My Favorite Benjamin Words

"Sis-er" (sister)
"tain-too" (thank you)
"YAY!"
"M. Bow" (Mr. Brown, a request to read the book)
"Melmo" (Elmo. He got to watch a video of Elmo's World last week for the first time with a babysitter.)
"mwee" (movie)
"Kicky" (Vicki [for Aunt Vicki])
"Bain-kee" (blankie)
"map!" (nap)
"k-k-k-puc!" (cup)
"papple" (apple)

I just thought I'd share a bit of the fun of living with a toddler :)

(Talia's current vocabulary consists of blood curdling teething screams and blowing various kinds of raspberries.)

Mom cliches

In the weeks after Benjamin was born I though I was going to sock the next person who got that knowing look on their face and gently informed me, "they grow up so fast." Yet now I find myself, almost daily, amazed by that very fact.

I don't know how Talia got to be 5 months old. She is all personality and fun. The sleepy newborn days are long gone (though I forgot to notice just when they melted away). Just over the past week-and-a-half she has begun to roll (front to back), eat solid food, sit up (supported by her hands, monkey-style), and--my personal favorite--blow raspberries. She is much more intent on the antics of her big brother. She cranes her neck while laying in the middle of the floor in order to watch him show off for her. And she surveys him with great interest as he is performing great and glorious feats such as eating dinner. Occassionally she rewards him for his mighty efforts with a wide, gummy grin.

Benjamin is, as they say, "all toddler." He is a thoughtful and tenacious young man. He likes to take his time and often wants to spend long periods in repetative play. It is not uncommon for me to read him the same book 2 or 3 times in one sitting! In addition to books, he loves music (we listen to 6 or 7 CD's, in their entirety, on the average day), rocks and sticks, helping Mama, bubbles, and identifying things around the house by their name (car, ice, cup, book, etc.) He is such an adoring big brother and, despite recent ventures into the world of the "terrible twos," is really a very obedient, sweet little guy. It often takes me completely by surprise that he can accomplish tasks such as placing every one of 10 different shapes in their respective holes in his Tupperware ball without assistance and repeating memorized phrases from his favorite books ("Eek, eek...shoe!," which translated becomes "He can go 'eek eek' like a squeeky shoe" from the Dr. Seuss classic "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?"). Today, with encouragement from Daddy, the language tutor, we started working on repeating sounds (p, b, k, g, d, t) which is really the beginning of reading. It seems my baby has developed into quite a "big boy" overnight!

If it sounds like I am rediculously proud of my little people that's because I am. Many people would agree that children are a miracle, but that general fact really takes on shape and substance when it comes to your own. And although they do "grow up fast," what no one told me is how much fun the whirlwind can be!

A picture replaces a thousand words?

You may have noticed: my posts have been largely photographic as of late. While I enjoy sharing the adventures of my little people with you in living color, that is not why I started this site.

When Benjamin was a few months old my sadness over the little things that were forever gone and forgotten prompted me to seek a format where I could quickly record the sweet details of life. To tell the truth, I blogged more for the sake of memory-keeping than informing. It occurs to me that slowly I have been lured away from that original purpose and onto the wide road of me-istic blogging. That is, imagining that friends and family are anticipating with rapt attention the next historical event in the life of Benjamin & Talia. I am under an imaginary cumpulsion to include each event, to perfectly chronicle a day's events with a photographic sequence that tells the entire story. I include progressively more information and less feeling.

In my limited experience, one of the greatest pitfalls of motherhood is guilt, second only to perfection. It is easy to spend so much time (there's that imaginary cumpulsion again) preparing to live the perfect family life (reading, gathering ideas, organizing, list-making, obsessively tracking, etc.) that there is no time left to live it. Guilt is both the culprit and the symptom; it drives me to continue the frantic pace but accuses me when I inevitably fall behind.

Yesterday I sat down to "catch up" on the blog, armed with a list of 6 events I had not yet chronicled and a strong sense of duty. Today I remember that the memories and the moments are far superior to the events. I hope to recapture some of this original spirit as I continue to blog.

Downtown Disney, Part II

Here are a couple of cute pictures that were deleted from my original Downtown Disney post:

Apology

To our dear Southern California friends,

We were not able to see many of you during our stay in California. We are truly sorry. We have found it to be quite a challenge to pack several months worth of grandparental influence into our two little people's lives in the matter of two short weeks.

Despite how it may appear, we do cherish our friendships with each of you and appreciate your ongoing love for our family in this busy season of life. Please continue to keep in touch!

Seth, Kiersten, Benjamin and Talia

Downtown Disney

We spent Monday afternoon, after Benjamin’s considerably more successful nap, at Downtown Disney, the shopping area connected to Disneyland. We only went to two stores: the Lego store and Rainforest Café, where we also ate dinner. Benjamin had a great time perusing all the hands-on toy displays. Talia was good-natured, as usual, and

even slept through dinner, the angel.

California Adventure (not the theme park), Part I

Hello from sunny Southern California where we are enjoying beautiful sunshine and the benefits of grandparental affection!

We arrived Saturday evening after a long, albeit uneventful day of travel. The kids were spectacularly well-behaved during the trip, but were understandably exhausted by the time we arrived. Fortunately with the late night (Kentucky time) they slept in until a decent time on Sunday morning, so vacation started out on the right foot. :)

Our first act upon returning to our native soil was to procure dinner at our absolute favorite hamburger joint, In-N-Out. Mmmmmmmm! Our meal was punctuated by the cries of tired children, but delicious nonetheless.

Sunday we attended Seth’s childhood church where Benjamin enjoyed playing in the nursery with his Mamacita. After a REAL mexican lunch at Acapulco we returned to Papo and Mamacita’s house where a nap-less Benjamin was rewarded with an adventure in the backyard complete with balls, bubbles, rocks and Papo’s new swingset. He had a great time with all the new toys!

Does it look like the kids are having fun yet?