This is the face that Ben usually wears. His eyebrows are raised high on his head. His cheeks are up as high as they will go, forcing his eyes into a cute squint and his mouth into a beautiful smile. He does this all . . . the . . . time. I am not sure if this is how he is squinting to see better or if he is just always this happy. He even puts on this face when he's being scolded and, well, that is when it really frustrates me. Otherwise, it is a contagious grin even if it aches my face to watch it. :D
This week he had a few scratches above his eye and on the edge of his nose (you can still see part of the scab). Every time someone asked what happened we'd get one of two stories.
Version #1:
What happened to your face, Ben?
The lion scratched me. ROAR!
Oh? That must hurt. What is the lion's name?
Tiger.
Version #2
What happened to your face, Ben?
The dinosaur scratched me. ROAR! Ooh . . . Scary.
Oh? That must hurt. What is the dinosaur's name?
It was a dinosaur lion named Tiger.
Ben likes to make silly faces and make up silly words. Can you tell that he enjoys frustrating his brother, too?
He is often in his own little world and we are deciding right now not to worry about it too much. Last week, we were going around this dinner table naming things we loved about each of the kids. Ben kindly told Maddie he liked her hair. He told Jon he liked to play with him. He told Will he liked when Will read to him. When we got to Daddy, Ben must have been bored. "I like Daddy thunderstorms BOOM! BOOM! and lightening (as he opened and closed his eyes quickly to recreate the flicker.)" When I asked what he liked about Daddy, he repeated it all. Asking once more, but rephrasing, I got the same response again, but then his voice jumped an octave and his fingers danced over his head as he added, ". . . and then there comes a little rain cloud, sprinkle, sprinkle." Oh, he was proud of his answer, but Allen and I just looked at each other wondering where Ben went.
When he is with me by himself he is a calm, collected child who speaks in complete sentences, even if they are punctuated with lion and dinosaur roars or fire-engine sirens and horns. Of fire trucks, he does a PERFECT impression. We don't let the kids be sirens in the car, but he's kept the volume low enough that I have, in fact, even slowed the car and looked in my rear-view mirror for the fire-truck I thought was heading my way. I have been embarrassed a few times to look back and see a proud little boy making those sounds and grinning just as big as can be at the fact that he fooled me.
This week he had a few scratches above his eye and on the edge of his nose (you can still see part of the scab). Every time someone asked what happened we'd get one of two stories.
He is often in his own little world and we are deciding right now not to worry about it too much. Last week, we were going around this dinner table naming things we loved about each of the kids. Ben kindly told Maddie he liked her hair. He told Jon he liked to play with him. He told Will he liked when Will read to him. When we got to Daddy, Ben must have been bored. "I like Daddy thunderstorms BOOM! BOOM! and lightening (as he opened and closed his eyes quickly to recreate the flicker.)" When I asked what he liked about Daddy, he repeated it all. Asking once more, but rephrasing, I got the same response again, but then his voice jumped an octave and his fingers danced over his head as he added, ". . . and then there comes a little rain cloud, sprinkle, sprinkle." Oh, he was proud of his answer, but Allen and I just looked at each other wondering where Ben went.
When he is with me by himself he is a calm, collected child who speaks in complete sentences, even if they are punctuated with lion and dinosaur roars or fire-engine sirens and horns. Of fire trucks, he does a PERFECT impression. We don't let the kids be sirens in the car, but he's kept the volume low enough that I have, in fact, even slowed the car and looked in my rear-view mirror for the fire-truck I thought was heading my way. I have been embarrassed a few times to look back and see a proud little boy making those sounds and grinning just as big as can be at the fact that he fooled me.
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