A Milestone Accomplishment for Ben - my little man in embryo

Considering that Ben has now been potty-trained for almost 2 weeks, it only seems fitting that he get a blog post in honor of his great accomplishment! I was dreading the potty-training process, because I have not had experience doing this with a little boy. But, as is usually the case with me, things end up being much harder in my mind then they are in reality. Ben has been an amazing student, and he is even waking up in the night if he has to go potty. I would say he is just about a potty pro. All it took was a day of running naked (Ben, not me), drinking lots of Sprite and a handful of Poppy's cinnamon bears and gummy raspberry candies.

Whether I like it or not, Ben's 3rd birthday is looming, and my baby boy is emerging from the toddler phase and entering the preschool phase of life. As much as I am sad to see the baby boy leave, I love every minute of watching the "big boy" personality emerge. He is developing a manly, take-charge attitude, and wants to help take care of "things". He is very sure of himself and thinks he can do more than his little body is capable of doing. Today I went to get a new jug of milk out of the overflow refrigerator in the garage. Ben quickly told me that he could do it, and was rather insulted when I wouldn't allow him to carry a full jug of milk from the garage to the kitchen. As this little experience illustrates, Ben tries to help carry things that are way too big for him, a behavior that was also manifested as he attempted to help stack chairs after a school event in December. Surprisingly enough, he did a pretty good job of taking down chairs that were twice his size. Ben's self-confidence astoundss me, and yes, at nearly three, he is well on his way to manhood.

Ben keeps me entertained all day with his manly sayings, and I can't help but shake my head in wonder. For example, here a few things he had to say over the past few days -

"Mom - I need to go in the back yard and cut down some trees."
(wanting to get some use out of his chain saw that Katie gave him for Christmas)

"When I get bigger I am going to go in a garbage truck, and Lacey is going to go with me."
(said after watching the garbage truck pick up our trash)

"Mom, you need to go to the store and buy me a sword and a gun and a monster helmet."
(I am not sure what prompted this thought, and I am definitely not sure of what a monster helmet may be, but I do know Ben loves helmets! In this picture he is wearing a little helmet my mom bought to keep at the cabin. When we left the cabin after New Year's, Ben threw a tantrum because he wanted to take the helmet home and didn't want to leave it at the cabin.)

"My daddy needs to go out there and fix that bunny
(in reference to the flat-as-a-pancake, dead rabbit in the middle of the road in front of our house. Ben obviously thinks his dad is one powerful dude!)

"I can fix it mom"
(Ben loves his tools, and is eager to fix whatever needs fixing around the house.)

And finally - just to add to his manly attitudes, my mom bought Ben this pint-sized lazyboy chair for Christmas.
(I wanted Ben to pose for a picture, but he wasn't interested in the least!)

I love my little man, but I am really glad that when he's feeling a little tired he still sucks his fingers and holds his blankie up to his face and rubs against me until I pick him up and give him a little snuggle. Thankfully, we still have a few years before that man in embryo actually emerges!