Just the Boys, part 2

I thought I'd make one more boys post before Sarah returns tomorrow.  We've had an eventful week.  Ben is doing very well today.  We saw the surgeon this morning and is healing normally.  He's almost all the way back to his usual fun self already.  Here are some pictures from earlier in the week.  You'll notice that I really kept him moving so that he didn't have the opportunity to focus on missing his mommy. 

 Benjamin needed some blood tests in preparation for his surgery.  He had a 1:30 blood appointment and a 2:00 pre-op with the surgeon.  This meant no nap.  Predictably, he completely flipped out when they took his blood.  When it was time to go home Ben fought hard to avoid getting in his car seat.  It was a beautiful day and he wanted his stroller so I loaded him in and walked the 20 minutes into the town of Landstuhl where we found an ice cream shop.  You wouldn't know it from this picture but he was thrilled to be in his stroller.  He didn't know what to make of the giant ice cream cone though.

We had chocolate, vanilla and banana ice cream.  Ben ate them all but he especially liked the banana.

As soon as he finished he made the hand sign for more.  Somehow, I summoned the strength to resist giving in to this face.

He stayed awake for the stroller ride back to the car and the first 20 minutes of the drive home.  He finally gave in about 10 minutes before we got home.  That's his barnyard animal sounds toy that he's clutching.

One of Benjamin's favorite places to go is the post office.  Here he is reading the address to me, one letter at a time.

 

 He likes to try to open the mailboxes.  Note the look of concentration.

 The post office has 3 hallways like this with mailboxes, perfect for chasing, hiding and running!  We go at night after everyone has already picked up their mail so that Ben can have his run of the place.

 He flies around the corners so fast that I have a hard time getting a good picture.

 Ben and I spent a lot of time outside this week as the weather has been beautiful.  This is the park on base.  Ben hasn't met a jungle gym that he won't climb.  I don't get very many pictures of him climbing though because I'm the spotter.

 Here's our big boy swinging all by himself!  Germany doesn't seem to have any toddler swings.  Often he'll sit on my lap but sometimes he likes to do it himself (with me pushing, ready to catch him if he falls of course.)  This picture was taken with an extended arm as I stood beside him.

With the onset of spring this week Ben discovered a love of flowers.

Ben held this flower all the way home.  He also said "Flowah" about 50 times.

 Here's Ben at kindergarten.  He was playing on the slide with the other kids until he spotted me talking with his teacher and ran over.

At the duck pond in our town.  This duck came right up to the edge of the water. Ben kept pointing and saying "duck", thereby ensuring that I too would bear witness to this momentous occasion.

Excited to play in his room.

Taking a week off from work and spending all of my time with Benjamin has caused me to reflect on how fortunate we are to have this beautiful little boy in our lives.  When I thought about what it would be like to be a dad, this is what I pictured.  This stage, right now.  Except I really had no idea just how much we'd love him.  Parenthood is awesome.

Safe travels Sarah.  We'll see you tomorrow!

Mike