Busy Summer

I wanted to write another post for today as my posts have certainly been lacking lately! We have all had a busy summer with so many new and fun experiences. Ben is growing up so fast and he is turning from looking like my little baby to looking more and more like a kid. Although I miss the long cuddles, the lack of mobility (for various reasons) and his lack of verbal skills in not being able to tell his parents no, he certainly is becoming quite a cool little kid.

Ben is picking up his verbal skills left and right. What we once though to be a problem as he did not speak that much in the beginning, he is certainly making up for. He will say a new word just about everyday. He is still verbally quiet most of the time (just like his Father), he is a little bundle of energy just like his Mom and most little toddlers his age.

For a while Ben had a hitting/biting/pulling hair issue. It seriously went on for months. We spoke to his pediatrician, behavioral coaches at day care and read countless articles about how to stop this silly behavior of his. We did everything the experts told us to with time outs, talking to him, paying attention to the victim first then him, etc., What really changed his behavior one day was a thought by a behavioral coach at his school, which was to transition him a bit early to his next classroom with older kids. It worked! We have our shortcomings here and there as I am sure most toddlers have, but it seriously changed everything at day care and his home life. So for my future little man, in case your son and daughter has this same issue someday...my advice is to try out some new surroundings.

Ben as I said is just growing and growing. At his two year appointment he weighed in at 28lbs and 34 inches tall! He is in the 75th percentile for both. He loves going outside or in his words "side". He is also becoming quite the Daddy's boy as he typically sees his Daddy for all the fun, but Mom is good for all the lovies once in a while when he feels he needs it.

Ben's new love in life are cares. Anything that has to do with cars is fine in his book. Really anything with wheels or that moves is fine to him. He doesn't discriminate as he will even play with strollers at his little girl friends houses. He figures that is just another car. It is funny because if one of his girl friends tries to put a baby doll in that stroller, that baby gets taken out immediately. Boys!

Ben's summer has been a busy one. He has been to Colonial Beach, the D.C. Zoo (several times), Reston Zoo, Leesburg Zoo, tons of kid birthday parties, area events and Miami. He had a blast at all of them. Ben loves to dive in head first to where ever he goes. Typically if there is a group of people he is meeting he shys away at first, but quickly joins in with the fun. I believe Ben had most of his fun in Miami.

Miami is somewhere his Dada used to live, so going there is always a treat for the entire family. This year his Dad booked a hotel right on the beach so we could have easy access to it. Having a sand covered baby and walking a block to a hotel really isn't that fun. I believe his Dad paid $450 for a week including a family trip to Parrot Jungle.

On Ben's first day to the beach, we didn't dress him in his swimwear. Last year when he was in OBX, he had to slowly be introduced to the water. We figured since he loves playing in his Nagypapa and Nagymama's sandbox that he would have a great time with the sand. He surprised both his parents by not only loving the sand but running straight to the water. HE LOVED IT! He really couldn't get enough of it. The next day after a short trip to the beach, he surprised his Mom and Dad even more by jumping off the ledge of the pool to his Dad and holding his breath as he entered the water for a few seconds. Everyone at the pool was watching him and just couldn't believe this little baby was so gung ho with the whole thing. Thats our Ben!

Ben also loved spending lots of quality time with the family while being in Miami. He got to play with his cousin Leo. Both of them played so hard during a visit that the two took a four hour nap, which is unprecedented for both because a two hour nap is long for them now days. Ben and Leo loved playing on each other's ride on toys and eating up all of the yummy Russian food Ben's Great Grandma made for them. Ben also started a little bond with his Great Grandma, who on two occasions baby sat him while his parents had a little couple time. Really Great Grandma nearly insisted on seeing her Great Grandson, so we weren't going to deprive her of seeing her little Ben. Ben ate up lots of her good cooking, played hard and started calling her "Gaga". He couldn't quite say, "Baba", but we all knew what he meant. He also picked up a few Russian words (before the trip) and can say "one" and "bye" in Russian. YAY BEN!

Ben also while in Miami enjoyed a trip to Monkey Jungle and Parrot Jungle. Ben really loved seeing the monkeys at Monkey Jungle as his parents were able to feed the monkeys little raisins and cranberries. He just couldn't believe the monkeys were so close! Parrot Jungle was also an awesome time for him, a bit hot, but awesome. He loved watching for fifteen minutes one of the shows that had a white tiger, wolf and a skunk. We didn't stay for the entire show as he like most toddlers don't have that long of an attention span.

The trip was certainly a success and Ben was a trooper. He did great on the drive down and back with watching countless Sesame Street shows, eating up yummy snacks and getting new toys on the ride down. His parents can't wait to return to the Miami sun to spend more family time and see more relatives and friends.

I still can not believe how much my little baby has grown. I guess even when he's 62, he will still be my baby to me. Time certainly does fly, but we've really enjoyed our little man in our lives. Ben certainly has changed our lives and I feel lucky to be his Mom. Now we are looking forward to the Fall when hockey season will begin again, Halloween may be actually fun for him this year and all the fun Fall festivities that his Dad and Mom are lining up. We love you little man. You certainly make your parents proud!