So Ben learned how to do something new.
Audio isn't so great, but at the end, Lisa asks, "Are you stuck?"
Ben: "Yeah."
i'm learnding! Archives
May 7, 2009
March 27, 2009
Bath time
Me: "Ben, is it time to go up and take a bath?"
Ben: "No Papa! Not yet!"
Me: "Not yet? Okay."
Ben: "Soon, Papa."
December 31, 2008
The Count
Ben just counted to 10 all by himself.
October 22, 2008
ABCs
"Double-me!"
October 9, 2008
Dress Up Time
Ben has really been into Lisa's shoes lately.
September 25, 2008
Note to Self: Bookmark for Prom Night
Ben has turned up the Goof Factor to 11 lately. He's started to "help" us with household chores, including putting some laundry "away" for papa in his dresser. Doin' a bang-up job!
Often when we get home in the afternoon, the first thing he wants to do is go upstairs and read books in our bed and have a "co-ey" (cozy), piling all his blankets to make a nest and re-arranging all the pillows.
He said his name for the first time the other day, and is currently fascinated by Lisa's necklaces. Truck stickers still belong on your head, and every once in awhile clothes are your enemy ("I'm nakie!") and you have to play "Elmo" shirtless.
September 13, 2008
Rainy Saturday
(Ben)evolent Ruler gave us an unexpected reprieve this morning, sleeping until 9:30! Perfect timing to get up and go for brunch with Val, Jeff, Liz and Brad at Eleven City Diner in the south loop.
Later in the afternoon, Lisa decided Ben needed some good ol' fashioned stomp-around-in-the-rain time, so they did some gardening while dad went to the Jewel.
When I got back they were investigating a worm and pouring water out of the recycling bin. This eventually turned into "cleaning" off the porch by dumping water all over the place over and over. Look at that freshly painted porch!
Then, banana bread was made. And Ben helped! The photo on the right is the first one where I see some of Lloyd in Ben. That's a total Lloyd face.
August 7, 2008
Video!
Ben cracks us up (I mean, scares us silly) with his Blankie Monster
I honestly have no idea what he's saying, but he regularly climbs up on the dog treat bin, pounds on the garbage can and rants about...well...something.
Ben is not a fan of us singing certain songs at certain times.
July 10, 2008
Stuntman
Ben has become, well, a bit more adventurous as of late. He's also figured out how to escape from his crib.
The vocabulary and speech skillz continue to grow. This morning we think he spoke his first very clear declarative sentence: "I want to eat." This is in fact something he's been doing a much better job at, eating veggies at day care with regularity (har, no pun intended) and wolfing down entire bowls of oatmeal in the morning.
June 14, 2008
Sign Him Up
I spent the better part of this afternoon cleaning out our garage, as Ben hung out mostly supervising. You'd think at 20 months he'd pick up a broom or something. (Okay, technically at one point he did pick up a broom, but it's not like he knows what to do with it or anything.) Like anyone else's garage, we have a ton of stuff that we irrationally hold on to from our childhoods, various chapters in our lives, or just random junk in a variety of boxes and storage containers.
For years, I have moved a soccer ball I got at a summer camp, probably when I was in middle school. I couldn't tell you the last time it was inflated—I doubt it'd hold air—but I don't think I could ever bring myself to throw it out.
As I was cleaning the garage, Ben noticed the ball and started gesturing and saying "ball! ball! ball!" so we got it down for him. He's got a small soccer ball he loves playing with, sometimes kicking it, but usually he picks it up and throws it like every other ball (and most other things) he gets his hands on.
Today was different. When I told him, "Kick it, Ben! Kick it!" he'd set it down in front of him and kick it right to me. We basically kicked a ball back and forth for about 5 minutes or so.
So yeah, that's pretty cool.
Update 6/19/08: See! The kid has skillz!
March 9, 2008
Conversation
It's one thing to have Ben start calling the dog "doggy" or the cat "kiddy" or pat Lisa and say, "Mama, mama, mama..."
It's an entirely other thing when he points at something and asks, "whadisdis?"
"That's a car seat."
"Oh."
"Whadisdis?"
"That's a humidifier."
"Oh."
"Whadisdis?"
"Those are your shoes."
"Oh."
Freaking. Us. Out.
February 20, 2008
Aloha
Yeah, this pretty much rules.
Update: I'm just going to keep adding photos and stuff to this post. The weather is here, wish you were great.
One final Hawaii update. We're back home in cold snowy Chicago. What have we learned?
1) Our child is freakishly adaptable to large time changes, so much so that we have seen no ill effects from jetlag in either direction. A great flyer (no baby Benadryl needed!), but not a fan of being belted in to an airplane seat. We purchased a CARES harness, but he's on the small end of its usefulness, so I'm sure it'll still come in handy. It couldn't be easier to use, and installs in seconds. Highly recommended.
2) We would like to move to Maui, effective immediately.
We finally got off our keisters and explored a bit on Wednesday, venturing north of Kapalua, up to Honokohau Bay and Honolua Bay. Photos can't begin to describe. Here's a quick video of surfers at Honolua.
February 10, 2008
Indoor Fun
It continues to be real, no foolin' winter here in Chicago, so we are spending a lot of time indoors.
The morning after the Super Bowl, I think Ben probably felt like much of the rest of the country. Because he's a toddler, he gets to curl up on the bathroom floor with his blankie and take a nap. Because you're not, you have to take a shower and go to work.
Anyone need their checkbook balanced?
Ben is pretty much a crack addict except for yogurt. It's not enough to go to the fridge and get one yogurt. No. He insists on pulling ALL the yogurt out and inspecting it, rearranging it, stacking it, and then screeching at it. Eventually, he settles into his feeding station to feast on his prey.
Finger-painting quickly devolves into Ben- and Dad-painting.
January 29, 2008
Chocolate & Boots
You know what's a good idea? Giving a 15 month-old chocolate a half hour before bedtime.
Earlier today, Ben decided to borrow my boots.
Cheeeese!
Ben's got a lot of new tricks up his sleeves these days. Today he suddenly began saying "cheese!" in anticipation of having his picture taken. I can't imagine where he learned that...
September 25, 2007
Half-steppin'
Not his best effort, but hey, I had the camera there.
September 23, 2007
Mr. Manners
While continuing to work on his walking (8 steps!), Ben keeps adding to his repertoire in the words dept. This morning Ben sneezed, Lisa said, "God bless you!" and Ben responded, "thank you!" We thought we've heard him say it before, but now he's said it a few times quite clearly.
An incessant "Na na na na na na na na na na!" is not Ben trying out for the part of Bowser* in Sha Na Na, but simply means, "Hey! You big person there! Gimme that."
Not too many recent photos. Sorry, sports fans. Things have been a little insane around here and we're still attempting to put the house back together after spending a few days incapacitated by a stomach virus that's been going around the greater Chicago area.
September 12, 2007
(A Scosh Past) 11 Months
I'm a bit late on Ben's somewhat regular monthly update post. I've been too busy building things: tricycles, furniture, safety gates, and the latest (an early birthday present from Grandma B.) a totally killer Radio Flyer All Terrain Wagon, complete with cooler for a 12-pack. (That's for daddy!)
Ben continues to build his vocabulary. This morning I asked him "Where's kitty?" and he routinely looked down from his high chair and pointed at Bomber to say, "Hi dittyah!"
He is also getting bolder in the walking dept. As he was holding onto the side of our bed, I encouraged him to come toward me. He let go, took two full steps, grabbed my hand and started laughing.
A follow-up trip to the doctor yesterday showed he's gained 13.5 oz. in a little over two weeks. So he's clearly eating something right!
September 4, 2007
"Hiya!"
So it's pretty much been confirmed that Ben's first word is "Hi!" He's been saying it with regularity and purpose for the past week or so. This morning after he woke up, Lisa went in to get him. As she walked into his room, Ben said, "Hiya!" Then he played his latest game, "pretend to go back to sleep."
He's also getting pretty confident in the standing department, fooling himself into standing unassisted for 5-10 seconds at a time, as well as climbing stairs like crazy. Multiple gate-containment systems have been deployed.
Ben's got a new ride, too. Kickstart, suicide shifter, hardtail.
August 19, 2007
He Ain't Pretty No More...
Last week Ben had a minor "incident" at his new day care. Apparently another kid decided to welcome him to the neighborhood by scratching his face. It sounds a lot worse than it was, but he did look a bit like he'd been in a car accident for a day. You can tell it's really slowed him down.
We spent the weekend out in Rockford to see Grandma B. (back from the Yukon!) and the cousins, where Ben, AJ and John played trucks at Aunt Marcia and Uncle Dan's. Ben also got his first taste of playing at the train table with John in the playroom at B.'s.
It was fun to see Ben interact and play with other kids. Lisa observed that it makes him seem a lot older than he is. Then he pulls a sock off and tries to eat it and that sorta brings it back into perspective.
July 29, 2007
Cruiser Maxi-Mix
Ben has been making incredible...er...strides in the Mobility Dept. We've been trying to keep up and occasionally capture the action in pixels. Warning: It's a biggie!
July 4, 2007
June 27, 2007
Circle Cereal
Lisa introduced Ben to the wonders of Cheerios-esque cereal. He, of course, loves it. Other skill acquisitions this week include much improved transitions between standing and kneeling/scrambling, extended periods of holding on to our TV cabinet and alternately sucking on the edge or attempting to play with the DVD player, and free weight rolling.
Oh yeah, Mom and Dad have been married 9 years today. Yay us! Apparently the 9th anniversary is the "Leather" anniversary. Take that for what it's worth.
June 19, 2007
Stander
I walked in to Ben's room yesterday morning and, no surprise, he was standing at his crib railing for the first time (that we've seen, anyway). Tonight when it was time for him to go to bed, he tried to convince me otherwise. This is one of the pictures I took of him before he realized I wasn't giving in to his powers of persuasion.
June 16, 2007
Check Out My Moves
Ben had his first gym class yesterday, and it appears it has given him some ideas.
May 9, 2007
(Just A Hair Past) 7 Months
Ben is now pretty much fully mobile. He is alarmingly quick from the center of the blanket in the front room to the edge of the rug, searching for fringe to jam into his mouth. That's right, he knows it's there. No more of this "I can't see it, therefore it doesn't exist" nonsense. Next he'll think he's got free will or something. He's also discovered the piano pedals, which provide endless entertainment.
April 21, 2007
Starting To Get The Hang Of It
Here's a couple videos of Ben starting to mobilize. He cracks us up.
March 22, 2007
Rookie Moms, Learn From Her Mistakes!
It may seem like fun to have your infant son suck on your chin...
But it's not... (Yes, that's a chin hickey.)
February 11, 2007
A Trifecta of New Seating
With ever-developing back and neck muskles comes a whole new world of activities for Ben. He's not so sure about the Johnny Jump-Up yet. I think he's still a bit too short. He's still getting used to the activity center, but man, he's lovin' high chairs!
December 29, 2006
Cause and Effect
Last night Ben completely blew us away by hitting his chime garden toy all by himself. We have been showing him how he can use his hands to touch things and he's a decent grasper-of-objects, but this was just crazy. We were putting his hand on the flowers and pushing so the lights and music would go, and suddenly he got it and started doing it on his own. This morning we put it in front of him again, off he went.
December 19, 2006
Don't Leave Me Hangin'
Mom and Dad babbling over what is an otherwise adorkable moment of Ben not so much learning how to grasp the rattle as not learning how to let go + telephone-shaped child's toy = shameless excuse to get some Blondie on this site.
A couple of weeks ago I gave Ben a different rattle while I was changing him and he managed to bonk himself in the face, so...progress.
December 15, 2006
Ben Reads Dad a Story
Ok, not quite yet. He does like to talk through story time, though. The pictures get him all excited, too.
