Fifteen Months

Our munchkin is growing up. Here he is at fifteen months. He loves having things on his head - bandanas, blankets, towels, and other things (I'll get to that later).

Speaking of blankets...this morning he grabbed these things from around the living room, made a pile, walked away, then came back & rolled around.

Ben in a box. He tried to crawl all the way inside. This is a fabric bin that we keep small toys in. He has been known to walk around the house with this on his head...which is fine, except that he can't see and ends up walking into walls. Doesn't seem to bother him, though.

Okay, I really didn't plan to have this many pictures of things on Ben's head. Hope this is a stage. This fabric bag usually holds sponge blocks that Mike likes to shower down on Ben's head while Ben blinks and giggles.

Studying a pecan. He has really been enjoying the spring weather. It will be hot before we know it. Ugh. Oh, and those pecans...he carries them from the back yard to the front yard.

Last week Mike took Ben to the lake on base to check out the birds. He didn't get any photos of the birds because as soon as Ben saw them he ran after them (and Mike ran after him). But before the birds, there were pinecones.

I love this picture & have no idea how Mike did it with an outstretched arm.

VCR Operator

This must be from a few weeks ago. Yes, we still own a VCR. Benjamin has figured out which buttons to push to play, stop, and eject the tapes. He pushes all the other buttons because he can. He hasn't tried to shove anything into the VCR...yet.

Dueling Keyboards

This is from last month & I just keep forgetting to post it. Sometimes he really likes lots of sounds at once. Today, he wanted to watch Blue's Clues while his electronic light & sound machine was on full blast. But he's teething something awful this week (at least four teeth that we know of) and I'll do whatever I can to keep him from being miserable...poor little guy.

Mr. Monkey

Last week I decided that, at some point, I was going to be out somewhere walking with Ben and he was going to try to get away from me. So I found this monkey, which is like a stuffed animal backpack with a tether. Basically a leash for a toddler. I haven't tried to use it yet, but Ben loves the monkey...especially when Daddy's involved.

Gilmore Girls

This is how Ben reacts every time he hears the opening credits to Gilmore Girls, one of my favorite TV shows (and one that I watched a lot while I was pregnant). In this video, he keeps looking back at Mike as if to say, Are you seeing this? We have just these couple minutes recorded on our DVR for when he is freaking out and we need him to snap out of it. Works most times. As soon as the music is over, he loses interest.

Backyard Fun

Catching up on photos from last weekend...this was after the rain, before the snow. Ben was very interested in the soaked leaves.

He is really good at squatting and standing up again. It's not so easy to stand up from a sitting position.

One of the two snowfalls last Sunday...it melted in between.

We had to roll his pantlegs up so he didn't trip on them.

Finding out that the tree doesn't change when it snows. Mike never did put on a coat.

All bundled up.

He put his hat strap in his mouth by himself (it wasn't the first time).

Running around the grill with Mike. This was early in the week, when it was still cold enough for hats & jackets. It has warmed up a lot in the last few days. Ben has spent time each day in the backyard picking up pecans. Unfortunately I don't have pics of that yet because someone (let's say a little person who's trying to grow a mullet) ran off with the camera and hid it before his nap.

He dragged the broom from the kitchen all the way across the living room. And yet the living room is still not clean. Ben is in a stage where he takes things apart, removes things from their homes, and throws things on the floor. I have a terrible feeling that this stage may last for a decade or two.

Lovin' on a throw pillow. He ran down the hall with it and then rolled around on the floor.

Snow!

Yesterday we had snow flurries that stuck to the ground for a while. It was Benjamin's first time seeing snow, and he was amazed. He didn't want to wear mittens & didn't mind a bit when he fell in the snow & his hands were wet and very cold. Not to worry, we put mittens on him. Mike ran around with him in the yard. I'm so glad Ben finally got to wear his snowsuit!