Ben, or "Benny" as he calls himself

I know all of you second born children out there were wondering, so what about Ben's anti-festivus appreciation page?   (Aunt Suzanne in particular advocates for all the second borns out there.)  Thom and I are both second born children, so of course, we will make sure that Ben gets the recognition due him. 

[caption id="attachment_102" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Ellie falls asleep while snuggling with her baby brother"][/caption]

 When Ben was born Ellie was undergoing chemotherapy and the thought of having a newborn in our house at the same time was just unimaginable.  But man when he was born, it seemed like he decided to come at exactly the right time.  He was like another angel, diverting our attention from unwanted things.  He gave us all something wonderful to focus on.  We were all just smitten when he arrived. 

I recall the time when Ben was just a little guy, barely walking at all.  Ellie was in the hospital (even then, if he were awake he did not want to be in the hospital room).  In the hospital kitchen he saw these plastic bins that Ellie would regurgitate into and he would go over and pretend that he was regurgitating too.  It was both cute and sad.  When Ellie finally got to the point when she was walking around, he toddled over and gave her a huge hug letting her know how happy he was that she was back in action. 

1.  Fun is the name of the game.

The thing that I have learned and appreciate most about Ben is how he has fun anywhere, anytime.  I need not worry where I take him because he will find a way to have fun no matter what.  Target, the park, Ellie's school, the zoo, the Children's museum, the hospital, everywhere he goes he has a good time.  To him it doesn't matter if we are going somewhere, at our destination, or leaving, having fun is the goal, not the actual destination.   He is always such an excellent reminder to me that it is the journey to be enjoyed, not just the destination to be obtained. 

[caption id="attachment_114" align="alignleft" width="192" caption="Cheeks"][/caption]

2.  Those cheeks.  And that skin. 

Ben just has the cutest darn cheeks ever.  I just want to kiss them or squeeze them.  And his skin is indescribably soft.  (For Ellie, it is her beautiful, long lashed dark brown eyes that I adore most.)

 

 3.  Reconnecting.

After crazy comes to visit, as crazy often has this summer, Ben will hold out his little arms in "hug" position and tell me, "Let's reconnect."  And all of the crazy that I have felt suddenly melts away into nothingness.  He reminds Ellie & I both of reconnection time, because that is, after all, the best part of Crazy's visit.  Then, he's back to #1. 

4.  Sing a song/do a little jig

Ben and Ellie both love to sing.  Ben particularly enjoys singing the theme songs from his favorite videos (Peep and The Big Wide World, Charlie & Lola, Bob the Builder).  Recently he has started doing this silly dance where his legs flail out to the side in a highly comical manner. 

5.  His perspective.

Last spring there were several tornado alerts.  Explaining what a tornado is to a 3-year-old is quite challenging without some visual aids.  So we checked out lots of books and watched lots of videos to learn more about them.  Every time we would ride in the car, Ben would search the sky, checking for tornadoes.  Often it looked to him as if the clouds were begining to spin.  If you think about tornadoes or hurricanes or volcanoes, outside of the human perspective, they really are quite fascinating.  When I first told Ben about volcanoes, a large mountain shooting fire out of the top, he looked at me like, "You have got to be kidding me, that sounds like the most awesome thing I've ever heard of!!  When can we see one?" 

One day we walked out of our house and there was a young woman leaning against her car with the car hood up.  She told us that she was waiting for a tow truck.  Ben became extremely excited at the prospect of watching a tow truck do its work up close.  Then, to top things off she told us that after the tow truck came it would take her car to the mechanic.  Ben thought she was having about the most fun day ever.  A tow truck AND a mechanic.  All in one day?  The woman saw Ben's enthusiasm for something she was thinking of as a "problem" and suddenly it didn't seem so burdensome. 

[caption id="attachment_84" align="alignright" width="300" caption="No smiles"][/caption]

We live about half a block from the railroad tracks.  Seeing the train go by is one of the many highlights of Ben's day.  When we hear a train or the train signal, we race to the window or the front porch to watch.  I think of all the cars who are annoyed at having to stop to wait for the train to go by and the contrast of how much whooping fun Ben is having watching the same train.  When I told him that his little friend, Max, did not live near a train and could not watch the train from his apartment, Ben looked at me as if this was a completely unacceptable way for any little guy to live.  It's all your perspective. 

 6.  Comedian

So many times Ben, seeing Ellie's distress will try desperately to find something that would be amusing to her.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it is so sweet that he tries to help his sister out of her despair. 

7.  Ben Kisses

Ben kisses are oh so sweet. 

There isn't a better treat.

He puckers his lips super big

Sometimes he does it with a little jig

His kisses make the appropriate sound

I love having many Ben kisses around.