Bartholemew

We have a new resident at our house. His name is Bartholemew, and he is Ben's sort of evil twin. Your first guess might be that Ben made him up. Nope. He is Brian's creation... let me explain!

Whenever Ben gets out of the shower, he curls up in a ball on the floor and covers himself with one of our big towels. For those of you with toddlers, you know this is code for "I am no longer visible to the naked eye." So each night, Brian "looks" for Ben, calling his name, checking under the bed and behind doors, etc. Last night, Brian decided to spice it up. While Ben was hiding on the bathroom floor, Brian "found" him in our closet. This is what Ben overheard from under his towel:

"Hey Ben! What are you doing in our closet? I thought you were under the towel. What? That kid under the towel isn't Ben? Then who is he? Bartholemew?! Where did he come from? I have to get him out of here!"

At this point, Brian walked over to Ben under the towel and started talking to him as though he were the fictional Bartholemew. He explained that we didn't have any more room and that he could stay the night, but he would have to leave in the morning. Ben was so confused! He kept saying, "No, I'm Ben!" Then he ran out to find me. "Mommy, I'm Ben!" To which I said, "hey Barty - have you seen Ben?"

So, next time you come over, look closely. You may be talking to Ben, or you may have to hang out with that shifty little fella, Bartholemew. I've included some pictures to help you distinguish.

Ben:

Barty: