Ben has been spending a lot of time learning to feed himself with a spoon. We practice with things like applesauce and yogurt.
He is very careful about trying to scoop food onto the spoon. Once he gets food on the spoon, though, he often holds the spoon in the air and watches the food drip down the handle.
He figured out that he could get more food directly on his tongue by turning the spoon upside down...which is fine, except that he tends to turn it well before it gets to his mouth. Oh, the messes. He also likes to stab foods like squash with his fork. That's much quicker.
Just today, a speech therapist at our playgroup said that sippy cups are bad for tooth & speech development, so we're trying to get him to drink other ways. He loves drinking from Mike's water bottle: it has a soft straw that's attached to the lid. So I found a small thermos with a similar straw, and so far he seems to like it. I also found a cheap little kids' water bottle that's great for him to hold in the car. Straws, we can handle. Regular cups...that's gonna take a long time.
Can't remember if I've posted a pic like this yet...though the jumper was taken down weeks ago, he still plays with the seat portion.
Another toy from his past: his crib toy, the aquarium. It's been months since it was attached to the crib rail. It's back in the crib, among his many stuffed animals so that at the beginning or end of his naps he can play with it. But before I put it back in the crib, it was on the floor. Here, he had marched back to the nursery just to do this.
Once again, at the park with Mike. I don't see this smile that often, so I love this picture.
A found treasure that he took back on the swing.
Just this week he has been sitting on his rocking chair several times a day. Unfortunately, he found out he can stand on it. He fell backwards twice & still hasn't learned his lesson.
Bed, Bath & Beyond is one of his favorite stores. While he likes the kitchen section (especially the knives), the bath section is his playground: all the soft towels & mats in so many different colors. He runs up and down the aisles...and away from me. Mike kept hearing stories about our adventures at this store, so he decided to come along with the camera.
Action shot.
Ben has been doing lots of new things lately. My favorite is his game of spinning around and around until he's too dizzy to stand. The first couple of times that he did this near me, I said, "Round and round!" Now when I say it, he starts spinning.
For the longest time, Ben would only take things apart or out of a drawer or off of a shelf. This week he isn't just taking blocks out of their bucket; he's putting them back in, too.
He still hasn't said any words yet. What's most frustrating for me is that I have a whole list of activities that are supposed to encourage his language skills, but they require him to pay attention to me - things like reading books, playing games, singing songs. He has been so independent lately that he won't let me do these things. I used to sing songs during his diaper changes, but now he cries for every diaper change. He rarely pays attention when I try to read to him and pitches a fit if I try to put him on my lap. He flips through books on his own terms and does not want me to point at the pictures or help him to point. Although I really think that he will talk when he's good & ready, I still want to do everything I can to encourage him. But that's really hard to do when he leaves the room every time I come in. Yes, he will go to his nursery, start playing with toys, see me come in, and leave. Mr. Independent.
We were doing pretty well with limiting his pacifier to just naps and nighttime, but then last week one of his molars started to come through and caused him a lot of discomfort. I tried giving him a special teething pacifier and teething toys but he only wanted to chew on his everyday pacifier. Since then, he fusses for it all the time. I'm starting to think about when I should grit my teeth and take the pacifier away permanently. When that time comes, there will be many sleepless nights.
This was Ben's first time at the beach. We had a hunch that he might like it. We had NO IDEA. I believe the phrase "happy as a pig in mud" (that's the cleaned-up version, anyway) came up more than once.
Ben with Aunt Katie. Katie said this was the happiest she's ever seen Ben.
I didn't think he would be brave enough to go this far into the water, let alone kneel in it and start digging around for mysterious things.
Here he is, hanging out with Uncle Brian. Just sitting and pondering, when suddenly...
SPLASH! He gets creamed by a wave. I waited for his shocked face and some screaming. But he didn't care! He was a little stunned, shook it off, and kept playing in the water. Amazing.
When I pictured us going to the beach, I imagined Ben playing in the sand with his shovel and pail. The reality is that he could not be bothered by them. He did play with some of his bath toys. Mr. Crab was almost lost at sea.
Just happy to be.
I think he would've sat here all day if we had let him.
Making a Ben-shaped divet in the sand.
Walking through the surf with Daddy...but trying not to let Daddy hold his hand.
Walking at the base of the dunes. He went back and forth so many times, and he didn't seem bothered by the hot sand. Plus he let Mike hold his hands. Mike said his back hurt pretty bad from walking in that position for so long. Somehow Mike managed to wrangle that hat onto Ben's head. I tried to keep Ben from the sun by putting a hat and sunglasses on him, but he vetoed that idea. He threw one of his hats in the water and refused to keep the sunglasses on (though he was intrigued by them).
