The new Ben

Benjamin Elliott. Our laid-back, sweet as can be, "easy" child. Not anymore. Yes, he is still just about the sweetest and happiest kid you will ever meet, but easy and laid-back he is no longer. He will be 2 in about 3 months but emotionally, he is all there. Here are all the reasons that we now have a new Ben living with us.

Ben has always been easily distracted. If he was upset, you could usually calm him down by giving him "froggy" and he was fine. Not anymore. He has discovered tantrums and he has them perfected. He falls on the floor, kicks his legs and bangs his arms on the floor. And he doesn't stop. It's scary and hilarious all at the same time.


He's OBSESSED with yogurt. He doesn't just want it at breakfast, lunch and dinner. He wants it about every hour. He gets a spoon out of the drawer and cries at the refrigerator for "Diego" (sometimes I buy them Diego yogurt but he calls all yogurt "Diego"). When he's done eating it, he cries for more and then throws a tantrum when we don't let him have it.

He has found a way to get back at his big brother - biting. Oh, I'm praying hard that he doesn't become a "biter", but it looks like he enjoys using this tactic during fights with Levi. And he bites hard. Let's just say there are marks and lots of crying involved. Part of me is happy that he's fighting back but couldn't he choose a more socially acceptable form of fighting?


He has decided that Mama and only Mama can put him to bed. For a while now Michael has been putting Ben to bed, but all of a sudden Ben has decided that this will not work. He screams "Mama" over and over again and then runs to me and wedges his face between my legs. We weren't going to let him have his way last night and Michael tried so hard to put him to bed only to have Ben scream and throw every book on the floor that he tried to read. Michael just put him in his crib, thinking he would eventually stop screaming and go to sleep. He didn't. He cried so hard I thought he was going to vomit. I went in there and he calmed down. We read a story. I put him in his crib. He went right to sleep. Ben won.

He loves to throw food on the floor. We have disciplined him for this since he was a baby but he just thinks it's hilarious. I, on the other hand, do not. A few days ago he started pulling this trick. I walked over to his chair, sat down in front of him and before I could say anything he yelled "NO!" right in my face. This didn't go over very well. (Actually, I had to keep myself from cracking up because the look on his face was just hilarious!)


On a positive note, his vocabulary is rapidly expanding. He now knows the names of every Thomas train and car from the movie "Cars". He sings lots of songs, can say most of his ABCs and can count to 10 (often skipping some numbers). He also says words like "mine", "no" and "push" about every hour. Grandma was trying to help him with a toy the other day and he pulled it from her, said "mine", ran into the laundry room and shut the door. Poor guy. He thinks even his Grandma is trying to take things from him.


He is obsessed with television. He is also opinionated about what he watches and definitely makes his wants known. With Thomas, Sesame Street, Diego, Veggie Tales, and Little Einsteins, he would watch TV all day if we let him. Don't try to talk to him or get his attention while he's watching TV because it won't work. He is completely absorbed in another world. This trait is definitely inherited from his daddy. I took the boys to get their hair cut today at a kids salon where there is a TV in front of every chair. Ben ran from screen to screen - he was in heaven. Some kids cry when they get their hair cut. He cried when we left the salon.

Did I mention that he is still the sweetest and happiest kid in the world? He really is. His giggles and smiles are enough to melt anyone's heart. He is just so much fun to be with. But, Lord, please help us because I think we are in for a few surprises.