Here's Ben's life in a quick, neat little nutshell:
We had two snow days a week and a half ago (but you already know that if you've read the blog before now). During that time Ben worked on his cup stacking skills, his baking skills, his Nintendo DS Lite skills and his TV watching skills (he's REALLY good at the last two things in case anyone wondered). We were also in the midst of closing Arts of Asia and moving the office (and some of the leftovers) to my house. Now Ben and I share an office at home. The last couple of weekends have been busy with all of that. Next weekend we'll be in Michigan for a few days visiting friends and relatives. We're really looking forward to that. Hopefully it's not a HUGE mistake to visit the Frozen North in February. Keep your fingers crossed for us! Oh yeah, Ben has a double ear infection right now, too. Luckily the kid is a real trooper and hasn't complained at all.
Some sad news to report...Richard Rosenbaum, a very close family friend who was Ben's surrogate grandfather, passed away on Friday morning. He was a wonderful, kind, gentle man, and we will miss him very much. His wife Eleanor was my mom's best friend and is extremely close with the whole family (She's Grammy Eleanor to Ben. He was and always will be Papa Richard.). Richard was always so great with Ben (and all kids), and Ben really adored him.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Catching Up
Ben and I spent two weeks in Florida over his winter break from MICDS. We had a great time in the sunshine doing pretty much nothing. Some highlights from while we were there: Ben's Uncle Andy and Aunt Melinda came to visit for a few days from New York, Santa visited with tons of presents, Chanukah candles were lit many nights, Ben assisted the magician in an awesome magic show, we had a Christmas night party, Ben played with his cousins Spencer and Carson from Michigan, Ben played with his friend Tucker from Pompano Beach, we hung out with some of Ga's friends, Ben played a lot of computer, Nintendo and Leapster games, Ben watched a lot of TV, Ben spent every single night in a room with Ga (except for one night with me), Ben went swimming at night in his clothes with Aunt Melinda (that was a big highlight for him), Ben went swimming during the day in his swimming suit, Ben saw Santa's tushie a LOT, Ben spent New Year's Eve frolicking on the beach and in and out of the ocean after dinner at a great Cuban restaurant, Ben had his first dinner at Benihana with his friend Tucker and his mom and grandmother. Basically, we had a great time, and I've got the pictures to prove it! If you're interested in seeing them, please e-mail me.
Since we got back to town Ben's been busy with school. He's taking a COCA class after school one day a week for 8 weeks, and he really seems to be enjoying it. He had a playdate with his best buddy Harrison, and right before we went to Florida he had a playdate with his other best buddy Bjorn. Today's a snow day (see the last post), and it's still coming down out there so who knows what tomorrow might bring!
Since we got back to town Ben's been busy with school. He's taking a COCA class after school one day a week for 8 weeks, and he really seems to be enjoying it. He had a playdate with his best buddy Harrison, and right before we went to Florida he had a playdate with his other best buddy Bjorn. Today's a snow day (see the last post), and it's still coming down out there so who knows what tomorrow might bring!
"It Needs More Salt"
Today is a Snow Day - NO SCHOOL! When we got the automated call from school last night, Ben went NUTS! He did an intense happy dance on my bed. He couldn't wait to get outside today. There wasn't a ton of snow, but it's been lightly snowing for a lot of the day so we'll see. The "It Needs More Salt" comment comes from when he tasted the snow on his glove and then said that. It was so funny! After we came inside I got a cup stacking demonstration. Evidently that's what they've been doing in PE at MICDS. He's actually pretty good and taught me how to do it. Here are some pictures:
I pulled him around the driveway on the sled. He's modeling one of the hats that I knit in the first picture then he switched to his Spiderman hat:
Getting ready to attack me with a snowball:
Catching snowflakes on his tongue:
Stacking cups:
I pulled him around the driveway on the sled. He's modeling one of the hats that I knit in the first picture then he switched to his Spiderman hat:
Getting ready to attack me with a snowball:Catching snowflakes on his tongue:Stacking cups:Saturday, December 20, 2008
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 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!
Monday, December 8, 2008
This Post Is For Lisa
This post is in honor of my wonderful friend Lisa who I think is the only person in the entire world that actually reads this blog. Oh - wait - my other wonderful friend Diane once told me that she read Ben's blog. As far as I know those are the only two people in the entire world that have ever even looked at this blog other than me. If you do read this blog and can't or don't want to post a comment, do me a favor and drop me an e-mail so I know that someone's reading this thing! I'm just curious whether or not this is a waste of time and space on the World Wide Web. Anyway...here's an update about what Ben's been up to lately.
School. Thanksgiving. More school. Playing my Nintendo DS Lite. School. More Nintendo. School again. Playing on my laptop. That pesky school. More school. School. That's about it. Oh - wait - a couple of sleepovers at Ga's house. Ga's birthday, too. And don't forget school!
Seriously, Ben's been doing well. School has been good and keeping him plenty busy. He adores MICDS and couldn't be happier there. He spends a lot of time playing with (and talking about) Harrison and Bjorn, his two best friends. He recently told me that he's been playing with Alex too, the little girl who was in his class last year at Hope Montessori. Audrey's mom has told me several times that Ben and the other boys play Power Rangers and chase the girls (and she claims that they like it although I've already apologized in advance for the time when they don't like it anymore - and undoubtedly that time will come sooner rather than later). This morning at drop off Samantha's dad told me that Samantha said that Ben likes to play Power Rangers so he won't play with her (we'll be discussing *that* this afternoon!!). I know that Ben is the Power Rangers ringleader. There's absolutely no doubt about that one in my mind. The boy is obsessed with them!
Thanksgiving was fine. Very low key this year. We had Thanksgiving lunch with Adam, Ga and Ga's friends the Kermans at South City Diner then Ben and Ga and I had Thanksgiving dinner at the Cohn's house (more of Ga's friends) where Ben and Bradford (he's in 1st grade - a bigger boy!) played all night and had a great time.
Ga headed to Florida for the winter yesterday. I wish I were there right now considering how cold it's been here lately although it's supposed to go up to 50 degrees today so that's not too bad. I am a fair weather friend, but Ben just loves the cold. I'm not sure where he gets that from! I tell him he's crazy, and he tells me that it's not nice to call him crazy so I have to apologize but then mumble under my breath that he's still crazy. He loves cold and snow and is seriously into Christmas music. Every single time we get in the car he asks me to turn the radio on to the Christmas music stations (in case anyone wonders, he prefers the "jazzier" songs as he puts it). He's also extremely disappointed that we aren't decorating our house for Christmas because we're Jewish. We were in the car the other night with some friends who are also Jewish, and he said, "We don't celebrate Christmas because we're Jewish." The "we're Jewish" part was said in the most depressed voice you've ever heard in your entire life. When he was asked what he does celebrate, he replied "Thanksgiving." He didn't sound too thrilled about that either. I feel his pain. I always loved Christmas and used to tell my parents that I wished I were normal so I could celebrate Christmas. I think a lot of little Jewish kids long for Christmas trees and decorations!! Chanukah just doesn't do it for us.
That's really about all that's been going on around here. Ben spends a lot of time with my Nintendo DS Lite and watching Noggin, the Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network. He would spend 24/7 either playing Nintendo or playing on my computer if I let him (but I don't) with the TV on. He's a typical man already!
School. Thanksgiving. More school. Playing my Nintendo DS Lite. School. More Nintendo. School again. Playing on my laptop. That pesky school. More school. School. That's about it. Oh - wait - a couple of sleepovers at Ga's house. Ga's birthday, too. And don't forget school!
Seriously, Ben's been doing well. School has been good and keeping him plenty busy. He adores MICDS and couldn't be happier there. He spends a lot of time playing with (and talking about) Harrison and Bjorn, his two best friends. He recently told me that he's been playing with Alex too, the little girl who was in his class last year at Hope Montessori. Audrey's mom has told me several times that Ben and the other boys play Power Rangers and chase the girls (and she claims that they like it although I've already apologized in advance for the time when they don't like it anymore - and undoubtedly that time will come sooner rather than later). This morning at drop off Samantha's dad told me that Samantha said that Ben likes to play Power Rangers so he won't play with her (we'll be discussing *that* this afternoon!!). I know that Ben is the Power Rangers ringleader. There's absolutely no doubt about that one in my mind. The boy is obsessed with them!
Thanksgiving was fine. Very low key this year. We had Thanksgiving lunch with Adam, Ga and Ga's friends the Kermans at South City Diner then Ben and Ga and I had Thanksgiving dinner at the Cohn's house (more of Ga's friends) where Ben and Bradford (he's in 1st grade - a bigger boy!) played all night and had a great time.
Ga headed to Florida for the winter yesterday. I wish I were there right now considering how cold it's been here lately although it's supposed to go up to 50 degrees today so that's not too bad. I am a fair weather friend, but Ben just loves the cold. I'm not sure where he gets that from! I tell him he's crazy, and he tells me that it's not nice to call him crazy so I have to apologize but then mumble under my breath that he's still crazy. He loves cold and snow and is seriously into Christmas music. Every single time we get in the car he asks me to turn the radio on to the Christmas music stations (in case anyone wonders, he prefers the "jazzier" songs as he puts it). He's also extremely disappointed that we aren't decorating our house for Christmas because we're Jewish. We were in the car the other night with some friends who are also Jewish, and he said, "We don't celebrate Christmas because we're Jewish." The "we're Jewish" part was said in the most depressed voice you've ever heard in your entire life. When he was asked what he does celebrate, he replied "Thanksgiving." He didn't sound too thrilled about that either. I feel his pain. I always loved Christmas and used to tell my parents that I wished I were normal so I could celebrate Christmas. I think a lot of little Jewish kids long for Christmas trees and decorations!! Chanukah just doesn't do it for us.
That's really about all that's been going on around here. Ben spends a lot of time with my Nintendo DS Lite and watching Noggin, the Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network. He would spend 24/7 either playing Nintendo or playing on my computer if I let him (but I don't) with the TV on. He's a typical man already!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Too Long!
It's been busy around here as usual but nothing that I can really put my finger on. Ben had a bit of a runny nose, but for some reason I was the one who ended up with the bad cold (shocker, shocker). He's doing just fine - healthy as a horse - and I'm still getting over the cold that he so lovingly brought home to his mama.
Everything else is pretty much the same. School's been good. There were only two days of school this week so how bad could it possibly be, right? MICDS gives the kids Wednesday through Sunday off for their Thanksgiving Break which is nice, but as far as I'm concerned he could go to school tomorrow. He really enjoys it, and he adores being with his friends.
Oh! Big news! I found the missing original Leapster this afternoon! Way back over Labor Day weekend Ben LOST the stupid thing with the Batman game in it while I was out of town, and he was just heartbroken. I wasn't planning on replacing it (the machine itself is about $50, and the games that go in it are around $25 each), but since it's a learning tool (and a really nifty one at that) I bit the bullet and bought him another one back in October when he had a day off of school (plus he'd been really good so it made it easier to give him a special treat). Anyway, I reached for a cookbook on the second shelf above the desk today and lo and behold, the stupid thing was right behind it on the shelf! I guess it's a good thing that I felt like cooking something in particular today. So now we have two Leapsters and two Batman games (and the worst part of all of this is that these days he ONLY wants to play games on my Nintendo DS)! I have NO CLUE how the Leapster got where it did, but I guess it doesn't really matter. Anyone want to buy a Leapster and a Batman game? I know where you can get a really great deal!
Happy Turkey Day to everyone! Around here we're very thankful for our health and serenity. What are you thankful for?
Everything else is pretty much the same. School's been good. There were only two days of school this week so how bad could it possibly be, right? MICDS gives the kids Wednesday through Sunday off for their Thanksgiving Break which is nice, but as far as I'm concerned he could go to school tomorrow. He really enjoys it, and he adores being with his friends.
Oh! Big news! I found the missing original Leapster this afternoon! Way back over Labor Day weekend Ben LOST the stupid thing with the Batman game in it while I was out of town, and he was just heartbroken. I wasn't planning on replacing it (the machine itself is about $50, and the games that go in it are around $25 each), but since it's a learning tool (and a really nifty one at that) I bit the bullet and bought him another one back in October when he had a day off of school (plus he'd been really good so it made it easier to give him a special treat). Anyway, I reached for a cookbook on the second shelf above the desk today and lo and behold, the stupid thing was right behind it on the shelf! I guess it's a good thing that I felt like cooking something in particular today. So now we have two Leapsters and two Batman games (and the worst part of all of this is that these days he ONLY wants to play games on my Nintendo DS)! I have NO CLUE how the Leapster got where it did, but I guess it doesn't really matter. Anyone want to buy a Leapster and a Batman game? I know where you can get a really great deal!
Happy Turkey Day to everyone! Around here we're very thankful for our health and serenity. What are you thankful for?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Nothing New
Everything's fine with Ben. There's not much going on so there's not much to report. Parent-Teacher Conferences at MICDS were last week, and his went very well as I expected. Ben actually was a litle bit under the weather that day (he threw up several times), but luckily there was no school so he didn't miss anything. He bounced back from that as quickly and easily as he does everything else. This last week was rather uneventful. There was a birthday party this morning at Kidz Art for one of the girls in Ben's class. It was very cute. The kids all painted piggy banks then played some parachute games (always popular with the preschool set) and ended with the obligatory cake and juice boxes. It was so nice to go somewhere for a birthday party other than one of those inflatable places!
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