Benjamin

Ben is my easy child. Now that I have Joshua who is a little more work, I'm realizing that I just got really lucky with baby Ben. He really didn't cry much as a newborn. As I result, I think I didn't spend as much time with him as a baby as I did with Hannah and Joshua. I can remember sneaking away to feed him during church on Sundays and realizing that this was probably the only time all week I'd just sat and enjoyed my new baby. I think I'm still trying to make up for that.

Ben says no words. I read the other day that they are supposed to say about 5 words by 18 months, and Ben isn't quite 16 months yet, but I'm still getting anxious for him to talk. He understands everything we say. The other day he was playing with a bear of Hannah's that says a few phrases. When the bear said, "Give me a hug!" Ben gave it a hug!

He wants to be independent so badly. If I give him his dinner and forget a fork, he won't eat and motions to my fork until I get him one.

He is still a climber. Everyday I hear, "Mom! Ben's standing on the table again!" He knows he's not supposed to, too. He gets up there and when I scold him, he laughs and dances.

He loves his baby brother. Sometimes he gets too worked up and hits him, but then I tell him to be gentle and almost every time, he starts gently petting the baby.

He's going through a biting stage right now. Usually it's when something is frustrating him or when he gets too tired. I wish he would start talking so he could express himself better.

He wishes  he was big like Hannah. He gets sad when we drop her off at preschool or nursery. He wants to play with all the toys and kids too.

Last week we went to the park while Hannah was at school. I think this was the first time in his life he'd gone to the park without Hannah. I was impressed that before he could even walk, he enjoyed going to the park. He would crawl up on the playground equipment and try to play with the other kids. This time at the park, he just wandered around and didn't really try to go on any of the toys. I had to keep picking him up and putting him on the slides. Then I realized that it was because he didn't have Hannah to follow around. He's lost without her.

He loves things like this at every park we go to. He likes to work with his hands and put things in their proper place.

Usually, Ben goes in this car with Hannah. He got in, and patted the seat next to him. I sat down and rocked with him for a couple of minutes. When I stood up, he patted the seat again and I sat back down. This probably happened 5 times.

A little girl who was 2 weeks older than Ben came a few minutes later and then he had more fun because he could follow her around. They climbed up the stairs and went down the slide and swung on swings together.

I love this little boy so much. He's such a fun little brother and such a sweet big brother. I love that I'm getting a little time with just Ben every week while Hannah is in school.