and the fire department came...

I took Nate to an eye appointment this morning, and dear sister Meagan graciously offered to keep the younger boys so I could take him alone. She planned to run into the grocery store with the boys to grab something for our mom, and then take it over to her and stay and play for a while, so I left the carseats.

After the appointment, my mom called me. The conversation started with: "Don't worry, everything is fine now, but there was a little bit of an accident..." Meagan had gone out to put Ben's carseat in her car, and he locked her out of the house. Key-less. and phone-less. Andrew was nestled safely in his carseat inside, asleep, and Ben was peering out the window grinning (oblivious to what he had actually done - he knew he had disobeyed by locking the door but he doesn't understand that locking a door means you can't get back through it).

She knocked on some doors but the neighbors weren't home, and by that point, the neighborhood mowers who happened to be around noticed something was wrong. One of them let her borrow their phone, and she called my mom (apparently the message went something like: "This is Meagan. Someone NEEDS to pick up the phone right now. This is serious. Pick up the phone!"), who told her she needed to call 911 because "you can't leave that baby in the house alone!" So, 4 firefighters came to unlock the door (must have been a slow day at the station).

Ben & Aunt Meagan riding in a fire truck last fall. there has to be some connection here...

Yesterday we were at Granny & Grandpa's (my parents) and I was teaching piano lessons. My dad walked into the kitchen to find Ben with a cup pressed up against the water dispenser on the fridge, with water just pouring on out... all over the floor. He smiled and said, "I getting a dink, Grandpa!" Everyone else does it! Can't argue too much with that.

                           

Tonight, Nate was climbing on the bean bag chair in their room and fell against the window and hit his head pretty hard (I think that poor boy just needs a helmet). Brian was comforting him and his sympathy and attention were duly noted by Ben, who proceeded to walk over to the window, bang his head against it, and fake cry.

wearing a coonskin cap while eating Rice Krispies with his hands; that's how we do it!

oh, dear Ben. I love you. you are such an imp.