Basketball with Liam

What Ben really wants to do at the park is play basketball, which means run around the basketball court with an assortment of balls, sometimes throwing them, sometimes kicking them, and sometimes asking his parents to make baskets with them. His buddy Liam is similarly taken with this activity, which he refers to as hoops. The most fun is when they are both there, and can get lots of balls going at once and get all the parents shooting hoops. Ben was also very impressed by Liam's riding on his father, Tom's, shoulders, and convinced his mama to give him a ride too.

Fun in the Park

As it keeps getting warmer, we spend more and more time at the park. Ben likes to play in the playground, particularly the slide, but only for a little while. This summer he will be one of the big 2 year olds that were so overwhelming to him last year.

Marathon

Marathon Monday is a holiday in Boston (Patriot's Day), partly because with the marathon taking up a major street you can't get anywhere. This year the weather was nice, so we went down to see the race. We are on a part of heartbreak hill. We got to see all the top runners, both male and female, and the beginning of the pack (25,000 people run it, so it's a big pack). It's quite a scene, and Ben thought it was fun.

Singing in the Rain

Ben is newly obsessed with "Singing in the Rain." He likes to see the "Singing in the Rain" sequence (which he calls 'Puddles') and the "Good Morning" song and dance which comes just a little before it over and over. He often dances along, either stomping on the coffee table or holding onto the couch and the coffee table in order to do extra fast stomping. In "Good Morning" they also do a segment with raincoats and each others' hats, so Ben likes to dress up to watch it and dance along. He is also learning the lyrics to the title song, and amused us all at dinner at Mi Tierra last night (we went with his buddy Liam and his parents) by singing the first two lines.

Even more stickers

Stickers continue to be very fun, and we now find little smiley faces in all sorts of unexpected places (slippers, nose, pillow, even the cat). (I bought a big roll -- I think it is 2400 tiny smiley faces.) Ben says "happy face!" whenever he sees one, and they do make him happy.

Helpful guy

Ben likes to help out. He is very interested in whatever his parents do. He even asked his dad especially to read to him out of a book about "scopes." Andy is working on building a (or several) telescopes, and Ben likes to help him out in the shop/sunporch. He also has continued his interest in his mama's textiles, and particularly likes pushing the shuttle through the shed on the rigid heddle loom. He jumps up and down after doing it, then yells "push" "more" to let her know he wants to weave again.

Easter was a while ago, I know

Ben thought Easter was lots of fun. The contents of the basket were lots of fun, as was the basket itself (and his parent's baskets). They get filled full of cars and carried from room to room, or worn as a hat. Lots of fun. He particularly liked the plastic easter eggs, which he loves to open and close, and the chocolate. He really loves chocolate, and is messier eating it than just about anything, even guacamole.

Stickers

Like many little kids, Ben loves stickers. He has also quickly become very skilled at taking them off their backing sheet. He likes to decorate paper and cards, sometimes the dishwasher, and himself and his parents. His mom bought a couple rolls of stickers and lots of file coding dots at a stationery store so that Ben won't run out any time soon.

Playground

As spring slowly arrives, we have started going to the park, and going out for "Bike-a-ride"s. It's hard, because the weather will be fine for a day or two, and then Ben wants to go out and it's 34 degrees and windy. He's thrown off a bit by the warm days. He cried at school one day when they went outside and didn't put on his mitts.

Glasses!

Ben has long been fascinated with Daddoo's glasses, and also with Mama's sunglasses. So he got some glasses of his own, which he loves. He tends to put them on upside-down, however. In one of these pictures, he's sitting in his new lawn chair, which we got on another trip to Ikea (we were out of meatballs).

The next Woody Guthrie? (Or Dan Zanes?)

Ben has a harmonica, and likes to play it along with his "'tar." He really loves music, especially his Dan Zanes DVD.

Shoes

Ben is very interested in shoes and slippers, whether his or anyone else's. It means that finding a pair of shoes can be a little complicated, because you don't know where he has put them. He likes wearing his parents' shoes, although the clogs are a little hard to walk in.

Driving

Ben's first sentence was "Mama driving car," and he is very interested in driving. He first tried out arcade-style driving games, at Mikey's, a hotel we stayed in, and the local discount mall. Then he figured out that it was at least as much fun in his own car. It can be difficult to get him to get out of the car now. Once you unstrap him, he climbs right into the front seat and starts driving. He has figured out several buttons, etc., but is most interested in the music. He insists on "mama key!" so the music will play. He also likes the traditional Sewell family rear view mirror monster.