All About You

I decided to write this post, because even though Ben's parents try to remember each and every detail of Ben's life, as the years go by perhaps some of the memories we have now will be forgotten.

Right now Ben is 13 months old. I honestly can't believe time has gone by so quickly! It feels like yesterday he were still inside me and I was wondering and contemplating what he would look like, what his personality would be and how big he would be. Now he is a toddler full of energy, smiles and attitude : )

Here is my little list of things I want to remember about whats going on right now.

~ Ben has two favorite songs. One that he likes to be soothed by and another he likes to dance with. At any moment when he is upset or crying, he can be soothed by his Mom singing "Smile" to him. I fell in love with this song ever since I watched the movie "My Girl" when I was little. I thought it was a beautiful song and even found the lyrics to memorize it so I could one day sing it to my child. In turn he loves it. Another song he likes to dance too is somewhat silly. This is a song that actually plays from one of his toys. This toy basically resembles the steering wheel and dashboard of a car. It has the same melody of "Frère Jacques", but the lyrics were changed to this "Are you driving? Are you driving? On the road. On the road. Can you see the letter? Can you see the picture? On the road. On the road." Every time he hears that regardless if it is the toy singing it or his parents, Ben will casually rock back and forth with the melody. It is so cute!

~ Ben loves dog stuffed animals. I used to think we would have lots of bears in his stuffed animal collection, but no he likes dogs. I think he is partial since he has two living dogs for him to chase. He loves holding them while he goes to sleep by rubbing their ears and looking at their noses.

~Ben likes two types of meat. Beef and chicken. Everything else is okay if he is really hungry, but he has preferences!

~Ben at over a year old still wakes up like clock work around 6am or 6:30am every day. His Dad and I hope that once we invest in some dark out shades that we may get to sleep a little later on the weekends.

~Ben hates to stay inside for a long period of time. He craves going out and bumming around. Ben will let you know when he has cabin fever. I almost dread the colder months ahead. It won't be as easy taking him around the block for a walk.

~Ben right now, this week, this moment, is a Daddy's boy. It could change, but everything Daddy is okay by him. Its okay when Mom is around to help him out, but once his Dad comes home, his eyes are all on him!

~TMI, but Ben poops every morning like clock work. Luckily Mommy isn't there to change it. Thats Dad's job in the morning!

~So far Ben has three teeth on the top (the front ones) and four teeth on the bottom. This week I think he is working on some more.

~When Ben gets home from day care, he does not want to be put down. He wants to spend a moment in his Mom's arms, which means his Mom gets to do everything one handed.

~Ben's favorite toy right now (other then the singing car toy) is his Mickey Mouse ride toy. He loves the propellers that spin around and the fact that he can open and close the seat. I love stuffing small toys in the seat so he has the pleasure of emptying it out each day.

~For months Ben hated fruit. He only ate fruit at day care, which I think it was mainly due to peer pressure. Recently his Dad and I found out that he likes Honey Dew and Cantelope. Who would of guess? He thinks its the best thing on Earth!

~ Ben loves his teeth to be brushed with his baby tooth brush. He finds greater pleasure in that then sucking on a pacifier.

~ Ben likes to bite people right now. He bites his parents and his friends at day care. We love him despite of the teeth marks in our skin. We tell him not to bite us and he in turns laughs at his parents. He has no fear.

~ Speaking of no fear. Ben has not yet learned to go down the steps properly. There are two steps in our family room. Ben loves going head first down them. It makes everyone cringe.

~ Ben loves people clapping at him. I suppose who wouldn't? However, the expression on his face of pure glee and happiness while he looks at each person until they stop is priceless!

~ My son is part fish. He loves spending as much time in the water as possible. Once (while he was at his Nagymama's house) he had a total of three baths in one day! He really only needed one bath that day, but it doesn't hurt having a really clean kid.

~ Ben farts louder then his parents sometimes. Yup I said it. Its pretty impressive.

~ Ben recently learned how to play "duck" with Joey. Joey (the poodle) loves his rubber duck and is usually eager for anyone to throw his duck for him so he can chase it. Instead of throwing it (well sometimes he does), Ben will get the duck and hold it out for Joey. I think its sweet that not only does he share, but he also recognizes that it is the dog's favorite toy.

~ Ben loves coke cans. No matter where they are, he seeks them out to try and play with them. This equals out to his parents being really quick on their feet and great at playing "hide the coke can". I blame this behavior partially on his Godmother, who one day decided to put beans in a coke can and tape it up for the babies to play with. I still love her though.

~ Ben at a early age checks out women young and old. He doesn't give men the same double look. He isn't shy about staring at them either.

~ Ben hates getting dressed. If he could be naked all day I think he would love it. He screams every time his Dad and I dress him. It makes for fun mornings for his Dad. This also is the same for his diaper changes.

~ Maybe its because his Mom is usually is easier to get to, but if Ben's Dad and I are both home and sitting on the couch, and Ben has a poopy diaper, 9 times out of 10, Ben will head to his Mom. I feel the love.

~ Ben eats with gusto. He eats fast and usually a lot of food (he does have his moments though). When he is done, he will part out his food rations for the dogs. Thank God for the dogs that clean up my floor daily!

~ Some babies his age have grown out of bottles, but Ben isn't letting his bottle go any time soon. We have moved on to drinking sippy cups for a quick thirst quincher or during meal times, but sometimes he just wants that bottle.

~ Ever since Ben was three months old (maybe before), he has had an obsession with fans. He loves them! He will sit there and stare at them.

~ Ben hates hats. I hope he'll be better about hats when winter comes along. He detest anything on his head.

~ This is so gross, but I haven't seen my friends kids do this, so I thought I would share. If Ben has snot running down his nose, he will crawl up to the nearest person and wipe his nose on them. So far his Aunt, Dad, Nagymama and I have all been graced with "slug tracks" on our clothing.

~ Ben has yet to get a hair cut. His Mom would like to trim it a bit, so we shall see. There may be a post soon that says "Ben's First Hair Cut"

~ Ben loves sports. How do I know this? Ever since he was little if a Caps game or a Redskins game was playing he always takes a moment to watch. These sports are also effective in calming him down if he is upset about something.

~ Ben does not like olives. He put a olive in his mouth once thinking it would be something great and in turned cried until his Mom got it out of his mouth.


For now thats all I can think of. I am sure I have left some things out, so if something comes to mind, I may edit this post.