Benja “boy”

This month is Ben’s half birthday.  Dad got to take him on his date because he wanted to see the same movie that I saw with Bethany last month, but I still want to blog about what a great kid he is.

First of all you have to know that Benjamin is the oldest of five kids and he is only eight.  That means he automatically ends up with a lot of responsibility and pretty high expectations from Mom and Dad.  The amazing thing is that he really rises to those expectations in wonderful ways. 

First of all, he is very good student.  He really excels in Math and reading.  He loves to learn and is very good at memorizing facts about things that interest him. 

He is also very methodical and analytical.  He is great at building with Legos and K’nex .  On Christmas day he spent a total of about 8 hours building a Lego set with over 800 pieces largely on his own just by following the intructions.  That being said, he is also very creative when it comes to building using his own ideas.

He can also be very sensitive…he knows when Mom’s anxiety level is rising and quickly jumps up to say, “Mom, what can I do to help?” 

He is a great big brother.  Bethany loves to spend time with him.  Hyrum looks up to him very much.  And he is so cute as he interacts with Ian. 

Many teachers have told me how Ben is a positive leader in their classroom.  He likes to follow the rules and keep on task and gets irritated by the kids who don’t. 

I can be hard on him as he pointed out during piano lessons with me one day, but I do hope that he knows that I love him and I’m so glad he gets to be the oldest in our family.  We need him!