Moments with Benjamin

The other morning Benjamin and I were naming people in the pictures on our fridge. "Yes, there's Ya-ya and Jesse and baby Jonathan.... And who's this? That's right, Mima!...and Papa!...and G.G.! Good job." He was naming friends and family like a pro.

I decided it was time to introduce a new face so I pointed to my grandpa in a picture with several extended family members in it. "This is Great Grandpa. Can you say that?" He looked at me blankly.

I said it again, more slowly this time. "Great. Grand-pa."

"Papa?," he said dubiously.

"Well, it's like Papa, but it's Great Papa," I coached him.

He thought for a minute, then comprehension dawned on his small face. He grinned. "Biiiiiig Papa!"
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Breakfast at our house has a script. Benjamin recites the same lines, in the same order, to the rhythm of the same breakfast-related events morning after morning. "Eat!" "Up. Chair. Seat. Bih (bib). Bowl. 'Poon." These narrate the placing of necessary breakfast elements at or around the table. Once situated in his seat with all the proper tools, he notices Talia. "Cereal, Ya Ya," he tells her sagely. "Ya Ya eat. Cereal. Baby cereal," he tells me. And as I remove his bowl from the microwave, "Hot! Muh-meal [oatmeal] --mmmm. T'ank tu, Mama." And so on.

Saturday morning Seth took over kid duty as I stayed in bed due to a nasty cold. Apparently this change in routine exceeded Benjamin's ability to "improv." As Seth gave him his cereal Benjamin parroted, "T'ank tu Ma...." He paused and tried again, "T'ank tu Mm-Dada."

I promised...

I got sidetracked. Here are the promised pix of Benjamin's birthday party. Better late than never :)

Putting together our homemade version of Baby Einstein party decorations. We chose to go with a Baby Einstein theme this year due to Benjamin's obsession. (He will literally carry around a product catalog for days, sitting and studying it for 20-30 minutes at a time.)

Benjamin was enamored with his cake

In keeping with the theme, we had "learning centers" set up around the yard. (10 gallon paint sticks make wonderful yard stakes!)

We played a Baby Einstein CD while the kids ran around the yard. Benjamin was in heaven when he discovered this row of logos on the porch rail.

Benjamin discovers all his "buddies" decorating the windows. (He also discovered the chips and kept swiping them from the table.)

Books! (Dr. Seuss, to be specific.) We love to read!

Benjamin's new tool bench, complete with goggles. Safety first!

I love the look on Seth's face here. He is clearly enjoying life with his son!

The party day went much more smoothly than Benjamin's actual birthday. He seemed a little overwhelmed with all the attention, but overall enjoyed the festivities. He still wasn't crazy about opening gifts. Hmmm....

The Birthday Boy's Special Day...A Month Later

Benjamin woke up the morning he turned 2 to the sound of Mama singing, "Happy Birthday to You...." Apparently he was not impressed as he spent the entire rendition wailing in protest. After putting on his brand new Thomas the Train warm-ups (which received more protest), Benjamin ate his favorite breakfast: Kix with "milk" (which was, at the time, still Nutramigen, his hypoallergenic formula). After breakfast it was time to head off to play group with birthday cupcakes in tow.

We will probably remember this birthday as "the crying birthday," as Benjamin had dissolved into tears at least 3 times before we even reached play group. A birthday gift from one of his little buddies brought on a fresh flood and after that he clung tightly to me, taking short (but brave) ventures to the next room to fetch a different toy. After lunch we shared his cupcakes with his friends, but alas, there was that bothersome song again. Here is Benjamin's reaction to his well-wishers:













But he wasn't so grumpy he couldn't eat the cake!













His day improved significantly with the completion of an afternoon nap. By the time Daddy got home from work Benjamin was in a much better mood. After dinner we opened a few of his gifts, including two Baby Einstein books "from Talia," Mr. Potato Head from Daddy & Mama, and a personalized sweatshirt from Uncle "Pheew", Aunt "Icki," and his cousins. He didn't take to the gift-opening very readily, so we were glad for this practice session before his party. He perked up, however, when he realized that there were fun things he liked to play with in all those funny bags! All in all Benjamin took it hard--this business of turning two. Poor little guy. But he's gotten used to it. :)

Work and Play

These two have such a great time together!

Benjamin loves to give Talia things to play with. In this picture he was piling ALL the blocks in her lap :)

Yes, we know it's spelled wrong, but isn't this just cute?!

Benjamin and his trusty Coleman lantern

Benjamin loves to climb up in (what he calls) "Mama's chair"

High Time!

It is high time for some pictures. I can just hear "Mamacita" cheering :)

We'll call this first set "The Many Moods of Miss Talia Ruth...Never Mind, Maybe Just One"

Comps...

...are over. Thankfully we all survived, though it might have been the most difficult couple of weeks out of all 9 years of seminary (so far). Seth feels great about two of the tests and less than great about the third. We will have his results in a couple of weeks.

We are all glad to have Seth/Daddy back again. Benjamin has smiled more in the past two days than he has in a couple of weeks! It is amazing what a difference Daddy's presence can make, even in the minds of little ones. One afternoon, in the middle of last week, Benjamin had pitched fit after fit over silly things all morning long. Finally I took him down from the lunch table and took him to his bed, knowing he was tired and probably just needed a nap. As soon as I put him in bed he started crying big, sad crocodile tears. Through his sobbing he wailed, "Daaaaddy!" That was all it took to melt me. Poor little guy, he just needed his daddy! As I held and rocked him I told him, through my own tears, that Daddy missed him very much and soon he would be finished with his work and could come home again. I am so very thankful that I could comfort Benjamin with that, and that this hurdle is now behind us.

We did have a good time with my mom ("Mima") during her visit. I was so grateful for her help both with household duties and keeping my spirits up. She endured a lot, poor grandma: let's just say we washed several items of her clothing due to my children's ill-timed bodily functions.... But it wasn't all sickness and sadness. We enjoyed a day at the zoo, Halloween trick-or-treating, and numerous other activities. The kids really warmed up quickly, so much so that one morning Benjamin walked into the kitchen and requested, "hug?" I bent down to oblige when he spotted Mima behind me. He quickly changed his course, skirting around me and explaining, "No. Mima!"

Update on Benjamin

I apologize for the lateness of this news regarding Benjamin and his medical testing. Things continue to be crazy here at our house!

Thank you so much for your prayers for Benjamin over the past couple of weeks. We heard from the doctor and the report was mostly good. Praise the Lord! Basically, the celiac test was negative and his thyroid levels are barely outside the range of normal (but not a big concern to the doctor). They will retest him in a year, though, because one of his hormone levels was too low and sometimes that can cause a "false negative" for the celiac test. The doctor essentially said that is only precautionary, though. He doesn't think he has celiac. As far as the nutritional concerns go, all his blood levels checked out just fine! So the bottom line is: we just need to continue to focus on getting him to eat a diet packed with (healthy) calories to gain weight, but there are no greater concerns.

Thanks again for your prayers and the concern so many of you have expressed. We appreciate your love and support.