It's always fun to watch your kids do stuff for the first time and even more fun if they are old enough to really see what they are thinking. Many things we are doing in the states are firsts for Ben or firsts as far as his memory goes. He also doesn't have a good frame of reference for what should be in the US or what should happen and so that also makes for some funny moments.
We took Ben to the zoo very soon after our return because that is something all of us enjoy. Ben got to go into an enclosure with a bunch of kangaroos. It was set up so that you could pet them, but none of them would come close enough to do so. Later the next week we were headed out into a very rural area to speak to a bunch of boys at RA camp. Ben was getting bored in the car, so I was encouraging him to look out the window at the countryside. Pretty soon Ben yells from the backseat, "KANGAROOS!" Of course you and I know that is not possible, but Ben has no clue what sort of wildlife we have and so that made sense to him since he had seen them recently. It was actually 4 big mules and I don't even know why that looked like kangaroos to him. For weeks afterward, Mike would tell Ben to look for kangaroos, which worked for a while. Now after so much travel, Ben is starting to catch on.
McDonald's is still a big deal for little Ben. When he and I went to visit my grandparents in FL, I asked if he wanted McD's for lunch. We stopped after Ben's enthusiastic, "YES!" and on the way in, he looked at me with wonder in his eyes and asked, "Can I get french fries?!?"
Ben loves elevators, car washes and play grounds. He thinks pools and the ocean are pretty great. He's got a whole list of candy that makes him sing for joy and no matter how much breakfast he eats, he can still manage to put down 2 strawberry poptarts if someone happens to give them to him.
With love,
Heather
