Bringing in the New Year

Happy New Year! I would say that it is sad to see 2009 go, but - it is not. Goodbye 2009! We are ready for a new year and a new era with baby Benji. Did I say BABY Benji? I meant big boy Benji. He is certainly not a baby any more. And as usual, time has simply flown by. Frankly, the holidays do not help you feel thankful or rested at all. The decorations and red-ness of everything are flashing before your eyes as soon as your turkey is consumed. You are so busy rushing around trying to make sure your family has a nice holiday that you forget to have a nice one for yourself. And before you know it, presents are opened, the trashcan is full of wrapping paper (that you so carefully selected last year when it was on sale) and flipping through the music stations yields no holiday music. It's December 26th! Where is the holiday music? What happened to Christmas? I mean, wow. Just like that - done. I think it took Kevin and I 2 hours to de-holiday the house. And here we are. Oh yeah - and Happy New Year. It is so easy to forget.

So while all of that holiday nonsense occurred, I feel like I forgot about Benjamin a little bit. I didn't even ask him if he had a nice holiday. His likely reply would be "ba". Actually, if you ask him anything, he says "ba". His fish Lenny - Ba. Do you want to read a book? Ba. Benjamin? More carrots? Ba. And if you watch carefully, you are in for a real treat because he has started using his sign language. After 6 months of signing to ourselves, Kevin and I are beaming with pride as our little guy signs for bedtime, food, help, elephant and more. We have determined that he uses the signs with reckless abandon. At Aunt Cynthia's house, Benji stood at the bottom of the stairs and made the sign for bedtime. Well, it was not bedtime but we think maybe he knows that beds are upstairs? That's a stretch, but let's stick with that explanation because it makes me feel good.

In addition to "ba", I think Benji would say he had a nice holiday. While he showed no interest in the tree or the gifts, he was a captive audience for anyone who played piano or started to sing holiday songs. He didn't really seem to care about his new toys. His favorite gift so far seems to be a little chair from Grandpa John and Grandma Gloria, which was hand painted with love. As soon as he sits in it he starts smiling and laughing. We hosted a holiday party that was nearly snowed out and Benji enjoyed meeting neighbors and being passed from here to there. We hosted Christmas brunch and Benjamin was delighted to eat off of Auntie Joyce's plate, Grandma's plate, and Cousin Sabrina's plate. Christmas dinner was spent with Christianne and her family. Ben was able to play with new friends and in classic Benjamin style, drift off to sleep upstairs while we enjoyed a late evening meal. We scurried off to Atlantic City for our annual gambling vacation. Benjamin enjoyed his first taste of matzoh ball soup at the buffet. We returned home to Uncle Jason and Auntie Manuela, who stayed with us through New Year's for a visit. Benjamin was kindly dubbed the "three tooth vacuum" by Auntie M, who was constantly impressed by the volume and consistency of his eating. New Year's Eve was a celebration at Donna and Steve's house, where we bump New Year's to 8pm in order to enjoy it with everyone awake. Benjamin barely made it to 8pm but there is a nice family picture to commemorate the event. I don't think he has any resolutions this year except to walk and talk. Little stuff, you know.

My resolution is to blog more. I do my best but it does take time. And I'd like to enjoy being a parent a little more. Not that I don't, but I do spend a good deal of time in amazement at how much more difficult it is than I ever imagined. I'd like to foster more friendships with other moms who have kids Ben's age and I'd love to stop making excuses for not taking care of myself....working out, going out, sitting on my butt to read for a bit. Little stuff, you know. When Ben is old enough, I look forward to encouraging him to embrace the start of a New Year. There are endless possibilities and much fun to be had. It took writing this blog to remind myself of that, too. Cheers to 2010! Or in Ben's words - BA!