Okay, so I know it was awhile ago (about two weeks ago actually!) but Benjamin turned 3 years old! I just loaded the photos onto my computer today. Sorry it took so long! We all had a great time at the party! It was a dinosaur theme. There were about 40 guests that enjoyed some of the best pizza in the whole world, and a fantastically wonderful ice cream cake decorated with dinosaurs. Benjamin could hardly hold still for 5 minutes he was so excited! I think his favorite part was riding on the "motorcycle" (a ride on video game) at the pizza parlor. For days afterwards he kept asking, "Can I please go to my birthday party?"
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Fastman
The other evening I was laying on the bed and Benjamin climbed in beside me. He asked, "Will you play "Fastman" with me Mommy?" Fastman?? I asked him how it was played and he showed me. Basically you take a hanger in each hand and shake them back and forth...really....fast (hence the name?) Benjamin said I was really good at the game and I think I might have won! So this got me to thinking about all the other games Benjamin has invented.
The first game we realized he'd made up is called "Scary Turtles." We couldn't fingure this one out for the longest time! He kept asking us to play "Scary Turtles" but when we asked how to play he couldn't explain it. Eventually we discovered the game involves these two plastic Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles (where did those come from?!?) I think the object of the game is to make them fly around the room.
About 4 or 5 months ago Benjamin started asking us to play "Crash." Each participant has some sort of vehicle and then you push them really fast towards each other so they...crash! The only problem is that Benjamin is in charge of telling everyone which vehicle they can play with....and he always gets the biggest one!
I posted previously about the giant box from Costco and how Benjamin turned it into a "spaceship." Well, that became the centerpiece for the game "Space Monsters." Benjamin and I played this game for over 1/2 hour the other day. We each don "space helmets" (his was a plastic backpack and mine was a purple t-shirt) Then you stand really tall with your arms straight at your side and prepare for "Lift Off." Benjamin counts off....5....4.....6....5.....3......Blast Off!! Then we run around the house "flying" through space. Benjamin is referred to as "Captain Benjamin" and I am (of course) "Captain Mommy." The object of the game is to avoid being caught by the "Space Monsters." (which ended up being Nate when he came home and found us!)
It is just amazing to me how much creativity Benjamin has. I have recently decided to try and do some more structured education with him at home. I bought some "learning" books to help teach him to recognize the letters of the alphabet and numbers. It's a lot of fun and he's doing really well with them. But my priority right now is to help him express his creative side in whatever way he wants.
The first game we realized he'd made up is called "Scary Turtles." We couldn't fingure this one out for the longest time! He kept asking us to play "Scary Turtles" but when we asked how to play he couldn't explain it. Eventually we discovered the game involves these two plastic Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles (where did those come from?!?) I think the object of the game is to make them fly around the room.
About 4 or 5 months ago Benjamin started asking us to play "Crash." Each participant has some sort of vehicle and then you push them really fast towards each other so they...crash! The only problem is that Benjamin is in charge of telling everyone which vehicle they can play with....and he always gets the biggest one!
I posted previously about the giant box from Costco and how Benjamin turned it into a "spaceship." Well, that became the centerpiece for the game "Space Monsters." Benjamin and I played this game for over 1/2 hour the other day. We each don "space helmets" (his was a plastic backpack and mine was a purple t-shirt) Then you stand really tall with your arms straight at your side and prepare for "Lift Off." Benjamin counts off....5....4.....6....5.....3......Blast Off!! Then we run around the house "flying" through space. Benjamin is referred to as "Captain Benjamin" and I am (of course) "Captain Mommy." The object of the game is to avoid being caught by the "Space Monsters." (which ended up being Nate when he came home and found us!)
It is just amazing to me how much creativity Benjamin has. I have recently decided to try and do some more structured education with him at home. I bought some "learning" books to help teach him to recognize the letters of the alphabet and numbers. It's a lot of fun and he's doing really well with them. But my priority right now is to help him express his creative side in whatever way he wants.
Monday, April 7, 2008
My Favorite Part of the Day
Mealtime around our house can sometimes be rather hectic. We don't always get to eat all 3 meals together. Awhile ago I decided to emphasis dinner as the "family" meal where we would all sit down at the table and eat together. I heard somewhere that it really helps to foster communication with your children, and I was feeling tired of eating dinner in front of the t.v. (yes...I'm ashamed to admit it....Nate and I used to eat dinner in front of the t.v.) I try to make it a really nice event with calming music and dim lights and I begin the meal by asking, "What was the favorite part of your day?" We usually start with Benjamin and then go around the table. I didn't really feel it was making any sort of impact with him, although it was great for Nate and I to talk about our favorite parts of our day. But tonight we went to a restaurant for dinner with my mom and step-dad (who were in town for Benjamin's birthday party!) Obviously we didn't talk about our favorite part of the day at the restaurant. So while I'm sitting here surfing the internet I can hear Benjamin in the bathtub with Nate asking "What was the favorite part of my day Dad?" I guess something is sticking!? By the way....THAT was the favorite part of my day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
