Sunshine!

Good morning everyone! I hope ya"ll had a great Easter. It's been in the 80's and sunny here, so we've been pretty happy with the weather, especially this past weekend. Speaking of good weather, the sunny days have given Joel and Benjamin more of an opportunity to invent fun games, like wheelbarrow rides...

and shovel sliding!

On Easter we went to the early service at church and then came home for brunch with friends and hunting Easter eggs.

My little boy is looking like such a big boy!

This picture cracks me up. He looks like he's going to start talking to the camera in a whisper, ala The Crocodile Hunter.

In other news, our computer is having issues so I am sans computer during the day and using Joel's work laptop during his off hours. I'm not too happy being cut off from my computer most of the day so we're trying to resolve this soon. I have more pictures to upload but might have to wait a few days. I'll have a lot to write about in the next week since Ben will be turning TWO on Monday! Right now I have a little boy who is jumping all over the couch and "waiting" for me to get off the computer. We're off to enjoy the sunshine!

Signs of Spring

"Working" on the boat, and getting it ready for spring weather!

My new spring shoes. I love them very, very much.

Did I tell you we installed the Ikea "Lack" floating shelves in our kitchen/dining area? This is the happy spring version of my shelves.

My spring kitchen table with spirea (I think) from our yard, and cheery yellow napkins.

And a new spring haircut!

Spinny Park!

We just arrived home on Monday from a nice trip to Grandad and Grandma's house in Oklahoma. Well...nice except for the fact that Benjamin decided to give up on sleep the whole time we were there, but we made it through. I was a little apprehensive about flying alone with a toddler but Ben is a good traveler. I'm still exhausted though! 

I just got off the phone with the preschool director at First Presbyterian Church and I'm going to observe their two year old class on Tuesday. I had always said that I would wait until Benjamin is three before putting him in preschool, but for a variety of reasons I feel like it will be good for him to start this fall. I'm a little worried about this but I'm hoping to quell my fears with a visit. I know the teachers are kind and knowledgeable, but I'm hoping they don't impose too much structure on the two year olds. Schedules are fine, but I don't want Benjamin to feel like he needs to conform to a certain way of drawing or coloring, or even playing. Does this seem ridiculous? Probably. I would hope that any educated teacher would be pretty hands off when it comes to creativity in children, but I know that all adults (myself included) can confuse helping with smothering.....like telling kids a horse has to be black or brown or white, but not purple, or that they are singing too loud and need to be quiet. A friend of mine loves to show off a picture he drew in kindergarten; he was told to draw a pig, and he did so, but VERY tiny and in one corner of the page. His teacher told him he needed to make it bigger, so he angrily scrawled PIG in big letters across the remainder of the paper. I love it! It makes a funny story now, but I don't want that to happen to Ben....at least not this year! Anyway....I may seem a little over anxious but it helps to write about it. My hunch is that Benjamin will really enjoy preschool. 

I uploaded these pictures before our trip and then never got around to publishing them. We met with some friends at the "spinny park" a few weeks ago and had a blast! Basically, everything at this park spins around. Ben thought it was hilarious to climb off the playground equipment and fall down from dizziness.

I love this! Ben sees the merry go round from across the playground and starts running. See him next to the slides?

"Hey guys! Mind if I jump on?"

SNOW!

I had big plans to make a really cute Valentine photo card (and totally copy cousin Sarah's idea) and send it out to everyone. Benjamin's reluctance to look at the camera combined with my disorganization means it didn't work out.  Don't take it personally. We still love you!

And it snowed!  It only lasted a few hours but Ben had a fun time.  He and Daddy basically used up all the snow in our front yard to make a LARGE snowman. 

There was also an attempt at making snow angels.

And just general good times, until Mr. B. realized that he was cold, tired and wet, at which point the snow wasn't as much fun. He also added a new word to his vocabulary. Sssssssnow! It's very dramatic when he says it.
Aunt Laura came to visit. We love Aunt Laura! Benjamin showed off for her every single minute of every day. I've never seen him act like that for anyone, and it was a little shocking. The moment she walked in the door he was busy showing her all his toys, books and drawings, plus all of his "talents" like opening the door, running up and down the hallway, playing the recorder, pratfalls and his favorite schtick; pretending to eat an object and then shaking his head and saying "NOOOOO!" as if he's really saying, "What! That's crazy!" 
She got many kisses and cuddles, and Benjamin cried when we dropped her off the airport. Come back soon Aunt Laura!

21 Months!

How does the time go by so fast? Mr. B. is 21 months old, and the big 2 is just around the corner! I'm a bad mama because all these pictures are from a few weeks ago, but they'll have to do.

I took this one while he was on the playground. I was on top of the play structure and he was climbing up. This ended up being our Christmas card picture. Too cute!

Trying on Joel's snowboarding helmet. It almost fits!

I bought Ben some new jammies from Old Navy and told him they needed to be washed before wearing. I heard the sound of running water in the bathroom sink, and it turns out Mr. B. decided to take matters into his own hands. What a helper!

These last two pictures are from December. He has already outgrown the shirts he's wearing, and his hair, well....let's just say it has also grown. It's drastically careening past "cute surfer dude" style and into what I like to call, "Joe Dirt Junior." I'll be scheduling a cut soon.

Stuff about Benjamin:

Still wants to read books ALL THE TIME. I love it! I don't know if it's the pictures, or stories or just the time spent with me, but he could read all day. I can definitely relate!

Ok, let's be honest, shall we? Benjamin won't eat veggies. He LOVED them when he was a baby, but now he won't touch anything that looks remotely like a vegetable. I don't make him "special" meals that are different from what Joel and I eat, so I'm definitely not catering to his tastes. He used to eat spinach on top of pizza, or in quesadillas or pasta, but now he flat out refuses. I mean, he literally gags when carrots come near his mouth! This is something he loved! I don't get it. Right now I'm trying not to make an issue of it because I feel like that's the quickest way to get him to NOT do something. I don't want to force him to eat things and start a battle at the dinner table, but now I'm wondering if that's what I should be doing. I don't know what to do except keep serving them and hope that one day he'll just get over it. He was always the type of kid who would try anything once, and now he freaks out if something looks different. What is going on?

What else? Not a lot of talking yet, but it's coming. I've always known that Ben would probably be a late talker. He never even really babbled as a baby, and was late for all of the verbal milestones. He understands everything we say, and the words he DOES use are perfectly clear so I know there's not a hearing issue. Ben is social, but not overly so. That means that he doesn't really feel the need to communicate. You don't understand him? Fine. He'd rather just show you some trucks and move on. You want to get excited about some toys and then talk about it? Whoa! Chill out. Let's just go look at these rocks over here until you calm down. Basically, he is in no hurry to grace us with his melodious speech. Until that day arrives, Ben functions pretty well with his limited vocabulary of around 17-18 words and a variety of sounds. His new words are: bowl, bus, up, ice, hat, gas, cheese and salsa. He also just started saying, "oh boy!" Let me also explain that his favorite word is "no" and he uses it to express his desire to NEVER EVER do anything I ask, no matter what. As in;

"Benjamin, can you say daddy?"

"No."

"Ben, what sound does a cow make?"

"No."

"Ben, I need you to put on your shoes."

"No."

"Ummm...can you say 'yes'?"

"No."

We all know who's in charge here.

New Year, New System

Why did I think serving leftover pasta for lunch would be a good idea?

The picture above is the obligatory dose of Benjamin I have to include every time I write a new blog post. Moving on....

Like everyone else, Joel and I are busy starting the new year by re-organizing our house. Or rather, just organizing, since it was never really done in the first place. When we moved here a little under 3 years ago, we just shoved our things in any old room and immediately jumped into fixing up our house and starting new jobs. Four months later, we found out I was unexpectedly (though joyously) pregnant. The next few months were a blur of baby preparations and bed rest, interspersed with more home improvements. Then we actually had the baby, and I operated on total exhaustion mode for several months. This all means trouble in the organizing world. BIG TROUBLE. The room that really took a beating was our guest bedroom/office, not that you could actually see it, what with the 10 pieces of old furniture, various piles of paper to be shredded/filed and boxes of Ben's old clothes and toys that needed to go in the attic.  It basically became a catchall for anything we didn't know what to do with, or were too lazy to put away. Eventually we just started shutting the door and pretending like it didn't exist. "Oh, that door? Pay no attention to the room behind that door. It's just a closet." But after 6 months of avoidance, we finally tackled that room and it's starting to look like a livable space again. We still need to list several items on Craigslist (anyone need some furniture?) and I still have a small pile of papers to shred and file, but things are really coming along. 

I purchased a book recommended to me by my doctor called ADD Friendly Ways To Organize Your Life. I highly recommend this book for anyone who struggles with ADD, or even if you are just a disorganized person. It really has helped me understand some things I didn't even realize are related to my ADD. I mean, how can you teach someone common organization methods if their brain doesn't even function in an average way? I have always wondered why I have a problem with file cabinets. I will spend hours painstakingly labeling folders and organizing through all of my paperwork, only to abandon the system within a few days as my desk becomes covered in piles of bills to be paid, bills that have been paid, bank statements, etc...But here's the deal; my brain doesn't work that way! I can't tell you what a relief it is to know that. It's not that I'm an idiot, it's just that I need a different system. First of all, I can't do micro-organization, so everything needs to be filed under broad categories. Secondly, a closed drawer is basically a reassurance to my brain that that stuff never needs to be look at again. The author suggests using hanging file folders in open milk crates with casters, and placing them next to your desk. That way everything is easily accessible, but you can still roll them out of sight when guests are over. GENIUS! I think that tip might change my life. Of course, being me, I can't help but get excited about the design options as well. I really like this idea from Apartment Therapy:

Cute, huh? We have a couple of old crates, so we'll see. I don't know if I want to sacrifice them to use as mere filing cabinets though. But I still need to clean out the old filing cabinet first. Focus Anne, focus!

Christmas Update and Thoughts on Snow

Alright, time to play catch up! We had a great 10 day visit to OK over the holidays, and just arrived home on Tuesday. Ben had a fantastic time with all his grandparents and aunts and uncles, and I think he's suffering a little bit from the sudden lack of attention. Christmas already seems like such a long time ago, but here are a few pictures.

Our tree

In keeping with our decision to limit our gifts, Ben received three presents from us. One of them was this cute little wood play kitchen I found at Ross for $25! I was so excited because I really like to have as many wood toys as possible, and I knew we could never afford an elaborate set up, especially one that wasn't plastic.  This one is a little small, but Joel is going to make a riser for it. Plus, it doesn't take up any room, and I can easily move it from place to place. Benjamin really loves it. In fact, I was just realizing that although he didn't get many gifts this Christmas, he absolutely LOVES every single present he received. 

The other two presents were some stinkin' cute little fluffy doggie slippers from LL Bean, and a Richard Scarry book called What Do People Do all Day? This book is already a favorite, and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a good gift. I don't think Ben will get tired of looking at it until he's 4 or 5.

We left on Christmas day for Oklahoma, and even though Oklahoma City had just had the largest snowfall in 25 years on Christmas Eve, all of our flights were (almost) on time, and the trip was pretty uneventful. When we got to OKC it looked like like a post-apocalyptic movie. There would be 10 abandoned cars on the side of the highway, and then you would drive a mile and see 10 more. I guess the weather changed from rain, to sleet, to white out blizzard conditions pretty quickly. We even saw an abandoned Fed Ex truck on the wrong side of the road! I hope those people eventually got their presents.

Ben got a few things from Mimi and Poppy, including another favorite book called Hands, Hands, Finger, Thumb. In fact, I had to read it 6 times in a row on the way home from the airport, and 5 times already today. If I refuse I'm threatened with an immediate tantrum buildup. Thanks Mimi and Poppy!

Then it was on to Grandma and Grandad's house, where he got his much loved stuffed Elmo. If you think he looks sad in this picture, it's because he was feeling pretty puny. The next morning he woke up with a burning fever and we had to take him to the emergency clinic. We've been lucky to not have too many scary moments with Ben, but I was pretty frightened when I saw the thermometer climb to 104.9. The PA at the clinic diagnosed him with a severe bacterial throat infection, and within 2 days of taking antibiotics he was feeling pretty good. 

Ben got to see his first real snowfall, and even make a few snowballs. I realized after a day or so back in Oklahoma that I'm not really a cold weather person. I don't like hot weather either, but somewhere in between is good for me. The problem with snow is that it melts and turns into ice. And since I have absolutely no coordination or physical prowess, that means I have a greater chance of falling and seriously hurting myself. That's really the main issue for me. I think only athletic people should live in cold climates. I mean, I about had a panic attack in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I just stood there, frozen (haha!) and waited for some invisible hand to guide me to the car. I looked to my left, ICE! I looked to my right, ICE! Finally I just had to suck it up and realize being an adult means you have walk across an icy parking lot. Plus, I realized that other people were easily walking past me, and a large truck wanted the parking space I was blocking. Looking like an idiot in the middle of a parking lot is a stress I don't need in my life. 

I have more to write about my New Year goals, plus a Benjamin update, but this is enough for one post. I hope everyone is staying warm!