Ben's New Bed!

We have converted Ben's crib into a toddler bed. He LOVES it! We all had a great night of sleep last night, despite the fact that Ben can now "roam" around in his room freely. He slept from about 7pm-4pm, and then cried out. I brought him a sippy cup of milk (a regular part of our nightly routine) and I found him sprawled out on the floor in front of the dresser! So I relocated him back into his bed. Nap times today have been interesting. This morning I found him asleep in front of the bed, and I had to take a short video of him. It's below. This afternoon he slept on the hardwood floor right inside of his bedroom door (I know because I peeked, and could barely get the door open!). So clearly we're in an adjustment phase. But Jonathan and I agree that this is a good thing for all of us. Enjoy!

Ben and Chubby

Ben loves our "gacks" (or "gats" or "cuts")--our cats. He is fascinated with both of them, though only Chubby will let Ben get close enough to play. I took these photos this morning... they pretty much speak for themselves!

Work and Play

We've hit a "bumpy patch" with Ben recently. He's become very fussy when he gets frustrated. Which is more often than it was a couple of weeks ago. I talked to a mom I met at a mom's group at our library--who has THREE boys, ages 5, 2, and 10 months!!!--and she says that this is fairly normal, if annoying. So we're weathering the storm, so to speak.

But the silver lining is watching Ben learn so quickly and try new things. He's also started doing "jobs," or repetitive tasks involving moving objects around in a very organized way. Jonathan has read about this as being a developmental stage that kids go through. Here are some photos of Ben "organizing" his crackers on the couch and the floor. He took them out of the box one at a time and put some on the couch and others on the floor. Though it was a small mess, it was actually pretty neat to watch him do it. He was very involved, and couldn't care less that we were right there watching (and giggling).

Here his is at the end of his "job":



And the results of his hard work:


Here's a cute shot of Ben eating lunch wearing his "monkey toes" (slippers) that he's about to outgrow:

Guess what time it is?

No... not time for a haircut. Though we're fast approaching THAT milestone! I'm happy to announce that IT'S POTTY TIME!!! Ben has been pretty fascinated with the bathroom and toilet lately, so I figured it was time to get him his own potty. I'm not expecting to start real potty training right away, but I figure it can't hurt to get him more and more interested in what it's for! And so far, it's a hit!! He loves lifting and shutting the lid, and even though he can't quite sit on it himself yet, once you put him on the seat, he doesn't want to get off! So here's hoping we might get this kid out of diapers sooner rather than later!! (Hey, a mom can dream, right?)





The neighbor behind us has 2 kids who have recently become more and more interested in Ben. The other day, Jonathan captured them talking to Ben over the fence. It was really cute!





Finally, I rented some Baby Sign (sign language) DVDs from the library. Ben is so fascinated by them! We put them on quite a few times a day. While I'm certainly happy to have him watching something educational, I can't say that having him completely enthralled doesn't make it much easier to get things done around the house!! Here he is this morning watching the DVD about animals.

Our Big Boy!

Ben is growing and changing so fast these days. It seems like he's getting bigger by the minute! Here's a look at what's been going on in Ben Land:

First off, Ben is finally big enough to really ride in the bike trailer we have for him. We'd taken him around the neighborhood before, but this weekend, we rode 2 miles into town and back. Ben LOVED it! He giggled and pointed at all of the "gucks" (trucks) that we passed on the way! These photos are actually from the day before... I towed him behind my bike when we went downtown. But we can switch him back and forth between our bikes, which makes it fun.



Ben continues his training in the janitorial arts. He is obsessed with the brooms, dustpans, and vacuum in the house! I figure in a couple of years, we can put him to work around here!!



I love this photo. Ben was kind of tired and carried his alligator near the t.v. (where Nemo was on for the millionth time). He plopped down, put his feet up on the recliner and ate his carrot while watching! So cute...


And of course, books! Ben wrangled Daddy into a short story-time session at 7am before Jonathan had to leave for work. The kid loves his dad!!