It was windy and raining a snowy mix today. We’d just gotten back from Wegmans and my hands were full of groceries. Mr. Pokey Pants was taking forever to get from the car to the house, dragging his stuffed animals behind him. I called for him several times and finally yelled “Benjamin, now!” He looked up with a huge grin on his face and said “Yook (look) mommy a snail!” and pointed to the little shell. My heart melted, he was so excited. I set the groceries inside the door and we held the shell for a bit then put it back in the dirt. Ben said “bye bye snail” as we went back in the house. I’m not normally sappy, but I couldn’t help but thank God for the precious gifts of both pokey toddler and little snail in my flowers.

Andy’s parents came to visit last weekend. Andy’s dad was supposed to help us put drywall up in the bedroom downstairs but Andy was feeling really under the weather. So instead we just had lunch and visited that afternoon. Always nice to have them over for a non-work weekend (we do love them for their company and not just their slave labor).

Ben found grandpa’s shoes by the landing and thought he’d try them on. He waddled around the house saying “I wear Gampa’s boots!” with a grin.

Somebody got a haircut! He really needed it :)

I still can’t tell what color his eyes are now. Blue? Brown? Grey? Hazel minus the green?

Ben will be 2 1/2 next month. Time seems to go so fast and yet it seems like he’s been around forever too. He’s such a sweet, smart little boy. Very gentle with animals and younger kids. Knows his ABCs and can count up to 20 (although sometimes we get 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20). He’s starting to recognize letters which is pretty neat (hello Sesame Street Letter of the Day and fridge magnets with mommy). Colors, shapes, animals, sounds are all in his little vocabulary…so cool to watch him soak stuff up.

Potty training is going excellent, we haven’t had an accident in weeks. He uses the big toilet now (with an insert and some assistance) and has gone to the bathroom fine outside the house. He even pooped on the big toilet too (tmi?) We’re still in a diaper at nap/bed time but I don’t even think he’s physically capable of holding it overnight anyway so that’ll come a while down the road.

Some Benisms from the last few months (sorry if you’ve seen some of these already on facebook):

“Daddy outside snow mowing” – Dec 2012
(Andy snowblowing the driveway)

“Hi mommy, welcome home” – Dec 2012
(After I came back from getting the mail)

“Doggie Aubee sit. Good treat” – Jan 2013
(Telling me about his weekend with my mom, Paul and their dog Aubrey. He was giving her treats when she sat)

“Come on mommy, twy it, weeee!” – Jan 2013
(Ben sliding off the couch head first, inviting me to join him)

“Oh thank you mommy, I like strawberry yogurt” – Feb 2103
(Breakfast apparently met with his approval that morning)

Called his pee “yucky juice” – Feb 3013

His new thing is saying “I like Thomas” if he wants to watch Thomas on TV. Or “I like pudding” if he’s hoping for pudding after dinner. Sneaky, sneaky ;-) My response is usually “Yes, I like Thomas too” which throws a little wrench in his plans, haha.

He was fascinated by my earrings one day and grabbed at my ear. I said “Ouch that hurts, please be gentle.” Ben replied “I sorry mommy, come here” and reached over to give me a hug *melts*

He can also be a spaz sometimes and a crazy, stubborn two year old. Selective listening, selective direction following and the attention span of a gnat all seem to come with the territory though. Love him anyway :)