Little Gym Show Day

Bennett recently ended the winter semester in his Little Gym gymnastics class.The occasion was celebrated with a "show day", where the kids were able to display their skills for family and friends.

First was the beginning circle. I want to draw your attention to the fact that Ben is posing for paparazzi mom (that's me, lol). For a little guy who was so stubborn 6 months ago about having his picture taken, he sure has made a 180. He's quite the camera ham now.


Then came some warm up - the crabwalk...:


...and using brightly colored scarves for coordination activities (and lots of running/hopping/skipping in a big circle ;-):


The kids learned routines for the balance beam, the bar, and the floor. The instructors were there to help and spot them. Here's Ben's bar routine:




And now for his bar routine -



(no, he did not get to the top bar himself ;-)

Here he is catapaulting himself over a jumprope off a springboard. He landed on two feet and kept right on going. heehee


Some shots between the 'action'...



At the end all the kids got ribbons of achievement for finishing the class.


We're so proud of Bennett - its truly an achievement for him to participate so well in a structured group activity, follow directions so nicely, and take turns. He remembered all the routines and did them with energy and finesse. Benny - we are endlessly proud of your determination, sweet nature, and goofiness. We love you, buddy!

Puzzled no more!

Thanks to lots of practice at school and home, Bennett has just about mastered the problem solving process of putting together a multi-piece puzzle!
See?:


And a fun little Ben-ism:
This morning, when we walked out into the garage to go to school, Bennett noticed that Nick's car was still there, which is not the norm. He's usually long gone when we leave at 8:15. Anyway, Ben started a rushing dialogue - "uh-oh! Dad's car is still here! Why? Oh no! Its broken?! OH NO! He WALKED to work?! But its sooooo cold! OH poor DAD!!!"

I said, "no, Ben, Dad didn't walk to work this morning."

Ben came back with, "OH, I KNOW! I bet someone came and picked Dad up. A SUPERHERO! So he wouldn't get cold! Dad must work with a Superhero! That's so awesome!"

I laughed, and as I was finishing clicking Ben into his carseat, he looked at me so sincerely, and said, "I like Dad so much, Mom. I'm glad he's not cold."

What a caring, smart, creative little boy I have! :-)

My handsome boys

My apologies for the ridiculous many photos of Xavier that are to follow. I couldn't help myself- he looks so grown up and handsome. :-)

I was playing with his very long hair, spiking it up and styling it. The following pictures were the product of a little photo shoot, with one of my favorite models, set to music of course - favorite uptempo songs of mine and Xavier's (that's why he's so smiley). He's got a bit of an Edward Cullen (vampire from Twilight) vibe going on, don't you think?! Especially in the first one, where he's looking all aloof and pensive. The pale skin doesn't hurt either. ;-)









And Ben wanted a picture of him too. AGAIN, in his spidey costume, which has been on his body approximately 75% of the day for the last week. He didn't wear it to school, but other than that, it only comes off for meals ("I can't get it dirty!") and bedtime. He also looks so grown up and handsome, here, I think:

Circus preformer in PJ's

I've mentioned previously that Bennett has potential as a performer in Cirque de Soleil.

More evidence:



He does this move almost every time Nick lifts him up. His back and abs are freakishly strong. Do not mistake this position as one created by momentum - No, no...it's a result of strength and flexiblity. Nick picks him up from a standing position and Ben in a fluid, controlled motion, lifts his legs from vertical to horizonal, to vertical upside-down, and then continues into a C position. Nutso!

3 friends posing with Spiderman

and enjoying a couple of fun, playful hours together this afternoon.

Bennett and Gabe were struck with the notion to learn how to breakdance. This started with Nick finding an old breakdancing "how to" book from 1984, which he bought for himself when he was in 3rd grade. After studying the book with numbered diagrams in photos, and watching several YouTube videos, Nick, Gabe, and Ben tried out some sweet moves, while Clara, Xavier, and I laughed hysterically. Too funny.

What also made me smile - I realized that the kids in that book from over two decades ago, with their brightly colored-mismatched clothes, puffy-zip-up vests, leggings, and Converse sneakers would not look out of place in the mall today. Dang it! Why didn't I save my legwarmers!!

Our dogs aren't allowed on the furniture.

huh.

Of course little boys play with dollhouses!

Its just a little different than how little girls may play with them.

This is how I found Bennett in the playroom yesterday, laughing his 'snoopy laugh' (see previous post), saying, "Look! The whole family is hanging upside-down! HAHAHA!"

Snow day!

We got our first big snowstorm of the season Friday into Saturday. These footprints were on our front porch in the morning -

Deer!

Here's Ben - getting ready to head out into the 20* snowstorm.


Please excuse the lack of pictures of Xavier - He and I share the sentiment that snow and cold weather is better enjoyed from the cozy indoors ;-)

Here's another few of Ben playing, and Nick snowblowing the driveway (thank you!), so I could go to a baby shower.

Grooming

for the position of quarterback. If that doesn't work out, Nick's quite confident in he'll be really solid as a defensive end. ;-)

A sickness came upon us!

(Lol - that stupid phrase is so funny to me.)

Anyway, last weekend it was unfortunately true. Both boys had fevers. I suspected something more than a simple little cold was in the making, and Saturday morning we took them in to see the doctor.

To our surprise, both boys had strep throat, even though, when asked, Ben said his throat was 'good'. Xavier also had an ear infection. They were started on amoxicillin, and thankfully, we caught it so early, that by the next morning they were back to their feisty-selves.

After we got back from the doctor Saturday, Ben asked me to lay on the couch with him and hold my cold hands on his head and neck "to make me feel better, because I'm soooo hot!" He knows my hands are consistently the temperature of an icecube during the winter months. After my hands warmed up, he requested an ice pack "because your hands just aren't working anymore, Mom." So here he is, enjoying a cool head, and some sympathy from me and Stewart (the dog.)


And the small drama wasn't over! Ben must have developed a penicillin allergy somewhere along line. (Probably from the thousands of amoxillin prescriptions he took for ear infections before he got tubes. ;-) On Monday, when I picked him up from school, he had a characteristic allergy rash. Another trip to the doctor later, we came away with a diagnosis of penicillin allergy and a script for zithromax. Poor kid was itching from head to toe, but, at least we know now, and can avoid a more harmful allergic reaction in the future.

Sigh.
Another reason winter is my FAVORITE season!!! -- (that was oozing with sarcasm, in case that wasn't self-evident.)

Per request

Bennett asked very nicely to have his picture taken with his cars. He constructed the photo, and was pleased with the results. He asked me to "put it on the computer, please, Mom."

So here it is:

Rock Star

Here's Bennett rockin' out to the big hit, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." He also preforms stellar renditions of "The Alphabet", and "Happy Birthday to You". Upon request, he can belt out numerous songs from Noggin, Nick Jr., and Playhouse Disney. :-)

Xavier loves this too, I'll have to snap a shot of him singing next time...