Kalimba!

Here is a video of Ben & Stacey playing the kalimba. He was so excited!

Haircut

We took Ben to get a much-needed haircut today. He did a pretty good job sitting still once given a special treat of a lollipop. Here is a before picture from a few days ago:

And after:

We also had a practice Easter egg hunt with Ben's plastic eggs so he would have some idea of what to do if we have a hunt on Sunday.  He had a good time finding them and we counted them after we had them all. We're planning to dye real eggs tomorrow, which means we should probably remember to boil them tonight...

Kalimba!!

My friend Stacey flew in from Chicago last weekend to present at our regional music therapy conference. She and Ben bonded over goofy books, barbecue, and her kalimba (thumb piano). Ben has been entranced by the kalimba and the other instruments in the wonderful Bela Fleck documentary "Throw Down Your Heart," so I asked Stacey to bring her kalimba out when she visited. Ben was so excited!

Playing kalimba & making his Elmo slippers dance:

He would not let go of the kalimba to take a family photo. I'm frankly surprised that he didn't throw a fit when Stacey had to put it back in her suitcase.

For some absolutely fantastic kalimba playing, check out this scene from "Throw Down Your Heart." It's so celebratory and fun, and I'm surprised how much the kalimbas sound like steel drums.

Ben's tent

Ben is finally feeling better, though he is still what would be labeled at daycare as "sensitive" at times. He is definitely a two-year-old testing his limits! Sometimes they use a tent at Ben's daycare as a place that kids can go to read or chill out, and his teacher said he enjoys it. We decided to get him one for home (thanks to Jennie for the Target tip!). He was a little afraid of it at first but now thinks it's great, especially for hiding in if it's time for a diaper change or a nap! This morning he camped out in it and looked through his books and photo album.

Ben has already enjoyed the culinary goodness at Arthur Bryant's & Jack Stack BBQ several times. Today we were headed to US Toy for some craft supplies for Ben and decided to head next door and add to his barbecue education with some Gates BBQ for lunch. I hadn't been to that location before but it was a little less intimidating, at least with the lunch crowd. At the location near UMKC, they yell their "Hi, may I help you?" riff as soon as you set foot in the door. The State Line location was a little busy so we actually had to wait a minute before they called out to us. Ben enjoyed sharing my ham sandwich & Dave's burnt ends and kept trying to steal my fries!

He loved playing outside yesterday and we'll try to give him extra outside time this weekend as the weather is supposed to be gorgeous!