Benjamin officially turned one on January 22nd! I can’t believe how quickly a year went by. It has been amazing to watch him grow into a toddler with his own personality and opinions. We went to the doctor yesterday and he was given a very clean bill of health. He is 30” tall and weighs 20lbs 3oz – long and lanky as the doctor put. She is estimating that he will be around 5’11”-6’ tall and thin. We’ve never had a doctor give us a guess like that before so it will be interesting to see if she’s right.
As for likes and dislikes, Benjamin loves to eat and he’ll eat pretty much anything. His favorites are pasta, pizza, bananas, pears, yogurt, grapes, and blueberries. We really haven’t found any food that he dislikes. He also does not have any signs of food allergies as of now. He has eaten a small amount of eggs with no reaction, and while he was not supposed to have nuts yet, they are staple in our house. And he is often quicker than us and so has found peanuts that were dropped by Julia and put them in his mouth. But again, no reaction so hopefully he’ll be allergy-free.
He is still an incredibly happy boy. He smiles at everyone and is very friendly and social, especially with women! He is pretty laid-back but he is definitely developing opinions about what he wants. He does a good job of getting his wants and needs across by pointing, grunting, squealing, and using a few words. His vocabulary right now consists of mama, dada, baba (bottle or blanket), cup, grape, down, and again (as in “tickle me again!”).
Sleeping is probably Benjamin’s weakest point. He could use more of it! He goes to bed around 6:30-7:00 and wakes up around 5. But he is only taking 1 nap a day right now and by late afternoon he is done. Being tired doesn’t stop him though, he goes and goes and goes, all day long.
On the playing front, he is very exploratory and loves interacting with toys. Anything that lights up or makes noise delights him. He will also spend a long time looking and studying objects to try and figure out how they work. He is persistent in trying to do things, usually keeping at a task until he’s accomplished what he’s set out to do. He’s very perceptive and can (and will sometimes) follow one step directions like “bring me the block” or “put that in the trash.” Tickling, peek-a-boo, and This Little Piggy are his favorite games. He also loves hide-and-seek and there have been a couple of times that he has disappeared and had me running around trying to find him only to discover that he was hiding in our front hall closet!
Like Julia, Benj is super active. He is a climber and always trying to get on top of things. It’s obvious that he adores his big sister and wants to do everything that she does. I’m sure it won’t be long before he is riding a trike and chasing her all around!
While the last year has definitely had it challenges as we adjusted to being a family of four, we feel so incredibly blessed to have been given Benjamin, our second miracle child! His smile lights up our world and brightens every day. We love you Benja-baby!
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