Lessons from a 2 year old

I cannot tell you how stressful this past month has been. Maybe it has just seemed worse since being hopped up on hormones makes everything worse for everyone. But it has been a hard month, at least for me.

Sometimes I feel like I run around spreading myself too thin and wish there was just ONE thing I was doing really well instead of a lot of things I wasn't doing well. One thing I often wish I was better at was mothering. I feel guilty being gone so much lately between work and doctor's appointments, especially as we want a little brother or sister for Benny and I want to be there for them, not shuttling them off to sitters all the time. But at the same time we need the job and medical treatments to be able to HAVE a baby, so it's kind of a catch 22.

The other day I was so frustrated and feeling bad, so I asked Benny if I was a bad mom. He looked at me wide eyed and adamantly said, "No, you're a good mommy!" And gave me a hug. I don't usually ask for praise or reassurance (also not why I am writing this post), but that day I needed it. What a sweet boy.

Then yesterday I was driving home with Benny and he asked his usual, "What am I going to see after my nap?" Meaning, "who am I going to see and what am I going to do tomorrow morning after I wake up." He always has to have a plan.
Me: You're going to Auntie Kimiko's house to play with Mayumi.
Benny: Oh. Where are you going?
Me: I'm going to work.
Benny: Who are you going to help?
Me: I'm going to clean some people's teeth.

He assumed that since he was going to a sitter again, we would be off helping someone. I often wonder if we are doing things right, if we are doing all the things we need to. At that moment I realized that yes, maybe we're doing ok. My 2 year old has not once complained about the amount of time Ben and I have been gone lately, he has only noticed that we have been out "helping people." There have been many moves and service projects, and I am so glad that that is where we have been spending our time instead of other frivolous ways.
Benny is definitely a typical two year old with two year old antics, but also typical in how pure and innocent they are. I felt humbled.

Manners

This little chef needs to learn some I guess.

Saturday we were at the store when Benny asked "what are those?" I answered they were yucky drinks (liquor bottles) and then realized he probably meant the Little People passing by. I quickly moved on, but on the way back out of the store Benny asked, "Where are my friends? I want to say hi." And there they were, a couple about Benny's size. So we chatted for no more than 2 seconds and then I rushed him out, mortified we singled these poor people out. Thankfully they were very kind, and I'm sure they get all sorts of comments and stares, but I didn't want to the be one to give them any unwanted attention.

Not even two days later we were at another store when Benny asked, very loudly, "What does that girl in blue have on her?" I looked up to see a woman in blue scrubs with light patches of skin RIGHT NEXT to us, so no time to hide or talk to him about it. I apologized to the woman, but she also was very nice and explained to him that she had "Michael Jackson Syndrome."

Thankfully the people in both these situations were very nice and knew just how to handle things, but it must be hard to be "different" and have to deal with those awkward situations all the time.

Benny and I had a talk about how we are all different, and we don't need to stare or point out these differences, but he is 2 and I would be surprised if something like this didn't happen again. I hate feeling like a terrible mom. I promise we do try to teach Benny how to be polite.

Fireman Ben

I know it's not Halloween yet, but I about died when I saw how cute Benny was in his costume (no, he will not be wearing crocs). The cutest part is how excited he has been. Last Halloween he was not a fan of dressing up, but this year he has been planning his costume ever since the catalogs came in the mail. He carries the catalogs around the house and sits down time and again on the couch, thumbing through the pictures and always landing on the firefigher page. He is very into firetrucks and firefighters at the moment.

Auntie Kimiko made this for him one day when she was babysitting.

He still likes to streak and ran into his room after his bath, immediately donning his helmet, and only his helmet.

He even asked if he could wear his costume to sleep tonight.
Thank you, Grandma Sue, for making this little boy so happy! I think this costume will be more than just for Halloween.


And some other random stuff--I still get a kick out of how much fun Benny and Mayumi have together. She copies everything he does, and he loves having a little "doll" to take around.





And he is getting big. He is potty training and has a big boy bed. I am not sure why we bought him the bed though as this was pretty much the only time he slept in it. He usually makes a "nest" on the floor out of his blankets, pillows and stuffed animals. It is fun for me to hear all the funny things he says but we are definitely saying so long to his baby days.

He's doing great with his counting and ABC's and learning letter and number recognition. He knows how to use an ipod better than I do. And he wants to pretty much know the mysteries of the universe. I get weird looks at the grocery store when I am explaining things in depth to my 2 year old sitting in the cart, but the more you explain something to him, the better. He's very detail oriented and very reasonable and I pretty much just converse with him like I would an adult. He of course still has his fits and normal two year old moments, but he grew up way too fast for this mom. I guess they all do.

Cousins

Moving far away is hard. It's lonely. It can be boring.

But it sure is nice when your sister moves in!

I know our older siblings think we're worse than twins, but I see it as a huge blessing that my sister and her family were able to come out here. Of all the places and jobs in the world, they ended up 5 miles from us! What are the chances? We are even in the same ward at church.

We don't know how long this will last, but we will enjoy it while we can. Benny and Mayumi have sure been enjoying their get togethers.

San Diego vacation

The first time in a very long time we have taken a "vacation" and not just a "trip" to see family etc. While we did see family, it was still a lot of fun. We stopped in Bakersfield on the way down and visited with Ben's dad and stepmom. We had fun in the pool as the weather there is HOT.
Then we went to San Diego and hit the beach, Sea World, Zoo, Old Town including the Mormon Battalion museum. We even took an accidental exit and ended up going over the bridge to Coronao Island, which I thought was cool. On the way home we stopped in Lompoc to see my parents and had lunch in Pismo Beach where it was very windy, so our lunch kits were very crunchy (beach sand).
We definitely need to do vacation again.

He is going to kill me if he grows up and sees this post, but can you guess what he's doing in the pic above, bottom right corner? I laugh everytime I see this one.

Teeth

Feeling a bit frustrated at the moment that as a dental health employee, I get no dental benefits. I've never run into this before. Ben just broke a tooth (that has been fixed before, mind you) and I know it is going to cost over $1000 to fix.
I guess this is what everyone else feels like when it comes to dental fees :(

The Claw

How this kid always wins something, I don't know.

Whenever we go to a store that has a claw machine, Benny wants to play. Several of the machines let you go a second round and win a piece of candy if you don't win an animal the first time. Somehow Benny has won animals several times. We've definitely gotten our money's worth from "The Claw."
The funniest is this last time, he said "Can I do the claw and get some candy?" So after our shopping I forked over my 50 cents. I was so excited when the claw actually grabbed a stuffed puppy and dropped it into the shoot. Benny excitedly reached in and pulled out his new puppy.
Then he turned to me and said, "So can I do the claw and get my candy?"

Nevermind the puppy. Yeah, I paid another 50 cents so he could get a smartie.