All in the Family

Benjamin has been busy, busy these days. When my parents were down here in January, they bought a stepstool for the kitchen since I'm too short to reach the high cabinets. Benjamin has commandeered the stool for his own use. He carries it all over the house to reach into the sink, help load the washing machine, wash his hands, grab crayons and/or markers out of drawers that he's not supposed to have, look out the window, etc. Lately, one of his favorite activities is to "cycle". Taking out the recycling used to be Emma's job, but Benjamin has discovered this duty and has taken to it with gusto. Rarely do we have anything sitting around that needs to go out because as soon as Benjamin spots it with his eagle eyes, he's ready to "cycle". He moves his stool, grabs the item and then marches over to the garage door. He needs help unlocking the door and turning on the garage light, but that's it. He is becoming a much better talker these days. We thoroughly enjoy listening to him and seeing what he will say next. He has added the final syllable/final consonant to most words and will repeat everything (as noted in the prior post). He has started saying 2 to 4 word sentences which can be good and bad. There's nothing like being told no by a 2 year old, "No want it!!!" He continues to have a killer arm and loves to throw the baseball. He seems to kick balls pretty well also. Hopefully, we'll be able to put those skills to use in sports, although we will probably have to take some precautions for his kidneys. Benjamin's other love these days is Blues Clues. Earlier today, I was pulling out some of Alex's old clothes to see what would fit Benjamin. There was a Blues Clues outfit in the pile. Benjamin immediately started taking off his other clothes and insisted on putting on the Blues Clues outfit. I had to convince him to take it off for a little while so I could wash it, but he put it on again as soon as the dryer was done. Alex also has some old BC pajamas. I'm sure those will be his favorites.

Sean had an adventure this weekend. One of his students is in a band that was playing at Stubb's BBQ in downtown Austin last Friday (very popular music venue). Sean decided to surprise his student and attend the show. To top it off, Sean took his mom with him. While they were waiting in line, Sean's student saw him and was thrilled. He couldn't believe Sean was there and gave him a big hug. Sean didn't get home until 2:30 that night since the band didn't go on until midnight. I'm glad Mindy went instead of me...I don't think I'd last that long.

Emma went to a Girl Scout camp on Saturday for an outing. The older GS were having a campout, but the younger GS were allowed to join for the afternoon. They played a few games, toured the camp, and made a craft. All the girls are anxious to go back next year so they can swim in the lake and try out some kayaks. Emma's other news is that she is Citizen of the Month for her class. We attended a little "brunch" to celebrate with the other students last week. Emma is quite pleased.

Alex had a nice Emma-free day on Saturday. They made up for it on Sunday though. Whew, we're at our limit on sibling rivalries! It's a good thing school rolled back around today. Other than that, Alex is hard at work on his songs for his piano recital in May. He has one of his duets memorized and has learned the hands separately on the 2nd duet. He's a little over half way on his individual piece. I'm feeling a little better about it. He really stalled out for a while because he was very intimidated by the third line in the piece. Once he got over that, he's made a lot of progress.

As for me, I'm the glue that holds this place together. Lots of running to appointments and practices, cooking, supervising homework, breaking up squabbles, etc, but it comes with lots of smiles, kisses and hugs. I enjoy it (well, most of it...homework and squabbling are not my favorites!) Today, I put 5 patches on Emma's Brownie vest. I have one more to go, but I had to give my fingers a break. Being a stay-at-home mom is challenging, but I wouldn't change it. I am so grateful that we're in a position to have me at home. It makes our family life much easier to manage and a little more sane ;)!