I love this kid. He is so … fun! Crazy! Loud! Granted it’s not all sunshine and roses. He can throw hellacious fits. He is stubborn beyond all reason and those lungs … they are impressive. But just a couple months into his third year, he is still very happy to snuggle while he drinks some milk or gets around to waking up. He will make a little nest in the middle of the floor with his “wees” (blankets, in Benjeese – short, we’ve discovered, for “lovie”) and cuddle up in it.
But in between, he is on the go. He currently sports scabs from head to toe. He has several bug bites all around his face that have been scratched. He has a cut on his lip from a fall and twin scrapes on his arms from the same fall as well as one on his knee from this fall plus several more from other falls. There are a host of other scratches I have no idea from what. Most of the time he doesn’t cry about his little mishaps or indicate in any way that he is hurt and so I have no idea.
He is talking a blue streak and we are understanding more and more of it. He is not super articulate yet, but he definitely gets his point across. To get our attention at dinner the other night, he would scream, at the top of his lungs, “GUYS!” until everyone turned to look at him. When bouncing on the bed and doing his tricks, he would say, “Mommy, this! Nana, this! Gaga, this!” which meant he wanted us to “watch this!” He and Tabby have been playing a sing-along game in the car. She sings a bit from a song and then allows him to fill in a word here or there. He does remarkably well and seems to know just about every song his beloved “Sissy!” sings. The two of them doing this is just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. He has also figured out that all of his people have other names they respond to, so he will repeatedly say, “Mommy, Jess! Daddy, Matt!” and when prompted, “Sissy, Tabby” except that his “Tabby” doesn’t really sound much like Tabby but more like “Cappie!”
He loves to play with cars and anything he can pound together, including his Buzz and Woody action figures. “Buzz fly!!” is one of his favorite things to say. Buzz does indeed fly. And crashes a lot. He loves to get out blocks or legos, but doesn’t always build much with them. He seems to prefer spilling them out and sending them to the far reaching corners of the room. He will pick them up when asked, however. Story time is a huge thing for him and if he’s having trouble going to sleep, we can often get him to settle down by leaning into his crib and reading him a short book. He loves Daddy Hugs, Hippos Go Berzerk and anything Curious George.
He is still in his crib. Despite the fact that I’m sure he could climb out, he’s shown no interest in doing so. I am really glad since I’m sure he’ll be harder to contain when he’s not in the crib. He genuinely seems to like his crib, like it’s his little den. He’s got all manner of blankets and critters in there and when we remove some, he puts them back in. So peeking down on him sleeping is a bit like a nursery school version of Where’s Waldo … you have to find Ben amidst the blankies and animals. Whereas Tabby kicks off all of her covers, Ben cuddles up under his blankies, sometimes covering his head with just his little nose and mouth peeking out.
He is so much fun and I am really enjoying this stage of him. He’s an amazing joy and blessing.
Weight: 31 lbs
Height: would have to measure the mark on the kitchen wall, but he’s grown about 5 inches in the past 7 months and gained no weight … he’s currently about 4 inches shorter than big sis
Clothes: wears size 2T mostly and whereas last summer I thought he was about to outgrow them, I now have to cinch them in or they fall down! Diapers are a 4-5
Favorite book: Daddy Hugs wins out
Favorite movie: Buzz!! (Toy Story 1, 2 or 3)
Favorite food: cantelope
Favorite toy: Buzz and Woody
What an awesome fella.