Purple Popsicles and Puff Balls

The great thing about little kids?  Its the little things that make them so happy.  This fall Benny fell in love with purple popsicles.  I don't even think he cared all that much about eating them.  He carried most of them around (outside only) until they melted after only taking a few licks.  But, he was just delighted by them.  The other thing he loves?  Puff balls.  The dandelion puffs that everyone hates in your yard?  Hold your weed killer!  Those puff balls are one of Benny's favorite things.  He would ask to go on walks just so he could look for puff balls.  Here is a super sweet picture of my very happy Benny with his puff ball collection after a walk.  I think he just likes saying the words 'purple' and 'puff balls.'

The other things Benny currently loves greatly:
1) Elmo.  I think he would watch the youtube video of Elmo and Halle Berry teaching about the word 'nibble' all day long.
2) You can't have Elmo without Elmo's sidekick Abby.
3) Hiding.  A few days ago Benny woke up from his nap.  The first thing he told me was as follows: "Dada. Hide.  From Mama."  When Daddy gets home from work everyday, they go hide and I have to find them.  His favorite hiding spot?  Under the covers of our bed.
4) The song "The Wheels on the Bus."  We frequently have to sing it during dinner.
5) Bath Color Drops.  I think that is what they are called.  They are these tablets that color the bath water.  Everyday he is so excited to pick out a color for his bath water.
6) "Moo Moo, Neigh Neigh, and Bear!"  His favorite trio of stuffed animals.  He piles them all up and snuggles them.
7) French fries.  The other day I had the following car conversation with Benny.
     Benny: "The M!"
     Me: "Yup.  That's the letter M for McDonalds."
     Benny: "French fries!"
     Me:  "Yes.  They have french fries there."
     Benny: "Mami?"
     Me:  "I know.  Where's Grammie when you need her to take you to get some french fries."
     Once in a while Grammie and Grampie take Benny to lunch at McDonalds.  He likes that.
8) Backhoes.  Anything with the ability to scoop and dump he refers to as a 'backhoe.'  Our friend Adam cultivated the love for the backhoe.  He and his dad have some construction type equipment and we went over to show Benny one day.  He is still talking about that day.  There was an apple tree nearby, and Benny would put apples in the scooper and Adam would lift it up in the air and dump it.  Adam did the same thing with logs/pieces of wood.  Whenever we see a backhoe, an apple, or a piece of wood Benny and I's conversation goes something like this:
     Benny: "Adam!  Backhoe!  Dump!"
     Me: "I know.  Adam likes to scoop and dump the apples with the backhoe."
9) The mail.  This is another thing he looks forward to when Daddy gets home from work.  They get the mail.  Benny makes sure Daddy checks inside and outside.  No mail will be forgotten.
10) Storytime at the library.  He loves all the songs we sing each week.  His very favorite part?  At the end of storytime, all the kids can line up to get a stamp on their hand.  He's gotten very good at saying 'please' and 'thank you' for his stamp.  He always asks Mrs. L (our favorite storytime leader) for 'another one.'  Benny prefers a stamp on each hand.

Benny, don't grow up too fast on your Mommy.  I love that you love the little things in life. :)