Ben's Baaaaack!

Ben's back, and he's bigger and better than ever! After all, Ben is 5 years old now and in Senior Kindergarten (SK) at MICDS.

Here's a quick recap of the summer:

Ben spent a few mornings at Little Gym camp as well as a week at Stages Camp (acting camp) which culminated in a performance the last day which was totally adorable. The next week we went to Indiana to Holiday World for what was supposed to be a two day visit to the park. Very long story short, the trip was shortened to a single day at the park that ended quite a bit differently than last year. Let's just say that *I* was way more excited to be there than he was.

The next week Ben started four weeks at Camp Pegasus at MICDS. He had a great time there, but the real fun came when we headed to Florida for a few weeks. Ben went to camp there for three and a half weeks and absolutely LOVED it! He also...drumroll please...learned how to swim! And he LOVES to swim! Ben has turned into a total fish (he prefers that I call him a shark). I have a hard time getting him out of the water once he goes in which I totally love. He has done a complete 180 when it comes to the pool. After just 6 lessons with Miss Missy (aka The Miracle Worker), the kid was not only going underwater and swimming, he was voluntarily swimming between my legs underwater over and over and over again.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this Ben turned 5. He had a fabulous spy training birthday party with a ton of his friends as well as a small family birthday dinner. The actual night of his birthday we went to Dewey's for pizza, one of Ben's very favorite places. He got a lot of fabulous presents, but the most successful one seems to be his MP3 player. Next time you see Ben ask him to sing along to Pink's "Get the Party Started" or Soft Cell's "Tainted Love". He can also sing along with a ton of the other songs I loaded for him. As he puts it, he likes "rocky" music with a good beat.

The last two weeks we were in Florida, Ga arrived from Europe to be with us. We reluctantly headed back to St. Louis the Friday night before school started just in time for the Back to School party the next afternoon. Ben was so excited to see all of his friends again, and I was happy to see them too. That Monday there was a quick orientation at school then the real deal started on Wednesday. The first week of school was half days to get the littlest kids used to everything. By the time he started full days, it was time for me to head back to Florida again for my annual girls' only trip to my dad's house. We had a great 5 days together, and I already can't wait to go back again next year!

Now school is in full swing as is soccer. Ben's team is wearing red this year, and they've named themselves the Red Dragons. The kids are all so cute out there in their uniforms as they hustle after the ball. Some of them (unfortunately not Ben) have gotten much more into soccer this year so it's fun to watch the game. The only drawback is that we are playing until the middle of November which is pretty much forever and a day. We're on a pretty fun team though (meaning that the parents are fun to hang out with) so it makes it better. A few of Ben's favorite kids are on our team so that helps entice him to g0. Last weekend was his first game as well as Homecoming at the school so we had a fun Saturday at the Homecoming carnival then at soccer.

Ben's teachers in SK this year are Miss Neary and Miss Kristen. They are both incredibly sweet, and I think that Ben will really enjoy being in their class. He's not with a few of his closest buddies from class last year (they're in SKA, Ben's in SKB), but he seems to be making friends with some of the new boys as well as getting closer with a couple of the boys from his class last year. So far Ben isn't totally loving SK because it's not as much fun as last year. In other words, they don't get to play with the toys as much as they did in JK, and he's not too happy about that. Poor guy doesn't realize that SK is more like real school. They still seem to get plenty of fun time, but I guess it just isn't enough for my Ben.

Funny story: When I took Ben to school this morning he was showing me something in his classroom, and I saw that each of the kids had colored a picture of a trophy and had written on them what they were best at. Ben's trophy boasted that Ben was the best at skateboarding. Very interesting. I don't think Ben has ever actually seen skateboarding let alone actually touched a skateboard. Miss Neary said that Ben said he goes to skateparks all the time. I asked him who takes him, and he says his grandpa does. She also said that Ben said he'll teach her how to skateboard, and I said that maybe he can teach me, too.

Have I mentioned that Ben has quite an imagination?

This Weekend

This weekend was a pretty fun one for Ben. I had a sinus infection for the last half of the last week and spent a lot of time resting. Ben was so great about all of it so I really appreciate it. He's such a sweet boy!

Friday afternoon we headed to The Magic House for Tatum's birthday party. Tatum was in the other JK class at MICDS and is one of the cutest, sweetest girls ever! The kids all had a great time creating works of art - including their cupcakes - then Ben played for about 45 minutes before we headed to Dewey's in Kirkwood for pizza with Diane (aka Fifi) and Brian Wittling. Sadly, there was no carrot cake, but Ben tried their chocolate cake thing and declared it a thumbs up.

Saturday was Ben's last T-Ball game of the season. He told me the day before that he "had been saving it all up for tomorrow" so I was expecting a lot. He didn't disappoint! Other than a few sit-downs near second base, he did a great job! He even got a trophy that he was extremely proud to have. After the game we went with some of his teammates to Ben & Jerry's for a celebratory ice cream. After a few hours of resting at home, we headed for dinner at Lee's Famous Fried Chicken where Ben downed a biscuit, a chicken leg and an order and a half of mashed potatoes (a LOT of food for him!). When we got home it was Wii all the way!

Ben's last 'at bat' of the season:

Ben with Harrison Brown, Thomas Niedringhaus, Sarah Stockman, Jack Niedringhaus and Greysen Brown:

Today we headed to the Tour de Fun at the J. Ben had a great time going through inflatable obstacle courses, getting his arms painted, watching Babaloo, petting animals, riding the little train and getting fitted for a brand new bicycle helmet. After that we headed to Grammy's house where he played with Jake and Sam Finer for awhile.

Ben getting his arm painted:

School's Out!

School is officially out! Friday was the last day, and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. There was an ice cream sundae party and music blaring on the playground at the end of the day before a countdown to 3 pm. What more does a 4 year old need in life? Anyway, he is officially a Senior Kindergartener at MICDS, and I couldn't be more proud!

Here's Ben with some of his teachers from the last year:

Ben and Mr. Wuertz (JK teacher):

Ben and Mrs. Schneider (JK teacher):Ben and Mr. Ives (music and art):Ben and Mrs. McMillion (Head of the Lower School):Ben and his best friend Harrison:

WOW...A Post! A Post!

I know, I know...an actual post. A real shocker, isn't it? Life has been pretty busy these days (my usual excuse but not an excuse - an actual reason!). Here's a quick rundown to catch you all up...

Tomorrow is the last day of school. It's hard to believe that Junior Kindergarten is over, but it is - and I'm so sad! Ben is excited to move on to Senior Kindergarten (SK), and I'm excited for him but there's a small part of me that is a little sad that my baby is growing up so quickly. I just can't believe that his first year at MICDS is already over! Ben has had a great year in JK B with Mr. Wuertz and Mrs. Schneider. I am grateful for the experiences he has had and the friends that he has made. I'm also grateful for the friends that I've made at MICDS. I really like the parents and the teachers there and truly believe that MICDS was a great choice for Ben.

Spring activities at school have been a lot of fun. Ben took part in Reading, Writing and Running Day at MICDS which was super adorable (part field day type activities, part reading us the books that they've written) and Art Gallery Night (every child in the Lower School had a number of pieces of their artwork displayed in the cafeteria and hallways).

T-Ball is going just fine. We still have two more games. Ben seems to enjoy it, and the whole team seems to be getting more into it which makes it a lot more fun to watch. The games are only about 45 minutes long then there's a drink and a snack so how bad could it possibly be?

Ben also just finished the winter session at Little Gym in Creve Coeur. I've signed him up for a couple of mornings of camp and for the summer session. He enjoys going there, and frankly, he could use the outlet for his never ending energy!

This summer Ben will spend a couple of mornings at Little Gym Camp, a week of mornings at Stages Camp (acting camp since he enjoyed his COCA class so much this year at school) and four weeks of full days of camp at Camp Pegasus at MICDS. He and I will also be heading to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, for a few days in mid-June with our babysitter Amanda. When Pegasus is over we plan to head to Florida where Ben will attend another day camp down there and hopefully make some new Florida friends to play with whenever we head down to visit Ga.

Speaking of Ga (aka my dad Jack), he has been in town since the end of April and will be here until the middle of next week then he heads to Israel and Paris for a couple of months so Ben's hung out with him a little bit too.

In May we celebrated my birthday and Mother's Day and attended the South Broadway Reunion with Ga. Ben is always ready for a good time, especially if there's the chance of cake and/or snacks.

I promise *yet again* to try to be better about the updates (Lynne - this is for you!), but I apologize in advance if I'm not good enough at keeping the updates coming. If you ever want to know what's going on, feel free to drop me an e-mail or give me a call! We love hearing from friends and family!

Update! Update!

Here's what's been happening since my last post...

Ben and I spent five days in Florida with Ga for his annual Boat Parade party and had a nice time despite my being super sick as a dog the day of the party and missing the whole thing. Ben, on the other hand, partied like a rockstar and had a great time. That kid is just like his grandfather - he LOVES a good time! He also took such good care of me, bringing me food and drinks (that I couldn't even look at) throughout the party and coming in to open my shades a number of times so that I could see the boats go by. He was so sweet! We headed back to St. Louis on Monday night to a car caked in ice and frozen shut. We both climbed in through the front passenger side and headed home to turn up the heat and thaw ourselves out!

Here's Ben in the Atlanta airport on the way to Florida:


Wednesday I went to MICDS and had a Chanukah party with the entire Junior Kindergarten. It was so much fun! I read them a story then we had latkes that I'd made the night before (I fried 78 of those puppies, and luckily the kids seem to love them!) as a snack then we played dreidel with Herhey's Kisses for gelt. I also had little Chanukah gifts for each kid. They are the most well behaved, well mannered 4 and 5 year olds that I've ever seen. And talk about cute! Each one is honest to God cuter than the last! I just love all of them and am so glad that Ben is there.

Friday was the Beasley Holiday Program which was also super adorable. Each grade level sang a couple of holiday songs as well as singing some songs as an entire school. Afterwards there was a holiday party in the room complete with decorate-your-own chocolate cupcakes, juice and cute holiday picture frames to decorate. The kids had a blast, and everyone looked so adorable in their extra nice clothes! Ben shut the party down as usual.

This is the entire JK performing. JK Room A is in the front row (they're the toys), and JK Room B (Ben's class) is in the back row (they're the elves). Ben is in the back row on the far left in the striped sweater


Ben is eyeing the cupcake toppings and other goodies. It was like a sugar fest!


The kids all had their compliments about each other written down. Some of them were absolutely hysterical! Here are the good things Ben's classmates had to say about him.

Today Ben had a playdate with one of his best buddies Bjorn who is so adorable! The boys were incredibly excited to see each other which was so cute. At this age they still express it. I'm going to be sad when they start turning into surly tweens! Ben is obsessed with Bjorn and Harrison, his two best friends at MICDS. I hear about the two of them constantly! Ben will really miss them over winter break.

Speaking of winter break, Ben and I head to Florida on Monday for two weeks of what will hopefully be sunshine. Uncle Andy and Aunt Melinda will be down for a few days this week too, and we're expecting a visit from Santa, too. It'll be nice to get away from the cold and nasty weather that we keep having. I'm ready for a lot of doing nothing next to the pool!

Ben's First Official Vote!

Today was Ben's first official vote. The Lower School at MICDS evidently conducted some sort of voting for all of the kids complete with "I Voted Today!" stickers and Beasley Voter ID Cards with pictures and signatures! I was the lunch helper today so I noticed a lot of the bigger kids with their "I Voted Today!" stickers on their shirts, just like the adults. It was really cute. The JK kids didn't have the stickers so I figured that they didn't involve them in the voting. Well, I was wrong! Ben came out to the car at dismissal time with his "I Voted Today!" sticker on his shirt and his Beasley Voter ID Card in his backpack. It was all so cute! Evidently he voted for Suprise Day at Beasley and for a New Playground. I'm not sure what all of the ballot initiatives were at good old Beasley, but I have no doubt that their choices were an awful lot better than any of the choices that I had to make today!

Halloween!

Friday was Halloween, and it was an extremely busy day for Ben. It started with the Lower School Halloween Parade at MICDS. I woke Ben up on Friday morning and got him dressed in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume, and we headed to school and to his classroom where Mr. Wuertz and Mrs. Schneider were there in their costumes. Mr. Wuertz was a fisherman (complete with a sign on his back that read "JK + Candy = I'd Rather Be Fishing"), and Mrs. Schneider was a beautiful queen. Ben was the first one there, and a few minutes later the rest of the kids started to trickle in. They were all so cute in their costumes! There were two pirates, three superheroes, four princesses, a blue fairy, Hermione Granger from "Harry Potter", a mummy and an airline pilot in JK-B. Everyone met in their classrooms or the cafeteria for pictures then the parents headed down to the gigantic gym (I'd never been there before. It's huge!). After a few minutes the entire Lower School paraded down to the gym with the adorable Junior Kindergarten leading the way. It was SO CUTE and so much fun to see all of the kids in their costumes. They all sat by grade level at the end of the gym and took turns singing Halloween songs that they'd been practicing in music class. After that the entire Lower School sang a song together before they paraded out of the gym and through the administration building where there are also some Upper School classes. I *think* that there might have been some sort of further partying and merriment that day, but Ben wouldn't tell me what happened (as usual). We came home and waited for Adam and my dad to come over to go trick or treating. Ben fell asleep, already exhausted from the excitement of the day. We woke him up a little bit after six, and the three of them headed out to see Grammy Eleanor and Paw Paw Richard Rosenbaum and to do a bit of trick or treating in their neighborhood (the houses are closer together there) then back to our neighborhood for some more trick or treating before heading out to see Mr. Jay and Aunt Marilyn Cohn for a final trick or treat stop. There was only one knock on the door at our house so the two Army boys who came by where treated to large handfuls of candy (Ben also knocked on the door which was very cute.). Ben was the only Ninja Turtle that I saw out there so his costume was obviously a huge success! I think he had a good time, and he definitely has more than enough candy to rot his teeth for quite awhile!

Mr. Wuertz as a fisherman with Ben: Mrs. Schneider as a queen with Ben:Most of the JK-B class (missing one pirate and one princess):
The entire Junior Kindergarten singing after their parade into the gym:Getting ready to head out of the gym and on a parade to Olson Hall:

Getting ready to hit the road:On the prowl for CANDY!!!!:

Today's Soccer Game

Today was the big soccer showdown between the two MICDS JK soccer teams! It was a great game, and even though we don't keep score, the Blue Sharks (Ben's team) kicked butt! The score - if one were to keep score - was 3 - 2, Blue Sharks leading the way. Anyway, it was a great game, and all of the kids did such a good job! They've really caught on to the game which is exciting to watch. Some of the kids are really great players too. After the game we got our team and individual pictures back, and the kids got their own trophies! Ben was so excited! He's been DYING for a trophy ever since he saw the huge trophy case at the J last spring. Mr. Wuertz (the JK-B teacher - Ben's teacher) even came to the game with his son. All of the kids were so excited to see him! It was very sweet of him to come out to support the,. Both JK classes do things together each day (recess, PE, etc.) so they're all very familiar with all of the JK teachers.

The two MICDS JK soccer teams - Ben's team is the Blue Team:

Ben with his trophy:

Three Day Weekend

We are currently on Day Two of a three day weekend. There was no school yesterday so that the teachers could start their report writing for conferences which are in a few weeks. Since Ben is still recovering from his pneumonia we just took it very easy. The only time we left the house was to go to Target to buy Leapster #2 (he lost the first one when I was in Florida over Labor Day Weekend) and Batman Game #2 (it was in the Leapster that he lost) as well as something that Ben's been coveting forever - a Pancake Puff Pan. I'm sure you've seen the infomercial for it. If you haven't, just ask Ben. He recites parts of it verbatim for me. It's hysterical to hear some of the phrases come out of his mouth! Needless to say we had pancake puffs and sausage for dinner last night. They're super easy to make and really cute, but I need to work on my cooking times/technique. They were either dark on the outside and cooked on the inside, or they were beautifully golden brown on the outside and sort of mushy/partially cooked on the inside. I just need a little bit of practice to figure out how long to cook the things. Plus one recipe of pancake batter makes a TON of pancake puffs - way more than two of us could ever eat - so we were just fine.

This morning we had a soccer game. I know that we scored at least two goals. The kids all seem to have figured it out and seem to enjoy it. We had our full team there today for the first time in awhile so that was pretty cool too. Next week we play the other MICDS JK team so it should be a pretty interesting game.

We're going to hang out and rest for the rest of the weekend. Ben is feeling so much better than he was this time a week ago, but with pneumonia and the weather really cooling down I don't feel the need to push it. His energy level is still a bit lower than usual which leads to a crankier kid. There are plenty of weekends ahead of us in life where we can go nuts. This weekend is a good one to keep quiet. Plus now that Ben has a Leapster again he really has no interest in me anyway!

Last Weekend, Etc.

This last weekend was a pretty busy one for Ben. Saturday morning we attended Harper's 5th birthday party at The Sugar Shack in Kirkwood (Harper's a girl in his class at MICDS) then he and I headed down to the Kirkwood Farmer's Market for our annual pilgrimage to pick up some pumpkins. It's a tradition that I started the year that he was born. I've taken him there every fall for pumpkins - even if it's just a baby pumpkin (this year it was 2 large and 6 small). It's also always a great spot for some pretty fall/pumpkin pictures.

We chilled out at home the rest of the day, and that night he and I had a date at Noodles & Co. where he ate some plain buttered noodles and some of the mac and cheese that I got with the hopes that he would try it (and it got a "Yum" from Ben - the highest culinary rating a 4 year old can give something). Sunday morning my Uncle Neil (my mother's younger brother) and his friend Riva drove in from Centralia, IL, where he was in town attending a high school reunion (he currently is splitting his time between New York and California). We had lunch together before Ben and I had to head to his soccer game.

It was another fun weekend on the soccer field! It's more like swarmball than soccer, but that's okay. The kids seem to have a good time. Ben seemed to enjoy chasing Audrey and Anna around on the sidelines more than the time that he spent on the field, but that's okay (he was a puma, and they were kitty cats).

Afterwards we hung out, watched some Noggin and eventually headed to dinner at the Trainwreck Saloon in Rock Hill where Ben proceeded to sleep through the whole thing (He'd been coughing a lot for two days at this point and just sort of passed out on me in the booth. At one point before he fell asleep he told me to stop eating because it was making him cough.). When we got home he was awake long enough to scarf down two slices of American cheese and a bunch of blueberries before sleeping for 13 hours. I told him last night that he probably wouldn't go to school today (see the 'Sick Again' entry), and he was so cute. He wanted to go to school so badly! It just wasn't a good idea for him today.

Last week I went to MICDS and talked to both JK classes about Rosh Hashanah. I brought books for both classes' libraries, read a story to the kids and brought apples and honey for their morning snack. That's about all that's gone on with us lately. So now everyone is all caught up!

Ben's First Soccer Game

This afternoon was Ben's first official soccer game! All of the kids did a great job and seemed to enjoy themselves even if they had no idea what they were doing. Samantha's father Greg is the coach of our team. The rest of the MICDS JK is on another team (the two JK classes are mixed up on the teams), and we caught most of their game right before ours. They, too, did a great job. We still have 7 or so more games so we'll see how the kids all progress.

Ben in his uniform - #11:
Ben with the ball:
Ben and his JK buddy Harrison:
The whole team:

Soccer Clinic

Today was the soccer clinic for the soccer team that Ben is playing on this fall. The entire JK class at MICDS - both rooms - are playing soccer together through the Olivette Athletic Association this fall (except for one boy who lives in Illinois - I don't blame them one bit for not dragging back in just to play soccer). There were enough kids who wanted to play for 2 teams of 12 kids each so both teams are all MICDS kids which is kind of nice. Today was the soccer clinic and next weekend starts 8 weeks of games (8 very long weeks...). Based on Ben's interest in the soccer clinic (all 40 or so minutes of the 1 hour clinic - if he even made it that long), I would *guess* that he's probably not going to get a soccer scholarship to the Ivy League school of his dreams (or Stanford...that would be good too). I think we're going to have to put all of our eggs in one basket and go strictly for an academic scholarship and skip the idea of being a scholar-athlete. Now, I'm not totally delusional. I know that he's only 4 and that things could totally change, but let me tell you - there were some kids who were REALLY into it today. Ben, unfortunately, was not one of them. With him, it's fun until he's done then that's it. Forget it. He was much more interested in the water and pretzels that I brought him (Sidenote: While Ben was sitting on the ground eating his pretzels and drinking his water once he decided he'd had it with soccer, he was singing the Big Mac song from McDonald's. He is so totally *my* kid!).

We got our uniforms today. Thank God we got the coveted color of blue! Some of the teams had these eye-popping neon colored uniforms that were a little tough on the eyes. And in case you're wondering, the number on the back of Ben's soccer uniform is 11. It was what we were randomly handed, and it works for us. Incidentally, Ben loves the shin guards we got yesterday because according to him they look like something a Power Ranger would wear. Whatever it takes, right?

Back To School Night

Last night was the Lower School Back to School Night at MICDS. They started with a program in the lunch room where the Head of the Lower School greeted us and then all of the specialty teachers spoke. They sure make school sound like fun! After a few minutes of mingling everyone broke out to their respective classrooms. JK started out in JK Room A where both lead teachers (Mr. Wuertz from Room B - Ben's teacher - and Mrs. Moulton from Room A) went over the daily schedule. After that all of the Room B parents headed over to Room B where Mr. Wuertz walked us through a day and all of the different stations in the room. I think I would flunk Junior Kindergarten. They do so much work! It does seem like a lot of fun though. If you ask Ben what is favorite thing to do at school is, he always says, "Play" so he must be enjoying himself. So far school has been fun for him, and that makes me really happy. When we were driving into the entrance where the big monument sign is this morning, Ben said quite enthusiastically, "I love MICDS!" That's exactly what I want to hear! It *almost* makes getting up while it's still dark outside worth it (and it would take a lot to make getting up that early worth it).

If you're interested, here's how Ben spends his days:

8:00 am - Arrival/Playground
8:30 am - Morning Meeting
8:50 am - 10:10 am - Literacy Workshop, Sensory Activities and Play
10:10 am - 10:30 am - Sharing/Clean-Up Meeting/Snack
10:30 am - 11:00 am - Co-Curricular (Art, Music, Library, Computer, Spanish)
11:00 am - 11:25 am - Recess
11:30 am - 12 Noon - Lunch
12 Noon - 12:30 pm - P.E.
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm - Co-Curricular/Math Workshop
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm - Rest
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm - Recess/Snack
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm - Dismissal

First Day of Junior Kindergarten at MICDS

Today was Ben's first day of Junior Kindergarten at MICDS! Despite the fact that he won't tell me a single thing that he did (including whether or not there was a snack), I think he really enjoyed it. He's in the Beasley Lower School in JK Room B (there's also a Room A) with Mr. Wuertz and Mrs. Schneider. They both seem wonderful and so nice. Mr. Wuertz actually came to the house at the end of July to meet Ben which was great. I love that the JK teachers go to their students' homes to meet them. We also were paired up with a JK Buddy from the class (Ben's buddy is Harrison), and the entire JK had a playdate at a local park in mid-July so everyone could meet (or at least get a glimpse of each other). All of the kids seemed pretty comfortable on Monday at the orientation and today on the first official day of school. Tomorrow's another short day, and Friday, next Monday and Tuesday are also short days but let out a half hour later so that they can have lunch at school. Next Wednesday is the first full day of school for the entire JK. Normally on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays school starts at 8 while Wednesdays are always late starts at 9. Ben seemed very proud to be there today with his cute little backpack on his back and was pretty wiped out when I picked him up (and STILL refused to nap or rest). Here are a few pictures of the first day. The first one is at home, the next two are outside of Beasley, the next two are right outside of his classroom and the last one is a picture of Ben with Mr. Wuertz. I think that this will be a great year for Ben!