Tornado

There was a tornado on "Rupert" today and Benjamin says, "What is that--a tongue twister?"

Tapirs

A few minutes ago, while watching "Agaygo" (Diego): "Why are they called tapirs? They got tape? They tape stuff?" -Benjamin

What a Day!

Tuesday was a whirlwind! Benjamin had his first day of his first semester of Kindermusik this morning. He did the trial class last week and LOVED it! And then we stopped to visit Halmuni for a bit after picking up some Chick-Fil-A. Then it was off to Raleigh to meet Daddy at the NC Museum of Art to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit before it leaves at the end of the month. He was exquisitely good at the Museum and used an appropriate whispery voice the whole time. We weren't sure how long it would hold his interest but after an hour and a half of looking around he was still engaged in the exhibits so next time we will plan to stay longer. Then we drove to Burlington to have dinner with Grandmommy, Granddaddy, and Aunt Nette. Chicken and dumplings! Mmmm.... Then he and I drove home and he is sound asleep as I write this. The Bug is wo' out!

Dadik

"Dadik!" -Benjamin Bug's interpretation of Momma's naughty words that occasionally slip through the Good Momma filter.

Musical

Wednesday night, as Benjamin and I were reading one of his books, he discovered more about the world of music. The book had some bars of music printed on it and in 15 minutes he learned about treble and bass clefs (where they are on the piano, above and below Middle C and their high and low tones), quarter, half, and whole notes (clapping them out), rests, and the notes in music, A through G. And the most fun thing he learned was "piano" and "forte." He says *quietly* "piano" and *loudly* "forte!" What a musical little Bug!

Rhyme Machine

Last night Benjamin said he wanted to be a Rhyme Machine.

Benjamin: "What rhymes with 'spatula'"
Henry: "Uh...mmm...uhh...'batchula?'"

Stumped by a three year old.

Lesson

Yesterday Benjamin learned how to pick the lock on our bathroom door. Like a professional. Mothers must teach their kids these kinds of essential life skills. You never know when you'll need it!

Appetite

The boy who survives on air and milkshake (kefir) has actually been eating for the last 3 days. And eating a lot! It is crazy how much HEAVIER he is now that he is eating. Like a lead baby. Yesterday he had most of a blueberry waffle, a quarter of a medium apple, a good-sized portion of rice and bulgogi-style ground turkey, an entire can of chicken noodle soup (minus the chicken, but all of the broth), some fruit melts, and the inside of a ginger lemon creme cookie. If this doesn't sound like a huge amount of food for a 3-year old, you are right. But for Benjamin it is more food than he usually would eat in a week. He must be hitting a growth spurt. It is early morning as I am writing this post so fingers crossed that this trend will continue today.

Last night he crawled up into my lap as I sat in front of the computer and he clicked an ad for Farmville on Facebook. I have never played it so it wasn't installed but he went through and clicked his way through to download it. He said, "It's loading," as the progress bar moved along. At some point I tried to help him and he said, "I've got it, Momma. Step asiiiide." Henry and I are not letting him play computer games as we feel it does things to little growing brains so he was really disappointed when the computer got tired and had to go to sleep for the night just a few minutes later.

Then he got out some kitchen utensils-a garlic press with removable basket, a whisk, a rolling pin, and a melon ball scooper. We played Animal Mechanicals with our tools and went on some awesome adventures! For the last few weeks playing Pretend has been his most favorite thing to do. His favorite show these days is Animal Mechanicals and he is Mouse, Daddy is Sasquatch, and I am Unicorn. And all of us fill in for the other two characters, Rex and Komodo. Benjamin is like his dad in that he can memorize every detail of his favorite t.v. shows. To the smallest details. So it is amazing to listen to him recreate the episodes, with his own twists and turns thrown in as well. He also loves to play with his Buzz Lightyear and Woody dolls from Toy Story. Henry was out last night and we were walking down the hall on the way to bed. Benjamin was holding all the kitchen utensils (I had the rolling pin) to take to bed with us. "I wish Sasquatch was here to help." He literally never tires of playing Pretend. And we never tire of watching our amazing little boy.