OH, BENITO

I know my posts have been all about my kids lately, but that's what I'm swimming in these days, and really, my buddy is stinkin' hilarious at this stage of life, so here are some things Bennett James is up to:

1) He used the potty for the first time a few days ago (Sunday). He'd just gotten in from outside and had "the look." He dribbled a little before I said, "Oh, no! Let's go use the potty!" So he STOPPED himself (which amazed me) and ran to his little potty. He sat on it, but I wasn't expecting anything because he's done that before and nothing has come of it. But this time I told him he could wear his Lightning McQueen underwear if he went (we'd picked it out the day before). I was shocked that it actually worked, and we got some ADORABLE pictures of him in his big boy underpants - seriously, there's NOTHING cuter than a little boy in little boy briefs, especially if that little boy has a ghetto booty, a buddha belly, and a nice little strut all rolled into one - hee :) THEN he was eating a snack at the table and said "Oh!" with "the look." I asked him if he needed to go potty. He said "Yes!" and jumped down off the chair and ran to the potty, where he proceeded to go all by himself with no prompting from me. I was PUMPED. I know we've got a long road to haul, but I was excited about all of this since he's never gone before. This morning I asked him if he wanted to use the potty or wear a diaper. He opted for the diaper, so I strapped it on. I'm NOT going to battle this kid. He's strong-willed like BOTH his parents, and I figure we'll get it all worked out when he's ready.

2) This kid must be going through some kind of weird growth-spurt that makes him clumsy because he falls down ALL. THE. TIME. Three different incidents in the past week have resulted in injuries, one of which was slightly serious. The first was a big fat leg scrape. Crying, hugs, kisses, all better. The next happened at church. The boy ran right smack into the door in his classroom and scraped/bruised his cheek up pretty good. Silly goose. And then on Memorial Day he was running to the back door to go outside when he tripped and fell and connected his forehead right on the lowest door hinge, full force. Michael wasn't home at the time and there was blood running down his face - fantastic. I ran him to the bathroom and leaned his screaming little head over the sink while I washed him up. I must be some kinda woman cause we avoided getting blood on the floors or anywhere other than a tiny bit on his sleeve, and down his face, which I got cleaned up pretty quick. We thought at first that it might need stitches, but instead discovered that that "New Skin" stuff is pretty rockin' awesome. He's healing up quite nicely. Needless to say, we've now implemented a "no running inside" policy, which he can recite quite well, but struggles a bit in the follow-up :) Ah, little boys!

3) My kid is gonna be stylin' and profilin' at the water park this summer, that's all I've got to say. He's at the age now where he actually has preferences and picks out things for himself, including his swimsuit this year :) I've told you how the boy is obsessed with flags - guess what they just happened to have at Target? A FLAG bathing suit! Bennett could hardly contain himself and his excitement when he saw it. I held up the flag design and another one I thought was super cute to let him choose, but I already knew which one it would be :) It's not the cutest suit I've ever seen, but it's funny how much I love seeing him wear the silly thing because he picked it and he loves it so much. Man, I love being a mom, and it just gets sweeter and sweeter the older they get.

4) Some funny things he says these days:
"I'm so funny!"
He recites rules for different situations, depending on where we are, then promptly breaks them.
"Good job, Bennett!" (says this for me or Michael when we don't say it fast enough)
"Turn the music up LOUD, mommy!"
"He has Shimmy-Shake hair." (pointing to random males with longer, dark hair)
"I love you, Baby Jasper!" (in a REALLY high, piercing "baby" voice)
"Jasper is sad. I'll hold his hand."
He calls monkeys "muminks", tomatoes "masatos", Jasper is "Baby Jasser"
"I'm sorry, Mommy." (he says this for me when I don't say it fast enough after I've used a not-so-nice tone toward someone else while driving because I've explained to him that Mommy shouldn't get so frustrated at other drivers and I should always be nice to others...this little reminder from the back seat happens frequently - my buddy helps me mind my p's and q's :) )

5) For a few days in a row, before getting Bennett up from a nap or from sleeping at night, we'd hear him making strange noises. The first time this happened, it was a LOUD banging noise. We go in to find that he'd figured out a way to reach down through the crib slats and grab blocks from a bucket next to his crib and was banging on the walls and the railings with them. The next time, I go in to find him "reading" his books in bed (a bucket of books is on the other side of his crib). He's also ripped a page out *sigh* of one of the books and says, "Uh-oh, Mommy. I broke it," as soon as I walk in. The last time I go in to find another big bucket of foam letters actually IN the crib with him, and the letters are scattered all over his room. Also, lately when I've gone in to get him in the morning, he automatically swings his leg over the crib to "help" me get him out. Needless to say, we will be converting his crib to a toddler bed this weekend (because he's obviously ready), and having a LONG talk about what the bed rules are :) (and probably a purging of the toys in his room until he can resist temptation).


And that's what my precious little mess has been up to over the past couple of weeks. Whew! He's been busy, so I have been too, by default. I'll say it again: I love this kid!