Music To My Ears....

Well, yesterday was a particularly grueling day trying to shop with a toddler. Benjamin used to be such a great little shopper!! Now...he's perfectly happy as long as you are strolling him around but the second you try to wheel him into a store he begins to protest.....he's becoming more and more like his daddy every day!!

So after this shopping excursion The Huff family was in the car driving home. We were listening to the radio when a sort of sappy, mellow song came on the air...I wish I could remember what song it was!! Anyhow...pretty soon I can hear some noise coming from the back seat...it's Benjamin....singing his little heart out!!

"blew....ba...moum...la...la...lou....doo.....wee....da.....Mama.

Mamaaaaaaaa.....Dada....Dadaaaaaaaa....blah....wee....doo....la"

It just brought tears to my eyes to hear him sing like that!! He's such a precocious little boy...I couldn't be prouder to be his mommy......even when he's protesting a shopping excursion!

Ridin' the Range

Well....it's official....Benjamin wants to be a cowboy!! It all started earlier last week with a new word that Nate and I couldn't quite figure out. After some detailed conversation we finally discovered the in "Benjamin-ease" the word "hoo-haw" means "horse." He's obsessed with the hoo-haw. He first noticed it on his favorite show The Backyardigans....his two favorite episodes are "Ridin' the Range" with cowboy Tyrone and the "Cowboy Polka" (don't ask!!!).

So today I received some new summer clothes that I had ordered for Benjamin. In the box was the fishing hat I requested. I'm hoping that this summer he will FINALLY agree to wear a hat and sunglasses when he's outside!! I also found a cool pair of sunglasses that had arrived (they were only $1.97!) I opened the items and Benjamin wanted to wear the hat and sunglasses. Once they were on he began to strut around the house and move his shoulders up and down like he was dancing. Then he immediately grabbed his big stuffed doggie and began to "ride" the doggie all over the living room....it was hilarious! To see Benjamin riding his "hoo-haw" check out the link here: www.msnusers.com/huffadoption and click on the "documents" tab to the left.

Benjamin was surprisingly cooperative for the camera when I took this photo....towards the end though you can tell that he felt like a celebrity trying to get away from the paparazzi.....

How many blankets does it take???

I can only thank Nate for this new habit of Benjamin's.....there is no one else to blame!! As you may have read in a previous post, when Benjamin goes to bed (or "nigh nigh") he is quite particular about where his pillow is in relationship to the crib (by the way....the bear pillow if working out just great!) and he lays down the same way each time (like a stink bug!) and then you have to cover him with the blanket of his choice. Now, whenever Benjamin goes to bed he has to be covered by no less than 5 blankets! And not only does he need these 5 blankets in order to be able to sleep but you have to lay them out one at a time covering him from head to toe! The best part is that now (thanks to me!) you have to count out each blanket. 1......2.....3......4......5!! Since Benjamin was only able to count 2 before (not up to 2.....just 2) I guess it's good for learning his numbers!

Benjamin also tried a new class at "The Little Gym" the other day. When we arrived at the Little Gym Benjamin opened his mouth in awe as he saw a gigantic room full of red, blue and yellow cushions, parallel bars, balance beams, etc. He could not WAIT to get into that room to get started!! The teacher assured me that his age group, 19 mos. to 2.5 years (they call them the "beasts"), would not be required to sit on the red mat during class time. In fact, she said the mommies (and one grandpa last week!) should stay on the mat and participate in class and allow the babies to run around the room. This way they would eventually learn how to participate with the group. So, maybe I should have started out by saying that I tried out a new class at The Little Gym and Benjamin ran around like a crazy person!! Works for me!!!

Weekend Attire

When Benjamin woke up this morning he insisted that his dad put on this bandana "hat." Just so you know, anything that manages to stay on his head for 3 seconds is deemed a "hat." This would include such items as....a piece of paper, some pajama bottoms, actual hats, a hangar and this bandana. He was thrilled to have on his "hat" and (if you hadn't noticed) his gardening gloves!! Sometimes a picture IS worth a thousand words!!

The Saga of the Purple Kitty Pillow

Many of you may have heard me talk about Benjamin's purple kitty pillow, but for those who don't know the whole story, let me start at the beginning. Sometime last summer Benjamin and I were shopping for a birthday present for his friend Grace. Since it was Grace's 1st birthday, and she's such a girly girl, I decided to buy this furry little pink kitty pillow. Benjamin, who is always fond of furry things, decided that he also needed to have a pillow. So, since I am such a pushover, I found the most boyish one I could find.....a turquoise colored pillow with a purple kitty.

Benjamin loved this pillow from the very beginning. He wouldn't even let go of it long enough to put it in a Toys R Us bag....he hugged it all the way to the car and all the way home. He dragged the pillow around the house and at some point, I decided it would be cute to put it in his crib. A decision I am sorely regretting! Ever since that first nap with the puple kitty pillow, he will not...CAN not sleep without his purple kitty pillow!

Now I wasn't too annoyed by this new pillow habit. It was sort of cute at first. Then it became just a little weird....he has to get the pillow....kitty faced down.....put it in the left upper corner of the crib, just right before he deems it perfect for sleeping. And even still this wasn't a problem until......the pillow became dirty!! I hadn't even considered this possibility....you can't WASH a purple kitty pillow in the washing machine!! So after some research on the internet I decided I would wash the surface of the pillow with some Woolite and let it air dry. I knew eventually I would have to put the pillow in the laundry....that drool and stuff doesn't just stick to the outside of the pillow! But I become paralyzed by fear.....what if the pillow became ruined??? How would Benjamin ever sleep again?!?!

So today was the day....at naptime we attempted to put him down without the pillow so I could wash it....yea RIGHT!!! He's no dummy....he was NOT going to go down without that pillow. So since Nate and I both wanted a little nap too....we gave him the pillow back. We realized we were going to have to find a temporary substitute! After naptime we headed to Toys R Us...our choices were.....a purple pillow with the word "Cutie" written in cursive pink lettering, a pink poodle pillow and....YEA...a blue bear pillow!! PERFECT!! We showed the bear to Benjamin and it met with his approval (although it was dropped within seconds of seeing a racetrack that appeared more interesting!)

So tonight is the night....we snuck the purple kitty pillow out of Benjamin's room without him seeing. I put the blue bear pillow in it's place. After Nate put Benjamin in his pajamas and read a story he put him in bed. Initially Benjamin picked up the pillow and said "no....nope....lillow?" but when Nate wouldn't give in (yea Nate!) Benjamin finally resigned himself to sleeping on the blue bear pillow. Wish us luck that it works!!! Now I just have to figure out what to buy to get him over the Blue Bear Pillow eventually!!! A problem for another day....

Do You Speak Benjamin-ease??

I was realizing recently that Benjamin's vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds! The only obstacle is that sometimes it sounds like he's speaking a foreign language. For those that are challenged in speaking Benjamin-ease here is a list of translations:

doga ~ dog
mouw ~ cat
awa ~ water
lillow ~ pillow
chis ~ cheese
nigh nigh ~ time for bed
die die ~ goodbye
go-ga ~ bicycle
nie-num ~ Simon (his cousin)
blnumna ~ banana
mik! ~ milk
el-O ~ hello
dat, dat, dat!! ~ I want that (object)
doot doot ~ Choo Choo train
no, NO, NO! ~ I don't want this, I don't want to do this, I don't want to go there, I don't want to eat this, etc.
ga-ma ~ Grandma
bebe ~ a baby or child of any age, also meaning Benjamin
poop! ~ I have a poopy diaper
bah ~ bath

di-doo ~ Thank you

paes ~ Please

kaker ~ cracker or cookie

hoo-haw ~ horse

Two Peas In a......ear?

Where is a camera when you need one?? The other night after dinner I was playing with Benjamin. He was running around, crazy as usual when I noticed something green coming from his right ear. What the.... it was a smashed pea!! And before you ask....yes....we had peas that night for dinner! So I pulled the smashed pea out of his ear when I noticed another pea shoved into the opening to his ear canal! Luckily it wasn't stuck and I pulled it out easily with my finger nail. Upon further investigation.....I found two more peas in his left ear!! So is this what I have to look forward to now....Benjamin shoving peas and various other objects in his ears??? Goodness I hope he doesn't figure out that his nostrils have an opening.