Fun in The D with Benny B.

Ben visited at Grandma's house for four days & we had a lot of fun.

Here he is hanging out at the pool:

Eating a big ice-cream cone:

Playing at the park :
Getting wet in the sprinkler:



And riding his bike:

Ben is a happy and easy going two-year-old. He's friendly, funny, and brave. He often says "Hi" to strangers, he's not afraid to try new things, and he's proud of his accomplishments.

He loves to look up outside to see airplanes and birdies. And he's especially interested in cars and trucks. There were some butterflies in the backyard while he was here and he did his best to try and catch them. He also enjoyed helping Grandma water the flowers.

A day at the beach

Yesterday I spent a wonderful day with Ben at the beach. I took him to a park called Ramona, which is where I used to take my sons when they were little. I hadn't been there in many years, so it was a nostalgic day. I'd forgotten how fantabluous a nice little lake can be on hot summer day. Ben had a great time and learned some new words: seaweed, sand, waves, and boat.

Ben is Two!

Ben is now two years old and a sweet boy. He's funny, friendly, easygoing, helpful, and cuddly. He loves to go down slides, and especially enjoys spotting planes in the sky. He also enjoys throwing away trash - which Grandma finds especially admirable.

We got him this trike for his birthday and he's doing a good job of learning to push the pedals. He got a little banged up at Grandma's this weekend - one owie from falling off his trike, another from tripping on his way up to the slide at the pool. He'd be happy to point them all out to you if you're interested.

Here he is with his baby sister. He's very gentle with her and loves to give her kisses.


Here he is looking at ants on Grandma's back porch:


And looking out at the rain from Grandma's couch:

A fun day with Ben

Ben is almost two now (21 months) and such a lot of fun. I took a little trip to visit him this week and we had a great time together. He's learning lots of new words and skills, and continues to be sweet and affectionate.

He's especially happy these days when he has something to push. He has a little toy stroller I let him take outside and he went around the block with it three times! We also spent a wonderful afternoon in the park. Ben was thrilled to see the ducks and geese and learned to go down the slide all by himself.

Ben

Ben is seven months old now and is starting to get around on his own. He doesn't exactly "crawl" but can easily wiggle and move his body around to wherever he wants to go - which is most often toward some new object he'd like to touch and inspect.

He particulairly likes objects with texture. I presented him with a ball of yarn during his visit this weekend and that kept him fascinated for quite awhile.

When inspecting a new object one of the first things Ben wants to know is if it makes a noise when banged against another object or by his hand. He is also very interested in how things move through space and across surfaces.

We got him a little cloth duck that makes a "quack,quack,quack" sound when its belly is pushed. Ben loves it and listens, still and quiet, while the duck quacks, and then he "talks" back to it.

He is a very happy baby and a joy in our lives. I'm sorry I don't live nearer to him, but glad that I'm not too far away.