Benjamin Talks

This little boy has the sweetest voice and he always tilts his head to the side when he asks a question which just makes things that much sweeter. He's talking more and more every day and I just can't get enough of the things he says.

Yesterday he was chattering away to me the whole time we were driving to pick Miriam up from co-op preschool.

"Mom! Turn 'ound!" he demanded. "Turn 'ound! Me see park! Mom—me see Sasa's schoo. Sasa's schoo's park! Mom! Turn 'ound!"

"We can't stop at the park," I told him. "We have to pick Miriam up from preschool."

"Mimi pee-schoo Inky 'ouse? Me 'ike Inky 'ouse. Me go 'side Inky 'ouse? Me go pee-schoo a Mimi. Me big boy. Me pee-schoo a Mimi, Inky 'ouse."

"You might be able to come inside Lincoln's house for a minute but you're still a little bit young for preschool."

"No. Me big boy," Benjamin insisted.

"I know you're a big boy but you still have some growing to do."

"Me see Inky 'ouse! Mom! See? Inky 'ouse—punkies! Big punkies Inky 'ouse!"


"Yes, Lincoln has some big pumpkins at his house, doesn't he?"

"Es. Big punkies. Me 'ike big punkies!"

"You do? Do we have any pumpkins at our house?"

"Es."

"How many pumpkins do we have?"

"Ummm...two!"

"Yes. Are our pumpkins big or small?"

"Som."

"What? Our pumpkins are pretty big! They're not as big as Lincoln's pumpkins but Lincoln's pumpkins are decorations. They have lights inside and they glow in the dark. They're not real."

"Go inna car?"

"Yup. They glow in the dark."

Every conversation he's a part of turns ridiculously adorable within seconds. He's just so sweetly emphatic about everything from telling me he spies a blue dump truck to ensuring his father that he won't poop his pants at the playground ("No. No way, Daddy. Gross.").

Benjamin has incredible mapping skills. They far surpass my own. He recognizes so many landmarks it's not even funny. He knows when we're heading in the direction of home ("Home, mine home") and can basically direct me to the church ("Turn tempy turch, Mom," he'll tell me when we get to the Rose of Sharon Baptist Church on...Rose of Sharon Road (because what other road would it be on?)—I don't know why he insists on calling it the "temple church" but that's what he calls it). He'll remind me to stop at red lights and to go on green.

The other day he climbed up on the shoe shelf, pulled the van keys out of the catch-all dish, unlocked the van, opened the door, and climbed inside all while I was going to the bathroom (I sent Miriam chasing after him and she managed to wrestle the keys away from him before he did anything too dangerous).

"Me go park now," he informed me when I asked him what in the world he thought he was doing.

This boy almost makes me miss the good ol' days before keyless remotes were a thing.

I'm trying to think of any other cute things he says (which, did I mention, is pretty much everything he says) while I'm at it...

Every time he falls over or gets hurt in any way he'll say, "Me 'kay."

He came out of his room tonight to beg for "Un mo' son' Mom."

Just one more. And another one after that. And then another one after that.

He likes to say, "Me turn baby night."

I'm not sure why...perhaps because it allows him to cry and carry on since he's technically not a big boy anymore (since he turns into a baby again every night).

When he's hungry he says, "Tummy hurt again. Me eat food?"

Because what else do you say when you get hungry?

Instead of simply saying "thank you" he says, "Sukey me." I haven't quite figured out why. But if you ever hear that, it means "thank you." He's very polite and says it all the time so if you listen to him long enough you'll probably hear it.

Oh, while Benjamin was sick with bowel trouble (he's better now, hurrah!) Andrew gave up his side of the bed one night. Benjamin asked Andrew to fetch his pillow.

"Peasy mine pi-oh, Dad?"

"Sure, I'll get your pillow for you," Andrew said.

"And mine bus?"

"And your bus."

"And mine car?"

"And your car."

"And mine cup?"

"And your cup."

"Sukey me."

"You're welcome."

"Go seep couch now, Dad."

"Yes," Andrew sighed. "I'm going to go sleep on the couch."

"Sukey me."

"You're welcome."

I think Andrew ended up sleeping in Miriam's bed since she was sharing the top bunk with Rachel. Either way, Benjamin and I had a comfortable night's sleep. His little list of demands was rather enjoyable though, even if it was the middle of the night.

In completely tangential news, while we were at park #1 this morning (we visited two parks today—Benjamin loves going to parks) Miriam got bored (we went to the park with friends—one child her age (a boy—ew!) and a handful of two-year-olds (not the most entertaining crew according to Miriam)). She sat down beside me, rolled her eyes when I suggested she find something to do with Rhett, and said, "Mom, could you puh-leeze schedule a date or something with Dad and find a babysitter for us? Like maybe Brother and Sister Doying. They're fun."

I reminded her that Grandma and Grandpa will be here in two sleeps and that her birthday is in three sleeps and that kind of perked her up a bit. She was having a bit of a grouchy day.