Ben v2.5!!

January marked Ben's 30th month, which means he's 2 1/2 years old!  Wow, 2.5 sounds a lot older than 30 months...??  Anyway, Ben is thoroughly enjoying his time being two, and we have loved growing with him as we see what each new day holds.  Sometimes, you NEVER know!!  Ha!

Playing in the snow...he loved eating it!

Hot Chocolate with Mommy after snow play

His favorite show now is Baby Juno.  Unfortunately, it's not on TV, so he watches it on DVD a lot.  It's also on Mommy's iPad, which is a new form of entertainment for him.  He also likes to play Elmo's ABC's and a counting game on there.  Oh, and how could I forget?  Calling Santa.  Yes, in February.  I had an app on the iPad that called Santa and you could "talk" to him and tell him what you wanted for Christmas and it really appeared that he was listening and talking back.  Ben loved it, and still calls Santa every day.  I guess getting ready for Christmas 2012!!

Ben's favorite chore is laundry...but it's definitely not seen as a chore to this little boy.  If I don't save the laundry for him to help me with, there's lots of disappointment around here, ha!  Here he is standing on his stool showing Bunny how to wash the clothes...so cute!

I think Ben is finally warming up to Anna a little bit.  He's always been nice enough, but lately, he's asked me several times to hold her!  Wow!  And he has shared his favorite pal Bunny with her, too, and that's saying a lot!  If my hands are tied for the moment and she's fussing, he'll say, "It's OK, Baby Anna.  It's OK!"

He has his moments, too, though...we are truly right in the heart of the Terrible Twos right now.  Ben's got an incredibly stubborn way about him (where did he get that from??) and is absolutely insistent on being independent in ALL things.  So, this leads to a bit of conflict sometimes when we are in a hurry or something.  As all children do, he tests and tests us on the boundaries we've set for him, just to see what will happen.  Fortunately for me, consistency is a strength of mine (thank you "Strength Finders" we did as a team at Eastman!) so hopefully he gets the same answer each and every time he tests those boundaries!

That's easier said than done, though.  Sometimes Mark or I will come in the room and Ben's doing something odd like eating sugar cereal for lunch.  We'll say, "What's going on?!" and the other one will say, "He got me!  He wore me down and I caved in a weak moment!!  UGH!"  Ha, ha!  It happens!!  Add persistence to Ben's Strength Finder's list!! :)

Last month, Ben attended his first live show!  Sesame Street Live came to Freedom Hall and we went with some of his little friends.

Big Bird was first out onstage.  I was so excited to see his reaction because he had never been to anything like this before!  He watched Big Bird for about 30 seconds and said, "WHERE'S ELMO??"  Ha, ha!!

Elmo balloons available for only $10 (EACH!)



Enjoying the show with Clara, Liam and Sophia

 Mommy and Ben had a fun time watching Elmo, eating pizza and M&M's and dancing.  Afterwards, Ben asked a few times to go back to "Elmo's house" to see him again!!