May 26 2006
Shadow of the Lone Pterodactyl
As much as he likes to throw it, Ben loves to kick his blue ball. To paraphrase a great quote from I can’t remember where, “his methods are unorthodoxed.” He walks right up to the ball, puts his foot against it, and then thrusts his foot forward. The ball rolls, and he likes it.
I notice, though, that he likes the way the ball goes up in the air when I kick it. One time — did you hear that? — one time, I show him how to do it my way, and explain it as I kick. He does it that way and is absolutely thrilled with himself.
Gotta say, it might be considered inappropriate to get misty on the playing field, but I could not help myself. It’s just amazing watching him learn about life, and realizing that I have a lot more to offer him if he wants it.
Ben got a sandbox. His grammy and his mommy took him to a toy store and they picked out one that’s almost nondescript, and fits in very well with our outdoor decor. I personally like the ones that look like a turtle, and to use them you have to pull off the shell to reveal the sandy innards.
It’s a boon for him because, well, he loves playing in sand. It’s exciting for us because, until he learns how to swing himself, it’s his only major outdoor toy that he can use without help. I love pushing Ben in his swing, and I’ve been known to play with sand myself, but sometimes just sitting there watching him think up his own games is quite a show.
The trick now is to keep him from adding battery-powered and wind-up toys to the mix. Somehow, I don’t think the plastic gears and wire coils inside them would like all that grit.
Seeing his toy dinosaurs in sand makes me think they look more authentic. I don’t think that’s what Earth looked like during these particular dinosaurs’ time, but it’s cool. I want to start filming them and doing voice-overs saying things you would not expect dinosaurs to say.
Dimetrodon: Sometimes, when I’m all alone and I see a lone Pterodactyl’s shadow pass over the sandy dunes, I’m reminded of a simpler time.
Triceratops: Oh, knock it off. Let’s go taunt the guys getting stuck in the tar pits.
Stegosaurus: Hey, guys, I just thought of one. “Try ceratops. Everybody else has.”
Triceratops: Dude, if you don’t quit, I’m going to feed you to the velociraptors myself.
Dimetrodon: Didn’t they disappear about 5 or 10 million years ago?
Triceratops: Fine, a T-rex. That’s not the point.
Obligatory Ben Quotes
“I can’t yawn. I got a boo-boo on my yip.”
——–
Turns his dinosaurs, on the coffee table, toward me.
“Daddy, my dinosaurs could yook at you.”
Turns his sippy milk cup spout toward me.
“Daddy, my milk could yook at you.”
——–
We ask, “Ben, what color were the two dogs?”
“The yittle dog was white and the big dog was walking.”
——–
“Wild animals won’t come to our house. We will yell youd and yet them go away. They will not eat my house, and they will not eat my milk, and they will not eat my bahyoon,” and he repeated this exact phrase to assure me they would not eat Tigger, Eeyore, Big Bird, Piglet, or Pooh Bear.
“And they won’t open the front door.”
——–
Last weekend, we heated some frozen chimichangas. Ben had several names for them before getting it right. Chiwimanga, chimimanga, and chimanga.
——–
The photos below are just because I can.
Mark, you forgot the most obvious dinosaur quote of all time:
“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal.”
I’m disappointed in you for not posting it. Must have just been an oversight. ’sokay.
And you now have pictorial proof that Ben can use the force. I must be cautious.
Or even the MOST famous dinasaur quote:
Plieasaurus to Triceratops:
“Do I make you horny?” (think of this in Austin Powers voice) *LOL*
Have a great long weekend all…
Simon - You know, that is one of my favorite scenes, and I’ve thought of Wash’s dinosaurs before when watching Ben play with his. Oddly, I didn’t think of that scene once when writing this post. Bummer.
Dave - That’s a good one. You have a great weekend, too! I hope you get to take the ‘vette for a spin. Oh, and did you hear that U.S. wines dominated a recent international tasting? They got I think the top five spots, and a French judge who picked a U.S. wine as the best said he would get “killed” when he returned home. It was sort of a rematch between the two countries, evidently, and the French were thinking that now that these particular wines of theirs had more time to age, they would win. Thought you would like that, considering you have a wine blog.
I feel out of the loop…I don’t have a clue about dinosaurs or what they’d say. ::pouting::
But, I can relate to the overpowering feeling of pride while watching you child do something wonderful. Whether it is sports or academics, those memories are my fondest.
Love the pictures.
Cool pictures. Talent brother…talent.
Charles mentions Bejadin, yes that’s the way he says it, at least 10 times a day. He talks about him coming to visit, us going to visit him, and about his toys. Naturally, he talks mostly about the “squirter” elephant, and that’s followed closely by his train that carries the animals. He’s quick to tell everyone, including complete strangers, the Bejadin is his cousin and that he’s going to go visit him in Texas.
“Can we see Bejadin today?”
“No, not today Charles, he lives far away in Texas.”
“Can we move to Texas?”
“No, we’re not going to move, but we can go visit him sometime…just not today OK?”
“OK. But can we see him tomorrow? He’s my cousin.”
“Well, not tomorrow, but sometime soon OK.”
“OK. But he can come visit us and come to our house too, and bring his squirter elephant and his train. He can swim with me at Greystone too.”
“Yes he can. But it may not be soon.”
“No…I want to see him now daddy. I miss him.”
Talk about tugging at the heart strings. We have got to get these two together sometime soon.
Chuck - I love that conversation with Charles. I think he and Ben spend too much time around their mommies! No, not true. I can jabber with the best of them.
We’ll be there in early July, for sure, for Ben’s bday and Independence Day (which we celebrate thanks to France’s help, albeit out of hatred for England)
A nice slice of life with child.
I think I could come up with some dialog for the dinosaurs myself. I’ll have to work on that.
I guess subsituting y for l is a common thing for toddlers. Allen used to do it a lot. He was always wanting to sit in my ‘yap.’
Charles, you might need to start your own blog. Your comment was well written.