Puppy Dog Benson

One, Two, Buckle My...

So, this morning, I was getting McKay into the car, ready to head off to church when I decided to test his ability to rhyme. Our dialogue went something like this:

BJ: One, Two, buckle my...

McKay: Shoe!

(I thought... hmm.. pretty good... let's keep going)

BJ: Three, Four, shut the...

McKay: Car!

(Not exactly what I was hoping for, but pretty good considering he's only 2)

BJ: Five, Six, pick up...

McKay: All of the toys!

(Well, that's about as far as I got because I couldn't keep it together)

Another quick story: So McKay's nursery leader, Sister Beyler, is probably the world's most incredible nursery leader ever. When we asked what they sang in nursery today, he said "Child of God!". So, naturally, Rachel and I wanted him to sing it for us. He needed a bit of prompting, but overall did pretty well. The one part that made us lose it was the following line:

"Has given me a nursery home, with **mumble, mumble** Dear!"

So, Sister Beyler, if you are reading this, you have successfully indoctrinated our child with the importance of nursery!

Welcome to the Family!

Look who's new at our house! We loved our old car and will probably never have anything quite like it again. But, it started to have some major problems and we thought, well let's make our parenthood official by getting a van! We got a great deal on it and we really love it.

It's a very gently used 2007 Honda Odyssey and we really love it! The best part of all, it has a DVD player. Before I had kids I thought DVDs in the car was a terrible idea. Now I know it's the best thing they've added to vehicles since the wheel. Seriously. I meaan it.

A shot of the interior and of Benson and I, post-wash. Welcome to the family New Blue!

Cracker Barrel

For a few weeks now, McKay has been begging to go to Cracker Barrel. It all started when one night we were discussing what to make for dinner and he looked at BJ and I and said, "I need to go to Cracker Barrel". He likes Cracker Barrel because he gets a dinner he likes (pancakes and eggs) PLUS time to play in the Cracker Barrel toy section. Thankfully he doesn't yet understand that those toys are actually for sale. Right now he's been lead to believe that all those toys belong to Cracker Barrel and can't leave. :)

Tonight we finally made good on our promise of going "later". We were looking over the menus and asking McKay if we wanted a fried egg or scrambled eggs. He said he wanted scrambled, then paused and said, "No, I want a French egg". I couldn't figure out what he meant but BJ started laughing immediately. When I looked at him quizzically he responded, "McKay would like a (French) fried egg". Of course. If it sounds remotely like French Fries, McKay's all-in.

On another note, we've been reading Frog and Toad before bed lately. McKay really likes the story entitled "A Swim" where Frog and Toad spend the day swimming in the river. Toad dresses in a silly-looking bathing suit and all the animals laugh at him. McKay memorizes the stories we read very quickly and after a few reads he can recite portions from memory. However sometimes he hears things slightly differently. So I had to chuckle tonight as I read, "Toad, you really do look silly in your _____" and paused, McKay readily filled in with "Baby suit".

Bad hair day

The other evening at dinnertime, McKay climbed up on my chair and started playing with my hair. He examined it for a few moments, then stated, "I can fix your hair, Mommy, I'm a doctor!"

Bye-O-Bye?

So, any of you avid readers (yes, both of you) who are not familiar with the Cox family "Bye-O-Bye" song, you may not appreciate this as much, but here goes... Actually, maybe I'll explain a bit first. So for generations (at least four) Cox fathers have been singing this song to their Cox daughters and sons that has come to be known as the "Bye-O-Bye" Song. If anyone is interested in learning it, all you have to know is the melody to "Red River Valley". The lyrics consist of a never-ending chain of the words "Bye" "O" and "Bye" in the given order, repeated until said daughters and sons fall asleep.

So, now that you are all up to speed on Ancient Cox Folklore...

The other night, Rachel had to teach, so she went in to her school and I met her there to pick up our two very sick little boys (very sad). So, Benson, by some miracle was asleep (ever more difficult when he can't breath through his nose... also very sad). As we were on the road listening to McKay's new favorite kid CD, Benson began to stir. In my mind I was thinking, "Oh great... now he's gonna be cranky for the rest of the 20 minutes until we get home." Fortunately, I was wrong...

Cue McKay. I didn't notice at first, (since I was too busy getting upset at the bad driver in front of me) but I soon heard McKay in the back seat: "Guy oh Guy, Guy oh Guy" sung to some unrecognizable tune. When I realized what he was doing, I would have given anything to have a spare hand to whip out my phone and take a video or audio recording, but alas...

Now, if that wasn't cute enough, after he finished his song, he began to tell the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to keep Benson appeased (much more completely and understandably than I thought he could).

We love our boys.

Holly Jolly Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas traditions of all time is decorating gingerbread men. This year we did so in St George with McKay. Why he would only consent to decorating in his underwear--I have no idea but that was the deal, so we went with it. After all, nothing says "Merry Christmas" like Bob the Builder underwear.

Uncle Dan, master of the "Everything" gingerbread man, gave McKay a few pointers. McKay managed to make his own version of the "Everything-man" by dumping an entire bottle of chocolate sprinkles over one mini gingerman. McKay had never encountered sprinkles prior to our decorating fest (does that make me a bad mom?). He was quite facinated by them and insisted on using "frinkles" on every cookie.

Benson slept through the gingerbread men but got plenty of loves from everyone. Here he's modeling his Christmas shirt which reads, "All I want for Christmas is my Auntie".

Benson 9 months

Hi, I'm Benson Boo and I'm 9 months old! I love to eat graham crackers (see the front of my shirt) and carrots...and that's all. Oh yes, and I LOVE to drink my bottle.
I love to crawl and chase after my brother. I especially like his trains! Boy, he sure doesn't like it when I play with them though.
I appreciate a good nap, two a day actually, but sleeping all night long is so boring. I make a point never to do it! Besides, Mom and Dad must miss me so much; I wouldn't want to make them wait ALL NIGHT before seeing me again. Really, it's all for them, you know?
I think my big brother is the greatest guy. He's always running around and playing with neat stuff. I watch him all the time. I can't wait to be able to play with him.

My Mommy and Daddy sure do love me. Mommy calls me her Angel and you know what, I am!