You are sick now-starting tonight-fever, cold. You do a really good job taking medicine!/ You do a great job going to wash your hands after eating and when we get home, often without being reminded./ You said a list of three things without saying "and" between each one.

You've got the greatest big happy smiles! I love being your mom! You're so fun to be around./ When we were driving today you pointed out every single place you knew and called it by name or said what we do there. So cute and really made this feel like home-you know all these places. You always mention when we're getting close to our house./ You're such a good little cleaner and love when Dad makes it into a game./ You're obsessed with batteries and were very excited to find out cars have them.

Peter always wants to play with what you have. He's driving you crazy already in that regard./ When Dad was praying he was thankful we got to go to the library, you added, "and get the Clifford book" all while keeping your eyes closed and your arms folded! So cute!/ You really like us to talk to you and sometimes get upset if we say something to each other when we're supposed to be talking to you.

You told me I'm the best mom in town! I don't know where you got this phrase! So cute!/ You're asking me everyday if you're bigger yet so it can be your birthday. You're really obsessed with birthdays./ You are a really great brother-always checking on Peter when he fusses and giving him toys./ You are constantly singing songs so well that I've only sung to you a few times. You like "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me".

While at the store you told me out of the blue that I'm the best mom. It was so wonderful and sweet and exactly what I needed to hear./ You and Peter sat together in the cart at the store for the first time (Costco-has room for two in the front part). Peter loved sitting by you and kept snuggling up to you./ You called ants "bees". And you don't like them./ When you got sad, you wanted your water out of your bed. I guess it's your new comfort item since your nip is gone now.

You are now asking me questions that are getting a little trickier (like what all the pieces of an airplane are called).

Today when Peter smiled at you while you were dancing, you said, "Peter mizoned (smiled) at me because I'm such a cute dancer!"./ You told Dad, "Don't be mad. Just be happy!"/ Tonight I was showing you your hole in your nip and reminding you we'll throw it away when it gets bigger and then no more nip. You decided to throw it away tonight. You were so proud of yourself. Of course you cried at bedtime, but you stopped after just a minute.

You emptied out the cupboard and climbed in. You pretended you were in a car. You closed the door and everything./ You got really sad when Dad went to school this morning./ Rabbits are now "bennys" because you used to call them "Pennys" because your stuffed animal that was mine when I was little is named "Penny". We started watching the extras on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, with a character named "Benny". Now "Pennys" are "Bennys".

Before you did a few different things today, you asked me, "Is that alright?". So interesting to have you ask for my permission./ I let you play outside on our "porch" (right by the front door) by yourself. I was nervous. You were just as nervous as I was...at first. You peeked your head in the door just to see me every minute. Eventually you got more comfortable, and I had to go find you (you went down the stairs and were playing on the front lawn.).

At night you like me to sing you songs that are in this Winnie the Pooh Nursery Rhyme book we have from the library. If I sing a song you don't think is in there, you get upset./ You will not go outside without your shoes on. I really ingrained this rule into you, and you cry if I try to get you to run outside real quick with bare feet./ You are now saying "Double drats!" in your everyday conversation. You got it from Super Why, but I don't think you understand how to use it.

You are really interested in your whole name now. I told you all of our whole names, and you liked that both you and Dad are "Benjamin"s. You also liked that we're all Kelseys.

You sing a song from Super Why called Word Power, "Word Tower"./ You love "frosting flakes" (frosted flakes)./ Honeycomb is "Honeycone"./ You like climbing into your bed and Peter's bed. You like being underneath your bed and having me put the side down. Then you say you're locked and push it up and get out./ You now sit on our new couches./ If you get dizzy, you say you are "busy".

We bought new couches yesterday. We still have our old one, though. Today you'll only sit on our old couch.

I called you Eddie Spaghetti and you said, "I'm not a lunch!"./ We went to a store to look at couches. When we left without one, you cried because you wanted to buy a couch./ At food places you always like to play with the locks on the door. You also like to put the footstops down./ I was able to clip your fingernails without you crying. Everytime I bring it up, you say, "It didn't even hurt!", like you're surprised.

You've pretty much stopped taking naps. You could take them and kind of need them around lunchtime or1. You may be ornery for a bit, but you get over it so fast. I thought I'd regret you losing your naps, but I love having you around all day. I love missing out on the difficult nap wake-up, and, as long as I put you to bed earlier than normal, you fall asleep so easy (5 min or less in comparison with an hour) and you sleep better. (If you go to bed too late you toss and turn and cry and moan in the night). You're really growing up! I love you!

Peter was doing all these exciting things today. I was cheering for him, and you got really excited and asked me several times if Peter's going to walk and talk. You've asked these other times recently. You're really excited for it./ You're getting really close to being able to take off and put on your own shirts. You're really excited about it./ You put your Curious George stuffed animal on your shoulders and walked around with him, like Dad does with you./ When you watch tv, if I sit next to you, you always lay your head on me.

While driving today you kept telling me a shark was following us that we had to get away from. At home Dad pretended a shark was knocking on the door and we all had to run and hide from him. You loved it./ You really don't like Peter to touch you or anything you're playing with./ You're very fast to get Peter a toy if he fusses or just talk to him. You love to feed him./ You often bring up how much you want to get bigger so you can drive./ I saw pictures of you a year ago and I feel so sad that you've grown so much in one year. My little baby is gone! I don't want my little boy to disappear, too! I love you, Sweetie!

You asked if we could go to Santa Claus's house and see if he has some candy. You really caught on to Santa bringing candy at Christmas and mention it a lot./ You love to grab on to us and hang. You are always climbing on and over us./ You seem a bit more sensitive when I correct you lately, so I've been reassuring you by saying, "I'm not mad." Well, when I corrected you and didn't say this, you asked, "Are you mean, Mom?"/

You always take your right shoe and sock off every time we're in the car. Your right foot is smaller and thus the shoe is looser so it's easy for you to pull off./ You are always trying to get into the gum when I'm not looking./ You call me Mommy-us and think you're so funny. Everytime I sit on the couch to feed Peter, you ask if Curious George and Super Why are on, because they often are. If I say no, you say, "I have to wait."

We are focusing on getting you to pray with us when we pray. You're doing a great job./You enjoy climing into your bed(crib)-you use your slide to do it./You don't like to be shirtless. As soon as I take off your shirt, you immediately ask for your new one. You touch your chest, and even while I'm picking up your new shirt, you're asking for it.

You kept asking me to read you pretend stories, so I'd make them up. You loved it./I left you with Dad while I went to the doctor. When I came back, you told me, "You're beautiful-that shirt!". You also gave me a big hug and told me you're so glad to see me./You brought up wanting to use the toilet and spent some time sitting on your little potty./When dad was sad today you said, "Why Dad sad(statement). What will make you happy?". So sweet!

Kyle and Jeremy came today. I know you have a great capacity for love (all children do, but you have an extra special ability), but it's so beautiful to see you in action. Every time Kyle or Jeremy stopped playing with you, you'd go up to them and touch their back or hand and say, "What's wrong, sweetie?" or "Are you okay?", said with so much love and tenderness. I'm so proud of you. You really led the way with them (you took off running at the garden and they follow you-I never expected to see you as the leader). You aren't shy with Uncle Will. You asked if you could wear his cowboy boots and he let you.

Today you took your first in-bed nap for a few weeks./You put a ball under your shirt and told me you had two brothers-one in your belly and Peter./You like to pretend to pay for things. You'll have me stand on one side of the bed and you'll stand on the other. You put toys on the bed and then take them back. If I ask for money, you give it to me, but you always want it back (maybe because you see us paying with cards).

You're always asking me if different animals can talk. You always say, "They have a mouth."/ When you found out William and his family's coming to see us, you were excited to show them our tree./You put your fingertips together to form a triangle and said, "Mom, look at my Christmas tree!"./In a book we got from the library, all the Winnie the Pooh characters are piled on top of each other, Tigger on top. You said, "Tigger's the star on the Christmas tree."/You wanted Dad to pretend to cry about something. He said that that thing made him happy. You said, "That's not a reason to be sad!", agreeing with him.

Two and a half years old today! I love you, best friend./You had a little piece of onion from the spaghetti sauce. You asked me what it was, and I told you. You said, "I don't like onion; Daddy told me that." You paused then your eyes got big and you said, "You like onion!". (Dad doesn't like onion.)/You liked when I pretended I was a sleeping bear and you had to crawl over me with honey. If you woke me, I got to eat it!

You told me today a clear piece of plastic was a picture ("pisker") of Jesus. You then said, "I've never seen Jesus."/The other day you pretended to make food, and you gave it a made-up name-your first made-up word./You came up to me tonight and asked if you could tell me something. You then told me you wanted to tell me about something you'd seen on a restuarant (a picture of a fish). You then told me what the picture was of and left the room./You tell us what direction to drive by pointing when we're going certain places-you know which way we should go./ You did a good job driving a car on Dad's Pole Position game. You loved to crash into signs.

We were making cookies. When I went to get an ingredient of of the pantry, you asked, "What are you getting, Sweetie?"./You came into the room I was in by myself and told me, "I'm so happy to have a Dad!"./When a glass broke in the dishwasher, you came to me, hugged me, and said, "It's okay to be sad." I'm so happy to know that what I'm saying to you is making an impression./

You like to feed Peter his food-his yogurt and little pieces of bread. You're so cautious with the pieces of bread-you do them much smaller than I do./We had a really good day today. When going to bed, Dad told you he'd had a really good day. You said you had a really good day./You were really nervous in bed tonight about church tomorrow. You don't want to go to nursery tomorrow. You've been bringing it up a lot this week. You're way too young to dread church. We'll ease up on trying to leave you in nursery. You told me tonight Dad tries to leave you with other people.

You told me, "Jesus flew on our plane so we wouldn't be scared."/You never complain about getting your ears cleaned. You cry about baths and even the thought of clipping your nails./After Dad hung up the curtain rod in my and Dad's bedroom, you said "I'm so proud of you, Daddy." So sweet./ If you recognize a story I'm telling someone on the phone, you point it out. After I hang up the phone, you want me to tell you what I talked about.

We moved your seatbelt straps on your carseat to the highest spot. You've been complaining that your seatbelt hurts./You climbed up the slide and then slid back down on your stomach going backwards. You laughed./When walking away from me and Dad today, you stopped and blew us a kiss./You really love raspberry soda pop./You were overwhelmed by all the loud birds and aggressive ducks at the lake when we went to feed ducks.