"Bennyyyy, if you still have energy, why don't you run around the house a hundred times?!" I say that almost everyday. That kid has a lot of energy. Even after doing a bunch of activities in one day, he almost never tired. And when he gets home he still jumps around like crazy!
I still remember when I gave birth to Benny on October 8, 2oo1, in Pondok Indah Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia, after a long labor (1 1/2 days). Ouch! We named him Benjamin. My mom suggested
'rizki' for a middle name. Rizki means lucky or fortunate in Indonesian. So his middle name is Rezky, modified from rizki. We taught Benny to call me Ibu and call his father Daddy. But now he calls me Ibu, Mommy or Mama (it must be something he picked up from his friends or tv).

We moved to the US after Benny was one month old. He was circumcised right away. It was actually a little bit late because here, baby boys are circumcised when they are 2 days old. My family thought it was mean to circumcise a baby. In Indonesia, boys are normally circumcised when they are in elementary school. People in the US think that circumcision when the kid is in elementary school is mean. Well ... calm down guys! Do what you feel is right! ;)

But now, he likes to eat. He is still a picky eater though, but not

Anyway, because he has a lot of energy, he does a lot of activities. Right now, he is doing soccer, hockey, and taekwondo. In summer, he does those plus swimming, golf, football and baseball. Sometimes, I think that these activities are too much for him. But my husband always reminds me: "Benny loves what he does. Any day where he doesn't have some activities, he goes nuts!"

My husband is right. After Benny gets home, he still does other activities like riding his bike, playing wiffle ball, practicing soccer, or playing in the sand box. I try to play with him everyday, at least once a day. But he always wants more and says: " Want to play with me, Ibu?" a hundred times.


Benny is in kindergarten and can read a little. He needs to practice reading. Every time we ask him to read, he is nervous and asks us if he can read only a half page. Ayayay! Fortunately, he likes to do homework (so far ... few!).

Benny's gets naughty when he watches too much tv. That's why he is only allowed to watch a little tv, and only after he has done his homework. We don't have any video games either.
Benny likes to play with his sister, Thia. They have fun playing together, but sometimes they don't want to share toys. Sometimes Benny teases Thia. Sometimes Thia teases Benny. When they both scream, my husband and I get a headache.
Benny loves doing silly things. One night, he put a lot of pillows in his shirts and shorts. He looked like he was ready to play 'sumo'... haaaaa. He also thinks the words 'butt' and 'poop' are really funny (I know ... weird!).

