Picture this

Ben standing in the hallway. Leaning with his shoulder against the wall, one foot crossed over the other. Toy cell phone to one ear. Finger in his other (so he can hear, don't you know?!)

Ben: yeah, uh huh. I in the bathroom. Uh huh. Ok Bye, see you later.

Where does this kid come UP with these things?

He is killing us, just killing us.

A couple of small Ben stories

I had a small bit of yarn, 8 feet or so, left from a project and I asked Ben if he wanted to play with it. He took it and went running into the hallway.
He laid it all out on the floor and told us it was his "football floor". Having of course no idea what he was talking about, Todd and I just said "uh huh, looks good buddy". Then he had us put on imaginary helmets and went and found his football.

Then it dawned on us, he made the lines of the football field with the yarn on the floor. His football floor. So we played football in the hallway. Ben won.

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One of the stories you always hear from parents of toddlers is the first time you hear a curse word out of their kid's mouth. This week we have been hearing "cwap" an awful lot.

"It's cwap, mama" When asked what he has in his hand.
After dropping his milk cup "Cwap, it in the floor"

At first we weren't so sure exactly what he was saying so I ignored it, but now it is evident, he is saying crap. And pretty much in context!

Given how much I swear, and the MUCH worse words I tend to use. Really "crap" isn't all that bad! But I think I need to clean up my act a bit! CRAP!

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On the potty training front:

We are accident free for 4 days now, and woke up with a dry diaper this morning! He has definitely learned to hold it and is letting us know when he has to go. We still ask a lot and ask him to go before we go out anywhere.

Last week I picked him up from daycare and he told me he had to go before we went home, so we headed to the bathroom. They have those super cute toddler toilets in their bathroom! I asked if he needed help and he said "NO! I do it myself!" Ok buddy. So I sat in the counter and waited. He pulled down his pants lifted the seat and went standing up. Who taught him that? I went and asked the teacher, she said she had wondered if we taught him, he had been doing it all day. I think it is one of those things wired in the male brain. "Hey I can pee standing up, why in the world would I sit?"

Halloween

Todd: What do you want to be for Halloween Ben?

Ben: DADDY!

Good answer bud, good answer.

What do you think Ben should be for halloween?

Busy Whiteheads

We have been a busy family the last couple weekends and I have failed miserably to document those happenings so I thought I would share our adventures now.

Labor Day weekend we headed up to Lake Geneva and Pat and Charlene's condo there. Pat and Charlene were there for the weekend and Aunt Jenny, Uncle Gary, Lisa, Jim and their 2 girls, Zoe and Claire joined us on Saturday. We had such a nice time!

Ben got to play on the beach, enjoy the swimming pool, and go to the county fair! He was up WAY past his bedtime. He passed out when we got home, hugging his new friend the stuffed frog he "won" at the fair.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.



Todd enjoyed his last days of freedom last week. He had no responsibilities, school or work related, and just enjoyed some extra naps (and maybe a few chores and errands I had for him!)

On Saturday, we headed down to Champaign, Il for a football game at the University of Illinois. Todd's family from Springfield met us there and we had a great time with all the the family. Scott and Janelle have 2 boys and add in Ben and Dean and those kids had a blast! UofI won the game and we did some tailgating afterward. There is something about a brat cooked near a truck exhaust that is just delicious!

We also had the opportunity to stop by and see my friend Michelle who now lives in Champaign. She is due with their first child in October and it was wonderful to get to see her big belly! That is going to be one adorable kid!

Here are a few photos from the game and Michelle's house.

Potty Training!

We are now potty training. Officially, no more diapers (except for nap and night!)

Ben seems to like his underwear, he hasn't asked to put on a diaper yet.

We are still having accidents if we don't force potty time regularly. I'm not sure he is aware that he has to go just yet. He has no fear of the toilet or going #1 or #2 on it, he just doesn't quite know that he HAS to go. I am also wondering if he just says no because he doesn't want to stop what he is doing. I'm not sure how to convince him that he can go back to playing after he goes potty!

We started out with stickers as a reward for just sitting on the potty but very soon he stopped asking for them at all so I stopped offering them! He doesn't really seem to need a reward each time.

We will stick with it because he seems to be accepting of it.

If you have any good potty training advice I'll take it!!