2 Years!

Dear Ben-Ben,

I honestly have been wanting to write a letter to you since, oh, you were conceived. But, one thing you may already know about me is that I procrastinate...a lot. (I sure hope that it isn't hereditary!) So, on your second birthday, I thought I would *try* to articulate all of it into one letter! Here goes...

I am in awe of you, and have been since the get-go. Not just the biology part, but all of you. I am in awe of your intelligence. I am in awe of your physical prowess, although admittedly, after you've walked into a wall, I have to wonder... I am in awe of your sweet and charming nature - you must get that from your daddy. I am in awe of the unconditional love you have for us, that you have known, somewhere deep inside, that you love us and that we will take care of you. I am, and I suspect, always will be, in awe of my love for you. I knew I would love you like nothing else in this world, but even that isn't close to what I feel.

I always thought that your baby stage would be the best. It was great, don't get me wrong - how you fit into my arms, how it felt so perfect and complete. But I've learned that every stage is the best, just in different ways. Now, you're becoming your own little person, with wants and needs, the ability to express them and yourself. How you crave the spotlight and love to entertain the people around you - a coy little smile, playing "shadow", counting...the list goes on. And we just eat it up! Your grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and most of all, your parents, think that you hung the moon and the stars.

Your father thinks that I worry too much. At first, it was about how much you were eating/drinking ("Do you think he's getting enough? Is feeding him every hour too much?") Then it was tummy time and rolling over ("He doesn't like tummy time! He'll never roll over!") Then it was crawling, and then walking, which I admit, was stupid, since you were walking before you were 11 months old. Then it was your speech ("He doesn't say a lot of words - do you think there's something wrong? Can he hear o.k.? Maybe we should try sign language!"). Now, at two, you eat and drink just fine (well, I still think you need to eat more veggies and meat!), you roll and climb over just about everything in your way, you crawl under tables, you want to walk everywhere by yourself, you jump! jump! jump! all around the house, you run at the mall, you mimic everything we say and pick up on new words and phrases in the blink of an eye.

Tonight, you were traipsing around the living room, when Charlie knocked you face-first into one of the chairs (from the party). You ran to me, having trouble catching your breath while crying. I grabbed you and held you tight, trying to calm you down while simultaneously trying to calm myself down. I get this lump in my throat when you get hurt - I think it's called panic. I pulled away from you to see if you were bleeding, which you were, but just a little - you cut your top lip on your teeth - so I took you to the bathroom to get you cleaned up. While I was wiping your mouth off, you looked at me with this expression of wonderment, and said, "Blue eyes. Mommy blue eyes". How you can make me feel so many things at once - panic, sadness, then drunk with joy - is beyond me. I just want you to know that I am grateful to have the chance to experience it.

You are still my baby (even though I tell you that you're my big boy), and I wouldn't change a thing about you or the time we've been together. Well, I might want to go back to tonight to keep you from dropping the f-bomb (in your defense, your dad said it first, after he was sacked by the dog) but that's about it.

Love ya kiddo,
Mommy

The party rundown...

We had Ben's birthday party today, even though his birthday isn't until tomorrow (actually, it is after midnight, so "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!")

He had such a good time! We had some kids over and they all played so well together. And the adults played together well too! Gord barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs, and we had some pasta salad, lots of munchies, cake and cupcakes!

As usual, the kid got quite a haul. Such good stuff! Now Gord and I will have to go through the toys and put away some of the "younger" stuff...at least until the new baby is at the age to be interested in them. It is ridiculous how many toys we've accumulated over the last two years...

I'm planning on writing a nice sappy birthday letter to Ben tomorrow...and post it here for all to read. But I have to give it some more thought...

Hope all is well out there in blog-land. Sleep well...I'm going to bed.

La piece de resistance...

Ben's birthday cupcakes!
 

Mommy, when can I blow out the candles?

 

Right on cue!

 

Mmmmmmm...cupcakes!

 

Finally...the A to Z Learning Zoo!

I've been trying to get my hands on one of these for a long time...
 

Thomas - a big hit with the birthday boy!

A gift from his babysitter and her family
 

What does your birthdate mean?

Your Birthdate: June 5

You have many talents, and you are great at sharing those talents with others. Most people would be jealous of your clever intellect, but you're just too likeable to elicit jealousy. Progressive and original, you're usually thinking up cutting edge ideas. Quick witted and fast thinking, you have difficulty finding new challenges. Your strength: Your superhuman brainpower Your weakness: Your susceptibility to boredom Your power color: Tangerine Your power symbol: Ace Your power month: May

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Does this sound like me? I don't think so either. Now for Gord...

Your Birthdate: February 28

You have a Type A personality so big it makes other Type A's shrink away in shame. You never shy away from adversity - and you love to tackle impossible problems. Failure is not an option for you, and more than a few people are put off by your ego. You tend to be controlling, and you hate leaving anything up to chance. Your strength: Your bold approach to life Your weakness: You don't accept help Your power color: Bronze Your power symbol: Pyramid Your power month: October

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I don't think this one is accurate either - you don't accept help? Nah. Controlling? Nah. An overpowering ego? Well, maybe...JUST JOKIN' HONEY!

And now, for tomorrow's birthday boy...

Your Birthdate: February 12

You're a dynamic, charismatic person who's possibly headed for fame. You tend to charm strangers easily. And you usually can get what you want from them. Verbally talented, you tend to persuade people with your speaking and writing. You are affectionate and loving, but it's hard for you to commit to any one relationship. Your strength: Your charm Your weakness: Your extreme manipulation tactics Your power color: Indigo Your power symbol: Four leaf clover Your power month: December

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Oh yeah...the charming strangers thing? Getting what you want out of them? Affectionate and loving? This one is pretty bang on!

It's all coming together, sorta...

We finally decided on a theme for Ben's big boy bedroom. Who am I kidding? "I" decided that my idea was better than Gord's idea. So we went to e-children yesterday and bought the bedding set that I wanted. Isn't it awesome? Even if you don't like it and would have sided with Gord on the whole "Thomas the Tank Engine" theme, too bad. You lost. I won. That's all that matters to me.

In all honesty though, I think Ben is going to love it. He wasn't all that interested in it at the store yesterday, but give the kid a break! There's so much to destroy in a beautiful children's store like that! When I was at the counter (paying the nice lady too much money for the quilt and lamp), I was perusing their stock of cute impulse buy items. They had a neat little nursing bracelet that helps you keep track of which side you nursed on last and for how long (although, honestly? It's not hard to figure out when one side is mushy and flabby while the other side is rock hard and 2 cup sizes bigger...anyhoo, I digress), as well as "pee-pee tee-pees" - little flannel cones that you put on your son's little pee-pee to avoid the "shower" that you may get when you change his diaper. How adorable are those! Completely unnecessary, but still adorable!

On a crappy note, it seems as though the bed and dresser we ordered for Ben is going to be delayed until the end of the month. Yikes - that's cutting it close to get him into his big boy bed for the recommended 6 weeks before the new baby comes along. But, if worse comes to worse, I won't have the baby until May. NOT! What's that you're suggesting? Put a mattress on the floor until the bed comes? What a wonderful compromise! : )

Later gators...
the pregnant one

YUP!

We bought Ben a big boy bed and dresser last weekend - they're not here yet, but should be in a week or so. Then we've got to try to get him to sleep in the darn thing! Any tips? And I have to try to find some bedding for him. Daddy and Mommy are disagreeing on what to decorate his new room in - Thomas the Tank Engine, Jungle, etc.

Gord has our email software set up so that when we get a new message, a quote from the movie Tommy Boy plays: "Housekeeping! You want mint for pillow?" When Ben hears this, no matter where he is in the house, will say, "Yup!" I guess that I've got to start stocking mints! Maybe that's how we'll get him to sleep in his new bed!

p.s. Ben's birthday cake is gonna rock! That's all I'm saying for now...

12 days and counting...

Wow. Ben will be 2 years old in 12 days. It seems like only yesterday he was our heavy little Butterball turkey. Maybe it's because the new one's arrival is getting closer - that's why he seems so...old.

He usually likes to help us feed Charlie - using the scoop to put food in her dish. Now, he'll scoop the food, go over to the dog and ask her to "shake" and then he'll say "brate!" (which is "break", our release command for her). All on his own.

Last week, I was buckling him into his carseat, and he starts counting. To nine. "two...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine". What a proud mommy moment!

Ben is very happy to have his Uncle Chris here. He loves his "Untoe Tris". Chris had him giggling so hard last night I thought he was going to pee his pants. Ben, not Chris. Chris is staying here for a couple of months while he's taking a course at Red River.

We'll update more later...

CS

Now it's Nickelodean!

We were up extra early this morning, 'cause Mommy had a meeting halfway across the city...Dora was on Treehouse. Since we (well, mainly me) like Dora so much (c'mon, you can learn some Spanish!), I turned it on. Now I have the Dora theme song in my head. But it is waaaaaayyyyy less annoying than the Thomas song, so I won't complain yet!

"Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer!"

Awwwww man!

Carrie (in Spanish)

Darn you Britt Allcroft!

I am going out of my mind...I have had the "Thomas & Friends" theme song running in my head since Saturday! Ben and I were watching that morning, and I was singing along with the song, letting Ben dance around. And now I sing it over and over and over to myself.

They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight
Shunting cars and hauling freight,
Red and green and brown and blue,
They're the Really Useful Crew!

(o.k. maybe I can't remember every line! edited to add: "They've all got different roles to play," - believe it or not, I CAN remember every line!)
'Round Tidmouth Sheds and far away,
Down the hills and 'round the bends,
It's Thomas and his friends!

Why is it so catchy? Maybe it is the British kids group that sings it - their accents are what make me eat, drink and sleep this song?

MAKE IT STOP!

Ben's First Haircut!

Well, tonight was Ben's first haircut! We thought it was about time as his hair was going really wacky, especially in the back. So, we headed to the Hair-do Zoo for the first cut.

Ben behaved really well - he only got nervous once and that was quickly taken care of with toys! Now he is a well-groomed little man! Pics below for your enjoyment.

Before! (Yikes!)

 

Another Before Shot

 

Ready to Start!

 

During

 

After!

 

The long awaited ultrasound pics...

I have attached two ultrasound pictures below. Nothing too exciting this time...with Ben's ultrasound, we got a lot of cute pictures. This ultrasound? A lot of non-descript body parts. Although we did get a couple of little movies this time around. The best one is a 7-second vid of the baby sucking its thumb! Cute stuff!

Just a reminder too, you can click on the pictures to get a bigger view.

Good night people!

c-dog

Sucking his/her thumb...

 

Oh that cute little baby face!

 

And the new year begins...

Happy new year everyone!

Sorry I/we haven't updated everyone on our Christmas, but since a lot of you were either there or we've talked to you since, we've been lazy.

Ben had a great Christmas. He got spoiled rotten and enjoyed every minute! Of course, Mommy and Daddy made a big faux pas and forgot to bring batteries to power his new train set, but we just hid that box from him and he forgot all about it! There was enough activity to distract him, what with all the food and books and toys around!

We had a great time in Brandon at (Uncle) Chris & (Auntie) Sheri's house. We also got to visit with my Grandma Lil, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Rico and Aunt Simone (very quickly I might add!), and Jason. On Christmas Day, Chris and Sheri played host to Sheri's parents, sister and grandparents as well, so it was a full house that day!

We came home on Boxing Day and had supper/gift opening with Susan (Gord's mom). By then, we had batteries, so Ben and Daddy (well, really Daddy) tore open the train set. It took Ben a day or two to warm up to the darn thing, but now it's all he wants to play with!

We had a birthday party to go to on the 27th, and I will say that Ben is really getting into birthday parties! I don't even want to tell him that his is coming up...he'll drive us crazy asking to open presents and go to the party.

I was back to work last week for a couple of days...it was pretty quiet though. Then on New Year's Eve, Mom and Dad came in and Dad and Gord tiled the backsplash. We then had rousing games of '31' and 'Hearts'. I sucked at both.

Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good. Baby #2 is kicking me ALL the time now. I love it! I think I'm around 25 or 26 weeks...I'm expecting my due date to change after the ultrasound I had a few weeks ago...my next appointment is on Monday and we'll see what my OB says. Oh, and I don't want to be weighed - at all! I don't think that'll fly though... Kathy (Gord's sister) tells us that her and our nieces/nephews are doing great too! We FINALLY got to see some ultrasound pics of them - they're already adorably cute in all their twin-ny glory! Wait, we haven't even shown ultrasound pics to anyone...I'm a big, fat hypocrit (but I'm pregnant, so take the "big, fat" reference for what it's worth).

My brother has headed off to his next 6-month-posting in Gillam...I think it would be neat to be so secluded, but only for an hour or so. At least he has email...

later dudes,
c-pot

Merry Christmas to you all!

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ~Dr. Seuss

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

At this time of year, we can't help but think of all of our loved ones and friends, near and far. We hope that this holiday finds you happy, healthy and in good spirits.

So from our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Do these new glasses make me look fat?

 

Poll: cute or cut it off?

 

Anyone order a hairy black cat?

 

Surgical update and other odds and ends...

As some of you may (or may not) know, when Benjamin was born, neither of his testicles had descended. So back in April, he had surgery to bring the left one down. By all accounts, this one was successful.

Fast forward to this week. Thursday, Ben was scheduled to have surgery to bring down the right testicle. The thing was, we (well his urologist) wasn't sure where the testicle would be. Back in June, he had an ultrasound and they couldn't locate it. She's never been 100% sure that she could feel it anywhere in his groin. So it was basically going to be a fishing expedition! One of four things could happen: she could find it and move it down into the scrotum, she could find it and move it partway down and then move it all the way down at a later date (to give the blood supply time to grow and stretch), she could find a small testicle that wouldn't be worth moving (she'd take it out), or she wouldn't find one at all and Ben would have to have a laproscopic procedure later to try to locate it. It is very important to find it though, as his doctor needs to be able to check it (i.e. for cancer when he's older). Whether it stays in or is taken out, we needed to know where the heck it was.

On Thursday, our little boy was a real trooper. He wasn't really scared at all. I, on the other hand, was so anxious! I couldn't stop thinking about him being in pain, or scared, or both. The urologist was in and out in about an hour - she found a good-sized testicle in his groin! Gord and I were very pleasantly surprised - we had resigned ourselves to the thought that IF they found one, they'd just take it out; we didn't think that it would be a good testicle. I could tell that the doctor was also pleasantly surprised. She did say that the blood supply is under a bit of tension, but she didn't seem to be preparing us for the worst or anything. All in all, it was a successful day! Ben did take longer to come out from under the anesthetic, and we had to wait until he drank and peed and could walk around before we could come home, which took longer too. But we are relieved and happy that he won't have to go through this again.

The ultrasound for baby #2 is tomorrow...I can't wait to see him/her bouncing around! S/he is very active, giving me the ol' one-two every couple of hours, just to remind me that s/he is in there! Like I would forget!

We are r-e-a-d-y for Christmas! Gord is very excited to hang out with the family and enjoy some quality time together...and I agree! Our shopping is pretty much done and everything that we have is wrapped. I haven't put everything under the tree yet...we're not sure how well Ben will understand that not every present under the tree is for him and is therefore free game. We'll see...we're still working on tree issues...

I'm going to post a few cute pictures too...

Carrie

A mover and a shaker!

The boy loves to dance...if any music comes on the TV, he'll start dancing. Even the 'Jeopardy' Final Jeopardy song. BUT, if I tried to play Christmas music, he just stares at the cd changer. Until now...

I have this Christmas tree shaped door thingie - it has bells on it. Therefore, when you open and close the door, the bells jingle. Ben really likes it, and asks to play with it quite often. Last night, he was busy with it, and started shaking it. Gord started to sing "Jingle Bells" and Ben really got into it! He made us sing it at least a dozen times! It goes something like this (imagine Gord and/or I singing - or don't, we're horrible!) :

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride
in a one horse open sleigh!
Hey! - at which point Ben drops the bells, throws his hands up and says "HEY!", then has to pick the bells back up so we can continue with...

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride
in a one horse open sleigh!
Hey! - at which point Ben drops the bells again, throws his hands up and yells "HEY!"

My oh my, he's so sweet! This is going to be a fun Christmas!

Gearing up for Christmas!

The tree is here (but still outside) and the gifts are bought - heck, they're almost all wrapped! We're all set to start enjoying the season!

Today was my company's children's Christmas party. It was pretty fun. I wasn't sure that Ben would get a lot out of it, but he surprised me! They have those huge air-filled jumping/climbing apparatuses (apparati?) for the kids to play in, along with Karaoke, arts & crafts, food, face-painting, and of course, Santa Claus! (They give you a pager and will page you or call your cell phone when it's your turn with the big guy!) Ben HAD to go in the Thomas the Tank Engine jumping thing, and Mommy had to go with him and sit on the side. He was a little leary at first, but it didn't take long before he was hopping all around! He face-planted a couple of times, but came up smiling, so obviously he didn't hurt himself! Mommy almost bit it getting out of the darn thing, but that's another story! I also took him down the (smelly) slide a couple of times - even I enjoyed it (not the smell, the slide). We ate our hot dogs and chips and then had some popcorn. Yep, Ben ate a great lunch!

When we were finishing eating, Dr. Goodbear from the Children's Hospital Foundation came walking by. Ben was asking to get out of his stroller, so I let him go. He beelined it to Dr. Goodbear and kept smiling at him. Ben would turn around to me with a big smile on his face, so I went over to Ben and asked him if he would like to give Dr. Goodbear a hug. Well, Ben didn't just give the Doc a quick hug - he gave him a bear hug! And it lasted for almost a minute! It was so cute. And then Ben had to give him another one before he took off. I guess big stuffed life-size characters don't intimidate my kid! Disneyworld, here we come!

Carrie

Goodnight Moon, the remix

from my Feb playgroup message board (courtesy of babywaiting2003):

Goodnight, innocence
Louis Bayard
Special to The Washington Post
November 29, 2005

"Goodnight Moon," the children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown, has gone smoke-free. In a newly revised edition of the book, which has lulled children to sleep for nearly 60 years, the publisher, HarperCollins, has digitally altered the photograph of Clement Hurd, the illustrator, to remove a cigarette from his hand....
"It is potentially a harmful message to very young kids," (Kate) Jackson (editor in chief of HarperCollins Children's Books) said, "and it doesn't need to be there."

News item, The New York Times, Nov. 17, 2005

In the great green room there was ...

A cordless telephone

And a red balloon, non-helium and securely tethered out of toddler reach

And a picture of the cow jumping over the moon, with a warning label never to try this with cattle or indeed any animals without parental supervision

And there were three little bears, roaming freely in their native habitat, secure in their endangered-species status

And two little neutered kittens

And a pair of mittens, purchased from a Cambodian collective

And a little toyhouse with all potential choking hazards fastened in place by six-inch bolts

And a young and humanely captured mouse

Goodnight room, which is more than many Burkina Faso children have

Goodnight moon and all moon-related goddesses

A special shout-out to persons of color, the differently abled and victims of tobacco-company propaganda

Goodnight solar-powered clocks

And goodnight sustainably manufactured hemp socks

Goodnight synthetic tortoise shell comb and brush

Goodnight anybody who has ever been made to feel like a "nobody" by a rigidly patriarchal society

Goodnight organic whole-grain GMO-free oatmeal mush

And goodnight to the lady of mature years seeking an environment conducive to thought

Goodnight stars, which remind us that we are not alone in this cosmos and must henceforth redouble our stewardship efforts

Goodnight air, which we have done so much to pollute with our inhuman sport utility vehicles and our Weber grills

Goodnight all noises in the immediate vicinity ... .

... with the exception of the white-noise machine, the Haydn concerto loop, and the four-gallon cool-mist humidifier with the evaporative wick filter that was changed only last weekend

Goodnight to anybody whose feelings might have been injured by not being included above.

I'm coming to get you!

 

At the petting zoo/corn maze

 

The new paint job...

 

A gamer in training (Mommy is so ashamed!)

 

Our little shadow

Ben has begun repeating everything we say. I believe I may have said something to the effect of, "we have to watch our language around him" a few blog posts ago. Well, the time has really come. A couple of weekends ago, he and I were painting on a lovely Sunday morning. He had a brush, and proceeded to paint something he wasn't supposed to. Here's the running commentary:

Mommy: "Ben, no! Don't paint the !"
Ben: "No!"
Mommy: "Oh shit!"
Ben: "ohshtttt. ohshhhtt."

I'm really trying here people. I'm also trying to keep Gord in line with his language as well - mostly when we are driving. His pottymouth is much worse than mine though!

Other than that, Ben is doing great. His new word tonight: penguin. His version: "penwin" We dug out a rarely viewed Baby Einstein video (Baby Noah) and he is completely enthralled with it when we put it on. That's why it's good to have a dozen or so of these videos lying around - it's easy to cycle them out. Maybe Baby DaVinci will be next...

And of course, Ben is still displaying devilish qualities as well. He absolutely hates his "biiiiiiiig jacket" and throws a big fit when we try to get him into his carseat. What a chore - I was almost in tears last night, as Gord insisted we trek out in the snowstorm to go to Home Depot, when Ben decided that he (like Mommy) did NOT want to go out. Oy vay.

Little Baby Sheppard is also doing just fine. We finally got to hear the heartbeat yesterday - our first prenatal visit, this baby decided to be elusive. I looked at Gord and said, "Oh great! He/she is already causing us worry!" But all (my) fears were put to rest yesterday when we heart that beautiful little sound! I never get tired of it!

We painted the kitchen last weekend - I'll post some pics of the (almost) finished product. And maybe a pic or two of Ben - we'll have to see what's on the camera!

Till next time,
Carrie

Happy Blogoween!

Hello all! Happy Halloween!

Well, we had a great night going out trick or treating with our little chicken. Ben really enjoyed walking from house to house and examining what all the strange people were putting in his bag. At one point when we were walking up to a house he even said a very quiet and sweet "Tik-o-teet".

After the extensive candy hunt (up and down our street) and playing 'Daddy chased by the 2 foot bird flu', it was time to head back to the house to tally up the loot. Carrie and I verified that there were no razor blades in the treats (or at least none we could taste). Ben enjoyed a sucker and some smarties and then we had to hide the treats.

Enjoy the pics below - they are cute but they just don't do the little waddly chicken justice. Oh well! Remember - you can click on the pics to see a larger version.

BTW, Katherine Grace is the big winner of the prize for the Ben word contest. She wins our share of the 54 million bucks our friend in Alberta won. Bet you wished you had entered now, eh? For posterity's sake, the answers are:

1. Moom (a thing) - Moon
2. Bapa (a person/entity) - Grandpa
3. Jo-ja (a person/entity) - Georgia
4. Vee-vee-o (a thing) - Video (Baby Einstein)
5. Jew (something he would consume) - Juice
6. Doh (command) - Go
7. Ev-eee (an easy one!) (adjective) - Heavy!
8. Biiiiiiiiiiiiih (adjective) - Big
9. En-do (a thing) - Window
10. Ya-yeee (a person/entity) - Charlie
11. Dup (a thing) - Cup
12. Mewh (something he would consume) - Milk
13. New-noh (something he would consume) - Noodle
14. Piyoh (a thing) - Pillow

And the super bonus non-listed word was 'yogurt'. (Yo-yert)

 

 

 

An idea...

I thought we'd all play a little game! Let's call it "Lost in Translation" (a very good movie, if you haven't seen it yet!). Here's how you play - I'm going to list a bunch of things that Ben says, and then all you fathful readers can post back with your guesses! I'll have to work on a prize though...correct answers will be posted IF we get a certain number of responses (say 5)...winner will be the person with the most number of correct answers. Gord, you can't play.

Here we go!

1. Moom (a thing)
2. Bapa (a person/entity)
3. Jo-ja (a person/entity)
4. Vee-vee-o (a thing)
5. Jew (something he would consume)
6. Doh (command)
7. Ev-eee (an easy one!) (adjective)
8. Biiiiiiiiiiiiih (adjective)
9. En-do (a thing)
10. Ya-yeee (a person/entity)
11. Dup (a thing)
12. Mewh (something he would consume)
13. New-noh (something he would consume)
14. Piyoh (a thing)

OK, this is going to be much harder than I thought, so I've added "categories", like on Wheel of Fortune.

Ready...set...post!

Carrie

Evvv-eeeeeeeeee!

Last week, Ben and I were out playing at his sand table. We were happily shovelling sand into buckets, strainers and the like, having a grand 'ol time. I started lifting a whole bunch of sand (with my bigger shovel) and saying, "Heavy!" in a strained voice. Now, everything is heavy to Ben. Actually, it's "evvvv-eeeeeee". He even says it in his own strained voice. Ben was carrying a very bottom-heavy flashlight around the house last night, saying, "evvvvv-eeeee, evvvvv-eeeee". It was so funny.

What else is Ben doing? Glad you asked! He now signs and says "please" and "thank you". I gave him a drink of water in the middle of the night ('cause he was coughing up a storm) and he said (and signed) "thank you", which sounds more like "tey tey", but I know what he meant!

I was trying to get Charlie to sit in front of me, so I was patting my leg to get her to come closer. So what does Ben do? Says, "Ya-yeee" and pats his leg.

He is big into imitating everything you do lately...I guess we should stop the swearing and yelling at the dog! Otherwise, we'll have a potty-mouthed 2 year-old on our hands!

And at daycare yesterday, his babysitter (Cherise) traced their hands, she made the hands look like turkeys, and then they colored them! There's one for the fridge! I'm such a proud mommy!

Ben caught the cold that went around our house and the babysitter's, and now has given the cold back to me. So I've been sick for a week and a half. Stupid germs.

c

Mommy is sick...sniff sniff.

I think my stupid brother gave me his cold. Jerk. After everything I've done for him and put up with over the years, and what do I get in return? A stupid head cold. I stayed home from work today (yay!) even though it's month end and not really a good time for me not to be there. But I just couldn't do it - get up and go to work and stare at a computer screen all day and deal with issues I'd rather not deal with on a good day! So I'm at home, doing laundry, resting, loading the dishwasher, resting, blogging, some more resting, etc. etc. etc.

We had a nice weekend though - went to the wedding of my brother's best friend from high school. We had a very good time, but Ben crashed pretty early - he started laying down in the middle of the dance floor. We thought he was just trying to look up the girls' dresses (Daddy was proud!), but I think at least part of it was fatigue. Gord took him home at 9 o'clock, which is WAY earlier than he went home from Chris and Sheri's wedding. But we figure that Ben had a good time anyways.

That's all I can muster the energy for. Sorry folks...

Carrie