Freedom

Benjamin loves the freedom to walk where he pleases. He takes off at a near run now, though it usually ends in falling on his face in a dramatic wipeout. My parents suggested borrowing their gate to block the stairs, so now we can leave our two gates open for Benjamin to do laps around the house. He LOVES this freedom, and often opens and closes the gates just because he can.

Here he is using the Swiffer on his way through the gate. Jeremy shortened it to Benjamin’s size, and he played with it all morning. It isn’t as fascinating as the vacuum cleaner, but still pretty cool.

 

We all are feeling pretty bad with colds. Luckily, Jeremy and I have been able to take turns sleeping, so this morning while it was Jeremy’s turn, I watched “Praise Baby” with Benjamin. He loves those videos so much, and he will sit still and cuddle for 30 minutes without budging. It is amazing. We watched the movie during  his morning breathing treatment to try to clear up the congestion in his lungs, and then cuddled. It was wonderful!

I don’t have a lot of photos, but here is the video I promised last week and never got to. Jeremy helped me edit it today while Benjamin was napping. You can see in the background how he likes to spread his toys from one end of the room to the other. And, he likes to raid the cereal cabinet and dump all the oatmeal packets on the floor.

 

He has BOUNDLESS energy.

 

 

 

This next video is Benjamin dancing. He loves to dance, and so any time music comes on, he starts to bounce. He likes this toy from his Aunt Christy and Uncle Mike. because he can dance and play at the same time.

 

 

Finally, just a quick update. Benjamin is eating us out of house and home. He eats a whole banana for breakfast. He eats more than any other child at his babysitters during lunch and snack time, and then he gets home and eats like there is no tomorrow. The other day, he ate an entire slice of pizza an hour and a half after his last snack at Miss Linda’s house. We took him to a BBQ restaurant where we met some friends, and we should have ordered him his own sandwich, because he devoured so much of ours, we ran out of food to feed him! Thankfully, he likes a lot of variety, and he always eats the mixed vegetables and fruits I send with him. Blueberries are still his favorite and he eats about two to three containers a week. He also LOVES cheese. Sharp Cheddar and Colby Jack are his favorites.

We haven’t weighed him lately, though we should. I am sure he is getting heavier. He says several words now. The other morning, I got him up and dressed, and when we walked by the bathroom where Jeremy was brushing his teeth, Benjamin said “Hi Dada.” It melted our hearts. He also says “hi,” “Bye,” “All done,” “Mama,” “Dada,” “No” and “Uh” (which is uh oh) and “Ball.”

Whenever we pick up the phone or say “Hello,” Benjamin holds his hand up to his ear and smiles. He also is very happy he now can tell us when he is hungry, which is all the time.” We might have to work on a sign for thirsty, because he uses the same signs for multiple things.

He is sleeping well and napping great. We typically just have to set him in his crib and he lays right down to sleep. We still have to get up around 4 or 5 a.m. to feed him, but then he usually goes back down until 6:30 or 7 a.m. which is nice for us!

 

Well, that’s all for now! Have a great week!