Ben and his Buddies

This week’s photo is almost like one of those ‘Where’s Waldo?’ books…can you find Ben? (You can find Ben in a new video post at the end of this entry, just wanted to throw that in here!) This was Ben one night before bed, playing with his buddies in the crib. You can even see the newest addition, Ring Bear, down in the lower left with his bow tie. (Before we get reported for bad parenting, I’ll let you know that they do not all stay in the crib all night long, although I’m sure Ben wouldn’t object to that). Ben’s buddies are very important to him, and he makes sure that they are a big part of his whole day, not just bed time.

In fact, we usually start off the day with a head count of the buddies. Once he is awake, Ben likes to gather them all in a big pile on his floor, and then have Daddy carry them all out to the couch for some early morning Disney TV. It is always a surprise to see which buddies got to keep their clothes on through the night. For whatever reason, Ben often ends up undressing them (maybe they are too warm?)  Steelers Bear in particular always seems to be losing his pants!

Depending on the day, different buddies may be chosen to tag along. If Gram comes over to watch Ben, she will almost definitely be introduced to several buddies who will then share breakfast or join Ben on his travels throughout the day. If it is a day to visit Nana and Poppop, there is always some excitement as we wait to see who Ben will choose to take with him. (Or in some cases, how many buddies he will try to take. Some mornings we have to get Nana a bag to help carry all the buddies who are tagging along). And if someone gets left behind, Ben makes sure he has somewhere comfortable to sit, or some other buddies nearby to keep them company until we get home.

Recently, Tigger seems to be a favorite. I went to pick Ben up at Nan and Poppop’s house and found him with  big Tigger (little Tigger stays at our house) in a headlock, squeezing him tight. Apparently Tigger went everywhere that day, in the car, to the store to go shopping, in the crib at nap time. Ben gave him a big hug and declared that he loved Tigger, and that he had Mickey Mouse at home. (It took a little convincing to leave big Tigger with Nan and Poppop). Then, back at home tonight, Ben and I had made a mess of the living room, leaving toys everywhere. When it came time to clean up, Ben grabbed little Tigger and excitedly told me that he could help us. He then proceeded to go around and try to pick up the toys between Tigger’s stuffed little paws, which was very slow going. I’m still not sure if this was just a really cute thought by Ben, or an ingenious way to stall cleaning up and going to bed. I think he knew exactly what he was doing!

Everything comes full circle back to the buddies at bed time. Most nights, mommy gets to witness quite a show in the crib as Ben plays and pretends all kinds of games and scenarios with his buddies. The sweetest is when he takes care of his little baby doll, Baby Cousin (he got this name because Ben said he is the little cousin of his Cabbage Patch Kid, Jeffery). He will cuddle the baby, feed him a bottle, read him a story, or just lay with him and try to get the baby doll to go to sleep. When Ben finally drifts off himself, its time to pull as many buddies out as we can so that he has room to sleep (we also try to fish out all of the clothing that was removed!)

My favorite buddy moment came one night last week, when Ben woke up crying in the middle of the night (apparently he had a dream that he lost his ice cream cone). As I laid on the floor of his room, trying to help him back to sleep, Ben whispered from his crib “Daddy, you want a buddy to keep you company down there?” I laughed, and before I could answer Ben said “Say yes Daddy…” (Apparently I didn’t get a choice). The next thing I know, Baby Cousin landed on my stomach, entrusted to me for the night by Ben. Curled up on the floor with the Baby doll, I quietly said ” I love you Benjamin.” After a moments pause, Ben whispered back “I love you too Daddy. I love Mommy, too. I love all you guys” And soon we were both asleep, surrounded by out buddies.

Last week’s post talked all about Ben at Devon and Rich’s wedding. Unfortunately we were too busy dancing with Ben to get much video of  the little guy getting down. But, for your viewing pleasure, I have video posted here of Ben dancing to one of his favorites, Cotton Eye Joe. Enjoy! See you next week with more photos of some of the other fun things Ben has been up to recently.