Ben's a big boy now!

Extra! Extra! Ben is potty trained! Ish...

After feeling no urgency to delve into the world of potty talk, potty trips, and of course, potty accidents for months now, I decided to give it a go for the following reasons: 1. he starts preschool tomorrow, so for consistency's sake in training, we were able to stay close to home for the past two weeks, 2. several of his same-age friends' moms were giving me good reports of success, and 3. compared to Katie Beth's little diapers, his make me want to faint...or worse.

So, off we went on the PT adventure. And as most of Ben's big-boy transitions have been, this has been easier so far than I expected (knock on wood). I ordered a bunch of supplies and motivational dvds/books, but by the time they arrived, he was doing so great that they are all sitting in their boxes waiting for their return trip to the Post Office.

He was just very excited about his own little potty, and for the first day or two, the only reward he needed was a sticker for his progress chart. In fact I was a little concerned that he was going to injure himself as hard as he was trying to use the potty - all for one little sticker! Once he had completed his chart, we moved on to M&Ms and now gummy bears, which I let him pick out for himself at the store.

As you'll see from his expressions, potty training is serious business for Benjamin TP. (ha! TP...get it?)

First pit stop of the morning

Ben's pretty fond of his "yittuhl bitty" potty. It sings to him after each successful trip!

All children must wash their hands before returning to play.

(I'm not usually one to drink my coffee in the bathroom, but we spend a great deal of time in that room these days!)

finding the perfect spot for his sticker

Double-fisting his drinks and loading up on magical fruit so that he can use the potty soon!

We parked the potty outside and spent a lot of time in the backyard, enjoying nature, au natural.

(cannot figure out a not-gross way to describe what he's doing here, but the picture cracks me up)

After completing his sticker chart, he got a certificate, lollipop, and big-boy underwear!

checking out Buzz and Woody on his less-padded rear view

bottom's up!

enjoying a very special treat after a very special potty trip

After a few days camped out at home, we started making a few field trips. Nine out of 10 times, these have been successes. But sometimes, there is just too much fun stuff to do to think about the potty. We've lost a couple good pairs of undies this way.

Nothing like the Great Outdoors to get the pipes working!

Now the question is, what to do with all those unused diapers? We haven't tackled sleep training yet, so I think those will see us through that. And Ben has already found a use for the diaper box!

It's not perfect, and now there are new issues to contend with, but it's more evident that our baby is not so much a baby now that the last bit of evidence (wearing diapers) is circling the drain!

Ben and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Poor Ben. Tyler picked him up from school yesterday and called me from the car to report that he also picked up not one, but two incident reports! What? The first one was from 8:50 a.m. when Ben got bit during freeplay. Bit! The second one was from 2:35 p.m. when Ben bit his own tongue during snacktime. Not the first time he's bit his tongue, but this was bad enough to break skin and require a change out of his bloody shirt. (however, apparently not bad enough to call his mother...)

Now that's a bad day! But before you start feeling too sorry for Ben, we have also learned that he can certainly hold his own. When one of the other children are in his way, he will grab them by the collar and forcibly remove them from his path. The teachers say, "No fighting, Ben" to which he collapses in tears on the floor until he regains composure. Sigh.

And then I was informed this morning that my sweet and innocent baby might have had the arm bite coming as a few minutes beforehand, he was the one doing the biting! Gasp! I have to wonder what the power struggle between these two is - although the teachers won't ID the other culprit. (probably for the best as I was ready to give that one-year-old a talkin' to...until it turned out mine needed one too!) I guess it's eye for an eye in the Waddlers' Room!

battle wound

Regardless, Ben got to eat whatever he wanted at dinner last night and then hit the sack early with some Tylenol. Slept great through the night and woke up ready to take on a new day!

(wearing his tough-guy outfit to ward off any conflict)
"I've got a good feeling about today, Mom!"

So brave, buddy. So brave.
sniff sniff

Fourteen months old!

Ben really is...

...so big!

Apparently Ben decided to close out his fourteenth month with a bang. He showed off all kinds of skillz this weekend that we just didn't know he had.

Skill #1. Feeding himself with a spoon!

Ok, so he took 3 bites in a 2.09 minute video and got half of it on his face. A messy and time consuming talent, but impressive nonetheless.

By the end of the weekend, his mobile dexterity combined with his newfound love for ketchup deteriorated into this:

Does ketchup count as a vegetable?!

How about a deep-fried potato?

I think next time he sees his cousins, he'll join in on their relenting requests for "more dip please!" at the dinner table. Whatever works kiddo!

Skill #2: Using a toothbrush!

I'm embarrassed to say that while he has 4.5 teeth, this was the first time we'd attempted to clean them. In our defense, Tyler prefers that oral hygiene be a pleasant experience for Ben and not one that we force on him prematurely. I defer to the DMD in this situation...he seems pleased with the progress.

Looks like we've got a compliant patient so far!

(especially when it comes to sucking the toothpaste off the brush)

Skill #3: Doing the laundry!

His obsession with the washing machine is nothing new.

But carrying his laundry basket to me and inserting the clothes into the machine, definitely is!

After we started that load, he took it upon himself to put all the clothes (including underwear, my apologies) that were sorted in piles on the floor, back into the hamper.

So that was more backwards than helpful, but he gets the concept, right?!

Other tricks I really regret not catching on camera yet include:

• blowing kisses
• signing "more", "please", "eat", "all done"
• dancing
• saying "uh ohhhhhh"
• making the cow, doggie AND lion noise of "oooo" and "fruuu" for cars (voom voom, I believe)

So it's been an action packed month of development! He's been waking up during the night for a couple weeks now, so we assume he's either working on some new teeth or hitting a growth spurt? Speaking of growth spurt, here are the foods that he will eat - shorter list than what he won't - but when he sets his mind to it, he can throw down some grub!

• black bean burgers
• bananas
• yogurt
• Cheerios/crackers/bread
• peanut butter
• jars of sweet potatoes and carrots, any fruit
• pizza
• fries and ketchup
• pears
• waffles
  

He's wearing 12 - 18 month clothes, size 5 shoes, and still size 3 diapers. He's doing really well with his sippy cup now, but when he first wakes up and points to the kitchen, I know it's a bottle of milk he's after and no sippy cup will do. So he usually gears up for the day laying in his chair with his bottle and the Mickey Mouse clubhouse (shudder) while we run around getting ready.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, but he's growing and changing so fast, it's hard to keep up! We've had a really fun month with the warm weather and are so looking foward to Spring and Summer with this little boy!

"How you doin'?"

swiffer, slides, scissors and suds

Normally I would agree that those things don't belong together (especially the middle two), however this weekend was different. Started out with some chores around the house and Ben taking over the Swiffer. At first he was just playing with it, but then I decided I might as well put him to work so I stuck a pad on the bottom and let him go to town!



All that work deserved some play, so off to the playground we went! After a couple hours of spoiling his fun by redirecting his paths from splashing in the carwash soap, toddling down the driveway towards the street and stumbling into the bushes, it was nice to let him have free reign of a fenced-in safe zone.

And after much dragging of feet (mine), it was high time to give this boy a haircut. Not sure why I chose to do so when I happened to be home alone (probably out of fear of Tyler giving Ben his second army cut), but with the help of his sippy cup, snack cup and the good old Bumbo that he amazingly still fits into, we made it work!

Shaggy lil mutt

How did I let him out of the house like this?!
(the front to back bibs are supposed to keep hair off his clothes...didn't work so well)

Voila! The finished product.

So it's not totally perfect, but it is much improved.

It's a salon and a saloon - bottom's up!
(notice both snack and sippy cups are in one hand)

Next we broke out the bubbles! For a while, he just watched them fly away in amazement, but then he discovered how much fun it is to chase and pop them too!

More video to come...and hopefully more good weather too!

Ben the Explorer

The combination of Ben's new mobility and the glimpses of nice weather we've enjoyed lately has brought out the inner adventurer in our son! Usually cuddly-Ben squirms to be let down and a simple passage from the car to the house after school turns into a rock-collecting expedition, with the treasures taken as close to inside the door as Mommy allows.

And it's hard to be a short person who can't see out of windows and can't reach the doorknobs. So once I comply to his totally polite requests to open the door, he has a big time pointing at birds, following Zoe, and trying to escape the confines of our yard!

Straight A's for Busy Ben

Tyler and I went to parent/teach conferences this morning at Ben's school. (I know, how cute is that?!) Ms. Candi said that BenBen - as she called him throughout the conference - is still one of the better eaters in the class, which makes me feel bad for the other babies' parents because I wouldn't think of Ben as being a great eater! Snacker, yes. Meal eater, not so much.

She commented on how Ben likes to "just chill" with his lovie and a book or toy and isn't in constant need of attention. Again, I'm not sure who that kid is, because our Ben doesn't seem to appreciate alone time at home and likes for us to be pretty engaged in his activities! Not that they don't give him attention throughout the day - she said there are just times when he wants some space to do his own thing. But he also gets right back into the groove, literally, for music time, cuddles and playtime with his buddies.

He is trying to figure out the sippy cup thing and has adjusted really well to eating at their teeny tiny table, instead of the highchair, and sleeping on a cot, instead of in a crib. (After our conference we watched him put himself to sleep on it, pretty impressive!) Overall, he is a "joy to work with" - not bragging here, just reporting the facts.

Here are some pictures I collected during January of Ben keeping himself busy. First a bubble-bath montage that I use to remind myself that some baths are pleasurable experiences and that it's always worth another shot!




I offered this teething toy after noticing Ben's profuse drool had soaked his shirt. Even though he's had this butterfly for months, he went ballistic over it - flinging it in the air and banging it on everything.

Thinking back, no new teeth have poked through since then...
wassup with that?

"May I have more cheerios please?"

This is the "Ben kneel" - his preferred sitting position,
ready to take off at a moment's notice!

Ben thinks the washing machine is his personal fun house, and finally I had the camera handy to capture his enthrallment with it. It really is the simple things...

And we're walking, we're walking!

Made just a bit of progress over the past couple of weeks. And, as usual on our videos, we're just a bit excited!

PS - Ben really likes the Christmas card you made him, Kianna!

PPS - Contrary to how it appears in the video, Ben and I are not wearing matching outfits!

How big is Ben?

So big!

Here's Ben's latest trick, one that my mom has been eagerly anticipating for months...and as you'll see, we got a pretty big kick out of it. This is for you Grandma!

Tubes are in!

Just a quick update: we took Ben in for his tubes this morning, and he did great. He didn't cry once and we were back home by 7:45 a.m.! Aunt Jess and Uncle Michael are keeping him company today, which basically means supervising the wildman and the walker that we borrowed from some friends. Thanks for thinking of and praying for him this morning...he's a trooper!

Go, Ben, go!

Ben took his first steps today! Just three and he promptly fell into my arms, but it counts! Tyler and I were so excited to be able to have been there, but wished we would've had the camera rolling...we'll get 'em next time!

We had better luck a couple of other times recently capturing Ben's latest moves. He loves to play hide and seek and actually takes turns seeking and hiding!

Today's solo steps were a result of lot of practice. Ben's school and some of his pals have walkers that we've seen him use with remarkable skills lately.

Sadly, he doesn't have a walker of his own, so the little fella's learned to make do.

Rumor has it that Santa's working on it...

My totally tubular dude

In the midst of his sixth ear infection in five months, Ben and I met with the ENT doctor yesterday to discuss tubes. The frequency of infections combined with half of winter looming in front of us and the fact that Ben's on the cusp of learning to walk and talk (both of which depend on well functioning ears), led Dr. Goodson to encourage tubes sooner than later. And "sooner" means Monday morning!

While we know this is a low-risk and common, outpatient procedure, we do ask for your prayers that 1. Ben will stay healthy enough through the weekend to have it done and 2. that things will go smoothly so that our Christmas travels to Nashville, then Canada will be medically uneventful. :)

Happy Toothday!

Open wide! You have to really zoom in to see it, but trust me...and Ben's 4:30 a.m.wake-up call due to the pain this morning...it's there!

After weeks of speculations, predictions and misdiagnoses, Ben's first pearly white popped through during the night! And yes, Tyler, I know this clip art is a molar and Ben's is a central incisor (thanks to Google), but it's such a happy little tooth that I couldn't pass it by!

While he won't be sharing any of his Dad's beef jerky for quite some time to come, it's a milestone that this dental family is very proud of.

10/19 update: Without further adeiu (0r comments from the peanut gallery), here's more of Ben on the morning of his toothday!

Right before I told him that the Tooth Fairy only comes once you lose a tooth.

"Mom, can I have steak for breakfast?"

For 6 a.m., he sure was wound up!

On the move!

As I mentioned before, Ben was making his first attempts at mobility at around 7 1/2 months. Well, he has quickly put all the mechanics together and is off and running...well, crawling at least. He's put his own signature on the crawl, however, as now the leg that was tucked up underneath as the other foot hopped forward, is now pushed to fully extended behind him. So, right leg hops, left leg pushes, and repeat! It's quite graceful, really. :)

All this horizontal movement is certainly helpful in getting where he needs to go, but Ben wants to see the world! Therefore, this week, he decided to take his progress vertical - he started pulling up! (I think his friend Carter may have influenced this too as he is all about some peek-a-boo over and under the coffee table!)

"Heh, heh, heh...ya'll are in trouble now!"

When I set him up with some blocks and links at school the other morning, he immediately pushed past them and power crawled to the book box, pulled himself right up and dug around for a suitable book. It was as if he'd been waiting to get into that box all morning! Well, that added 10 minutes on to my commute to work, because I had to sit down and take it all in.

Since what would a Saturday be without videos of Ben at home, here are a few of him on the move. They're a bit lengthy, so don't feel bad if you can't commit!

Today:

Last Sunday:

As you can see, Zoe is excited that we're all spending so much more time on the floor these days and is finding ways to sneak back into some of the spotlight!

First Week of School!

After nine weeks with wonderful, sweet, answer-to-prayers Mrs. Patsy, Ben's first day at the UAB Child Development Center was this Monday. Because we'd been on that waiting list since before Ben was even a zygote, we were very excited that a spot finally opened for him. But transitions are hard (for me), so there were lots of tears (mine) on Ben's last day with Mrs. Patsy and even more (mine again) as we left him in his new school.

Mrs. Patsy:
Ben's Birmingham grandmother will always be special to us.

"I'm ready for school!"

Fortunately, my car was in the shop getting a new transmission while we were going through the transition. "Fortunately" because Tyler and I were carpooling and got to do Ben's last day and his first day together, which was nice because there were lots of instructions and procedures to learn at his new school, and as I mentioned, I was a bit overwhelmed with it all. And I had a driver when I needed a comfort vanilla latte after the drop off. :)

Ben and Daddy bringing in his supplies.
Yep, I'm that Mom. I took pictures every step of the way. Not as embarrassing now as it would be if it were his first time to ride the school bus as a third grader...not that I would know or anything.

See his cubby? He has his own coat hook and crib too. So sweet. This is Ben's new, scrunched-nose smile...and Tyler's didn't-get-enough-sleep eyes.

Ms. Nikki and Ms. Susie: Waddlers Room teachers

So far things are going OK. Taking after his mom, Ben is quite the sensitive napper. Since his Sleep Sheep sound machine has been replaced by a roomful of busy babies, naps have been hard to come by during the day. He's been surprisingly chipper in the evenings however, and we're looking forward to his transformation into "sleep anywhere" baby. We are already enjoying our drastically reduced commute. And Ben is so close to my office that it's quicker for me to walk there than drive...which has come in handy for my two pop-ins this week!

"School is cool!"

Doesn't he look grown up and so mature? Aside from enrolling in school, this may have something to do with another first he recently experienced: first haircut! Yes, he's only 6 months old, but after one too many Ben Trump jokes in reference to his comb-over, we decided our shaggy baby needed a trim. Well that's what I decided anyway. Tyler apparently decided he needed a military cut. (Sigh) It will grow out soon!

Ben's first time at the Prentice Barber Shop.
This is also where Daddy gets his hair cut (minus the Bumbo).