My big two year old boy!

Two years ago today Benjamin made his way into the world. A wee thing of 8 lbs 6oz (didn't seem so little at the time! ha-ha!), and now here he is, a whopping 33 lbs and 36 inches tall. The bluest eyes you'll ever see, and such a sweet, kind, gentle soul. And it is my absolute pleasure and privledge to be his Mama. I simply cannot imagine the world and our lives without him.

A few days old:

Two years old:

Here are some Benjamin factoids.

Ben likes:

• cars, trucks, airplanes, diggers, and trains
• playing "Daddy Whoa!", a game where Ben tackles Daddy and knocks him down ("whoa" means "fall"; Ben plays many variations of this game, like "Pablo Whoa!", "Car Whoa!", etc.)
• the Cars movie, especially Mater
• strawberries
• cats (which he calls "maow-maow")
• his cousin Emma (who always takes a great interest in and plays with Ben when we get together)
• water, particularly swimming, but he enjoys the bath too
• running like a maniac in shopping malls
• debating, e.g., looking at a picture of a dump truck the following debate ensues...
  Ben: digger!
  Mama: it's a dumper!
  Ben: big digger!
  Mama: no, it's a dumper!
  Ben: digger!
  you get the idea
• Pablo (from the Backyardigans)

What Benjamin is doing these days:

• started potty training (if he's pantless he uses the potty pretty consistantly without any encouragement from me)
• three word sentences
• identifying and naming some primary colours
• expanding his pallet, recently he's started trying more dishes and has even started eating some raw vegetables, under close supervision)
• more imaginary/role playing, like moving his little action figured around and having them do things; it usually goes something like this: Ben sweetly says "do-di-do-di-doo" while maneuvering a little person up a set of stairs, then he yells "whoaaa!" and tosses said little person across the room
• playing independantly; Ben's always been fairly independant, and this continues as he gets older. in the mornings he happily entertains himself while I get myself ready and make the beds, etc.
• climbing in and out of his car seat on his own

Overall, Ben's a pretty easy going kid. As he was during infancy, he still eats well, sleeps well, and so far isn't prone to many tantrums. He sleeps about 12 hours at night and has one two to three hour nap daily; that doesn't leave a lot of time to be cranky!

And here are some birthday pics:





Benjamin in 38 years?