Broken Mr. Bendo

A few weeks ago there was a report that our local beloved Mr. Bendo, a larger than life fiberglass cast of man, had been run into by a drunk driver. Lewis and I had a small conversation about it in passing, but it wasn't made into much.







Well, On Sunday our neighbor had an extra paper and offered it to us. I was reading through and Will found a picture of them piecing Mr. Bendo back together.(see image below) He kept asking me all kinds of questions regarding it. "What happened? Did the other guys car get broken? Can I go help them fix him? Can daddy go help them fix him? When I get big I'm going to help him."

The page from the paper was becoming a bit cumbersome for a three year old to carry around so I asked him if he wanted me to just cut out the picture. He agreed it would be a good idea, when the picture started to rip I covered it in packing tape so it would last forever. He carried it around all day and a few times I found him laying on the floor just staring at it.

But the best part was when I returned home from my walk last night and found him sleeping with the picture of Mr. Bendo. The picture was gently placed on his pillow and his hand lightly resting on top. I asked "you're sleeping with it?" With a smile he replied a simple "yes".

As I walked out into the living room with tears filling my eyes from laughter my husband told me Will wanted a Mr. Bendo puzzle if he stayed dry. What a kid. So compassionate and caring, even for a Mr. Bendo.

Happy Smile?

So lately Ella has been giving this really goofy grin. She started doing it a few weeks ago and would breath in and out of her nose really fast. We would all laugh and she would do it more and more, now the breathing sound is gone and she almost looks like she will start growling, lean over, and bite you. She looks so much like Lewis when she does it. I think its her eyes and her brow.

She is also starting to move a little more. No crawling yet, but she will lift her butt off the floor to lean over and get toys, sometimes she is able to pivot herself, but she doesn't have any real control over that maneuver yet. She usually just falls onto her belly and cries until someone moves her. She is perfectly capable of rolling over onto her back, but she rarely does. She actually will roll over onto her belly in search of a toy, before she'll roll to her back. Strange kid, I know.

Spoiled Peanut Butter

Wow its been a while. My life seems to have been so busy lately. Ella has begun to get very grouchy. She cried all day unless she was sleeping, eating, or being held. A combination of teething and frustration from being stuck in the same place and unable to move herself has left her cranky. Although now she has started lifting her butt off the ground and spinning as she sits. So now she can at least pivot to a new toy, but a lot of the time she looses control and ends up on her belly. Which is really good practice for crawling. All in all, she gets a pretty good work out. Today she has been MUCH happier and has actually been playing on the floor for a half hour with out crying. Ooops, she just fell over. Mommy to the rescue.

Jack can't stand hearing her cry. Every time she starts he either picks her up and holds her, or he brings her to me, "she needs you". I gave him orders to leave her alone since she was getting so spoiled. It took all he had to leave her alone. "mom, Ella is crying!" "Mom, are you going to get her yet?" "mom, are you going to get her now?!?" I asked him "you don' t like hearing her cry do you?", "no" he replied, "I feel bad for her". Aww, he does have a sweet heart somewhere under all that boy.

It isn't so hard for Will to hear her cry. He is too interested in playing with his cars. He does like making her smile though. Especially when we are eating. Usually Will and Ella eat lunch at the same time. Every day Will picks peanut butter and Jelly. How can I blame him. I'm addicted to peanut butter. Yesterday I talked him into having turkey and cheese with crackers, and when he woke up for nap he was crying that he didn't pb and J for lunch. So I had to make him one for snack. He just can't miss it for a day. It sure makes lunch easy though.