Taking Inventory -- Benjamin Michael

Ahhh Benny Boo; our hilarious, boisterous, dramatic, emotional, silly, smart, quick-witted, very loved oldest child. Ben is 5 years old (or 5 1/2 as he would point out) and is in the middle of his last year of preschool. Ben is among the oldest in his class and the decision to keep him in preschool one more year versus moving him on to kindergarten was not an easy one. Ben's birthday is in July and the cut off for school is August 1. Ben would have been one of the youngest children in his class had he started kindergarten this past fall and we did not feel his level of maturity was where it needed to be at the start of the school year. That said, Ben has really grown up the past several months. I feel our decision was the right one as he seems to really excel in school now and is doing very well. He is really doing a great job with his letter recognition and writing and is working on sounding out words right now. It will not be long before he is reading me books...I can't wait!

Ben loves sports and is currently completing his basketball season. He is on the Bulls and is coached by his dad and Uncle Craig. Ben has done a great job with basketball this season and is focusing less on shooting and more on teamwork and passing the ball. He is eagerly anticipating soccer in the spring and baseball in the summer. I think sports will always be a huge part of Ben's life.

Ben is extremely active, from the moment his feet hit the ground, usually between 7 - 8 a.m. until his head hits his pillow at night (or more acurately most nights these days, OUR pillow at night) around 9:00 p.m. Ben goes, goes, GOES. He can definitely wear you out. Ben is definitely better at playing by himself or with Joey now, but still likes to be entertained and always wants to know what is coming. He has a hard time enjoying the moment and is always looking ahead. Again, he has WAY too much of mommy's personality and "issues!"

Ben admittedly spends the majority of his day laughing - or making those around him laugh - but, sadly, there is a great portion of every day it seems spent whining, crying, or pouting. Ben's behavior is particulary frustrating at times because we know he knows better and knows how to behave appropriately and it drives us crazy when he acts up.

I thought I would let Ben answer some questions about himself to update his current state of affairs:

• Favorite color? Blue
• Favorite sport to watch on TV or in real life? Baseball
• Favorite sport to play? Hockey in the Hallway with Daddy
• Favorite sports team(s)? Pirates, Colts, Redhawks, Flyers, Pacers, Michigan, Purdue
• What is your favorite action figure? Spiderman
• If you could have a super power what would it be? Electric Boy.
• What is your favorite toy to play with? I wish I had a Spiderman but I don't so I am going to ask for one for Christmas.
• What do you like to do for fun? Play hockey in the hallway, basketball, and baseball.
• What do you like to do with Joey? Beat him up!
• What do you like to do with Mommy? Play anything that I like.
• What do you like to do with Daddy? Throw balls at each other.
• Who is your best friend? Sawyer (Flinn).
• What is your favorite food? Chex mix and chips and tacos!
• What is your least favorite food? Chili.
• What do you want to be when you grow up? Baseball player.