Ten about Ben . . .

Here are ten things you should know about Bennett at 13.5 months:

1. One of our new favorite pastimes involves him sitting in my office chair and me spinning him around. It's a surefire way to get him laughing hard.

2. I've been working with him on being gentle, and it brings back memories of doing the same thing with Jack. Any time he gets excited and hits me or someone else (not maliciously, obviously), I just take his hand and show him how to pat my back or stroke my head while I say "gentle, gentle." So now, every so often, Ben will just pat my back when I'm holding him or stroke my hair and say "neta, neta." I love it. Though, now that I think about it, it's almost as if he's treating us as he might a pet with all of the patting and stroking.

3. The other night, we got him to say his name and point to his chest whenever we said, "What's your name?" He did it that night (by saying "Benna") and hasn't done it since.

4. When he points, he doesn't do it with just his pointer finger. He puts his pointer and thumb together and points with both. The weird part is that when I'm looking at books with him, I find myself doing it now, too.

5. He's still very attached to me. It's hard to leave him because he usually cries, but I do love it that he loves being with me so much. I love being with him, too.

6. He is SO kissy. All we have to do is say "Aw, thank you, Ben" or "I love you, Bennett" and his response is to pull us toward him so he can kiss us on the shoulder or the cheek.

7. He is getting pretty good at "Itsy Bitsy Spider" . . . for being 13 months old, that is. He just puts the thumb of one hand to the pointer of the other and twists his wrists, and then waves his hands in the air for when "the sun comes up" . . . but it sure is cute! Sometimes, if he's doing it and I haven't started singing, he'll start saying "icky icky" which is 13-month-old code for "Itsy bitsy."

8. He has started showing his feelings when Jack takes something from him. When Jack used to take a toy from him, he would just look bewildered and find something new to play with. Now, he screams. He screams loud. He also KNOWS when Jack wants a toy that he has and will walk around with it in a tight grip just to wield power.

9. He loves being outside, but isn't crazy about riding in the car. Strapping him into his car seat is becoming more and more of a challenge. He is STRONG.

10. He is NOT good at eating with utensils, but if he sees a fork or a spoon while he's eating, he'll whine until we give it to him. At this point, you can pretty much guarantee the meal will last twice as long as it would have otherwise.