March Madness Begins

Ben sort of watched the Big 12 Championship game with us, but wasn’t super interested. We tried to sell Selection Sunday as a special event and he got so interested that he was very mad it didn’t mean an actual game would be on. Oops! Guess we didn’t explain it too well. Who would have thought there would be a show just to talk about games that hadn’t happened yet and wouldn’t for almost a week? :)

Tulsa hosted eight teams this year for the first rounds and it was the closest place for KU so that is where they played. The teams had practices on Thursday and our family got to go watch Kansas. Ben was thrilled with seeing the players so close and loved their crazy shots and dunks. His new favorite is “that crazy Number Zero” (Thomas Robinson) that did some great wild shots. Ben decided that Grandma and Grandpa would let him stay to watch all of the teams. As KU finished the horn sounded as it would at the end of a game and Ben quickly changed his mind and asked how many more times that horn would sound. It was a bit loud and it was dinner time anyway.

Friday was the first game and Kansas played in the evening. We didn't have tickets and Ben was very disappointed, but we planned to watch at home as Grandma Elaine and Grandpa Larry were in town for the evening on their way to Dallas. That afternoon before the game though, there was a party and pep rally for Kansas that we took the kids to. Ben got to meet Baby Jay, high five him and sit in his lap. He was so excited! Elizabeth thought that Baby Jay was Barney for some reason and kept yelling, “No, no, Barney!” as loud as she could at him. Not a fan! (Yet.)

The band and cheerleaders were there and performed. Ben tolerated the volume well, but E had to take walks outside of the room for a while. She was far more interested in the inflatable Jayhawks (there were three in all) and wanted to pet them. We would get close to them and she would literally smack them as hard as she could and yell “I pet it!” She struggles with the word Jayhawk and says it more like Jake-hawk. But, she even does a version of the Rock Chalk chant now that is pretty great!

There had been tons of free game gear at the party before the pep rally and the kids now have all sorts of Jayhawk stuff. They have foam Jayhawks for their hands, wild red and blue hair, pom poms, stretchy bands and all sorts of stickers. It is a regular party at our house now. We got to wear all of the new stuff at home for the game Friday night. Ben was revved up after the pep rally and wanted to “show the players what to do” by pretending to dribble and make wild shots. His tips paid off and the Jayhawks ended up with a win.

St. Patrick's Day

Ben’s class started the week off with some sneaky leprechauns disrupting the classroom and making messes. This led to a long discussion about if these were people in costumes, little creatures or what? Unfortunately for Grandpa David and Grandma Lyn, they took the brunt of the paranoia as Ben checked every tree and every room for leprechauns while visiting their house that day. Luckily though their explanations alleviated most of the concerns and Ben was able to somewhat enjoy the rest of the week as the leprechaun tricks and stories continued. Ben believes they are people that want to dress up and play tricks on other people. When Ben’s teacher put out a tiny box to try to catch one, Ben argued with her that it would never work as no person in a costume would ever fit in that box. :) His mind is so logical!

Ben and Mom made rainbow cupcakes in anticipation of the big day. Mom thought it would be a fun way to learn about mixing colors and this fabulous experience. After coloring and layering seven layers, it was decided this might be a "once in a lifetime" experience never to be repeated. Hopefully Ben enjoyed it some.

The kids had special green treats on St. Patrick’s Day and both wore their lucky green shirts. Elizabeth was mad that she didn’t get to choose her own shirt that day, so we compromised and let her choose her pants. She chose light pink pants that had stains and didn’t match at all, but she got to wear them as we are in the middle of blossoming independence and it wasn’t worth a second battle that morning. Ha ha! Ben was concerned that he needed to wear green head to toe like a leprechaun. He didn’t have green shorts so Dad convinced him that wearing green underwear under his khaki shorts would be just as good. As we got to school that morning Ben felt the need to share this with everyone and justify the khaki shorts he was wearing by pulling the band of his underwear out to show that he really had green on under his shorts.

The sneaky leprechauns left Ben’s class some special treats that afternoon and they brought home necklaces and gold lucky coins. Ben is very pleased with his treasures and hopefully we can not worry with leprechauns until next year.

Elmo Time

We took the kids to see Elmo this weekend. Elizabeth thinks Elmo is pretty great right now, so we wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. We thought Ben would be excited as well and were looking forward to telling them we were going. A few days before, we drove by the BOK Center and Ben asked if we could go there soon. Mom told him we in fact could and before she could finish, Ben replied "only if it isn't Elmo." What? You used to love Elmo. You know that Elizabeth loves Elmo. . . we waited a bit and told them later that day that we were actually going to see Elmo. Ben protested briefly. His logic was sound as usual - Elizabeth likes Elmo and I'm not going. We let it go and sure enough a day later he started asking about it. Would there be enough room to dance like a superstar near our seats? Of course! Would we have to sit by strangers? No, Mommy and Daddy will get that job. After all of the important questions were answered, we were back in business!

Elizabeth was scared when the lights first went off, but after things started going she was rocking out and climbing into other people's rows. She loved seeing Elmo and gang so close (but not too close).

Ben also enjoyed the show. He claimed his favorite part was the popcorn, but the stories he told to friends and family later confirmed that he went to a "crazy show where Elmo got super powers and saved Grover" and it was "really cool".

Mom's favorite part was when we first sat down and Ben asked, "didn't we sit over there last time?" Ben pointed to the area where we sat two years ago when he was two and a half. How he remembered that, who knows, but it was fun to know it stuck with him at least for now.