Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The last few months....

Okay, so I missed that last self-imposed deadline for posting, but here I am.  Also, I can't seem to find September's calendar right now.  So in lieu of that, I'll start off with a gratuitously cute picture of Ben sleeping with his posterior hoisted high in the air.  He does that sometimes.

And here are October and November:



Let's see.  Ben seems to have fed a goat and played with finger paints on October 10th.  Oh, I guess October 6th was our inaugural Signing Time Playgroup.  Those have been great -- friends large and small join us for play, signing, and a Signing Time DVD.  On November 3rd Nolan and Matthew came, and Nolan's blue swirly ear molds were a hit with Ben (that is an attempt to draw Nolan's hearing aid and ear mold).  Both Ben and his beloved Curious George doll got seasonal flu vaccines on October 8th, and were rewarded with matching bandaids.  Grandma and Grandpa came on the 16th, in time for Ben's 2nd birthday on the 19th.  October 24th marks my first attempt (among many) to render our local college's clock tower, which Ben has taken rather a liking to.  Halloween is captured by a reference to "Whoopee once, whoopee twice, whoopee chicken soup with rice," from Maurice Sendak's book Chicken Soup with Rice, one of Ben's favorites.

The Yankees put an end to the Phillies' World Series hopes on November 4th, much to Ben's and his father's delight (Neil is Bronx born and bred), although Ben did develop a fondness for the Philly mascot.  Fall foliage slowly gives way to images of Santa as November progresses.  Ben obtained his first library card on November 20th.  As of the 23rd, Ben's Beatle Obsession was still going strong.  (On our recent flight to Wisconsin, Ben regaled nearby passengers with a Beatles medly, interspersed with such toilet-training hits as "The Tushy Pushy".)  We spent Thanksgiving with Ben's paternal grandparents.  And the monitor tells me that Master Ben is just now waking up from his nap, so I'd better draw this to a close.  December to follow in a few days....



Thursday, December 17, 2009

Hi, remember me?

Yes, I know it's been ages since I've posted anything.  (My mother-in-law has pointed this out several times lately.  Apparently she's getting withdrawal symptoms, and needs a Benny Fix.)  This semester has been absolutely crazy, but I'm very close to the end.  I gave my last final this morning, and while I sat there I finished grading one from earlier in the week.  So I just have two massive piles of final exams to grade, and then compute grades, plus a million other small end-of-semester tasks .... but I promise I'll blog by the weekend at the latest.  Ben has been doing marvelous things in recent weeks, so there is much to report on.  He has also been Very Two lately (his favorite phrase now is "I don't!!!!!").