"See how big I am"

My little one, not-so-little-anymore Ben has been telling us how much he's grown!

"See how big I am," he's been saying, day in day out. Almost as much as he's been going around, singing the first stanza of "Awesome God", before he gets stuck on the "wisdom, power..." part, because you have to sing "power" in one syllable, and that's a bit challenging! Hmm, maybe I should stop playing Michael Smith so much, driving to and fro, back and forth, between home and school, every day! Haha!

But looks like fall is also the time for falling in love with new things. Dinosaurs, that is, for Ben. And yes, finally, he's big enough to wear this T-rex pullover that used to be his Gor Gor's.



But Ben got upset when Jon jumped right into the pile of leaves, that was to have been the bones he was exploring. Bones of triceratops, Ben's favourite of all the dinosaurs. And he knows, from a book his daddy read him, that triceratops were amongst the last to go.



So then, picking up a new word, not just a leaf, here and there, it's also led Ben to ask a few questions...

Mommy, why dinosaurs are extinct?

When we extinct?

When I was born, "triceratops-es" were extinct already? How come?

When we are old, we will die?

When I'm older, you are a lot older?

Jon's reply to that first question, was that so man could live! Not bad, eh? Mine, given to Ben before Jon's, was, so that we could learn more about asteroids! No? Not a very good explanation, I know.

And for all the other questions, and more along these same lines of life and death that Ben has been plying me with, I don't have the 'right' answers either (except to that last one, of course). And I guess that's why my almost 3.5-year-old keeps coming back to me, for more... he won't let up!

I must have come across a couple of examples like these in parenting magazines before, only I forgot the suggested 'model' answers. Any suggestions? Or should I give THE answer of all answers?...

We'll talk about it later!

Yah, yah, stall, stall some more! (Parents' favourite trick #56... hehe)! At least it's just the leaves and fall colours we need to talk about now, not the birds and the bees, not yet! ;p

These are a few more of Ben's current favourite things...
- Old favourite pretend-play, rekindled (/ignited!) because of Halloween: Firefighting

- Favourite snack request before Halloween: pear

- Current catchphrase: What does this (word) start with?

- This mommy's favourite, of the things Ben said recently:
"After school (when I come home), I will help you with housework!"

And Ben did, though first, "I have work to do (cycle around the basement, and cycle some more). After that, I will help you (toss the clothes into the dryer)!"

He likes to clean out the lint, too, and out of the blue, will go wet a sponge or cloth to wipe our one and only glass door in the house, whether or not it needs cleaning!

Ben's also pretty good at bagging our grocery (little items that won't break, so anything but eggs!) at the supermarket. If only he'll stop standing up (so much!) to 'drive' the shopping cart!

- Current mad-about-book: Arthur's Fire Drill by Marc Brown

What works for us:
Try this tip, or maybe you have one to share that works for you? =)

With your child, when he or she is old enough to talk and understand a story, and chances are will ask you to read a favourite book over and over again, deliberately substitute a word or sentence here and there, and watch him or her burst into giggles (and you can't help but join in, too!). And then let him or her correct it, or improvise... to more giggling! It's fun, it's silly, and works for us eight out of 10 times... unless Ben is in the mood for, "Can you say it right, please?!!!".

P.S. This is also that age, when Ben thinks girls live on a different planet. I'm leaving the Mars vs Venus talk to his daddy, who's so far already started by telling Ben to be nice to girls, because besides that this mommy is a big girl, Ben will grow up to marry one someday!