It's All About The Benjamin

Let's recap: Ben had lots of fun at Christmas, unwrapping his presents and saying "Wow!" to each one. He received many of books - which is good because he loves being read to, and toys generally take up a lot room. Our tree is still up - I love leaving it up throughout most of the dark winter months because it's cheery and beautiful. We just have to keep reminding Ben to stop touching the ornaments. Total number of ornaments broken so far: three. Ben used the potty very successfully once, on January 4th. And not since. His modus operandi is to run and hide, usually in the dining room, then squat while... eliminating. When I see him doing this I say "Hey! Let's go to the potty!" Making it sound like a brilliant and fun idea, but he wants none of it: "No, stay here." I tell him to let me know when he's ready. One day, I guess. It's not like he'll still be wearing diapers in college. He graduated from his gym class, so now he's in ...

On Sunday, Ben will be 20 months old - hard to believe he's gotten so big, unless of course you look at him (especially with his new haircut), he looks like a little boy. Which he is, naturally - no stretch there. He loves playing with footballs, basketballs, soccer balls - he's not really choosy, although he's been known to fall asleep with a football. It figures - Ron and I are not big sports fans, at all. He loves his visits to the L1ttle Gym, where he's made lots of friends whom he'll approach to hug, or kiss the younger babies. His Nonna is sending him to the L1ttle Gym for the next semester too, and he'll be thrilled! He really has a great time. We went to their Halloween party which was packed, and he ran around, dancing, spinning, rolling and pausing to kiss wee babies on their head while parents laughed over the cuteness. That's our boy! Here's a picture from Halloween night while trick or treating in our neighborhood: He calls Spiderman "d...

We are in full Fall mode here in Pennsylvania... Just last weekend it was in the 80's; add a bit of rain and see the temperatures drop into the 50's and 60's! Being fair skinned and all, I was really kinda tired of the heat. Ben doesn't really mind, as long as he gets to run around outside. So! I know it's been quite a while since my last post - hey, we're busy and it's hard to find the time. I'm sure you will all understand. Ben saw his pediatrician, Dr. B, last week and all went well. He's 33" tall, 24.5 pounds: above average for height and below average for weight (that's my lean boy). He's gotten 16 teeth, had two immunizations and cried most of the time during the appointment. Everything else looks just great. Dr. B asked how many words he's saying, and I know it's terrible, but we haven't kept track. He hasn't begun phrases or sentences yet, but he can say a number of words. I'll try to include them all here, b...

Also known as the tupperware cabinet. I finally let Ben check out the cabinet today and he LOVED it. (Big surprise, I know). The pictures say it all... Plus, Ben has a certain... fondness for yellow fruits and vegetables. He played with a lemon two weekends ago at a friend's house until it was all soft, warm and pulpy inside. Here he is with his new best friend, butternut squash. Well, it was his best friend until he dropped it and it cracked. Anyone have good recipes for butternut squash? Here he is playing in his new pool at Omie & Opie's house. Didn't care for it at all, obviously: This little boy is such a delight and so much fun! We're over the moon to have him in our life.

Ben made used his first sign today: more! I've been signing to him for weeks and at this point figured he just couldn't be bothered. But when he pointed to the cut plums, I asked him if he would like some more while signing. He actually signed back! Well was totally cool. His newest words are cook, pooh (as in bear, although he hears poo an awful lot in this house), and an old one I forgot to mention is toad. His teeth are still coming in, and a new food today was havarti dill cheese. I'm trying to give him more cow's milk cheeses to increase his calcium intake. He liked it! The little tiny cheeses in little red wax wheels he didn't particularly care for, however. Which means mommy & daddy will have to eat them. Uh oh. Not that mommy & daddy don't like the mini cheese wheels; it's just that we should really avoid such delicious sources of saturated fat and cholesterol. Here are some pictures from the Denver zoo; we were there on July 12th and Ben wa...

Ben didn't really start walking until 13.5 months, and I was a tad concerned about it. So many moms told me not to worry; once he started walking I'd find myself constantly running after him. Well, I now completely understand. We set him on the ground and he's off exploring and looking around earnestly at his surroundings. Hard to believe he's the same little boy who clung so desperately to my leg when we went to our Friday playgroup! Now I've got to watch him constantly. We went to a church fair this weekend and he was happy to just run around, pointing at the people, the lights and rides, babies, and booths stuffed with prizes. He is so much fun to be around! I took him on his first ride inside a giant bear last night with a friend and her son from playgroup. He was a bit scared at first then started pointing and making noises at people and things as they passed by outside of the bear. His vocabulary is building; he says cake, pea, no, Pa ( opa & pop-pop), ...

Oh, how it flies. During the first few months of Ben's life, it seemed like time dragged interminably on, whileslipping through our fingers at the same time. Only people with newborns, I have come to find, can understand this paradox. Ben saw his pediatrician today and all is well with the Squeaky One. He weighs 22.2 lbs and measures 31". The doctor says he's a little below average for weight because he has such little fat. He's lean and muscular, and that's just fine with our doctor. He eats well, and eats a lot. We really put an effort into feeding him nutrious foodstuffs, and we're fortunate because he likes broccoli, peas, black beans, hummus, cottage cheese and yogurt. Loves fruit - seemingly all kinds except for raspberries. Definitely prefers blueberries or grapes to everything. As blueberries are highly beneficial for him (based on the blood type diet ), we eat a lot of these in our house. Gotta run because Ben is home -will update more tomorrow with pi...

Ben is A-O.K.! He's walking now, in fact just yesterday he walked from one end of the house to the other all by himself (Our house is 1100 square feet and long, so make of that what you will). He started off kind of slow and tenuous, but really seems to be taking off. He's eating well and can feed himself on occasion with a spoon - if the food is sufficiently sticky, like cottage cheese and hummus. He likes pesto, fish, cherries (frozen and fresh), peas, green beans, corn, sauteed spinach, salsa, guacamole (spicy only), black beans and rice (with jalapenos), soy cheese, pastina, Cheerios, strawberries, grapes, white grapefruit, chicken, turkey, egg... of course, just because he eats something one day does not mean he'll eat it the next. He says Dada (and knows who he is), Mama, Mimi (we're not sure who or what Mimi is, but we're keeping an eye out...), cat, bye, yes, there, and he can shake his head "no". He waves hello and goodbye, points, claps hands, ...

My God... it's full of stars..." Ben in pastina: Celebrating Ben's birthday at play group and his first cupcake: Party at our house on April 1st: More to come: pictures at Nonna's

Yes, I realize this post is over due, as his birthday was April 2nd. It is so hard to find the time... Seeing Ben today, it's incredible to realize this baby boy is growing up; he'll never get any younger or smaller. He'll just keep getting bigger and eventually more independent. I really like his sense of humor... he enjoys fake outs: offering you something to eat, only to put it in his own mouth when you think he's really going to put it in yours. He'll put his arms out to be held by someone, only to turn away at the last moment, wiggling and smiling mischievously . He loves dancing, using his whole body and wiggling his shoulders - it's hysterical! When he coughs, I have instructed him to "Please cover your mouth when you cough", as it's the polite thing to do. Of course he sees mommy & daddy cover their mouths, and he's actually started doing that this week. He has also discovered his tongue , and will be happy to show anyone who inqu...

Ben's eleventh month has been a lot of fun. Here are some shots from February. The reason why so many of them are Ben seated in his high chair? Because he's staying (mostly) still! Goodness that little boy can move! He's not walking yet, but he can crawl lickety split. He's also eating more; he LOVES soy cheese (highly beneficial for those with blood type A, like his Daddy), yogurt, green vegetables... almost everything, although he's fallen out of love with lentils. When I handed him the spoon the other day, he actually held it by the handle and fed himself! Then he put the handle in his mouth. Enjoy the pictures!