Ben at 21 months

Profile of a 21-month-old Benjamin

• Enjoys: throwing balls, art activities, reading books, wearing sunglasses, waking before the sun, being outside


• Turn-offs: being told no, sharing with Zeke, not getting what he wants


• Strengths: super talkative, great napper, physically strong (we call him our Army Ant)


• Vices: temper tantrums when we don't understand what he wants, bossy, still wakes during the night

Favorites of a 21-month-old Benjamin

• Foods- any fruit, most recently watermelon, any snacks, french fries, quesadilla, pizza


• Songs- he has started singing "Hosanna" from our church songs cd, he likes when I sing "Mama said knock you out" (he just doesn't realize how close this is to the truth sometimes)


• Shows- Little Einsteins (but only because Zeke loves it), Tinga Tinga Tales


• Books- any book Zeke wants, and all the library books


• Toys- cars, baseballs and bats, golf clubs and balls


• Activites- going to the bookstore, going swimming, checking plants with daddy

New words:

I don't think he really has any new words, but he is saying some really fun things. He cheers himself on when he does something by saying "Yay, Ben!" He sometimes call to me or Spence 'Hey, babe? Hey, babe?" He loves to pray and insists on praying at meals and at bedtime often.

How Ben is like his:

mommy- wild mood swings

daddy- morning person, loves all sports

brother- he likes anything Zeke likes

Treasuring details of a 21-month-old Ben:

• I am complimented every week when I pick him up from his church class. We are told how laid back and sweet he is. Also, babysitters tell us how easy-going he is. This comes as quite a shock to us since we don't always get to see this side of him.


• He is getting better about leaving his paci in his bed with out a fight. We have been working on having it only at nap and nights with the hope of getting rid of it by his birthday


• He is really having a hard time making choices. He goes back and forth between his options and refuses to decide. This is really frustrating for us, but I know it is part of his becoming independent


• He attempts to name shapes, colors, letters and numbers. This becomes a problem for him when Zeke begins yelling to correct answer.


• He is still a peanut (wearing 18 month clothing, but even some 12 month stuff), but he has grown some. He bumped his head under our table- which of course is how we measure our children.

• He has gotten really good with utensils at meal times and asks for a fork or spoon
  

• He is trying really hard to go to the potty. He sits on it a few times a day. He even pooped in it the other day. He stands up to the potty while Zeke goes and pretends that he is using it too.
  
  

• He really enjoys his food, but doesn't like when it is time to clean up and throws up a fuss about it.
  
  

• He loves all things water and being outside and is quite creative with his play. He actually leads Zeke with playing in this way. But he does follow Zeke on all things pretend play. He runs after Zeke being a racecar, boat, lion or whatever it may be that day.