Toddlerhood

It has really been an amazing last couple of weeks. Ben has literally taken off in his walking. He has reached full blown toddlerhood. He reached the last little milestone today. He was sitting on the floor and then stood himself up! It was the first time we had seen him do that. He apparently was pretty impressed with his new found skills, and kept doing it over and over again, so we know it wasn't a fluke. Here's a great video that Andrew took tonight of just how good he is now. We are so proud of him, and so relieved that he has finally decided to walk! I will preface this video with, yes, I know my fly is down a little... Oh well. You shouldn't be looking at me anyway! =)

He has reached big boy stature in other areas too. He no longer eats in a high chair at school, but sits at a little table for lunch and snack time. He is really starting to understand the things that go on around him too. Tonight he found a tissue, and tried to wipe his nose with it. At bath time, he handed Andrew the plug for the bathtub and pointed to the drain. It seems to be something new everyday. This is such a great age, filled with so much discovery. As I see Ben doing these new things, it helps me to remember those little things that I had forgotten about when Josh was this age. For instance, being fascinated with curbs, wanting to step up, step down, repeat, repeat, repeat. We just love all these new things he's doing. I can't wait to see what he does tomorrow!

And He's Off

I know these posts about Ben's walking are probably getting annoying, but bear with me. I'm almost done with them. =) Today, Ben's walking took on a whole new dimension. He was walking all over the place! Not only that, but he was making very conscious decisions to walk. It was amazing. He seemed really excited to be walking around, like it finally clicked that maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. He was locking those knees every time I set him down. No Mr. Spaghetti Legs! He was letting go of things to take steps, he was changing direction, he was a walking machine! He hasn't been able to right himself after he falls down yet, but if you stand him back up, he's off. All I've got to say his Hallelujah and Praise the Lord! =)

Walking: The Movie

We finally got Ben to allow us to take a short video of some steps. He seems to be getting more confident with letting go of things to try to take steps. He's just got to figure out how to slow down so he can keep his balance. We're so proud of him!

Walking Update

Since some of you have asked (and not at all because I'm completely obsessed about this issue - ha ha), I wanted to post a little update on Ben's walking progress. He's still going slow and steady and isn't totally excited about walking, but he's definitely getting a bit more confident on his feet. Last night was the most we have seen him walk yet. He took 11 steps before sitting down. Two other times last night he took 7 steps, and lots of other times he took 3-4 steps. If we can just put that all together, he's getting some good distance. Of course we tried to get video of these good confident steps he was taking, but as usual, as soon as the camera was on, the show was over. He's such a stinker! We'll keep trying. Over the last few days he has also started letting go of whatever he has pulled himself up on and has taken a few steps that way, which I think is huge forward progress. It takes a lot of courage to do that!

When we picked him up from school yesterday, one of the other little babies that is just about Ben's age, and from what we can tell, his best buddy, took about 20 steps across the room. It was really cool to see her doing so well, but at the same time a little frustrating. But they have been pretty much staying neck in neck in their progress, so maybe this just means bright things in our near future. It might also help now that Kaitlyn (his buddy) is walking, because it might motivate him a little more. Once he decides he WANTS to walk, he will be gone in a flash!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

It's so funny to me how different these two boys are. When Josh had just turned one, and we were trying to get him to walk, he would go spaghetti legs on us every time we tried to set him down. Not once did he ever walk around holding onto our fingers. It was always "If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it by myself." And eventually, he did. Ben has been a different story, completely. He takes a few steps on his own here and there, but really enjoys getting Mommy or Daddy's assistance in walking around. As soon as we set him down, assuming he is in the walking mood, he will stand strong on those little legs, and both arms will shoot up trying to find our fingers to grab onto so we can go for a little stroll. He sometimes can balance and get going really well just holding onto one hand. In reality, we are not doing much to help him. He just needs that little piece of security. We are the magic feather (thanks for the Dumbo reference, Dorrie!).

Last night he was doing really well and was taking very confident solo steps between Andrew and I, showing us his newest "forbidden treasure"... a drink coaster. Everyone together now.. Ooohhhh. Aaaahhhh. Every couple steps he would start to doubt himself and start to sit down, but then would change his mind and stand back up and keep going. He probably took about 5 or 6 steps at once.

He is definitely taking his time in learning how to walk. It just kind of goes along to the way his approach to life has been from day one... "Eh, I'll do it someday, but I'm in no hurry." But he is for sure getting there. I just need to remmeber not to try to push him. He'll get there. Until then, I'll enjoy our finger in hand strolls down the sidewalk.

Here We Go!!!

Ben took a few little steps tonight!!! It might not look like much, but it's one of the most beautiful things we've ever seen! Hallelujah! It looks like the trick to getting him to pitter patter is letting him hold onto something he thinks he's not supposed to have, as evidenced by my cell phone in his little hands. Whatever works for ya, buddy. Yay!

Come On Already!

I've heard the advice... I've even GIVEN the advice. "Don't be in such a hurry for your child to walk. Once they start walking, there's no going back.." Blah, blah, blah. This is true to a certain extent. BUT, then you hit that point where it would honestly be so much easier if he would just start walking already. We're at that point, and it's driving me crazy. Ben has been incredibly mobile for a long time. The only think missing is independent walking. He crawls at the speed of light, pulls himself up and cruises.... and he knows it. He knows he can go wherever he wants to go all by himself, so he gets frustrated at being carried around and becomes squirmy worm that is hard to even keep a hold of, because all he wants to do is explore. He doesn't understand that there are some places you just can't crawl. I know he's going to do it on his own time, but I am praying that his time will be soon, and I'm also praying for endurance and patience to get through this time. I know he'll do it.... I just wish he'd get on with it!

Standing Man

Ben's standing skills are increasing every day. It's so exciting! We really noticed how far he had come yesterday afternoon. Everytime he pulled up on something, he would let go and stay on his feet, usually without so much as a wobble. I don't even think he realized he was doing it. It was really for just a few seconds at a time, but we can tell that he is mustering up some bravery to let go of that security of holding onto something. We've learned a little trick to get him to let go... entice him with something "forbidden". None of his toys will do the trick. It's got to be something he thinks he's not supposed to have, i.e., the remote, the phone, a spoon, etc. It's the same trick we used to motivate him to scoot/crawl. Works like a charm! He's still not taking any real walking steps, but he is definitely finding his balance, which means the rest is probably soon to come.

The Dancing Man in Action

We finally got a decent dance video of the almost-birthday boy. Watch Ben get down and funky! You will also get to witness his patented "lay flat on my tummy and be cute" routine. Enjoy!

Dance Machine!

Ben has dicovered a new love... Dancing! Whenever there is a funky beat, you will see little Ben bobbing his head and groving to the music. We are so excited and amused by this. Baby dance is a new thing for us. Joshua wasn't at all interested in dancing at this age. Much too serious a fellow for that tomfoolery! Ben seems to be a little more happy go lucky, loving to cut loose!

Ben's favorite thing to dance to is Hokey Pokey Elmo. Ben loves this Elmo. As soon as he sees it, he will start dancing... even before the music begins. Then when the music starts, his whole face lights up with a huge open mouth smile. I am trying so hard to get a good video of this, but as usual, once the camera is present, all activity ceases (or he just goes for the camera... darned mobility!). But I will continue to try and as soon as I get one, I will share. It's just too cute not to!

Big Faker!

We're on to you, Ben. You can't fool us with your "I need to hold onto something to stand." We've seen you when you think we're not looking, standing unassisted. Then when you notice us watching, slowly sitting down. Let's stop the charade!

Okay, well maybe he's not a professional stander yet. But we have caught him on several occasions letting go of whatever he was holding onto while standing, only to remain on his feet for a few seconds. When he realizes what he's doing, he squats down in a very slow and controlled manner. Usually it is in the bathtub - Why is it always the bathtub? Josh did the same thing when he was little... Whatever works for the little dude, I guess. It's just a reminder for us to enjoy our little Baby Ben while he's still doing baby things, like crawling. We're pretty confident that those first steps will be taken at some point well after the big birthday, and that's a-okay with us. But as much as we are in no hurry to get to that next phase, it is still exciting to see him take that next step into big-boydum.

Going on a Cruise!

Where are we going, you might ask. The Bahamas? Nope, much too moist. Alaska? Far too cold. No, the cruise we are going on is a little closer to home.... it's from one end of the couch to the other! Okay, maybe this cruise is specific just to Ben. He finally decided today to give those little feet a try, and started cruising along the couch. He's also taken a few steps using a push walker. He's been pulling himself up for quite some time now, but once he's up, he pretty much grows roots and has not really even tried to move his feet. If there was something that he wanted that was out of his reach, he would sit down, crawl over and stand up again. But I guess today it occurred to him to try things a new way. On one hand, we hope that this new found skill will put some ideas in his head and get him walking around his birthday (we're not holding our collective breaths, but I suppose it could happen). On the other hand, it makes us sad to see how close walking is, and how there is NO TURNING BACK once that door opens. Whenever he decides he is ready to walk is fine with us. We are just enjoying each stage and milestone as it is reached at his own time.

On a teething side note, Ben officially has 2 teeth, his bottom left that sprouted last week, and top left front tooth that finally decided to break through yesterday. We've been watching this little sucker trying to come in for about 3 weeks now, seeing a large hard bulge in Ben's top gum. We were so glad to finally get a look at it. And I'm sure Ben was happy it wasn't poking him anymore. We're pretty sure the right side is soon to follow, and then hopefully he'll get a little break, poor little guy!

Tummy Rug Burns

Little Benny is starting to realize that he doesn't need to get rug burns on his tummy in order to get places! Over the weekend, he started taking a few full blown crawling steps! He doesn't go very far on his hands and knees yet, and if he's trying to go any real distances, he drops down on the tummy, but he is definitely progressing into big boy crawling. We have tried so hard to capture a good video, bur of course as soon as the camera is on he tries to make us look like liars. Stinker! But we'll keep trying.

He has also gotten very fond of standing. He now pulls himself up on anything he can get those little hands on. We're so proud of him, but at the same time it reminds us that our little "Baby Ben" is growing up. Can't he be a baby a while longer? We hope he's not in any big hurry to walk. It doesn't seem like he's too close to that yet, so whew! We'll take what we can get. Still no teeth, so at least we can enjoy that gummy baby smile a while longer!

Here I Come!

You've heard about Ben's scooting... here's the live show! It may not technically be crawling, but whatever gets you from A to B!

Mobility... Ain't it Great?!?

Okay, so much for blogging more often! Now that Ben is moving around there isn't much computer time left in my day for blogging!

Ben has gotten to be a mighty speedy scooter. He's found what works for him, and he's sticking to it! Now that getting places is a mastered art, Ben has moved on to bigger and better things... standing. That's right. Ben has started to pull himself up. The conditions still have to be exactly right, but he has learned how to get those little feet under him. His favorite thing to pull himself up on is his musical Leap Frog table. It's the perfect hight for him to get up on his knees and hoist himself the rest of the way up. He gets so proud of himself!


The other milestone he has reached is getting himself into a sitting position. For the longest time, he couldn't figure out how to get his knees under him. Now he's got that down, and can crawl (or scoot) over to something, then sit up and play with it. It's great! The only thing is, you never know where you're going to find him! For instance...


Still no teeth. Although my body isn't complaining about that, I'm starting to wonder if he'll EVER get teeth! I've (partly) joked that I want to get him a dental x-ray just to make sure they're in there! It sounds silly, but it would make me feel better.

I'm Gonna Get You!

Ben has been mobile for a while now, scooting himself to wherever he had enough motivation to scoot. Tonight I realized just how mobile he is. I couldn't get away from the kid! Everywhere I went, there he was. If I was doing puzzles with Joshua, there he was. If we moved over to the couch (all the way across the room), there he'd be. Over by the fireplace? Oh, there he is too. It was cracking me up. I felt like he was chasing me all over the house! So we made a game out of it. I don't think there was an inch of the living room that didn't see his tummy!

We've noticed over the last week or so that he has been working really hard on getting up on his knees, and in the last few days we've caught him up on his knees and rocking, like he was trying to figure out how to make all of the parts work together to crawl, so I'm sure it will just be a matter of time until he really is everywhere. In the meantime, this scooting maneuver he's got is pretty efficient. He even decided to go exploring in the kitchen over the weekend, scooting from one doorway all the way to another (from the play area to the pantry for those that are familiar with our house). He's starting to realize that he can go check things out. Glad we're already baby proofed!

Ben has also discovered how much he loves to stand, so whenever he is next to me, he pulls himself up. He's not quite to the point of pulling himself up on the furniture since he hasn't yet mastered getting himself into a sitting position from his tummy (that first time seems to have been a fluke), but he can pull himself up on Mommy like a champ.

He goes for his 9 month check up tomorrow, so I'll post again with all the stats!

Milestone Alert!

Baby Ben reached another milestone on his road to big-boydome. After his nap today, we walked into his room to find him sitting up! He has never gotten himself into a sitting position from lying down before. We have no idea how he did it, and he didn't do it again today, but even doing it once is a big step for him. Who knows what he'll be doing this time next month. That's the most amazing thing about a baby's development... one day they can't do something, and then all of a sudden, they can.

In other Ben news, we think that Ben suffers from some seasonal allergies. The air quality has been really bad lately, and the last few days Ben's eyes have been gooping up. The skin around the eye is puffy and red, but his eye is not at all pink, so we don't think it's pink eye. What leads us to suspect allergies, is that he also has the runny nose and a little bit of a cough, but no fever, and he really doesn't seem to be feeling all that bad. I plan to call the doctor tomorrow just in case. We hope there is nothing actually wrong, and hope that maybe there is something we can give him to stop the goop. That just can't be comfortable. But he's handling it all like a champ, still as smiley and happy as ever. What a sweet little boy!

One Small Step, One Giant Leap

It looks like Baby Ben has finally figured out another direction other than reverse. We were at my parents house today, and Ben was doing some tummy time on the floor, when he spotted a matchbox car on the floor just out of his reach. A look of determination overtook his face, he planted his feet on the floor, and scooted forward, forward, almost there, GOT IT! It was awesome to see him actually getting somewhere on purpose! Something finally clicked with him to use his feet on the floor instead of just kicking them. It also looked like that was giving him ideas as to how to get his legs underneath him, so we'll see what he decides to do with this new bit of information. Good job, Baby Ben. We're so proud of you!

Scooter McBooter

Ben is really working on becoming mobile. He has been rolling for quite some time, but now he is trying his hand at a better method of transportation. He's not really crawling yet, but we can tell it's right around the corner. Tonight he was scooting himself, backwards, all across the living room floor. He's trying so hard to go forwards, but his arms are much more useful to him right now than his legs are, so they keep pushing him backwards. He gets pretty mad about it, but it's so funny to see him scoot, scoot, scoot away from you when he's trying to come to you. He'll get it one of these days. But please, Ben, don't be in any hurry!!!

Keep Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’

Ben has perfected the art of rolling over. He started rolling when he was just a few weeks old. We would lay him down for tummy time, and he would be flipped over. He only did that a couple times, but it was some definite foreshadowing of things to come. Right around 4 ½ months, Ben figured out how to roll from his back, to his tummy and it became his new favorite pass time. I guess any concerns about him not getting enough tummy time were out the window! Once he was on his tummy, he started working on his push ups, and once he was up on his arms, he learned how to lean to the side, and then would flip from his tummy to his back. At first it happened on accident, but now he has figured out that this can take him places.... as long as those places are in the one direction he knows how to roll! It has been quite entertaining to see his new mode of transportation.

Ben is also doing a great job learning how to sit up on his own. He can sit and play with a toy for stretches of a couple of minutes at a time before he finally “timbers” over to the side. We are so excited for him to be a professional sitter upper. It just opens up a whole new world of play and discovery for him. At the same time it’s a little bittersweet, since our baby is growing up!