Articulation

Bennett has developed quite the vocabulary, y'all. I had a feeling that once he figured out how to use his mouth, he wouldn't likely stop. I was right. He chatters all day long - and he still talks himself to sleep if he hasn't fallen asleep in my arms.

His two favorite words right now? Drive, which sounds more like dlisze, dlisze, DLISZE . . . all day long he's asking me to drive my car. We decided that this is an evening activity. Every night after dinner, before bathtime, we get to "dlisze" all over the driveway. We have been to Rochester, Albany, even NC some nights. (Brian just reminded me that he does this great hand motion when he's super emphatic. He "turns" the wheel with his left hand, as if he's jerking it hard to the right . . . precious.)

His second favorite word is dip. He says this word with absolutely perfect enunciation. Seriously plosive on the /p/. When he says "dip", he's talking about wanting grated parmesan cheese on his plate to 'dip' his finger or dinner into. We don't always comply, but it's just really hard to ignore him when he is practically spitting his desire. dip, dip, diP, dIP, DIP!

He also says 'water', 'bike', 'mise (mine)', 'elmo', 'boon (balloon)' quite well and very frequently. Oh, and 'yep', 'bubbles', 'ernie', 'bert', 'bird', 'dog', and how could I forget? "Owl", with two syllables. He also says 'broom', 'spoon', 'fork', 'milk', 'walk', 'wash (with hand motion)', 'vac', and tonight we heard him say, "wagon". Attaboy.

His first sentence? "I need up." When he wants us to change position, he will reach behind our shoulder and chant, "Daddyup, daddyup, daddyup" until we comply. He has said, "I need help," when trying to get into his pool.
Can't wait until you can hear him.

Bike, bike, bike, bike, bike . . . etc.

So, we broke down and bought Bennett a tricycle today. You should have HEARD him when we were in Target looking at them and then trying on helmets. "Bike? Bike? Bike? BIKE! BIKE! BIIIIIIKKKKKKEEE!" Luckily, there was a "floor model" of the one we ultimately purchased available for him to try out.

After Brian put it together, they had a good time taking it for a test drive. Bennett especially loves the bell. Oh, and his "helmo" (helmet). He even wore it after the ride, as you'll see.

Getting on safely . . .

I love my BIKE!!

Look ma, a bell!

safety first!

Visitin'

Resting with eebee

Bennett and I trekked down to North Carolina this week. We left Monday morning and arrived Tuesday around noon. We had a nice little pit stop in Charlottesville, VA to visit my old friend Robin and her family. We had a not so nice pit stop about thirty minutes into our trip after Bennett hurled the entire contents of his stomach into the back seat of our car. The car that was packed to the brim in the backseat so that he could reach all of his toys and snacks with minimal assistance from me. Yes - we spent thirty minutes on the side of I-90. I had his clothes and the contents of the back seat strewn across the shoulder, he was in the front seat, stripped down to his diaper with the biggest grin on his face as he "drove" the car. Glad he felt better!

Since we have been down here, he has been having the most fun - and I'm really getting a chance to relax. Yay! I'll add photos to this post when I get them uploaded, but had to share the stories as quickly as I could. . .

You - outta my way!

driving

On Tuesday, Bennett hunted around the cabin familiarizing himself with all that was available - and he happened upon a new Cozy Coupe! What fun he had for the next six hours. He loves to hop in and out of the car, turn the wheel and put his juice in the cup holder at the back. He is working on moving forward, but has the hang of going backward down at this point. He has tipped it on its side twice, only crying a little the first time. He also really enjoyed running the length of the porch/deck, fully entertaining Granna and Daddy-o.

WATER!!!

Wednesday morning, he woke up raring to go! After a quick sip of milk, Bennett, Daddy-o and I went for a walk down to the lake, while Granna made muffins. Bennett decided he was ready to try out the water - thank goodness we had put him in his sandals before we left. He just walked right on in to the wading area and played with sticks, splashed around and even tried to drink the water. Yes, he was still in his pajamas and the water wasn't quite warm yet, but he didn't seem to mind one little bit. It seems we have a water bug on our hands!

Ready for the Tour

We spent the afternoon visiting with friends, Jim and Connie Amburn, and installing the porch swing and Bennett's swing. While we were working on that project, Bennett found Uncle Ben's old bicycle which was leaning against a tree. Before we could stop him, he'd climbed up onto the seat and was trying his darndest to pedal! He then discovered that he can climb into his swing without assistance. Shewee, y'all. He is a handful!

Wednesday evening was a tough one - he had a hard time going to sleep, but he finally got down around 9:30 after heroic efforts on the parts of Granna and Daddy-o to cool off the upstairs. It had been a very hot day and there is no air conditioning in the cabin. You don't need it most days, but I was desperate for it after an hour of rubbing his back and trying to cajole him into sleep!

I need a stick!

Thursday morning came awfully early and started with a walk, like the previous day. We inflated the baby pool and Bennett got comfortable splashing in the sunny water. I hadn't changed him into his swim diaper before this excitement, so his diaper got rather water-logged. I took it off at one point to re-apply sunscreen and decided to just let him "swim" naked for a while. The sun was bright so it didn't get too cool. He really loves being in the water!

We went on several walks and Bennett thinks it is very funny to take off at a run in the opposite direction. This never gets old for him! His shrieks of delight never get old for me. He is having the most fun down here in the clear mountain air. He wore himself out today and had no trouble going to sleep. Thank goodness! He was so sleepy, the very loud storm that just passed didn't seem to bother him at all.

Hat!

"helping"

Put that one there, Daddy-o!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

mish-mash (the boy likes to splash!)

So sorry I've been so remiss in updates! There are lots of things going on, but every time I sit down to write I think, "No one wants to hear about that! It's mundane and tiny. So insignificant." And then I realize that you're not here every day, you don't get to see the mountainous changes that occur overnight!

The coolest thing to develop so far is that Bennett is now walking up the stairs without adult assistance! He's slow, for sure, but that is just fine with me. I wish I had a picture or some video of it, but you have all seen how he gets when there's a camera around. We'll just make sure to show you next time we visit. He's getting close to being able to go down without assistance as well. I'd like to put that off a little bit, though!

Last weekend, we had a wonderful visit with the Allman family at Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Bennett was in hog heaven with all those swimming pools and drains! He must have visited every single floor drain in the park. That means that Oma and Grandpa became quite familiar with them as well :)

Water?

Brian and I enjoyed a couple of baby-free hours to ride the water slides and talk with Cindy and Trevor. I love that we're able to catch up like this! I also am ashamed to admit that even though I rode every single water slide - there was one which terrified me and I refused to ride again. Sorry to be a party pooper you guys! I can't wait until Bennett is tall enough and old enough to ride the slides. I think he's really going to like it. We were also very happy to discover that he still loves the water and was quite comfortable in the wave pool. Yay for our brave boy!!

Ball? Ball? Ball!

Bennett and I are headed to NC next week to spend some time with my parents. My dad is recovering from neck surgery and I'm quite certain that he'll be bored out of his skull after two weeks of bed-rest. I hope that Bennett can bring a tiny ray of sunshine in the form of slow nature discovery walks and exploration of the yard. I'm hoping to give my mom a little break from being the caretaker. And of course, I'm really looking forward to the fresh mountain air!

In other news - I am still waiting on a baited hook to hear about the residence hall job at UB. At this point, I'm ready to assume that the job is going to someone else, but I also know that they're just now in the process of closing the dorms for the summer so the entire department is super busy. Hopefully I'll hear something before I leave on my southern journey.

Lookin' for puddles to poke

Pics and videos to come soon - there were several cute ones at the water park!

Outside

The snow has finally melted - which likely means there will be another two foot snowfall this weekend, but for now, we celebrate the potential beginning of spring. Because it was so nice earlier this week, Bennett and I went outside to explore our backyard on Monday afternoon. He had so much fun! I took several photos and some video of him learning about puddles.

Not quite as warm as the bath . . .

Must get some boots . . .

Did something move in there???

There's nothing quite as exhilirating as watching your child discover something new, even if it means that you're adding a load of laundry to your weekend chores!

Unfortunately, I can't place my finger on that video at this time! Will post it as soon as I can.

On Saturday afternoon last week, we took Bennett to a local park to run off some steam and enjoy the sun. He had so much fun climbing and sliding and running up and down the ramps.

Let me go, Dad!

And then, there's the daily afternoon walks (when weather permits, of course). Bennett keeps his trusty walking stick propped right outside the front door. He checks on it each time we approach the front door, whether entering or leaving. He wants to make sure it's still in one piece, I suppose.

What's funny is that he manages to pick up at least four new sticks on each walk. Those new sticks usually get dropped along the way, but this perfect walking stick always makes its way back with us.

Another favorite afternoon sun-time activity is drawing with the sidewalk chalk. Bennett is very good about returning the chalk pieces to their bucket before he moves on to the next location. He can't wait to show off his skills the next time you visit!

Careful concentration

Time for a new color!

Didn't you say something about a walk, Mama?

Learning

Each day is something new, that's for sure! I'm really getting a kick out of watching him figure "stuff" out. For instance, yesterday, he learned how to buckle the clasps on his high chair. He spent twenty minutes doing it again and again. We still have to help him unlatch it, but he gets it together quite quickly now.

Today, he figured out how to take off the pin that tightens the tray to his high chair. And then, he spent the next half hour trying to put it back in.

Every day - that brain gets bigger.

P is for PEE!! and POTTY!!

Sorry it's been over a month since I updated! We've all been sick and healthy and sick and we're back on the healthy end of things. Granna was here for a visit - YAY! Oma and Grandpa came for a weekend to help out when Bennett scratched my eye (yikes!). We're all excited to see Daddy-o again over Easter.

It's radically important that I write about potty training, toilet learning, or whatever you want to call it. Brian and I didn't really discuss a plan for this and there are so many theories about the best/least traumatic method for potty training kids. I've read a little bit, but figured that when the time was right, Bennett would let us know. We don't make a big deal about the bathroom situation - sometimes he comes in with us, sometimes we enforce the "mommy needs a little privacy" thing. Typically, we just treat it as something that everyone does and we taught him how to flush and say "bye bye pee", which he likes to do all the time.

For the last couple of weeks, Bennett has shown a definite and serious interest in watching Brian use the restroom. We've since kind of made it a ritual that they get to "pee" together before bathtime. In the last week, Bennett has been consistent in telling us (correctly, might I add) when he has gone pee in his diaper. He points desperately to his groin region and says, "pee, pee, pee". If I ask him if he needs a clean diaper, he points to his diaper, says, "diaer" (or something to that effect) and starts up the stairs.

Today has been no different. He wets, he points, he exclaims, we change. Tonight, before bathtime, Brian and he began the ritual. (The rest of the story is heresy because I don't actually watch the nightly event. I consider that a boys only thing.) Bennett was standing on his step stool next to Brian facing the toilet. Brian started to go and Bennett giggled, like he usually does. He then spit into the toilet - another part of the ritual, I'm told. Then, HOLY SHIT! he started urinating right there in the mother-loving toilet! Granted, most of the pee ended up on the step stool because he has no idea how to aim yet. But still! Bennett peed on/in the potty!!! There were high fives and celebratory hugs all around.

Our baby is growing up, y'all!