Ben says, this is how much energy I have in the mornings.

The fishys say, swim swim swim swim hey a wall swim swim swim swim hey a wall.

Me, just now, hiding behind the door, poking my phone around the corner with camera set to 100% zoom, taking a picture of the first time Ben is playing with school friends down at the end of the street without parental supervision. This is the first time he’s said bye and just ran off by himself. ❤️😬😳

Winter dry air likes Benji’s light hair.

Happy V day. This is Ben’s robot dragon box for collecting valentines cards today at school. Yesterday was a crafty day for Marcy.

Today is rock star day at school.

Because it’s been so long. A growing boy. Hard to believe we’re well into 3rd term and 1st grade will soon be over. Ben likes school so far, his grades are good, I think, I don’t really understand the grading system. He’s got 2 friends that live close, and they’ve already had their ups and downs so that’s going well.

We’re almost finished the first Harry Potter book and will watch the movie maybe this weekend. I stopped reading to him when he started reading himself, but wanted him to get into something a little more meaty than his usual “how to kill zombies in Minecraft” reading tastes so I started reading the Potter book to him at bed time. He was hooked by the second night and usually reads a few more pages to himself after I’m done.

He grows. He talks constantly. He has strong opinions on things he knows nothing about. He’s over confident. - Last night he asked me what chess was. I told him it’s a game played on a checkers board but with different pieces that move differently. He then informed me (based on this knowledge I guess), that he was the best chess player in the world - so he has that going for him. He only wants to do things his way when he wants to do them. So a typical 7 year old I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ He also has a huge heart and is very sensitive underneath his loud exterior. He wants to please, even when he doesn’t. He’s a complex individual just like everyone in this world is. A bit of me. A bit of Marcy. But really a brand new individual unlike any other, as are we all.

This morning before leaving for the bus stop I played “Can’t touch this” by MC Hammer because that is the only song he would fall asleep to when he was a wee baby in my arms. I told him about how when he would cry and I’d pick him up and hold him while swaying to MC Hammer and he would go wide eyed and stop crying and drift off in my arms. While I told him this he ignored me and continued to play Minecraft on the iPad. Which is how I got to reminiscing, then taking his picture and posting it. But I know he heard me. I know that even when he pretends to not be listening, he is. He’s always listening and absorbing, even when he doesn’t want me to know he is.

We’re into the Harry Potter books now, so if you need any wiggle root or speed just hit me up in the comments.

First day of spring break so it’s casual today, shirt tails out. I’ve started calling him Alex P Keaton.

Finally got out for a park walk like the old times today. It’s so nice to be able to take a break from constantly being a dad (brush your teeth - get ready for bed - don’t do that - turn down the tv - stop interrupting - no you can’t watch that …) and just walk and shoot the breeze with my son.

Ben makes great mouths.

What to do when the boy looses a tooth but you don’t have any cash on hand? Just go into his safe when he’s sleeping and take the money from his pile of cash. He’ll never even know. I didn’t even feel guilt when he said, I’m going to put this money in my safe!

Last day of grade one. (Sorry, first grade.) And a photo of the first day. What a year of growth it has been. From a helpless little kid, to a fully forming person. It’s like we went from having a baby to having a room mate. We love you Ben. Enjoy your first summer break.

So we got a pool. I don’t think it’s big enough to pee in though.

It all started with the riddler cane at the thrift store. *The crumpled paper in his hand are 1,000 bank notes that he stole, cuz he’s a villain.

Ben was helping me change the oil today, and after I ran through all the safety concerns of jacking a car off the ground, he appointed himself “safety boss”. In keeping with his job title, he proudly put some objects behind the back wheels to stop the car from rolling. Thanks son.

So today we got to see how they loaded hay from the wagon into the loft in 1880, but unfortunately I didn’t think to take video, so you don’t get to see how the horse pulls the rope, which goes through a pulley, then up along the roof, then down to this big claw thing, which grabs a big chunk of hay and lifts it up, then along the roof beam until it’s in the right place, then it gets dropped, then forked into the loft. Oh well, you get the picture. Haha

Ben’s abc gum that he keeps under an upside down drinking glass on his bed headboard. Today, while taking it out for a chew, he decided to test it’s stretching powers. And it did not disappoint!

Out for a walk with a traveling minstrel this evening.

4 days till grade 2 starts.

This is an “Adena Mound”. It is a burial mound of the Adena people. There are two of these in the metro park we frequent.

Edit: I’ve observed that the other mound has a fence around it, as a reminder to respect the site and not walk over it, while this one is not only open, but a path is cut for the purpose of climbing it. I’m not sure why this is, but I prefer the fenced in one.

From the years of about 1000 B.C. to about 1 A.D. the Adena people were a group of well-organized societies that lived in parts of present-day Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York.

The Adena people were not a single tribe, but rather, a group of indigenous people that shared similarities in artifact style, architecture, and other cultural practices, including a common burial and ceremonial system that included mound building. The Adena were the first group of “mound builders,” a practice that spanned several cultures over a period of about 20 centuries.

2 days to go. Squeezing in a quick swim during the week cuz weekends are too packed here to really enjoy it.

“Helping” Ben fill out his 3 things I did this summer paper.
Me- hmmm, go for walks with dad?
Ben- scribble scribble scribble.
Me- go for walks with dad?
Ben- scribble scribble.
Me- hey how bout going for walks with dad?
Ben- DAD! If I run out of fun things I will write that ok!

Ben has been taking karate this summer and tonight he earned his white belt!

Good ol’ morning hair.

Tonight the kid leaves the dinner table and makes this. He returns and slaps it on the table and says mom, tonight dinner gets 4 stars, it’s very good but the meat is a little dry.

This is what we live with.

I wasn’t sure what to do with this one. Put it on the fridge, or take it out back and burn it at midnight.

Marcy has worked for over a week on Ben’s Minecraft costume so far.

Ben’s pajama shirt (glows in the dark!)
I just looked at this for first time. Ok, I get the candy corn, pizza and donut, we are seeing inside the stomach at food eaten. But what the hell is a dinosaur doing there?!

8 great years. Happy birthday son.