Grandad's hat-

We survived pink eye and the fever for five days! Nothing really new - Ben has been talking up a storm and puts together as many as 8-10 words at a time. He wants to do everything by himself ("Ben do, Ben dooooo!").

We were at Bebe and Grandad's house last night when he spotted all of Grandad's hats hanging up - "I can't reach them" - (also one of our favorite lines, it sounds like he's from Ireland or something).

Lake of the Ozarks

We took a Willis/Maddi family vacation last week and despite the pink eye (Ben) had a great time!

Outdoor playgroup-

Today we went to Ben's friend, Connor's house for playgroup. We had a great time playing outside with bubbles, t-ball and the water table. Ben had the MOST fun on the toy 4-wheeler that was battery powered - he was a terrible driver, crashing to everything in his way. It was a riot. He also loved popsicles for snack! What a fun morning!

Goats and Train

I took Ben to the Zoo on Sunday so Joe could have the morning off (he's doing the same for me this weekend!). We went to the Children's Zoo for the first time and had a blast. He loved petting the goats and kept rubbing them with is face (yuk!) as seen in the above pic. He does that if he sees a photo or picture of an animal in a book - he also does it to Uncle Tim - one of his #1 guys! I guess it's like a hug or kiss. 

We tried to ride the train at the Zoo, but they don't allow strollers on the train and I couldn't leave it since I was by myself. SO, later in the day we took Ben on the MetroLink to get coffee near the university. Ben was completely silent the entire ride - loving every moment in absolute awe. We'll definitely do that again!

Here it comes…

I know, I know - nothing's sacred - poor kid!

We've been talking with Ben about using the "big boy potty" for a long time but he never was interested, in fact he always said "no, no, no potty." UNTIL last night - he tried the potty with Daddy's help (there is a kid seat on top of the toilet). He even said "here it comes" before he went - so now we know he knows what's going on. 

Ben and I have spent a large chunk of the day in the bathroom - what fun! But I'm happy to report since last night he's gone pee in the potty three times. 

No "number two" so far - the kid is like clockwork so I knew when he would have to go - I placed him on the seat and we read books. I could tell he had to go (and badly) but he just wouldn't do it. Two seconds later we put a diaper on for nap, he ran to his room, shut the door and took care of business in private. Oh well, baby steps!

Happy Day!

Ben thought the 4th of July was just one big birthday party - and I suppose it is - but he kept saying "Happy Day!" (which is how he says happy birthday). We went to the WG parade in the morning and he had a lollipop and popsicle before noon - so he knew he was in for some fun! He desperately wanted a flag at the parade and luckily someone was passing them out so he waved it like crazy all morning. 

We also walked up to the carnival by our house after nap and rode the toy train three times ($4 for a 2-1/2-minute ride - gulp!) - but he loved it and waved to Daddy every time we came around the bend.

Thankfully he slept well through three nights of fireworks - since we live so close to where they let them off the entire house shakes! We were considering letting him watch the fireworks if he was awake, but he doesn't even like the noise of a blender or vacuum cleaner, so we're pretty sure the fireworks wouldn't be a big hit.

Grant's Farm

On Friday Ben and I went on a field trip with Auntie to Grant's Farm. Ben loved the train, it takes you from the parking lot all around the farm. We saw a lot of animals and he told Daddy each one we saw that night - turtles, camels, elephants, horses, goats ("Ben feed a bottle") and he was very serious about listing them all. 

Also, you can see he wore his watch while we were there - this was a first and very funny to see! I guess it's more of an accessory until he can tell time!