Reverse Psychology

In order to get things done in a prompt manner, it is easier to just say, "whatever you do Benjamin, do NOT (insert verb here)" which results in lots of giggling, smiles, and successful parental manipulation. We must admit, we use manipulation to coax our child into doing things like eating, bedtime, potty, etc. We have hit that parenting "low". But.it.is.working. (So quit judging) ;)

Despite being human snack machines, full-time bottom and mocos wipers, and on-call for 24-hours a day...We cannot help to continue to fall in love with our child...some reasons we love our child more and more...

The way he says he cannot walk if his sleeve is up (said sleeve is his pant leg)
How he loves to play "treehouse" underneath blankets.
When he wakes up every morning shouting, "I want to wake up", "I want to wake up".
When he says "please" when he is supposed to say, "thank you".
When he says, "Mami, you can't have this (ice cream) because it's for adults".

Benjamin's favorite things to do (besides drive cars and trucks):

Candyland Game
Puzzles - especially if they are truck/car themed

In a perfect world this would be a hypothetical, ideal day for our little guy:

Wake up and eat a gallon of strawberry ice cream washed down with some yogurt with a side of macaroni and cheese. Play with his trucks and cars for a few hours, then have a snack that consists of gummy bears and lollipops. After snack, just segue into lunch which would consist of hot dogs (with no buns), ketchup, mustard, and more macaroni and cheese. Dessert would be more ice cream with lollipops. Skip a nap and proceed to play with more toys that have wheels. Hang out with Papi and Mami and tell them what to do and what toys to play with (in other words, we only get one toy, he gets the rest). Watch the movie Cars while sipping on yogurt. Eat strawberries and bananas. Bring out Candy Land Game and move game piece only to the slots with lollipops, ice cream, and gum drops. Eat more gummy bears. Dinner would be a block of cheddar cheese and a hunk of butter. Have Mami and Papi read books about trucks and cars. Pass out at his own free will without having his parents "make" him sleep.

Now on to what we have been up to these past few weeks. As previously mentioned, Grandpa and Grandma Gonzalez have been staying with us and Benjamin has had a blast using his toddler charm to earn more ice cream spending quality time with his Grandparents.

BENJAMIN'S TRUE HAPPINESS:
So, as you loyal blog readers/Benjamin amigos know - this truck pretty much completed our son's day.

MISCHIEF:
Who me? A dirty face? No...

NATURE:

Finding flowers in our neighborhood.

BIKING:
We put our little guy on a bicycle with training wheels, he enjoyed it for about, oh...five minutes.


BEACH:
Yes, more beach photos. We just cannot get enough of the beach!

Ta-Da!

He is now a professional at finding sea shells.
The Simple Life!
Grandma and Grandpa showing B. how to have fun at the beach.


BUZIOS:

We live approximately an hour away from a wonderful chunk of nature called Buzios. We had so much fun there and perhaps have found our "third" home away from home. We will be going often (we liked it that much).

So, what's better than the beach (and maybe Popsicles)? Water Taxis and boats.

Buzios has several beaches to choose from so we hopped on a water taxi to take us to our destination.


Random fishing boats that are docked on beach (they make great playscapes and shelves for personal items)


The Gonzalez family resting after a long day of fun.

These photos do not even scratch the surface of what we have been doing...there's so much more to share. We have had such a great time with Grandpa and Grandma and look forward to sharing more of our exploration soon.

Till next time!