Benjamin - 18 months

Benjmain turned 18 months at the end of June and I wanted to be sure to write about this fun stage for our Family Blurb Book. :)

I just uploaded a bunch of recent, random iphone pics of Benjamin, in no particular order, and thought I'd simply write a sentence or two about him throughout the photos.

Due to just being too busy (poor 3rd born) we were way slower to order Benjamin's bigger kid car seat and he road in the infant car seat for a long time! But he was still 8 lbs. under the weight limit for the old one, so we could've milked it longer if we wanted to. ;) The day his car seat arrived he was super excited to sit in it!

Benjamin has been enjoying crayons and markers. He loves to scribble on spare sheets of paper, his legs, his hands, and the couch. ;)

Ben beelines it for the front seat anytime I unbuckle him and don't immediately take him out of the van. Watch out world, he'll be on the road in a short 14 years.

Benj loves spending time in the backyard playing with water.

I read about this "sensory playtime idea" through Jude's therapy and figured Benjamin might love it too. Scooping beans baby, scooping beans.

Being our last baby, I'm a bit sentimental about things. I squeezed Benj into these favorite pj pants ONE last time...

I love seeing his cute little self on the big furniture. He loves to do anything he sees "bigger people" doing these days. He likes to sit in a big person chair, at the table too. He loves to push a chair into the kitchen and shake salt in a pan and stir with a spoon, all on his own. He loves to pretend he's driving, loves to unload the dishwasher utensils, to "help" with laundry, dance to music, put on his own shoes, sweep...

Benjamin still holds my hair anytime he gets sleepy. It's often a sign that he's ready for a nap if he starts reaching for my hair. I love rocking him, singing to him and snuggling him. (Notice 2 photos above that he's holding his own hair.)

This boy loves to be outside and loves water!

This was him saying, "Hi Mama!" to me in the phone camera. :) His other favorite words or phrases are:
"Hi Dada!"
"More"
"Cup"
"Hi Sissy!"
"Food"
"Cacoon" for the caterpillars
"Shooz" (shoes)
"Shirt"
"Cheeze!" when I hold up my camera or phone
"Poo-Poo" anytime he needs a diaper change
"Car"
"Kitty"
"Hi Baby!" if he sees a baby or a picture of one.
"Bubble" - loves to blow bubbles.
It's cute to hear him try to repeat bigger words. He always tries, but often can only say the last 2 syllables of a 3 syllable word.

Benjamin's new fun thing to do before afternoon nap is "get cozy" on the couch with a snack while the big kids watch a cartoon. He's all smiles, feeling like a big kid himself. :)

Another source of joy for Benjamin is turning the kitchen and hall lights on and off. He'll go to the bathroom and grab the stool, walk it to the light switches and just stand there watching the cause and effect for quite a while. It's pretty cute.

Different day, same fun activity...

More outside play with his best buddies. Yay for summertime and this sweet 18 month old boy we've been beyond blessed with! I love EVERY day with you Benjamin Gabriel. Thank you for being so sweet and soooo joyful! You make mommy's world brighter! xo