Ben ran up to me this morning and said “knock, knock!”
I asked “who’s there?” and he dissolved into laughter. I love that, for him, “who’s there” is the punchline.
. . .
We’ve caught him singing a lot in the past week, but as he neither gets the words nor the tune 100% correct, it takes us a minute to figure out the song. On Sunday, it was the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Last night, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. This morning, Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
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“I’m on my tummy!” is a phrase we hear often. He likes to narrate.
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Animals and water are still the bestest things in the universe, so he was pretty much in heaven when we went over to the Finlaysons’ house last weekend. He was amazed by the fish tank. (We really gotta get that kid to an aquarium.) He was less pleased with Casper.
“You put that parrot back in that cage,” he told Liz. Casper was less than pleased with Ben, too. Probably insulted because he called him a parrot.
While I interviewed Mario, Kris and Ben got in the pool. I’m told he absolutely loved the waterfall. And we were not allowed to leave until he put his feet in the hot tub.
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His favorite bedtime story is a Little Golden Book from one of Kris’ clients called The Jolly Barnyard.
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I find it interesting to see how his language develops. Two weeks ago, a seven year old at the thrift store asked him if he wanted to race.
“I love race!” was his response. Not “racing” to “to race.” That’s what makes it cute.
But earlier this week, he wanted to play with the coins on the dashboard of the truck.
“The thing is, Ben, you threw them up there when I wasn’t looking and now I can’t reach them.” (They aren’t lodged between the glass and the dash, so they slide annoyingly while driving but are too far in for fingers to reach.)
Ben tried to get them out. “I can’t reach them either,” he concluded. It was the inclusion of the “either” that got me.
. . .
He can be very bossy sometimes and I wondered why that is. Then I listened to myself making muffins on Sunday. “Grate this zucchini,” I instructed Kris. When he finished, I told him “next I need three eggs.”
Kris and I understand that if we issue one another directives that it is a delegation of tasks. We are making breakfast. I’m reading the recipe, so I instruct him on what task will help further the muffin cause. But maybe Ben just hears me telling his dad what to do.

















