This was the pronouncement of Ben to his younger brother this morning. Mindy heard it from the other room being told in all earnestness as if it were a life lesson he were passing on to Kyle.
To set the context, you have to know that Ben and I made cookies on Saturday morning to help Mindy out. When we got to the part where we spooned the cookies onto the cookie sheet, Ben looked at the two spoons that I had and asked where his were. I told him one was for me and the other was for him.
"But mommy uses 2 spoons," he said.
"Oh, well, I think one spoon apiece will be fine for us."
So we proceed to drop the cookies onto the sheet and it does seem to have its challenges. Then Ben is tired of it and puts his spoon down in the bowl to go do something else. After a couple minutes I decide that maybe 2 spoons would be better and it was so much easier. I know, that's kind of obvious if you think about it, but I don't bake much.
When Ben came back into the room, I told him that we should have used two spoons because it was much easier.
Hence, Ben's declaration to Kyle that "Mommy is smarter than Daddy. She knows that you should use two spoons for making cookies instead of one."
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Being like Daddy
It's really fun to see how Ben perceives the adult world as he begins his interest in becoming an adult.
A couple weeks ago when most of our family was fighting one sort of sickness or the other, I had a really bad cough for a few days. One evening at dinner as I was getting over my cough, Ben coughed really hard. It sounded like it hurt, actually.
When he was finished Ben looked at me and said, "I thought I had your cough, Daddy, it was so loud."
I guess the idea of colds being contagious will have to wait...
Then last Saturday, Ben was looking at his arms and started talking about he was growing up because he had little fuzzes on his arm.
"Then when I'm grown up, my arm will be really hairy, like Daddy's."
It's such a joy and such a responsibility to realize how much my boys look up to me. I just hope I can be as good a role model as my dad was.
A couple weeks ago when most of our family was fighting one sort of sickness or the other, I had a really bad cough for a few days. One evening at dinner as I was getting over my cough, Ben coughed really hard. It sounded like it hurt, actually.
When he was finished Ben looked at me and said, "I thought I had your cough, Daddy, it was so loud."
I guess the idea of colds being contagious will have to wait...
Then last Saturday, Ben was looking at his arms and started talking about he was growing up because he had little fuzzes on his arm.
"Then when I'm grown up, my arm will be really hairy, like Daddy's."
It's such a joy and such a responsibility to realize how much my boys look up to me. I just hope I can be as good a role model as my dad was.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Wrestling
It's no surprise to anyone that wrestling has started in earnest around our house with our two boys. And boy is it cute.
I'm not sure either of them quite get it completely yet, because the current game of "wrestling" involves one person being "wrestled" or tackled to the ground and the other person is wrestling them.
For example, when Ben and I wrestle, I'll have him pinned down for a couple seconds and then he'll say, "Now it's my turn to wrestle you!" Which means, "Dad, you lay down and I'll climb on top of you now."
It's also so much fun to see Kyle joining in on the action. If he sees Ben and I wrestling, he'll wade right in and do a full body flop on whoever is getting "wrestled". Of course, turn about is fair play and when Ben and I pin Kyle down, he giggles like crazy.
I thank God every day for the joy that my boys bring me and just hope that they'll be kind to me when they get big enough to really gang up on me.
It could be trouble!
I'm not sure either of them quite get it completely yet, because the current game of "wrestling" involves one person being "wrestled" or tackled to the ground and the other person is wrestling them.
For example, when Ben and I wrestle, I'll have him pinned down for a couple seconds and then he'll say, "Now it's my turn to wrestle you!" Which means, "Dad, you lay down and I'll climb on top of you now."
It's also so much fun to see Kyle joining in on the action. If he sees Ben and I wrestling, he'll wade right in and do a full body flop on whoever is getting "wrestled". Of course, turn about is fair play and when Ben and I pin Kyle down, he giggles like crazy.
I thank God every day for the joy that my boys bring me and just hope that they'll be kind to me when they get big enough to really gang up on me.
It could be trouble!
Monday, January 08, 2007
Holding Hands
We have been so blessed that our boys really seem to have a natural affinity for one another. Ben has just adored his little brother from the day he was born and Kyle looks up to his brother in the sweetest ways.
When Kyle was born, Ben was so sweet and very interested in this little person that had grown in his mama's belly. He often wants to help us do things for Kyle. Early on he sat by Kyle's bassinet sometimes and let Kyle suck his finger to help him calm down. More recently Kyle dropped a piece of fruit on the floor. Before we knew what was happening, Ben had hopped up off his chair, picked up the fruit, blew it off enthusiastically and gave it back to Kyle. It was so sweet that we couldn't bring ourselves to take the fruit away from Kyle.
Kyle for his part, watches his brother with such big eyes. Our method for discipline involves asking the boys to sit and get their body under control when they are not listening or doing something inappropriate. After they've gotten their body under control, they can get up and we give them a big hug and discuss what happened. We probably started that around 18 months with Ben because before that, he didn't really know how to sit there on hIs own. Of course Kyle has been watching this happen since he was born and so we decided to give it a try a few weeks ago. Kyle was just giddy to go sit in the designated place, just like big brother did. And when we told him he could get up, he came running for his hug. It was so cute.
Yesterday I got to see one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time. Mindy was out and I was watching the boys for the afternoon. After they both got up from afternoon quiet time we all had a great big wrestling match. The boys just squealed with glee as they piled on each other and on me. Then we all got a snack and sat down on the couch to watch a DVD about firemen. Ben was sitting next to me ad Kyle was on my lap. Both were just riveted by what was happening. Ben asked what and why quite frequently and Kyle chimed in often with his own "Whazzis?" About halfway through the video I looked down to see Ben and Kyle holding hands.
It was just so heartwarming. I just thank the Lord for the love that I see growing between our sons.
When Kyle was born, Ben was so sweet and very interested in this little person that had grown in his mama's belly. He often wants to help us do things for Kyle. Early on he sat by Kyle's bassinet sometimes and let Kyle suck his finger to help him calm down. More recently Kyle dropped a piece of fruit on the floor. Before we knew what was happening, Ben had hopped up off his chair, picked up the fruit, blew it off enthusiastically and gave it back to Kyle. It was so sweet that we couldn't bring ourselves to take the fruit away from Kyle.
Kyle for his part, watches his brother with such big eyes. Our method for discipline involves asking the boys to sit and get their body under control when they are not listening or doing something inappropriate. After they've gotten their body under control, they can get up and we give them a big hug and discuss what happened. We probably started that around 18 months with Ben because before that, he didn't really know how to sit there on hIs own. Of course Kyle has been watching this happen since he was born and so we decided to give it a try a few weeks ago. Kyle was just giddy to go sit in the designated place, just like big brother did. And when we told him he could get up, he came running for his hug. It was so cute.
Yesterday I got to see one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time. Mindy was out and I was watching the boys for the afternoon. After they both got up from afternoon quiet time we all had a great big wrestling match. The boys just squealed with glee as they piled on each other and on me. Then we all got a snack and sat down on the couch to watch a DVD about firemen. Ben was sitting next to me ad Kyle was on my lap. Both were just riveted by what was happening. Ben asked what and why quite frequently and Kyle chimed in often with his own "Whazzis?" About halfway through the video I looked down to see Ben and Kyle holding hands.
It was just so heartwarming. I just thank the Lord for the love that I see growing between our sons.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Ben is 4
Ben just celebrated his 4th birthday! It hardly seems possible that our baby is 4 already. I know it will just keep going fast and I'll be saying the same thing every year, but still… Wow!
Ben has grown into such a fun boy. He warms our hearts and makes us want to scream all at the same time. He is a wonderful big brother and can often be caught jumping up from his seat at the table to pick something up that Kyle has dropped, whether Kyle should have it back or not. Last Sunday, Kyle dropped a piece of banana on the floor and before we could say anything Ben had run over to pick it up. We thought he'd just take it to the garbage for us, but he very carefully blew all the dirt off of it. He was so sweet we didn't have the heart to tell him he should throw it away.
He's also very much his own boy. He knows what he wants and he can be very persistent in asking for it sometimes. He also surprises us at how much he likes routine. Last night, we kept giving him ideas about what he might want to do for his birthday... did he want to go to a movie? eat at a restaurant? Nope, he wanted to play at home and go get a happy meal and bring it home to eat. I even tried to talk him into watching his new Veggie Tales DVD while he ate dinner, but he told me very plainly that he wanted to eat at the table and THEN watch Veggie Tales.
Ben is also still a source of great stories. One of Ben's birthday gifts was a plastic suit of armor complete with sword, shield, breastplate and helmet. We told him it was his knight in shining armor costume. He's really a fan of it and has taken the sword to bed with him at least two or three times in the three days since he got it.
The other night as I was putting him to bed he lobbied for me to help him get his armor on and I told him we didn't have time.
He pleaded with me saying, "Daddy, I want to have a night in shining armor."
Did he just say what I thought he said? We had a short conversation and I confirmed that he indeed thought the armor was for night time, not for a knight. How would he know, he's never seen a knight before. I tried to explain it and I think he understood a little, but it was pretty darn sweet that he wanted to have a "night in shining armor."
Ben has grown into such a fun boy. He warms our hearts and makes us want to scream all at the same time. He is a wonderful big brother and can often be caught jumping up from his seat at the table to pick something up that Kyle has dropped, whether Kyle should have it back or not. Last Sunday, Kyle dropped a piece of banana on the floor and before we could say anything Ben had run over to pick it up. We thought he'd just take it to the garbage for us, but he very carefully blew all the dirt off of it. He was so sweet we didn't have the heart to tell him he should throw it away.
He's also very much his own boy. He knows what he wants and he can be very persistent in asking for it sometimes. He also surprises us at how much he likes routine. Last night, we kept giving him ideas about what he might want to do for his birthday... did he want to go to a movie? eat at a restaurant? Nope, he wanted to play at home and go get a happy meal and bring it home to eat. I even tried to talk him into watching his new Veggie Tales DVD while he ate dinner, but he told me very plainly that he wanted to eat at the table and THEN watch Veggie Tales.
Ben is also still a source of great stories. One of Ben's birthday gifts was a plastic suit of armor complete with sword, shield, breastplate and helmet. We told him it was his knight in shining armor costume. He's really a fan of it and has taken the sword to bed with him at least two or three times in the three days since he got it.
The other night as I was putting him to bed he lobbied for me to help him get his armor on and I told him we didn't have time.
He pleaded with me saying, "Daddy, I want to have a night in shining armor."
Did he just say what I thought he said? We had a short conversation and I confirmed that he indeed thought the armor was for night time, not for a knight. How would he know, he's never seen a knight before. I tried to explain it and I think he understood a little, but it was pretty darn sweet that he wanted to have a "night in shining armor."
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