And then sometimes you don’t blog for so long you forget how to post pictures. I spent a while trying to fix this last night in case anyone has already tried to view all the broken links but I got tired and went to bed. Finally figured it out!
In the “It takes 1000 pictures series…”
This is what Ben does when you tell him to smile.
Eli, nice smile. Ben bores quickly.
Ben, nice smile! What is Eli doing?
Eli’s starting to lose it.
Please don’t copy him, Ben.
I’ll take it! Ben’s a little fuzzy but I don’t mind.
Things have been so good the last five or so months. Eli is doing well in kindergarten and looking forward to first grade. Our big thing this week is teaching him how to ride his bike. For all his book learning smarts, he’s a kid that physical stuff sometimes comes hard to and so it’s been frustrating to him. Despite his frustration, he is persevering. Last night as he tried for the 30th time to coast on his bike (Andy has converted it to a balance bike so he can get used to balancing without having to worry about pedaling), he dissolved in tears and screamed that it was too hard. In between shrieks about how hard it was and how he was never going to get it, I told him if he was too frustrated he could take a break and we could try later. He scream/sobbed at me, “NO, I AM GOING TO KEEP DOING THIS UNTIL I CAN DO IT!” Although he was fairly well sobbing at the time, I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of that kid. We stayed out and he practiced for another 20 or so minutes. Today after school he demanded to practice some more. He is determined to learn how to ride his bike. So stinking proud of him.
Meanwhile, we’ve taken the opportunity to start Ben on the balance bike Eli was given by his Uncle Jason yet he never really liked much. Ben tottered on it for a while last night and asked again to go on it tonight after he figured out pedaling. He’s been on the tricycle a good bit but not since last summer and tonight I refused to push him for a bit on it and he figured out how to do it on his own. He was really pleased with himself for learning how to pedal and kept pedaling to and fro on our streets, stopping every fifteen feet or so to give me a big thumbs up. It was pretty great. Once he felt like he had pedaling down, he kept asking for his “bubba bike” so I gave it to him. That kid’s going to be riding in no time. Lest Eli feel overshadowed, I told him that most younger siblings learn earlier because they copy the older kids and want to be like them. He seemed comforted by that.
Ben is growing by leaps and bounds. He still hates being read to and mostly only listens to books if I’m reading them to Eli. In that case, he’ll act likes he wants to be read a book for the first five pages and then he’ll start running interference by trying to stick his foot in the page. Somehow despite his dislike of books (or rather, what we view as a dislike since Eli liked them SO MUCH), Ben is learning how to read. Somehow, he knows all his ABCs and numbers up to 20 or so. It’s like he’s just absorbed it somehow. He looks at books and tries to piece out the words. It’s really amazing to watch. We wondered if he wouldn’t pick up reading as well as Eli did but despite the lack of obvious interest in words and reading, he seems to be picking it up just as quickly without it. How odd. He’s still way more physical than Eli ever was and he’s got an excellent throwing arm on him so I’m thinking he’ll start in a peewee little league next summer.
We’ve got both kids in swim lessons right now. I take Ben on Thursday afternoons and Eli goes Wednesdays after school. It makes for some hectic days! Eli is also still taking karate on Saturday mornings and I know that Ben wants something extra as well, it’s just finding the time to fit it in. I’ve been looking at soccer classes for Ben on early Saturday mornings so we can do those then still make Eli’s karate. Ben is so full of energy. I don’t know how single parents do it. I have a lot of weekends that Andy is at work so I have to plan this stuff around whether or not I can do it and pretty much leave him out of the equation (so if he is off and can take them, it’s like a nice bonus but I can’t plan for it). It can be exhausting sometimes.
Ok, need to get back upstairs. I left the boys eating cereal and watching a Minecraft youtube and I can hear screaming already. At least I got the pictures fixed!
Tales from the Smiths 
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