Monday, April 1, 2013

The blink of an eye


Just planted some wildflowers in the backyard!  Woo hoo!  Let me tell you why wildflowers. I think they are the perfect first plants for a gardening novice. They take care of themselves after you've nurtured the seedlings. They are beautiful. Putting them to bed for the winter is simple (mow, leave for mulch, boom, done.)

During my gardening adventures today, Benjamin proved curious and helpful. He held the watering can and directed it over the dirt while I prepped the ground, getting us both wet. He sunk his little hands into the mud when I turned the soil over. He helped me spread the wildflower seed by a method new to me (grab and dump, grab and dump, always in the same spot) but hey, I'm new to gardening, too. Then we stomped on the little seeds together, repeating 'step step step, stomp stomp stomp'. Lastly, he helped me put my tools away by grabbing the soil and throwing it. We both left our muddy shoes on the porch and came in and sang our ABC's while we washed our hands. It was a perfect gardening session.

The other thing Benjamin is pretty new at is potty training. We are just introducing the concept, letting him get used to all the equipment. For a couple of weeks, he liked to sit on his potty seat on the 'big potty' pantsless, and just hang out. I brought a stool in there to sit on so I could hang out with him, but of course other things distracted me so I ended up leaving him a couple of times. Both times I forgot to move the toilet paper rolls...so each time there was close to a whole roll in the toilet by the time I came back in. At least he knows where it goes. He'd shoved so much in, it was up to his bum. I will let you imagine the clean up.


Caught sight of the little boy Benjamin is becoming while I put him to bed last night. He was hugging and affectionate and telling me he 'wuv you too' and very toddler like- but his face, in the shadows of the twilight in his bedroom, seemed much older. I had a glimpse of the future. It made me sad and excited and proud all at the same time. So of course tears bubbled up and I had to choke a little emotional eruption. He didn't notice.










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