Ben: Sixteen Months

Ben is 16 months now and has more personality by the day. His language seems to be in a phase of rapid development right now. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Brandon and I should be extremely flattered by Ben. If one of us coughs, Ben has to fake a cough. You name it he has copied it. He also tries to repeat a lot of words that we say. His attempts are growing in number as well as words that he says repeatedly and uses in context. We are big into animal noises and our range of animals is broadening. We think he says blue sometimes. It sounds like blue and seems to be only for blue things so time will tell if that is what he is really trying to say. Ben is the king of "please" when he wants something. Whether it be food or help with a toy, he is learning that saying please will just about melt Mom or Dad to do whatever he is asking.

Ben is getting more daring also. He climbs on his jungle gym in ways I never imagined. He is getting in the ball net and dancing around so pleased with himself. He also climbs down into parts of the gym that I didn't imagine would ever be used. I guess I was wrong. In addition to climbing on his toys a lot, Ben also learned how to climb into the dryer! Brandon was getting some clothes out of the dryer and Ben usually likes to push the button that makes the light go off and on. Well, this time, he decided to go in after the clothes (to help I am sure) and made it all the way inside. He then tried to stand up and move around, but wasn't so successful. He was just too big for that. At least he can't open the dryer door on his own yet. He also likes to climb onto chairs, the fireplace, pretty much anything he can hoist himself up onto. I am having flashbacks of his daredevil Uncle Jeff as a child and am wondering what exactly we are in for.

He has been very interested in baths and water lately. He has always liked them both, but is now asking for them. The other night he requested a bath unprompted for the first time. He signed bath and then ran into his bathroom and pointed at the faucet. Yea! He also likes to wash his bath toys and make sure that we get a little wet too.