19 months!

 

I often forget how young Ben really is.  In many ways he seems only a tad behind Sophie, not half her age.  Here are things he does best:

1. He has great physical control, of course.  He's been walking for 8 months now, so that's no surprise.  He can't jump yet, but his sister loves to hop around all the time so he wants to do it too.  But he's a very confident walker and climber, and he even sits in a regular person's chair at the dinner table, getting up and down with ease.  I think he's falling a lot less than he used to.
2. He communicates really well.  I think his skill level is beyond Sophie's in some ways, just with a lot smaller of a vocabulary.  Not only does he know how to ask for what he wants very specifically and usually using correct pronouns, he also picks up verbal customs very quickly.  He uses many niceties correctly: he says "hi guys!" when there are many people to greet; he says "bye, everyone, see you later" when we're leaving a group; he says "please" and "thank you" a lot; he says "good morning" and "good night" at the right times.  I'm sure there are others that I'm not remembering, but you can tell he's really internalized that these little phrases are an important part of how we relate to each other.
3. He also seems to be able to learn how to do practical tasks, as well as the processes of daily activities, very quickly.  When I explain to him that "first we are going to do X, then Y, and after that we can do Z," he gets it.  He always wants to try things that Sophie and I are doing to see how hard it is, but he doesn't get frustrated if he can't do it.  Right now, he's trying to learn about cleaning up.  I'm not sure he knows why we do it, but he can tell when I'm doing it even if it's not something I've pointed out to him before.  Earlier this morning, he noticed there was a used tissue out, so he started singing his "clean up" song and carefully put the tissue back into the box, and the box back onto the table!  He's also observed how going to the bathroom works, so he knows how you sit down, flush the toilet, and wash your hands.  I think we're going to potty train him very, very soon.
4. Following the same pattern, I think he's very good for his age at following directions.  Not only does he not openly defy us (although I know we have all the 2's to get through still), but he almost always does what he's told, even if he really doesn't want to.  Sometimes he throws a fit, but he normally still obeys our instructions.

He does seem to have mood swings, though.  Most days he is energetic and happy, but every now and then he has a day when he just wants to ride everywhere and hug his mama.  He is very emotionally dependent on me.  When he gets nervous or upset, he starts repeating "oh, hi Mama!" to make sure I'm around and available.

 

One of his favorite activities is to play in water.  He doesn't love it as much as he used to, but most of the time he loves baths, puddles, pools, and sprinklers.

He tries to play with Sophie and is sometimes successful, but unfortunately for him, he has an older sibling who mostly wants to do her own thing -- I guess that is pretty common!  I would venture to guess that he's going to be the typical, pesky younger brother, but he doesn't seem to have a rascally streak in him -- at least not one that we can see yet.  He LOVES to play, but not that way.  He's been going up to Sophie and saying "hi" to her to try to get her to respond.  Normally she doesn't until I tell her to... I think kids really need to learn that they're expected to answer when someone speaks to them, and one way to teach them that is to make sure that they always get a response when they're the speaker.

Ben has had two haircuts now.  Good job, Dada.

Ben has mostly stopped saying only the last syllables of words.  He's also really good about his own name.  I've been calling him "Mr. Ben" for so long that I really thought he would think that was his name, but somehow he knows that it's really just Ben.  What's really neat is that he seems to have picked up on the times when I'm definitely going to call him "Mr.," and so he'll refer to himself that way just at those times.

Another thing we're going to learn very soon is how to drink out of an adult cup.  Ben has been interested in this for a long time.  I wonder if this type of container might actually be easier at first:

Talk Like A Man

Ben is talking, talking, talking.  You really can have a decent conversation with him, and he's super good at imitating new words.  He still calls things by their last syllable, so he's been calling his grandparents "Mike" and "Sue," which is hilarious.  My favorite thing is his use of "kay."  He understands this is an affirmative answer to a question, so he'll use it correctly, or sometimes say "kay-kay."  Other times, he'll ask me for something, then say "kay" because he wants me to say that.  So the other night when he was loving the mango we gave him, he kept asking "o pee kay" which was a shortened way of saying "mango please okay."

Earlier this week, we had two friends come over who were 3 years and 15 months old.  At first he wasn't sure how to interact with them, but then he started going up to them and shouting "Ben! Ben!"  I guess he thought he needed more introduction than I had given him.

He's so jolly and fun-loving all the time.  Things he loves, in Ben-speak:

"Eets Mama" (he still loves loves loves me)
"Eets Dada" (but after spending all day with me, Dada is a very welcome sight)
"Nice bee-ee" (nice blankie)
"Ma bee-ee" (Mama and blankie, the best combination)
"Baba book" (read another book)
"Ah-side, see ah-ka" (go outside and see Orca in the car)
"Buboos pees" (bubbles, please)
"Buzzies pees" (strawberries, please)
"Doos pees" (juice, please)
"Sah-Why, Uh-Pig, Dow, Wed" (SuperWhy, Alpha Pig, Princess Presto, Wonder Red)
"Bye Ben, hi Ben" (he likes to run away and have us say bye Ben, then come back and have us say hi Ben)
"Bye Sophie" or "night Sophie" (for some reason he loves bidding her farewell)
"Wah two fee dow!" (one two three go as he goes down a slide)
"Mahk set dow!" (on your mark, get set, go before running)

Mind blown

Ben can say the planets in order.  Ack!

17 months!

We can't believe that Ben is turning the age Sophie was when she became a big sister!  We remember her seeming older than Ben does now, but I think that's because we didn't have anyone else to compare her to.  Actually, when we go back and look at what I was writing about her at that time, he seems to be ahead of her in some ways, which isn't too surprising since he has her as a teacher.

For example, the day before Ben was born, I cataloged all the words Sophie could say at that time.  There is no way I'd be able to do that for Ben now; there are too many.  Here are some of his most frequent communications:

• He likes to stand up on chairs and say "sit down!" while grinning at me.
• He likes to throw things on the ground and say "oh-oh! Down."
• He asks for food or drink and says "pees."
• When he likes a food, he says "mmmm... me" (which means mmmm... yummy).
• He says "ick, ick!" when he wants to listen to his music.
• He sings the alphabet.  These days his favorite letter is W ("dub-oo").
• He likes to talk about his blankie, Brutus Buckeye, books, going outside, and SuperWhy!  From what I can remember, Sophie has never asked to watch TV shows, but Ben often asks, "watch Why? watch Why?"

Other things he likes to do: run with abandon, be chased, be surprised, be upside down, climb up into Sophie's chair to see what she has to eat and drink, take things off shelves and tables and out of drawers and cupboards and put them on the floor, play in sand and dirt, climb, slide.

The routine we adhere to most with Ben is when we get him out of his crib, and he loves to participate.  When he sees us, he says "it's... Mama!" or "it's... Dada!"  We say good morning, and then we spell his name with him, reading along with the big letters above his crib.  The we move over and sing the alphabet along with a poster that is next to his crib.  Then it's time to go see Sophie, and Ben says "suh-fee? suh-fee?" and we put him down and he runs into Sophie's room to rouse her out of bed.

The kids LOVE to get out of the house.  They don't care where we are going: the backyard, the car, out the front door, whatever.  All I have to do is say the words "outside" or "car" and both kids dash off to get their shoes, and sometimes their clothes, too.  It might seem like we don't get out much, but we do!  They just can't get enough.

Things that get Ben excited:

• Mama's home
• Dada's home
• SuperWhy
• Juice
• Going outside
• "Gogs" (aka dogs)
• Listening to his favorite CDs
• Elmo

He's not cute and happy ALL the time.  In fact, lately he's been getting very angry about certain things.  He and Sophie are, not surprisingly, having trouble sharing.  It could be worse, and sometimes they give things to each other, too.  But it's hard when they both really want the same thing, and Ben has learned that when he has something that's coveted, he doesn't even want Sophie in the same vicinity, just in case she tries anything.  Sometimes if I'm reading a book to him and she comes over, he'll climb over me just to try to push her away.  He still takes the word "no" really personally; his most common response is to throw himself backward -- no matter what he may hit on his way down -- and start wailing.  And once he has started that, there is really no distracting him.  He's very single-minded!  And he's very attached to me lately, so sometimes John has problems putting him to bed.

But for the most part, he's a very sweet boy who just loves to play and find out about the world.

Happy New Year!

Sorry no pictures this time.  As I said on Sophie's blog, I'm going to skip the recap of our cross-country trip and just cut to the chase of what Ben has been doing since we got back.

His talking has TAKEN OFF!  Here are his words:

"ucka" = orca, or outside
"dada" = John
"mama" = me, or the book "Are You My Mother?"
"mmmmmo" = Elmo
"ha" = hi
"muh" = milk
"oot" = shirt
"ats" =  pants
"ocks" = socks
"ooze" = shoes
"oat" = coat
"ax" = Lorax
"at" = out (of his booster seat at the table), or cat

He can also recognize and say the following letters: A, C, D, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, and Y.  His favorites are R and T, though.  Guess we don't need to worry about him being as smart as Sophie. :)

Sorry, Ben

...for totally neglecting your blog for two months.  I'm posting lots of pictures in an attempt to redeem myself.  First, some updates:

Ben's personality is really starting to assert itself in full force, and it's especially evident since I have his sister to compare him with.  One major difference is that Ben displays the full range of his emotions right out in the open for all to see.  He does things BIG: big smiles, big laughs, big hugs (and kisses now too), big hand gestures, big cries.  When he's upset (usually as a result of being denied something he wants), he throws himself backward until his head hits something.  (I hate when he does that on our tile kitchen floor -- he's going to crack his head open!)  He RUNS everywhere, so he always seems to be excited.  He loves to wrestle and roughhouse, but he's also very capable of quiet playing and reading, too.

He's definitely a bit of a daredevil.  He knows he has physical limitations, but he wants to master them.  If there's something he has trouble with, like a big stair or something tall he wants to climb up, he'll try it over and over again until he's done it easily by himself.  I love that quality in him, but sometimes it leads to frustration because there is still so much he isn't ready for.  Whereas Sophie has always seemed to have a sense of what she can't do yet and doesn't even try, Ben wants to do those things in particular!  As the person who's supposed to make sure the kids don't injure themselves, I've had to get used to that tendency of his in a hurry.

I think his attraction to challenges is what drives his constant desire to go outside!  We can't say that word in the house, and it's always a risk to step out the door even for a moment without him.  It doesn't take long each morning before he's communicating quite clearly that that's what he wants to do.  But he's very smart about it, too: he knows you have to get all dressed before you go outside.  So when he wants to go out, he goes and finds a shirt, some pants, socks, and his shoes and brings them to me, then he sits down on my lap so I can put them on him.  If he's already wearing a shirt, he'll just open his drawer and get some bottoms.  And since he's so smart and cute about it, it's very hard to resist.  I wonder if he'll want to go outside less as the weather is consistently colder.

He has, unfortunately, begun the phase of strong attachment to Mama that is typical for this age.  I say "unfortunately" mostly because I think it limits him.  For example, he has started to get sad in the church nursery after I leave, when he didn't before.  He basically becomes inconsolable until I come back.  I don't really mind having him be this attached to me for a little while.  I know it will end, he's my last baby, and he's just so snuggly and soft... even by baby standards.

He's still eating and sleeping very well.  He's been experimenting a lot vocally.  Not many actual words yet.  He says "uh-kuh" for Orca (his friend on car rides) and outside.  He says "muh" for milk.  He also says "dada" a lot, but I'm not sure if it's really in reference to John.  He still mostly just communicates physically: by bringing us things, making gestures, and of course crying and whining.  :)

His relationship with Sophie is getting more complex.  They are definitely "fighting" over more things now.  They have an instinct to push each other away when there is conflict over a toy or book.  Then I tell them to take turns ("first it's Sophie's turn!  OK, now it's Ben's turn!"), and they love to give it back and forth in that context, even though at that point nobody is really using the item anymore!  But they are also just starting to play together.  Ben LOVES it when Sophie touches him or makes eye contact with him; he gets downright giddy about it.  Just today I saw them playing peekaboo together.  So cute.  And they both run around in circles to music.

Speaking of music, Ben is finally showing some interest.  He has had his favorite songs that John or I play on the piano for a while, but I think a lot of that is just that he likes following Sophie as she does her running-in-circles-to-music thing.  But in the past week, I've seen him really start to pay attention to some of the songs on the kids' albums we have.  And last night, we saw him really dance for the first time.

Here are some pictures from the last two months.  I don't have time to do captions, so I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.  :)  Most of them were taken by Grammy Sue, as usual!

Playing at Dinnertime Tonight

Ben is very happy in this video.  Sorry for how loud I am!  Just ignore me.  :)