The Summer of 2009 in Pictures

Ben with his good friend Audrey (from MICDS) after we went to see Dora the Explorer Live:

Ben at Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper, Indiana:Ben with Santa Claus at Holiday World:Ben doing pretty much the only thing he truly enjoyed while we were at Holiday World this year:Ben at The Muny:

Ben hanging out at Ga's pool in the Central West End (during his pre-swimming days):Ben at Camp Pegasus: Ben blowing out the candles on his cupcake at his spy training birthday party:The whole gang at Ben's spy training birthday party: Ben IS Spiderman:Ben on his actual 5th birthday:
Ben with a certificate from camp in Florida for making the Silliest Hat:Ben with Ga in Florida:Ben cruising on an 85 foot yacht in Miami:Ben on his way to pick strawberries until we realized that there were no strawberries to pick:SWIMMING! VICTORY!:Ben and Ga hanging out in the pool:Ben with Miss Missy - aka The Miracle Worker (his AMAZING swimming teacher and camp director in Florida):Ben on his first day of Senior Kindergarten at MICDS:Ben with his SK teacher Miss Neary:Ben at the entrance to Beasley (the Lower School at MICDS):Ben wearing his Rams jersey for Homecoming week:

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?

June Already?

It's hard to believe that it's already June!

The first day of June was spent having some fun. Ben and I had a playdate at Stacey Park with the Banasheks - Cheryl, Brandon and Max. The kids played, the moms talked, we had lunch at a picnic table in the shade. What more do you need in life? After lunch Ben and I headed to the bank then home for a bit of rest before Ben started the summer session at the Little Gym. After the Little Gym we headed to Noodles and Co. in Des Peres where Ben saw one of his favorite "Noodle Girls" - Jessica (others were there too, but she's a particular favorite of his). Several months ago Ben and I started going to that particular Noodles and Co. on Monday nights after Little Gym, and a couple of the employees there really took to Ben (they talk to him, totally make over him, give him free cookies and Rice Krispie treats) so we made it our regular Monday night thing. We hadn't been in several weeks, but we've restarted our Monday night tradition with a free Rice Krispie treat, a couple of Noodles and Co. tattoos and a fish picture to color.

The second day of June was a little quieter but equally fun. Ben had Little Gym Camp this morning - three hours of gym stuff, playing, snack and arts and crafts. Today's theme was the Wild West. Ben will be back for three more hours of fun on Thursday. After Little Gym Camp we headed to La Salsa for lunch where we met Jennifer and Alex Gutierrez. Again, the boys played, the moms talked and we all ate. After lunch Ben and I had been planning to go swimming at Ga's apartment, but it started to look really nasty outside so we decided to head home. Just a couple of moments after we got there it totally POURED! It rained and rained and rained for a bit. It was a lot worse in some other areas so we were pretty lucky. The power only popped off once for a couple of seconds. We then spent quite a bit of time on the Wii (a birthday present from Ben, one he'll NEVER let me forget that he gave me) kicking each other's butts all over the place. In case anyone wonders, I am currently highly addicted to Laser Hockey on Wii Play. We also found a way to download Nintendo DS demo games directly to the Nintendo DS from the Wii without actually hooking anything up to anything else. It's SO COOL and SO WEIRD at the same time!! I have NO CLUE how the technology works, but it's totally awesome. There's also evidently a way to play with other people on their Wiis so if anyone knows how to do that, PLEASE let me know.

In case you wondered, Ben is actually a pretty good loser until he decides he's done being a good loser then he quickly becomes a pretty sore, pouty loser as well as the sort of winner who likes to shout "Booyah!" and shake his butt in my face.

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:

Wednesday, Wednesday

Today was a pretty good day for Ben. Before his "meeting" at 1 I took him to McDonald's for some lunch, and he got 2 Happy Meal toys (or Toddler Toys as he calls them) - his AND mine. After his "meeting" we spontaneously went to the movies. We saw the new "Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonians" movie. I enjoyed it. He was a little bored at the beginning, but when there was a battle towards the end, he was in hog heaven! He later asked me if I knew what battle meant. When I told him I didn't to see what he would say (my usual trick with him when he asks me if I know something), he told me it was a fight with a lot of people in it. I'm not so sure why he likes fighting so much. It must be a boy thing.

By the way, if you want to know about boys, just ask Ben. He's an expert on boys. He'll be happy to tell you all about them. For example, did you know that boys never need to say "Excuse me" when they burp or fart but girls do? I know! News to me too! Boys also stink and are gross (Ben's words - not mine - but I tend to agree), and they hate girls and always chase them. I've been informed that there's a lot more to know about boys so if you're curious feel free to give Ben a call and ask away. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to share his wealth of knowledge.

As I type this Ben is sitting next to me dipping his fingers into the icing that came with the CinnaStix from Domino's (Mommy doesn't feel good so Domino's delivered). I'm pretending not to see it because I just give up. This is after he's licked the cinnamon and sugar off of most of the CinnaStix. Incidentally, he's eating them this late because they brought the wrong type of breadsticks with our order, and he went absolutely nutsy (big shock considering that he tells me that all of his teeth are his sweet tooth). I called Domino's, and they redelivered the right kind within about 20 minutes. Good service, but I sort of wish they'd said too bad (they were free anyway with the right coupon code).

Tomorrow will probably be a quiet day since I feel lousy. I have a feeling that this kid is going to watch a lot of TV and play a lot of Nintendo DS this week!

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!