This and That

I am woefully behind on my blogging. It's not that nothing blogworthy has happened lately. And it's not that I've lost interest in typing up long-winded accounts of the mundane details of our lives to share on the world wide web. I've just been a slacker.

In order to keep this entry under 10,000 words I shall attempt a list. A list of random things from the past few months that I find at least somewhat interesting or amusing and would like to recall in years to come.

1. Buttons

A few months ago Bennett began finding all kinds of interesting buttons to push around our house. This one was especially entertaining for a couple of weeks.


Therefore, we have become quite adept at using bobby pins to unlock doors.

I also had to do this:


That is a bottle cap taped over the pause/stop button on our washing machine. I kept finding loads of laundry that should be ready for the dryer but were stopped at some unknown point in the wash cycle. For some reason the control lock option works to lock every other button and knob on the machine except the pause/stop. Interesting.

2. Doors

At 18 months Bennett figured out how to turn knobs to open doors. I was hoping we had until he was least two before he grasped this fancy skill. I've added a few of those ugly door knob safety thingies to the pantry and bathroom doors and have been good at keeping the doors to outside locked (so far). But I'll need to do some more toddler proofing in order to preserve his safety and my sanity.

3. Favorite words and phrases

a) I love how he answers most yes/no questions with a sweet, lilting "yeah!". He never says "yes". If we ask him to say yes he responds silently with one vigorous nod.

b) My Dada. This phrase is used when Mommy is especially mean. He'll cry out for "MY dada" because he's convinced Daddy would never make him stay strapped in the grocery cart or accidentally let him get soap in his eyes. I've never heard him say "my mama".

c) But he does say Stacey. Sometimes in the morning we'll hear him chattering in bed, "Mamamama. Dadadada. Stayshe! Stayshe!" I think he picked it up from Ridge who very clearly calls me by my name. If we ask where Stacey is he'll point out the nearest door. Funny kid.

d) Moe Bubble. The kid loves him some bubbles. But that will be a whole 'nother entry.

e) Oohs! Shoes are also a favorite word and item. He likes to wear ours. He likes to wear his. He sometimes has very strong opinions about which of his shoes are most appropriate for a given outfit. I do not always agree.

Lately he's taken to walking around the house wearing one sandal. The first time he threw a fit as I tried to put on the second sandal I thought it was somehow pinching or hurting him. But no, it turns out he just wanted to wear ONE shoe. Of course.

f) Wawal. I've done it. I finally force fed the child enough TV that he's given in. I simply aspired for him to be entertained long enough for me to grab a quick shower. And now he likes it. He likes it a little too much.

The only show he watches is a Noggin program about a blue octopus named Oswald. And boy howdy does Bennett love him some Oswald. He wakes up in the morning and asks for "Wawal". We come home from an outing and he wants "Wawal". When the program is over he carries the remote to me asking for "Moe! Moe Wawal!".

I'm a bad mom.

4. More Evidence I'm a Bad Mom

My child cheers every time we drive past a Chick-fil-A. Any Chick-fil-A. He raises a fist in the air and yells "Yay!". I swear we don't go there THAT much. (Although I guess it could depend on how much you consider THAT much to be.)

5. Forward Facing

B is riding forward facing in the car full time now. He's within a pound or two of our seat's maximum rear-facing weight and since I'm not sure when exactly he'll cross that threshold I decided to make the switch.

I still feel whole-heartedly that rear-facing as long as possible is best. And actually, my child is a more challenging passenger now that he's turned around. He doesn't fall asleep as easily and since he can see us he wants everything we are "playing with" whether that be drinks, cell phones, lip gloss or the garage door opener. But it is fun to be able to point things out to him to talk about as we drive along.

6. Wednesday High/Low

We know families that spend time over dinner each evening sharing their highs and lows from the day. I'll share one of Bennett's from last week.

High - he pooped (a little) on the potty. Twice. He's taken to telling us when he has a dirty diaper by pointing at his bottom and saying "boo!". On Wednesday when he did this there was nothing there, so on a whim I took him to sit on the toilet and he actually pooped. He greatly enjoyed flushing and telling the poo bye-bye. We cheered and high-fived and did everything short of throwing him a parade. It happened again that afternoon.

I wasn't counting on this becoming a habit. (It hasn't.) But I thought it was pretty cool just the same.

Low - he did this to his best buddy, Ridge.




I was so sad. Poor little Ridge. Fortunately, they are still friends. Although Ridge did declare to his family at dinner "Bemet hurt me!" as he pointed to his cheek.

I do hope this will not become a habit. Yikes!