Ben and Becca are really enjoying the pool so far this summer, both our neighborhood pool and Grandma Nita's pool. Ben is using Kelly's little blue donut intertube every time, which allows him to paddle around anywhere in the pool and Becca is using Henry's old orange wrap around floatie, which works great for her and allows her to kick around with me holding her. I do keep a hand close to her though, just in case she turns herself over on it.
At our pool, Ben went down the big looping slide last weekend, several times. He watched a few kids go down and then decided he wanted to go. He walked up by himself and either Scott or I were waiting in the pool to catch him. His only caution was asking if one of us was down there to catch him before he went down. He loved it, and would say he wanted to do it again once he got to my arms. Becca was ready to follow him to go downt he slide too, but Scott told her she was too little. During the week, we went to the pool in the late afternoon with Lara, where Ben wasn't interested in going down the slide anymore...or when he was he got scared at the top and decided to go back down the stairs. I'd allowed Becca to come up the stairs with us, and even though Ben had changed his mind, Becca was ready to slide down. I put her in the slide and gave her a nudge, and she slid down into Lara's arms. Lara said she landed smiling and laughing. She went down the slide 3-4 times, each time with her floatie still on.
I've Ben and Becca to the farm a couple of times during the week...just Ben the first time to take him to see Cal and Jordan's baseball game on a Thursday night, and then both of them the next week on a Friday. Ben really enjoyed playing it he pool with Kelly and Cal and Jordan, of course in his donut. Ben and Kelly enjoyed playing with the water guns that came with the big intertubes that Scott bought for the pool. Cal and Jordan created a fort with the two intertubes and together sprayed at Ben and Kelly, and they enjoyed shooting water back at them! Ben and Kelly enjoyed playing at the farm too. We've started a recent "tradition" of taking over ripe bananas (partly b/c I'm having trouble getting Ben and Becca to eat them fast enough) for them to throw the pigs, which they enjoy. They also still like throwing them clumps of grass that Scott or I pull for them. Ben enjoyed Cal and Jordan's baseball game. He really liked Kelly's kid-sized folding chair and sat in that for a while while Kelly was playing elsewhere, and he sat in my lap for a while. After the game, he was excited to run the bases (which he also likes to do after Henry and Allie's games), even though it was 10:00 or after at night. Needless to say, he fell asleep quickly on the ride back to Grandma Nita's.
We've also gotten into a habit of allowing Ben & Becca to have ice cream after dinner, as long as they eat most of their dinner. They really enjoy eating it on the front porch, and often times switching back and forth, usually at Ben's suggestion. I'm not sure that it's a good habit, but it has worked at encouraging Ben to eat most of his vegetables, which continues to be a challenge. Broccoli is the only vegetable I can get him to eat almost regularly, and red peppers are close second, but nothing else interests him. Becca is eating better, enjoying grilled squash that Nita has given us from her garden. One night, she was even taking the squash off of my plate and eating it herself! As I was making a sandwich and strawberries for lunch yesterday, Ben said, "I want broccoli and peppers!", which I expected he was only saying because he knew he wasn't getting that, but perhaps I should've made some for him to see what happened. He has said similar things before...like on the way home he'll say he wants broccoli for dinner...but once dinner is served he is less interested. Once he even said he wanted to order green beans at McDonalds...convenient since it's not on the menu! I haven't been able to get either of them to eat green beans in forever!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
May 28, 2012
This weekend is Memorial Day weekend, which meant the pool opened on Saturday morning. Ben was so excited to go to the pool, especially with Daddy reminding him all week that the pool opened on Saturday. As soon as he awoke, he started asking about going to the pool, and asking if the firetruck was outside yet, knowing that he'd follow the firetruck from the corner at our house to the pool. Ben decided he and Becca would wear their fireman hats to the pool, and they pretended to put out a fire while waiting for me to get my bathing suit on. Ben claims he rescued a bunny during his firefighting. Once we met the firetruck, Daddy pulled both of them in the blue wagon that Papa Harvey and Grandma Marla gave them for Ben's 2nd birthday. Once we got to the pool, Ben was too shy (or scared) to get inside the fire truck. He may have also been too anxious to get to the pool, and wow did he love the pool. He told me though as he jumped off the side that he didn't want to get his face under water, that he wanted to do "little boy" jumps instead of "big boy" jumps. He said big boys put their heads under the water, and he is a still a little boy. Also, the slide is for big boys, not little boys. Maybe Ben will be a "big boy" later in the summer and make it down the slide.
Becca was a bit hesitant or disinterested at first in the pool, but it was just a matter of minutes that she really got into it, and was having a great time. She enjoyed playing with a small bucket, and sitting on the step with Daddy. She also enjoyed
Ben often pretends to be rescuing animals or even inanimate objects, modeling after one of his favorite shows, Go Diego Go, who goes on an animal rescue during each episode.
Becca was a bit hesitant or disinterested at first in the pool, but it was just a matter of minutes that she really got into it, and was having a great time. She enjoyed playing with a small bucket, and sitting on the step with Daddy. She also enjoyed
Ben often pretends to be rescuing animals or even inanimate objects, modeling after one of his favorite shows, Go Diego Go, who goes on an animal rescue during each episode.
June 13, 2012
Becca discovered markers, and loves to sit at the small table and open a marker, place a few dots of color in her coloring book, put the cap back on the marker and then repeat with a new marker. One morning she saw the bin of markers and pile of coloring books on the counter and started asking for them by grunting and pointing at them. She was not satisfied until I pulled them down for her to play with. Becca still isn't talking, except for saying Mama, Da-Da, and night night on command.
Ben talks to Becca as if she can understand and respond. He asks her questions and relays her answer to us by interpreting her head nod. He will tell us "Becca said she doesn't want any".
Becca observes everything and tries to do what the big kids are doing. Yesterday morning she insisted on sitting in the back seat in between the two car seats, because that is what she saw her cousing Kelly doing at the farm on Sunday. She was so pleased once she climbed into the spot by herself.
Yesterday, Ben's teacher allowed him to pick out a dum-dum lollipop after school. When we got to Becca's classroom to get her, she wanted to try the lollipop. Ben eagerly shared his lollipop with her but Becca was reluctant to give it back. By the time we got to the van, they had switched the lollipop back and forth and few times. Becca had it in her mouth and wasn't giving it back when Ben announced to her..."Becca, sharing is caring". I asked him where he learned that from and he said "Ms Sasha".
On Saturday, Ben went to his first movie. We went to see Madasgascar 3 with Lara. Ben did well overall, but did complain a bit about being scared by the dark and by the tiger, who wasn't nice like the rest of the animals in the movie. I was able to convince him that he was okay. Becca did well for the most part too, but got interested in leaving our ailse and walking the stairs, so I took her outside to the lobby. Apparently once Ben realized I'd gone, he wanted to leave too, so Lara brought him out about 20 minutes before the end of the movie.
After their movie, they both played in the backyard at the small playset that Ben is very proud he can climb the wall and into it by himself. Becca can climb the short ladder into it herself too, and slide down the slide by herself. Both really enjoyed playing at the sandbox, building a river by dumping buckets of water filled with the hose, with Lara manning the hose. They both got soaked, with Ben doing his usual stripping down to nothing and me grabbing his swim trunks so he wasn't totally indecent in the backyard! Becca go soaked because she inadvertently dumped more water on herself than what made it into the sandbox.
Later Lara and I took the kids to Target where Ben pulled his normal "I need to show you something", which was how he wanted to get me to walk down the toy ailse with him. I told him he wasn't getting any toys, but he did ask if he could buy a Scooby/Bat Man movie which I said yes too, and a Scooby t-shirt which he begged for. While in the check-out line, Ben saw the clerk at the next aisle wearing a bright purple turban. He said, "Look Mommy, a genie!". And it was true, the man looked like what Ben would believe was a genie!
After Target we went to pick up Daddy at the bourbon festival. The kids slept all the way there, not having a nap yet. But they were ready to go again once we got home, heading back to the sandbox to continue building their river and get wet again! Yes, Ben stipped out of his clothes again requiring me to run get his swimtrunks!
On Sunday, we all went to the farm, where Ben had a great time playing in pool with Kelly and the rest of his cousins (except Chase who was at a golf tournament). Ben wore one of Kelly's small donut intertubes, and used it all afternoon to swim everywhere in the pool and enjoyed racing Kelly, sometimes to get a ball and other times to just go from one end to the other.
Ben talks to Becca as if she can understand and respond. He asks her questions and relays her answer to us by interpreting her head nod. He will tell us "Becca said she doesn't want any".
Becca observes everything and tries to do what the big kids are doing. Yesterday morning she insisted on sitting in the back seat in between the two car seats, because that is what she saw her cousing Kelly doing at the farm on Sunday. She was so pleased once she climbed into the spot by herself.
Yesterday, Ben's teacher allowed him to pick out a dum-dum lollipop after school. When we got to Becca's classroom to get her, she wanted to try the lollipop. Ben eagerly shared his lollipop with her but Becca was reluctant to give it back. By the time we got to the van, they had switched the lollipop back and forth and few times. Becca had it in her mouth and wasn't giving it back when Ben announced to her..."Becca, sharing is caring". I asked him where he learned that from and he said "Ms Sasha".
On Saturday, Ben went to his first movie. We went to see Madasgascar 3 with Lara. Ben did well overall, but did complain a bit about being scared by the dark and by the tiger, who wasn't nice like the rest of the animals in the movie. I was able to convince him that he was okay. Becca did well for the most part too, but got interested in leaving our ailse and walking the stairs, so I took her outside to the lobby. Apparently once Ben realized I'd gone, he wanted to leave too, so Lara brought him out about 20 minutes before the end of the movie.
After their movie, they both played in the backyard at the small playset that Ben is very proud he can climb the wall and into it by himself. Becca can climb the short ladder into it herself too, and slide down the slide by herself. Both really enjoyed playing at the sandbox, building a river by dumping buckets of water filled with the hose, with Lara manning the hose. They both got soaked, with Ben doing his usual stripping down to nothing and me grabbing his swim trunks so he wasn't totally indecent in the backyard! Becca go soaked because she inadvertently dumped more water on herself than what made it into the sandbox.
Later Lara and I took the kids to Target where Ben pulled his normal "I need to show you something", which was how he wanted to get me to walk down the toy ailse with him. I told him he wasn't getting any toys, but he did ask if he could buy a Scooby/Bat Man movie which I said yes too, and a Scooby t-shirt which he begged for. While in the check-out line, Ben saw the clerk at the next aisle wearing a bright purple turban. He said, "Look Mommy, a genie!". And it was true, the man looked like what Ben would believe was a genie!
After Target we went to pick up Daddy at the bourbon festival. The kids slept all the way there, not having a nap yet. But they were ready to go again once we got home, heading back to the sandbox to continue building their river and get wet again! Yes, Ben stipped out of his clothes again requiring me to run get his swimtrunks!
On Sunday, we all went to the farm, where Ben had a great time playing in pool with Kelly and the rest of his cousins (except Chase who was at a golf tournament). Ben wore one of Kelly's small donut intertubes, and used it all afternoon to swim everywhere in the pool and enjoyed racing Kelly, sometimes to get a ball and other times to just go from one end to the other.
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