Ben

Ben says something new every hour and is constantly repeating what we say. He is getting good at letters, which astonishes me because I don't feel like we put much effort into teaching them (uh, oops?). And today he bargained with me to get two of something instead of one. I won't say he knows numbers at all, but he understands two is more than one when it comes to dried apricots. 

He loves trains, mostly everything about them, even though he doesn't seem to care that much about Thomas. He is also very  keen about fire, which I blame on Fireman Sam, and the fact that I make him leave the house if our ultra sensitive smoke detector goes off. Of course, the beep from the stove pre-heating now causes an evacuation on Ben's part. 

Ben is a great helper and a great brother to Nora. He does get frustrated sharing with her, and has started trying to get to my lap before Nora does, but he generally is caring and considerate of her. 

He loves everything hockey, especially playing it, and he is getting Nora to play more and more. He doesn't always like to share with her, but he really does enjoy laughing and playing with her. 

We went to a train museum for Father's day. I don't think Ben could have been happier. He was so excited and wanted to see everything. He was able to go into one of the repair sheds, and of course wanted to stop and sweep. He talked to some of the volunteers working on the steam engines and told them all about screw drivers and hammers. They told him he could come back any time to help.