21 Months Old!!

Benjamin is 21 months old today! So, I guess I should probably do the update about him I have been wanting to do.

We haven't taken any pictures recently and I really need to do this. I am hoping my little sis will take some "professional" style pics for us soon.

In short, Benjamin is showing his toddler colors in many good and bad ways. His language improves every single day, and he learns so fast. We recently heard the statistic that babies this age are learning the meaning of 10 new words a day. It certainly feels like at least that many. The most recent new phrase, like new in the last three days, is "I'll do it". He can go from "help please" (sounds like uppie) to "I'll do it" in a heart beat... making it very difficult to make him happy.  He is really trying to assert is independence and ability, and we are certainly let him try to do most things!!

We had a sleep issue for a couple of weeks in which he decided it was a great idea to wake up at 5 or 5:30am and think it was time to get up for the day. (He had been getting up at 6:30ish). We pushed back his bedtime from 7 to 8pm and that seems to have solved it. I guess he needs less sleep when he actually sleeps instead of waking up all the time!!

Benjamin LOVES trucks. It is his obsession. He has four truck books that he constantly asks for. "big truck" is one of his generic answers for when you ask a question he doesn't quite understand. That, or "yellow". LOL. Tonight he asked for a Yellow Sandwich at Subway. (Things That Go, Book of Trucks, Trucks (tab book) and Mickey's Book of Trucks). We also build with blocks A LOT. Of course, what do we build? Trucks.

He has gotten really good at puzzles. We have seven that he can do no problem at home, and he can do a couple of the more difficult ones at my parents. I know he does a lot of puzzles at daycare too, he frequently asks for them when we arrive there in the morning.

He has two little friends at daycare - lets call them bear and dino. They are quite the trio. If you get two of them together its instant ridiculousness - running around and laughing A LOT. All three, and you are in trouble!! We hopefully will be going to bear's second birthday party and I bet it will be a blast.

Benjamin has also had a couple of days recently where the report from daycare said he was biting and hitting a lot. I really think he is testing limits/consequences. I mean, from what we see at home, his throwing thing is rough play, not a tantrum. He thinks its fun/funny. We are working on it.

He has been more demanding. He has opinions about what we should do. This morning he melted down because we were right by a city bus, and didn't get on it. It took most of our walk and lots of distraction to calm him back down.

He loves hats.

We are working on a fire fighter costume for Halloween.

He loves bread and butter. He loves fish sticks, to the point we cannot say the word around him unless we are about to eat them. He loves dipping foods.

We do read other books, besides trucks. Lots and lots of books. And we are told he loves books at daycare as well.

He knows lots of songs. The other day he said the "merrily merrily merrily" of Row Your Boat, I had no idea he knew that song. Some of his favorites are Wheels on the Bus, Tiny Tim the Turtle, and I'm Bringing home a baby bumble bee.

In general, he can finish repetitive phrases from books (Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you __) and songs (10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the ___, one fell off and broke its ___) etc. He picks up on them so fast now. 

He wears size 6 shoes, size 5 diapers, and is just transitioning from 18m to 24m/2T clothing. We are working on building a cold-weather wardrobe. 

I think that's all! It is time for me to go do bedtime!!