He's a Maniac!

If Ben wonders why he won't have much info about his childhood, I'll tell him it's because he ran me so ragged that it's his own fault! The kids doesn't stop! Here's a list of Ben's favorite things to do:
Running in circles with his head cocked to one side.
Climbing into his high chair to beg for food.
Climbing up anything that gets him a better view of the world.
Climbing up the jungle gym and attempting the monkey bars (he can grab onto the first wrung and hold on and hang for a pretty long time--I just worry at how fearlessly he does it).
Hitting Lucy over the head with Sam's new croquet mallet.
Eating sand by the shovelfull or handfuls of dirt.
Pouring dirt or sand on his bare toes.
Trying to jump into Nellie's pool (he can't get off the ground, but he squats and then swings his arms and then tries and tries and then just steps in--again, with no fear at all). He laughs like crazy watching Sam swim around.
Pretending to be a puppy--crawling around making a squeaky barking noise.
Climbing on the dining room chairs and then up on the table to get food.
Purposely throwing things and then pointing at it with a big "Uh oh!"
Other words: All done, Owie, Mama (spoken clearly but used to mean I want something right now) and he might say "Da" for Dad. He jabbers a lot.
He loves lying down on the ground inside and out.
Sucking a binky makes all of life's problems melt away.
Begging for the sacrament bread loudly! He sees the men disperse and starts howling and reaching and pointing.
Conducting the music when organ music plays at church.
Dancing.
Here's Ben at the turtle pond--all red-cheeked and loving the freedom of running around the paths.

Ben, the young Patowan, is strong in the force and actually knows how to extend the light sabers, even if he carries it upside down sometimes.

Put 'em to work young

Ben loves being outside. And if he can be outside and either really dirty or really wet, then he's in heaven! Here he is helping me water the garden. He couldn't figure out where that water was coming from and would occasionally drop the hose and run away when he was getting really drenched. But he would come right back to it and do it again.

Earlier that week we were out in the garden again. I was picking some lemons while I allowed the kids one bucket of water to play with in the dirt. I thought that might keep the mud level down. Ben kept reaching in and splashing in the water. I was supervising, don't get worried(I could just see the flash of "don't let the kid fall in the bucket!" go across your brain-screen), but I admit I didn't totally notice when the kids started mudding Ben up. Lucy started with his hair. They stretched his mohawk of blond hair straight in the air, his thin hairs suspended in a claylike combination of dirt and water. Then, since I had taken his shirt off, they painted his whole upped body with mud. At first he didn't mind, but I think some water splashed in his eyes and then it was off to the hosing station to get cleaned up. The kids know that if they get covered in mud, they must face mom with the hose. And I'm not always nice. I felt bad for Ben, though, because it wasn't his fault he had dirt in his nostrils! He forgot all about my high-pressure water torture quickly. And he would do it all over again if you asked him about it.