22 Months.......TWO is sooo close!

I first must praise the LORD that Bennett was well for 2 weeks.  It was such a blessed, relaxed, and joyful time to have him back to his old self.  Sleeping through most nights again..........taking a nap without screaming after only 30 minutes of sleep............a few poopy diapers a day vs. 7-9 (yes, that is a true number).........PRAISE THE LORD!!!!  However, since Friday, his snotty nose and intermittent wakefulness has returned :(

I totally missed focus here, but I still love this shot.  It really shows how tall he has gotten.

I feel B has changed so much this month.  He is beginning to comprehend so much more of our conversations with one another and with him.  He repeats almost every 2-3 word sentence that we say, often using our same tone of voice.  It is quite hilarious!  He is much more focused on what we are saying, especially if we are singing.  He gets a serious look on his face and it is obvious that he is watching our mouth and listening very closely.  If he doesn't repeat it immediately, it is not rare for him to remember what we said or sang attempting to repeat it several days later.

Favorite Songs:

• Ring around the Rosies
• B-I-N-G-O
• Patty Cake
• Hokey Pokey
• Wonder Pets Theme Song
• Apples and Bananas
• Happy Birthday

Favorite Books:

• Truckery Rhymes
• Good Night, Gorilla 
• Good Night Elmo
• Good Morning, Good Night (touch and feel)
• Trucks (Slide and Find)

Funny Things He Says:

• "Too hot, too hot"
• Walks through the house saying, "Bennnnnetttt," just like I do when I am pretending I don't know where he is
• "Okay, Okay."  This may not seem funny, but this is what he says when he is struggling through doing something he has been asked to do (like going to sleep), but does not want to do.  
• "Sit down mommy.  Sit down daddy."
• "Flip" for fish
• "Fwe loud trucks, fwe loud trucks" for Three Loud Trucks, which is an altered nursery rhyme in his Truckery Rhymes book
• "Watch Taanas" for watch Thomas
• "Baby duck, baby duck" over and over again until we build him a few baby ducks with his Duplo blocks
• "Ight on."  He always wants us to turn the light on even in the middle of the day, even when we are in the car.
• "Singin' bears, singin' bears" in reference to the Country Bear Jamboree at Disney.  He loved the talking Moose and will usually follow "Singin Bears," with "Moosie talkin'." 

I am so thankful that on most occasions when B is struggling to complete a task he will say, "Help mommy or help daddy," versus screaming or getting overly frustrated.  

He does say, "NO," alot and has recently began saying, "Mine," in a not-so-nice tone of voice.  We have been explaining nice versus rude language to him and have been encouraging him to choose a different word or set of words.  Honestly, since we began discussing it with him, his use of the word mine has decreased.  However, no is a little more challenging, because I am still working to say it less to him.

A few weeks ago we did some sleep training with B that has made a world of difference.  Since he was sick for 2.5 months and had difficulty sleeping we had spent a lot of time holding him, rocking him, and putting him in our bed.  Once he was well, we spent a week sleep training and I am so thankful we did.  We still complete our bedtime routine of bath, reading, praying, and rocking while I (or Sam) tell him a made up story before singing two songs.  However, we are not having to rock him to sleep.  If he hasn't fallen asleep after we're finished we can put him in his crib awake and most nights he will go to sleep.  Some nights we have to go back in after a few minutes to comfort him, but our bedtime routine is no longer lasting 1.5 to 2 hours.

My favorite part of bedtime is when I am rocking him I sing, "This Little Light of Mine."  As soon as I begin he yells, "No, bucket!"  It is hilarious.   He clearly loves the second part of the song, "Hide it under a bucket...NO!"  

Last month, I forgot to mention that he weaned himself from the paci while sick....WOOHOO!!!!  He still has one paci in his crib, because he likes to put it in the mouth of his stuffed Cookie Monster that sleeps with him.  Farmer Elmo and Moosie (a stuffed Moose) also sleep with him each night.

When he feels well he will sit and play by himself for 15-20 minutes which is a big change.  He still comes over and says, "Sit momma," when I am in the kitchen, but I can say, "When I am finished cleaning up I will come and play with you."  Most of the time, he will say, "Okay," and go play for a few more minutes before asking again.

Favorite Things to Play:

• He loves to play with stickers.  We have an activity book with Cars, Nemo, and Toy Story stickers that he will often play with for an hour if I am sitting with him.
• Mr. Potato Head-He loves, loves, loves Mr. Potato Head and plays with it multiple times each day.
• Duplo blocks - I am so glad we got him a set for Christmas and that I asked my parents to get him another set.  He will ask to get them out several times a day and really enjoys stacking and attempting to make the various objects he has seen Sam and I make.
• He talks a lot about cars and trains and plays with them each day, but not nearly as much as he did last month.  
• Play-doh- He continues to enjoy Play-doh and has recently begun helping me press the cookie cutters into the flattened dough.
• He also enjoys going for walks with his wagon

He loves to run around the backyard while kicking the ball.  

We started taking him to a super tot gymnastics class at the beginning of January.  He really enjoys it and it has improved his gross motor skills.  He definitely runs more.  He is beginning to bounce up and down, but can not jump.  I suspect this will come around the time he turns 2.  He can walk on a balance beam with one hand hold.  He climbs up onto taller objects much more easily and is beginning to maintain his grip while holding up his body weight (for monkey bars, trapeze, etc.).

He can sit on Sam's shoulders without Sam supporting his back; however, he won't stay up there very long.

If he is wearing a button up shirt and it is unbuttoned he will take it off.  Otherwise, he still has no interest in taking off/ putting on clothes.

He can identify several colors: red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, pink, and black.  I would say he identifies them correctly 90% of the time.

He can identify several shapes: circle, triangle, heart, and star consistently and occasionally square and oval.

He says several of his numbers and at times will identify one or two objects correctly.  Other times, any number of objects will be identified as two.  He will repeat my counting up to 5, sometimes 10 and will often say, "Un, Two, Fwee or Fwee, Two, Un."  

When he sees letters he says, "BBC," but has still taken very little interest in his ABC's.  He will repeat me when I say, "ABC, DEF," and consistently identifies the letter B, but that is as far as we have gotten.

He rarely drinks milk (which is a big change), but he LOVES and I mean LOVES yogurt and cottage cheese.  He eats them every day and often asks for each of them more than once.

Other Foods He Enjoys:

• Pickles ("ciwcles")
• Cucumbers ("cummers")
• Pizza ("pizzy")
• Sweet Potato Fries ("tato fries!!")
• Beans
• Berries (Blue-, Black-, Straw-) ("beddies")
• Pretzels
• Corn
• Peas
• Bananas ("nana")
• Muffins ("muffle")

B visited Disney World for the first time this month and it was more joyful than I ever dreamed it would be.  He loved every aspect of our experience: the characters, the shows, the rides, the castle, and the lights.  I look forward to taking him back when my family comes to visit in March.

Dear Bennett,

You have such a sweet, sensitive spirit that your dad and I see developing more and more every day.   The last few months of illness were very difficult for you and for us, but it has been wonderful to see that light in your eye return.  

We love your silly mannerisms and find ourselves LAUGHing out loud as you dance and sing and talk and build and talk and run and climb and talk.  

We pray that God will help us to continue cultivating a joyful, respecting, and loving spirit in you all while being careful not to quench your sensitivity or sweetness.  

We love you to the moon and back!

Mommy and Daddy 

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