Thursday, September 29, 2011

I just had to see you

Yesterday, on the way to work, a song came on that reminded me of you.

This happens quite a bit.  Usually I smile, and think of the good times we had.

But yesterday was different.  Yesterday I felt nothing but sadness.  Yesterday I missed you so badly, I just had to see you.

But I had work to do.  So I worked.  I busied myself with small projects that didn't require much thinking...because my brain was still missing you.

I made it past lunchtime, and I just couldn't take it anymore.  So I got in the car, and I took off.

I drove for 20 minutes, headed south towards the rolling hills.  I pulled off the highway, and drove some more.  Then I saw the massive brick gates that greet me at your front door.



And that's when the tears came.

I drove slowly down the main road, until I came to Columbarium B.  I pulled over, and slowly I walked to your spot.  I sat down in front of you, and we talked.  Mostly, I cried.

How is it possible that you've been gone almost two years?

I miss you, Wayne.  I love you.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

18 months!

I neglected to do a post celebrating Benjamin's latest milestone...and anyone who knows me should know how I am about milestones!  So here's a check-in on how my little one-and-a-half year old is doing.

18-month stats:
30 lbs 11.5 oz (he was up 3 oz when we took him in 4 days later...so it's safe to say he's basically 31 lbs)
33.5 inches tall
49 cm head circumference

Those are all pretty much "big".  Height is around 90th percentile, weight is closer to 95th, and head's up there too.  It's actually good that he's proportionate, and it totally makes sense.  From all reports, his daddy was a sizable, well-built toddler, and look at him now - he's tall and muscular, built like an athlete. 

What's our little Benji up to these days?

Talking.  Talking all the time.  About a quarter of it is recognizable words.  The rest is gibberish.  He's got quite a burgeoning vocabulary (and to think, we were worried about his hearing once upon a time!).  Our favorites of his words are "shooooes" and "ouSIDE?".  His favorite lately seems to be "Eh-mo!".  He loves watching Sesame Street, and gets especially excited about seeing Elmo on-screen.

Reading.  He looooves to be read to.  He'd happily spend hours bringing you a book, sitting in your lap, letting you read to him, taking that one back for a new book - lather, rinse, repeat.  Sometimes I'll find him sitting at his bookshelf, books spread out all around him, thumbing through one after the other.  It should be no surprise that this habit of his completely warms my heart.

He's still not a runner.  He can motor on down the hall pretty quickly, but true, fast running?  Hasn't come yet.  I'm okay with that.  He's active, but not hyperactive.  He's more of the inquisitive, people-watching type.  Sometimes I'll take him down to the park and he'll just stand there, staring at all the activity around him. 

He's a lover, and a biter.  He's great at giving hugs, especially the kind that require a running start and diving into your open arms.  He loves to laugh, especially at his Daddy.  We're also working on curbing his biting behavior - which, strangely, he only lets loose on me and his friends at daycare.  Go figure.

So that's the story with Benjamin right now.  He's a wonderful, awesome, amazing little kid, and I feel so lucky to be his mama.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A couple of funny stories...

So my kid is 18 months old now...I probably should've put up some great, sentimental, 18 month post, but I didn't.  Because I was busy chasing after an 18-month-old.

I do have a couple of cute stories to share about my favorite little boy, though. 

Story #1:  The magic word

So we had chicken fajitas for dinner tonight (pretty yummy, if I do say so myself). We had a box of cookies out on the table and decided to finish them off for dessert. Ben had a piece of chicken left, and we were trying to get him to eat it before he could have his cookie.

We tried everything we could. He was near tears, shoving everything out of his way, meltdown was imminent. We were about to give up when, on a whim, I said "Benjamin, can you help Mommy? I need you to eat this piece of chicken."

A light flicked on, the heavens opened, he grabbed the chicken and popped the whole thing in his mouth. He grinned while he chewed. Branden and I stared, dumbfounded.

I never in a million years thought that would work. I just did it on a desperate whim.

Apparently, "help" is the magic word.

And then he got his cookie. :o)

Story #2: In his own time

Yesterday, I washed all of his fall clothes, which I already had hanging in his closet. This resulted in a big pile of hangers in the living room while the laundry was going. Inevitably, Ben found the pile and spread them all over, playing with them. It was fine, because he'd been fussy most of the day, and it was keeping him occupied.

So then it comes time to fold/hang up the laundry. I set the basket down by the couch, across the room from the pile of hangers. I ask Ben to bring them to me. He ignores me, because he's busy reading Railroad Toad. I ask a few more times. Nothing. I give up, thinking I'll have to get up and go get them when I'm ready for them.

All of the sudden, he puts his book down (like he was finished), stands up, picks up a couple of hangers, walks over to me, and hands them to me. It had to have been 5 minutes that had elapsed since I asked for them! And with coaxing, he proceeded to bring me every hanger over there, two at a time. It was awesome.

This kid is the coolest ever.