More than meets the eye

Benjamin has almost finished his 2nd week of preschool and is doing well. I think a lot of what he does is a repeat from last year. I am glad he is at a different school, so that the teaching is new. He is the oldest in his class and the tallest. He has become the teacher's helper. I am sure he will be more than ready for Kindergarten next year. I just need to work on getting him to read. He watched part of the new Transformers movie and was more than excited when Rob found his actions figures from his childhood. Now all we here about is Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. It amazing how entertained he is by himself playing with these toys.
Elizabeth has been very whiny lately and I can't figure out why. I am constantly reminding her to talk and not cry when she is asking me to do something for here. So many simple tasks turn into a disaster for her like putting on her shoes the right way, getting something to drink, finding a toy, or figuring out what she wants for breakfast. I am working on this!
Micah has become Mr. Independant. He is a walking machine and loves to go for walks down our sidewalk. He also likes feeding himself and does pretty well with that. Unfortunately he has developed a little bit of a mean streak. He throws a good fit from time to time which we all try to ignore. The worst is his hitting/slapping in the face when you take him away from something. I have even tempted a time out with him for this. He is quite the stinker and will do something even after I sternly tell him "no" just to see what I will do next. The kids all play very well together. I am writing this now with Micah and Elizabeth playing under the computer desk and Ben playing with his transformers.
We plan on camping at the farm on Friday night and heading to the lake on Sunday. I have to work on Labor Day, so we are packing the fun in before then.