the living room. Sometimes Ben amazes me with his generosity and understanding.
Oliver is almost two and acting it. He's so sweet most of the time, but he has started some epic tantrums. Two or more tantrums recently have been over what he wants to drink:
"I want juice."
"Here's juice."
"No, I want milk!" Shriek!!!!!!!!!
"OK. Here's milk."
"No, I want JUIIIIIIIIICE!" SHRIEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Here is your juice."
"NO, JUICE IN ANOTHER CUP!!!!" SHRIEKKKKKKKK! (I don't really understand him saying that, it's just what I assume he is saying.)
"I will not put your juice in another cup. You have a choice of juice or milk in these cups. Which do you want?"
"NOOOO MOMMY!" SHRIEK! [Falls to the floor dramatically, head in his hands, screaming, screaming, screaming. Continues screaming for a good 15 minutes.]
Ben, Tim, and I just look at each other and shake our heads.
:-)
Last night, when I told Oliver it was time for dinner at the table, he started a tantrum, so I put his dinner in the living room, giving up. :-) I brought Ben his dinner in the living room and he looked at me questioningly. I went back in the kitchen for my dinner, and turned around: Ben had brought his dinner from the living room and sat down at the kitchen table! Then Tim joined us, and then Oliver brought his dinner from the living room. Sometimes Ben amazes me with his generosity and understanding.
Oliver is almost two and acting it. He's so sweet most of the time, but he has started some epic tantrums. Two or more tantrums recently have been over what he wants to drink:
"I want juice."
"Here's juice."
"No, I want milk!" Shriek!!!!!!!!!
"OK. Here's milk."
"No, I want JUIIIIIIIIICE!" SHRIEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Here is your juice."
"NO, JUICE IN ANOTHER CUP!!!!" SHRIEKKKKKKKK! (I don't really understand him saying that, it's just what I assume he is saying.)
"I will not put your juice in another cup. You have a choice of juice or milk in these cups. Which do you want?"
"NOOOO MOMMY!" SHRIEK! [Falls to the floor dramatically, head in his hands, screaming, screaming, screaming. Continues screaming for a good 15 minutes.]
Ben, Tim, and I just look at each other and shake our heads.
:-)
Oliver's songs
I remember the song Oliver has been singing: Wheels on the bus. One time Ben and I were singing it, and Oliver did hand motions for "round and round" and then he did eye-rubbing for "babies go waa waa waa" and shushing motion for "mommies go sh sh sh." Amazing what he learns in two days at Wee Creekers. Nowadays, he'll just say "round round bus." He also said, "Boom boom choo" and patted his legs and clapped his hands, which I took to mean "Boop boop dit-tem dat-tem what-tem chu!" from They swam and they swam all over the dam.
So I guess he has short-hand for all his songs:
Rinkle star, how-a-u
Round round bus
Rocket baby
Boom boom choo
So I guess he has short-hand for all his songs:
Rinkle star, how-a-u
Round round bus
Rocket baby
Boom boom choo
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Momwatchmomwatchmomwatchmomwatch
Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever counted how many times a kid says, "Mom watch!" in a lifetime. It seems like Ben says it a thousand times a day, and he mushes the words together for maximum efficiency: "M'watch-m'watch!" I read in a book that someone did study it and I think they said a preschooler can ask for attention from a grown-up 180 times per hour. Depending on the circumstances, that is a low figure. :-)
Oliver's language
I tracked Ben's language so well, I hate that I'm not documenting Oliver's as much. He is already speaking in sentences, so here's some tracking and back-tracking:
- doggy or ducky = "goddy"
- milk = "mook"
- motorcycle = "keekle"
- bicycle = "bikle"
- airplane = "ah-ben"
- please = "pease"
- thank you = "tin tu"
- lotion or soap = "shope" (which he loves to slather in his hair)
- santa claus = "shanta kaw"
- mommy = "mo-i" sometimes, like Ben used to say "da-i," skipping the consonants
- blanket = banket
- dump truck or monster truck = "tu tuck"
- scissors = "shishu"
- diaper = "dipu"
- He says sorry a lot (again, where did he learn that? :-)). If he accidentally hurts you, he rubs your chest and says "shawy." He also says it when he doesn't need to, like when Ben does something wrong, or when I do something wrong. I try to tell him he doesn't need to be sorry.
- He often includes a grunt in front of nouns, which we take to me "I want," such as "uh juice" or "uh cheese."
- On Wee Creekers days, I take Ben in and Tim takes Oliver in, and Oliver waves to me and says, "Bye...Mommy" and "Bye...Ben" and tries to say I love you. It comes out, "I yuyoo."
- There is a pause between his words, which I hope isn't a sign of future stuttering. One movie we watched had a character saying, "Hello Iggy," and Oliver liked to repeat that. He said, "Hallo... Iggy" and it was so cute, but there was a weird pause between the words.
- When Ben is being nice to him, Oliver is super sweet about thanking him. One day Ben opened Oliver's lunch box in the car, and then opened the tupperware inside it, and both times I heard Oliver say, "Tin tu ... Ben." Then sometimes Oliver also says his version of "you're welcome," which I think sounds like "wekom."
- Good news that Oliver already talks about his diaper being wet or being poopy - hopefully he will potty train a little earlier than Ben.
- Oliver also seems to be using "I" - he'll say "I found it!" or "I got it!" I suppose he could be just repeating what he hears, but it seems like he is saying a sentence from scratch.
- doggy or ducky = "goddy"
- milk = "mook"
- motorcycle = "keekle"
- bicycle = "bikle"
- airplane = "ah-ben"
- please = "pease"
- thank you = "tin tu"
- lotion or soap = "shope" (which he loves to slather in his hair)
- santa claus = "shanta kaw"
- mommy = "mo-i" sometimes, like Ben used to say "da-i," skipping the consonants
- blanket = banket
- dump truck or monster truck = "tu tuck"
- scissors = "shishu"
- diaper = "dipu"
- He says sorry a lot (again, where did he learn that? :-)). If he accidentally hurts you, he rubs your chest and says "shawy." He also says it when he doesn't need to, like when Ben does something wrong, or when I do something wrong. I try to tell him he doesn't need to be sorry.
- He often includes a grunt in front of nouns, which we take to me "I want," such as "uh juice" or "uh cheese."
- On Wee Creekers days, I take Ben in and Tim takes Oliver in, and Oliver waves to me and says, "Bye...Mommy" and "Bye...Ben" and tries to say I love you. It comes out, "I yuyoo."
- There is a pause between his words, which I hope isn't a sign of future stuttering. One movie we watched had a character saying, "Hello Iggy," and Oliver liked to repeat that. He said, "Hallo... Iggy" and it was so cute, but there was a weird pause between the words.
- When Ben is being nice to him, Oliver is super sweet about thanking him. One day Ben opened Oliver's lunch box in the car, and then opened the tupperware inside it, and both times I heard Oliver say, "Tin tu ... Ben." Then sometimes Oliver also says his version of "you're welcome," which I think sounds like "wekom."
- Good news that Oliver already talks about his diaper being wet or being poopy - hopefully he will potty train a little earlier than Ben.
- Oliver also seems to be using "I" - he'll say "I found it!" or "I got it!" I suppose he could be just repeating what he hears, but it seems like he is saying a sentence from scratch.
March 2011
Random updates:
- Ben refuses to write or read anymore. Hopefully his desire will come back naturally, but lately he sure gets mad when I ask him to tell me what letters he sees or try to write them.
- But ... Tim says Ben tried to teach Oliver the alphabet one night in the bath. Ben patiently went through the alphabet saying, "Liv, can you say A?" etc. Tim said Oliver went along with A and B and then yelled O several times and didn't pay any more attention. Ben continued patiently even though Oliver wasn't listening.
- I've heard Oliver say weird things and after a while I figured out they were songs he learns at Wee Creekers. One day at the store he was saying, "Rinkle sta, how are you," or something like that. I finally realized he was singing Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. He also says, "Rocket baby," which is Rock a bye baby, and he kind of sings the alphabet song. I think there was one more song, but I can't remember it right now.
- I call Ben "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" these days. Half the time he is as sweet and rational as he can be, helping Oliver, helping us, teaching Oliver things, etc. and the other half he is having the biggest tantrums, saying he doesn't like us, we aren't his friends, he doesn't like Oliver, he doesn't want a baby in the house, hitting Oliver, hitting Wally, screeching at the top of his lungs. We give him strict time outs when he hits, but otherwise I have no idea how to handle him, except try not to feed into it. Sometimes if you can leave him alone, he'll finish the tantrum on his own and come back as the opposite Ben.
- Oliver still loves to copy Ben, and is learning all the karate moves and boy noises from Ben already. Which means he is more of a "little boy" than Ben was at his age.
- One of our New Year's resolutions for 2011 is to eat at the dinner table at least twice a week (we've been horrible about that!) We have taught Ben how to clean and set the table, and he loves to eat by candlelight. Now, I just need more "dinnermaker activities," which is what I call activities that the boys can do in the kitchen while I make dinner to avoid blood-sugar-low/mom's-not-paying-attention meltdowns. They really love "doing dishes" but that wastes water and floods the floor usually. One night Ben had an idea, and I wonder where in the world he got it. He asked me to get the coat rack and some rope, and somehow explained that he wanted a pulley system. I tied a teddy bear on one end of a rope, looped in over one hook, and gave Oliver the other end and he spent a good 20 minutes hauling the teddy bear up and down, completely fascinated. Ben tried tying different things to his rope, heavy things and light things. What a neat activity!
- One night I finished reading to Ben and said Good night, I love you. He said, "I love you too, Mom. You wish you were home with me?" Perceptive and out of the blue!
- Ben says that certain things are his "best," and means his favorite. When he is in a bad mood, he'll scream that something "IS NOT MY BEST."
- Ben has been wearing underwear during the day for a few weeks now, thank goodness. He has been good about using public bathrooms and doesn't seem to have any hang-ups. Finally!
- Ben refuses to write or read anymore. Hopefully his desire will come back naturally, but lately he sure gets mad when I ask him to tell me what letters he sees or try to write them.
- But ... Tim says Ben tried to teach Oliver the alphabet one night in the bath. Ben patiently went through the alphabet saying, "Liv, can you say A?" etc. Tim said Oliver went along with A and B and then yelled O several times and didn't pay any more attention. Ben continued patiently even though Oliver wasn't listening.
- I've heard Oliver say weird things and after a while I figured out they were songs he learns at Wee Creekers. One day at the store he was saying, "Rinkle sta, how are you," or something like that. I finally realized he was singing Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. He also says, "Rocket baby," which is Rock a bye baby, and he kind of sings the alphabet song. I think there was one more song, but I can't remember it right now.
- I call Ben "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" these days. Half the time he is as sweet and rational as he can be, helping Oliver, helping us, teaching Oliver things, etc. and the other half he is having the biggest tantrums, saying he doesn't like us, we aren't his friends, he doesn't like Oliver, he doesn't want a baby in the house, hitting Oliver, hitting Wally, screeching at the top of his lungs. We give him strict time outs when he hits, but otherwise I have no idea how to handle him, except try not to feed into it. Sometimes if you can leave him alone, he'll finish the tantrum on his own and come back as the opposite Ben.
- Oliver still loves to copy Ben, and is learning all the karate moves and boy noises from Ben already. Which means he is more of a "little boy" than Ben was at his age.
- One of our New Year's resolutions for 2011 is to eat at the dinner table at least twice a week (we've been horrible about that!) We have taught Ben how to clean and set the table, and he loves to eat by candlelight. Now, I just need more "dinnermaker activities," which is what I call activities that the boys can do in the kitchen while I make dinner to avoid blood-sugar-low/mom's-not-paying-attention meltdowns. They really love "doing dishes" but that wastes water and floods the floor usually. One night Ben had an idea, and I wonder where in the world he got it. He asked me to get the coat rack and some rope, and somehow explained that he wanted a pulley system. I tied a teddy bear on one end of a rope, looped in over one hook, and gave Oliver the other end and he spent a good 20 minutes hauling the teddy bear up and down, completely fascinated. Ben tried tying different things to his rope, heavy things and light things. What a neat activity!
- One night I finished reading to Ben and said Good night, I love you. He said, "I love you too, Mom. You wish you were home with me?" Perceptive and out of the blue!
- Ben says that certain things are his "best," and means his favorite. When he is in a bad mood, he'll scream that something "IS NOT MY BEST."
- Ben has been wearing underwear during the day for a few weeks now, thank goodness. He has been good about using public bathrooms and doesn't seem to have any hang-ups. Finally!
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