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.

Haircut

Ben's 15 month appointment went well. He is long and lean on the growth charts and doing well with his development. The weekend after his appointment we had a big first to commemorate! We went for the first haircut finally. Ben's hair wasn't really long, but it was getting shaggy in the back and he had long wispy pieces that had to be tucked behind his ears. We affectionately called it the "ear hair". The ear hair would sneak out during pictures and often cause problems when we were trying to get ready in the mornings. Well, it is no longer and Ben looks even more like a little boy! He did really well during the cut. He got to sit in a car and just sat very quietly and still. He did look concerned at some points, but he never cried. I posted more pictures on Snapfish.
Ben is getting into more and more and trying out his independence. He now enjoys standing up in the grocery cart, trying to start his own bath water and rearranging anything of ours within his reach.

Happy New Year!

Well, it has been a while since we've updated and a lot has happened it seems like. We have enjoyed our second Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's with Ben. These holidays were very different than last year's and brought many new joys. Ben was able to enjoy some of the dishes at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Ben quickly got the hang of opening gifts on Christmas and had several sessions with different combinations of family where he seemed to turn into the center of attention. Ben received lots of neat new books and toys that will get him through the next year and beyond. Santa brought a kitchen that has lots of music and fun activities with it. He is also set on Jayhawk attire and gear and has lots of new cars, trucks and blocks that he is enjoying quite a bit.

Around Thanksgiving, Ben started walking and is now running all over the house (as fast as he can). He thinks it is really funny to hide and giggles uncontrollably when he thinks he has escaped our sights. Ben continues to mimic more and more of the things we do. He pretends to brush his hair, blow his nose and tries oh so hard to eat with a spoon. He is even successful when he isn't too hungry to have a little patience. He has added many new words to his list. Some of the latest are baby, car and bear. He is very outgoing when Mom or Dad is nearby and greets everyone with a "Hi!". Or he points at any child and squeals, "Baby!"

Ben has 12 teeth now and is working really hard on the eye teeth. He is a good eater and goes through phases of pickiness. At home, he generally eats what we eat including Mediterranean chicken and couscous, enchiladas and his current favorite grilled ham and cheese. At school, he is in a rut where he thinks he needs to eat some Gerber pasta pick ups before he will even consider the school food. So we usually get a note that he ate a container of his pastas, 5 chicken nuggets, half a banana, etc. Luckily, the teachers seem to really like Ben and think it is funny and call the pastas his appetizer.

Ben is now one of the "older" babies in his class and will probably move up in the next couple of months as other kids transition up. He does lots of nice artwork at school and enjoys seeing his friends and teachers each day.

Ben loves to make things work including all of his toys that make noise and light up, the radio in his playroom, and anything that is run with one of Daddy's remotes. He really enjoys music and will dance and "sing" along anytime he hears a song playing. He got a xylophone for Christmas that he loves to play. Ben is also figuring out how more things in our house work. For example, he is interested in door knobs, faucets and light switches. So far he can only work the light switches out of those (and for that has to be held up high to reach them). We will be in trouble soon!

We go to the doctor tomorrow for a checkup. I will try to post his new stats soon.

Love to all and Happy New Year!