Bless their hearts

Ella loves her brother. It is so very sweet to see her try to help him and make him happy... even when she does things that she really shouldn't do. Like try to put (force) his hat on, give him toys when he's in his crib (toss them onto his head), or feed him (shove choking hazards into his mouth). Yesterday was one of those times.

I had to run to the restroom... Benjamin was in his highchair enjoying a snack of Gerber crunchies (our new favorite thing here) and Ella was wandering around, enjoying crackers and peanut butter. I was gone less than a minute... as I was on my way back, Ella ran excitedly through the living room to tell me, "Mommy, I gave Benjamin a piece of orange!" WHAT!?!??!? We were "saving" her clementine from breakfast, so it was sitting on the table, minding its own business. Ella, loving her brother dearly and knowing that he loves to eat and wanting to help/Be The Mommy, gave him a section. I rounded the corner to see him clutching it in his pudgy little hand, trying to figure out how to eat it. Thank goodness for very few feet between the bathroom and kitchen and a baby new to self-feeding.

Okay, I will admit whole-heartedly that I freaked out. Ella was punished, which crushed me because I could see how crushed she was. She really thought she was helping and being a big girl. But she has this little problem with not listening and I really needed to hit this point home. NO FEEDING BENJAMIN! She has been known to hand him a hard candy that she fished out of my purse, as well as shove Cheerios into his mouth. Bless her heart, she cried and cried and I had the task of calming her down, showing appreciation of where her heart was and making sure she does not do it again. She will. I know.

Now for Benjamin. Sweet little man. Wednesday nights are Ella's new gymnastics class and she goes with Scott, leaving Benjamin and I to have very, very rare alone time. This week, I dragged him to Kohl's. Sorry, Buddy. Mommy needed a pair of pants. So off we went. I swear he knows it is special for us to be together. Either that, or he can actually get a "word" in for a change. He babbles and coos and snuggles and kisses me. So sweet.

On this particular trip, he got to ride in the cart for the first time. My kids really think those Kohl's carts are something. It probably feels somewhat like an amusement park ride, being right up front there, with racks of things whizzing by. He was getting fussy and I was searching a sale rack, so I set him in front of a mirrored pillar and told him to make friends with the sweet boy in the mirror. Darned if he didn't try! He was laughing and babbling and waving at his reflection. It was so sweet. I really need to get him together with his buds, Fin and Shay, more often!

Such sweet babies I have.