Brother-Sister Play Time...

Lately, Benjamin just looooooves this rocking horse. He rides on it, and pulls it all around the apartment. He likes to push it on it's side and climb between the wood pieces to pretend he's stuck. He calls out, "Hep! Hep!" (help) until someone comes to help him. I get so nervous when he is teetering on it, using it as a step stool to reach something. But it brings him so much joy; I try to let his dare-devil antics slide. It seems like he finds so many life threatening situations in a given day, that I'm actually becoming less worried and uptight. Could it be that I'm finally growing accustomed to having a little boy? I think so. :)

Sweet - Anna helping Benjamin play. They sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat together, and Anna helps rock him faster. Such a sweet big sister. Anna is actually very concerned about Benjamin getting hurt; she is always looking out for him. Unless of course, he has just taken one of her toys and ran with it...then she just gets annoyed. :)

I. LOVE. THIS. PICTURE. I just wish you could see Ben's face a little better. My sweet little babies, ahhhhhhh. Brings a tear to my eye.

The first picture is Anna trying to hug Benjamin, while he is strongly resisting. Anna has him around the neck pretty tight; I had to intervene quickly. The other two pictures - Reading time! I love reading to my kids, but I also think it's sweet to find them "reading" through books on their own...especially when they're sitting right next to each other sharing books. Love it.

A typical mischievous look for Ben-Ben. Mostly during this photo shoot, I was taking pictures of them doing their thing - all natural playing throughout the afternoon. But then I wanted to get a picture of them standing together, preferably hugging (which they occasionally do unprompted). When I was trying to set that up, Benjamin gave me this look, like, "Think again, Mama," right before he ran down the hallway laughing. (Hence the tackling from Anna in the previous picture.) I did manage to get that one cute shot of the both of them, so it all worked out.

Anna and Benjamin have been getting so good at playing together, and getting along together, and entertaining each other, and even making up games together. Although, most of the time I think Ben is oblivious to what the game is...hehe. As their mommy, it is so precious to witness this bonding. Anyway, despite all the good play time lately, and yes, I'm usually involved in it too, if I am cooking in the kitchen, it is an instant magnet for the kids to be in there - begging for things, wanting to help, trying to peer over the counter to see what's happening. It's understandable, but occasionally I'm in a hurry and can't let Anna help, or I don't have the patience to listen to Ben-Ben beg for food over and over. I'm not super-mom or super patient, so during these hurried "making dinner moments" I sometimes turn on a TV show for them...but always PBS 'cause that makes me feel a little better about it. :) For the record, the kids have some "TV time" in the morning, so yeah, they watch some TV, but I'm specifically talking about evening TV right now...something we try to avoid. I know, so much background info for that first picture. But, whenever they're doing anything together, side by side, developing a sibling bond...even if it's watching a show together...I am just so happy.
Okay, second picture - you couldn't tell from this picture, but Benjamin is very into building things lately, and he is getting so good at it...for an 18 month old. Fun, fun. I love how the harder he is concentrating, the more his lower lip flops out. Cute. And I just had to add the last picture - Anna's upset/disappointed look. She scrunches up her little face and makes a noise like, "huuumhhff!" It's better than crying, and I totally respect her need to show disapproval about things. Ethan and I actually find it pretty cute, which doesn't help Anna's feelings of frustration. Oops.

So, this entry was supposed to be about Benjamin, and he is certainly featured in the pictures and stories. But his life is so intertwined with his big sister's, that it was hard to leave her out of this post. Benjamin is growing up, learning the "rules of life," and I can see how that has strengthened his relationship with Anna. And with all of us. It makes sense, but the more he can communicate with us, the happier he is...and the happier we all are. :) I just LOVE him. I love simple, sweet moments with my little family...it's hard to describe the feeling....peace, love, joy, contentment. Of course we still have our moments, but mostly, life is good.

Wait, one last thing - when we leave Anna at pre-school, Benjamin always loudly calls out, "Bye Anna!" over and over. It's so sweet. Many of the other little kids say, "Bye Baby," back, and say how cute the baby is. When I look at Anna during these moments, I can see the love Anna has for Benjamin. And I can see that she is proud he is her little brother. And it makes me happy.