We enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday at home. Brad’s mom came to stay with us, and we had a nice visit with her. The only bad part of our Thanksgiving is that Benjamin was sick.    He had fever, restless nights, and lethargic days for about three days. We’re not sure what he had, but are thankful that it is gone now! Our original plan for Thanksgiving lunch was to go to Luby’s Cafeteria, but since Benjamin was sick, we picked up a Thanksgiving feast from Boston Market instead. We enjoyed tasty turkey and dressing (with gravy), mashed potatoes, corn bread, and pumpkin pie. It was nice to not slave away in the kitchen, and to not have any dishes to wash afterwards! Plus, we didn’t have many leftovers to pig out on the rest of the weekend.

The weather was beautiful just about all week. We enjoyed bike rides, walks, and time in the back yard. We also found time to start and finish our Christmas decorating. With a toddler in the house, we’re keeping things simple this year. We bought a smaller tree and put it up in the living room, next to our decorated mantle. So, we have understated, but festive Christmas decor in the house. Outside, we opted to skip the lights and just go with a wreath on the door and garland framing the door. I’m a fan of it only taking two hours to finish decorating!

Now I’m busy finishing up my semester and getting started on my Christmas shopping. Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend:

Benjamin made us proud last week when he started proudly shouting “Go Dawgs!” He was wearing a Tech t-shirt that day, which I guess was the source of his inspiration. Of course, he had also been to a Tech football game two days earlier. Whatever the motivation, it sure is cute when he says it!

Here’s a video that captured an impromptu moment of comedy on our last visit to Lake Charles.

Every fall we try to go to at least one Tech football game. They are a family tradition – Mom and Dad have had season tickets for as long as I can remember, and I don’t think we ever missed a home game, rain or shine, hot or cold. Thankfully, last weekend we had perfect football weather. At game time, temps were in the 60s and the sky was clear (and dark since it was 7 p.m.). Sure, Tech hasn’t had a great season, but they actually put up a good fight against #7 Boise St., losing by only 10 points, with a score of 38-28.

We only stayed for the first half, since about that time was when Benjamin normally goes to bed. Apparently all the exciting stuff happened in the second half, but thankfully we were able to see what we missed on tv. While we were there, Benjamin wasn’t very interested in the game itself, but he enjoyed hanging out with everyone. We all had a good time, cheering for the team, drinking hot chocolate, and watching replays on the new jumbotron.

Earlier in the day we had lunch at Ruston’s new Pho restaurant, and we were impressed! Chris, Brad, and Dad had fried rice, and Karen and I had the egg roll noodle bowl. Our dish consisted of noodles, cut up pieces of egg roll, a sweet sauce, etc. We also tried the spring rolls, which are served with a peanut sauce and were delicious. It’s nice for Ruston to add this authentic Asian cuisine to its list of food offerings.

We always make a point to eat some Johnny’s Pizza while we are in Ruston, and so we had dinner there Saturday night before attending a Tech men’s basketball pre-season exhibition game. The pizza was delicious, and the game was entertaining. Benjamin seems to like basketball better than football, just like me. He had fun dancing to the music during timeouts and clapping every time the team scored.

The rest of the weekend was spent catching up with friends and family, exploring the yard with Benjamin, and as usual when it comes to my parents’ house, watching a lot of college football. We especially enjoyed watching LSU lose to Alabama. (Sorry, Tiger fans, but that’s just how I was raised…)

We had a great time trick-or-treating with Benjamin on Saturday night. We had planned to go just as the sun was setting, but although weather.com listed 6:30 as the time for sunset, it didn’t actually get anywhere close to dark until 7:15 or so. For that reason, we were the only people trick-or-treating on our street from 6:30 to 7:30, and we made it home just in time to greet our first costumed kids at the door.

It seems like every year fewer and fewer people are turning on their porch light or displaying a jack-o-lantern as a sign that they are participating in the fun of trick-or-treating. In place of the many homes that used to display a simple pumpkin or scarecrow, there are now a few people that go all out, decorating their yards with tombstones, or spooky ghosts hanging from trees, or those giant inflatable characters. One home on our street had a yard decked out with spiders and ghosts, a strobe light, creepy music blaring from a stereo, and even spooky fog from a smoke machine! I don’t know if it was because we were out early, because so many people were at Fall Festivals, or because people were hiding out in a back room, but we only found about ten houses with lights on or decorations up. Thankfully, that was plenty for a toddler on his first Halloween.

Benjamin had a great time strolling down the sidewalk and up to our neighbors’ front doors. He never actually said “trick or treat,” but when they gave him candy, he would either sign “thank you,” or give them a sweet wave goodbye as he moved on to the next house. The monkey costume was a big hit, with Benjamin, us, and the neighbors. See below for pictures of all the fun we had.

I was looking through our pictures yesterday and realized that I never posted any from our September trip to Lake Charles, when we had a nice visit with Nana, Lisa and Jeff, and Corbin. I’ll do a separate post about the family reunion lunch we attended. We had a fun time hanging out and watching Benjamin and Corbin watch each other and laugh at each other. Pretty soon they are going to have such fun playing together!

Benjamin and Corbin hang out on the sofa

Benjamin's cousin Corbin was seven months old when we took this picture. He's a sweet boy!

Benjamin loves reading with his Nana

He loves snuggling with Nana, too!

I somehow accidentally uploaded this picture with the others, and I decided to post it anyway to show how much Benjamin has changed in the past year! This was taken one year ago while we were hanging out with Uncle Chris and Aunt Karen.

We’ve been going to the park more often since the weather cooled down, and one day I tagged along with the camera while Brad and Benjamin explored the park together. I captured some sweet moments of Benjamin following Brad around, imitating him, and listening to him explain various sights and sounds. These two are going to have so much fun together in a few years, and probably get into a lot of trouble!

Our first family portrait with Big Tex (and yes, he is kind of creepy).

Our family made a rather spur of the moment trip to the State Fair on Friday. We had wanted to go this year, but I didn’t realize until last week that this was the last weekend. So, we loaded Benjamin, his stroller, and the camera into the car and merged into the Texas-OU traffic to enjoy a day of fun and food.

The Shows and Special Attractions We Saw:

• Jump! Ultimate Dog Show – We especially enjoyed the frisbee-catching dogs, and were impressed by the speed of the racing dogs, but got bored with the dogs who jumped into a pool of water while catching a frisbee.
• World on a String – We attended this marionette puppet show on Cara’s recommendation, and it was different and interesting. Benjamin and I didn’t get to see the whole show, though, due to a major diaper leak. We did make it back to the theater in time to see the Wizard of Oz characters and the patriotic grand finale.
• Children’s Barnyard Petting Zoo – This was Benjamin’s favorite thing about the fair. He acted like he owned the place, running from one stall to the next, fearlessly reaching his hand through the partitions to pet each animal (with us keeping a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t endanger himself). One of his first encounters was with a curious giraffe, who was particularly interested in Benjamin’s shoe. At that point Brad was holding Benjamin, and the giraffe stuck its head through the bars of its stall to get a better angle on his Nikes. At first it was funny, but we decided to move on when the giraffe’s sniffing turned into what looked like chewing!! Benjamin remained intrigued, if cautious, through the whole proceeding. He went on to see other animals, including a camel, an ostrich, a very shaggy sheep, and several goats.

The Food – The State Fair is the one time of year that I throw caution to the wind and eat all the fried food that my heart desires. Actually, after all the fried fare I eat at the fair, I don’t want anymore of it until the next time the fair rolls around. Here’s a list (thankfully short!) of all the food we bought with our coupons.

• Corny dog! - As usual, this was our favorite thing. Fair corn dogs are so much better than any others I’ve had. Maybe it’s because we’re eating them outside, maybe it’s because you can slather them with as much ketchup and mustard as you like, or maybe there really is a magic ingredient in the batter that makes them so tasty!
• Fried latte – This concoction was disappointing. We were expecting something like a fried ball of dough filled with a frozen cappuccino, but instead it was a scoop of cappuccino ice cream topped with instant coffee shavings, whipped cream, and bite-sized pieces of fried dough. It still tasted good, but it just didn’t meet our expectations.
• Fried pickles – We hunted high and low, from one end of the midway to the other, before we found the (apparently) one vendor selling these. And unfortunately, they didn’t meet our expectations. We always enjoy the fried pickles at The Dawghouse in Ruston, and these were no match. The pickles were sliced too thin, and they were way too salty. At least there was ranch dressing to mask some of the saltiness.
• Funnel cake – We shared one with Benjamin on our way to the parking lot. As powdered sugar flew through the air, we basked in the yummy goodness of pure fat and sugar. It was, indeed, a good day at the fair.
• Coulda shoulda woulda… – I wish I had tried the fried butter (just so bizarre!) and the fried peach cobbler, but we had absolutely no energy left (and no room in our stomachs!).

Here are some pictures from our day at the fair. I didn’t mention that it was perfect weather: blue sky, slight breeze, and temps in the upper 60s. We always complain that it’s too hot to go to the fair, so I’m glad we made a point to go during this unseasonably pleasant October.

As the months have continued to pass, and Benjamin has continued to grow and develop by leaps and bounds, it hasn’t occurred to me until recently that now is a good time for him to learn to feed himself. At his 18 month checkup, his doctor asked me if he was self feeding, and I had to answer, “No, except for finger foods.” So, I was delighted to discover today that he is quite adept at feeding himself with a spoon, even though he’s had almost no practice. See below for a few pictures that marked the occasion, followed by a video of him eating a couple of spoonfuls of cranberry apple sauce.

Benjamin psychs himself up (or rather, he laughs at us while we try to psych him up) to take a bite.

He successfully delivered the apple sauce from bowl to mouth.

He likes it! And he also seems to enjoy feeding himself, which means I'll have more time to eat my own food, once this becomes a regular deal.

Benjamin is all smiles and curiosity at 18 months old.

A couple of days ago I took Benjamin to the pediatrician for his 18 month checkup. Time has certainly sped up since he turned one! It seems like one moment we were presenting him with his birthday cupcake, the next we were rejoicing over his first steps, and now we’re just doing our best to keep up with him and his constant energy! It’s been awhile since I’ve done a “growth and development” update, so prepare yourself for a short novel…

The Basics

• Weight – 22 lbs. 10 oz – His pediatrician was pleased that Benjamin made the “leap” from 5th percentile to 10th percentile (woo hoo!). The boy’s appetite has increased, and he’s slowly but surely moving beyond the 20 lb. milestone.
• Height – 33″ – I think this measurement was a bit high because I had trouble keeping him still, so he’s probably a little less than 75th percentile for height, but nonetheless, he is tall and skinny for his age.
• Head Circumference – I don’t remember the exact measurement, but it puts him right at the 50th percentile. He doesn’t have a gargantuous cranium!

The Personality

• Benjamin is generally a sweet boy who likes to give hugs, snuggles, and kisses. He loves to explore, especially outside, where he picks up leaves and acorns and then proudly hands them to us to admire. He also likes to figure out how things work, whether it’s how to put a lid on a box or how to turn on Daddy’s iPhone (! – We try to keep it out of his curious hands).
• His current favorite word is “no.” Perhaps you saw the video I posted a couple of weeks ago related to that. However, I make a point to ask him questions that I know he will answer positively, and so when I ask him if he is hungry or wants to go outside, he nods his head and says, “Uh-huh.” Other words in his vocabulary: Mama, Daddy, Ball, Shoes, Light, Uh-oh, Oh, Bye Bye
• He really only gets an attitude and becomes defiant when he feels neglected or when he is tired. Otherwise, he is a bundle of positive energy and is a joy to be around.

Hanging out with Uncle "Pete" and Holly

The Daily Routine

• Waking Up – Earlier this summer Benjamin started waking up every day before 7:15, and for a mama who had grown accustomed to having the 7:00 hour all to myself for a cup of coffee and some time on the Internet, I had trouble adjusting! Thankfully, he has long since resumed sleeping until around 8:00, and sometimes as late as 8:30. When he does wake up he often just starts to sweetly say, “Mama, mama,” or otherwise talks to himself. He’s always in a good mood after his 11 to 12 hours of sleep, and gives us sweet hugs when we get him out of his crib.
• Breakfast – Almost every morning he has Cream of Wheat for breakfast. I think I could make it with my eyes closed at this point. I cook it on the stove using milk instead of water, and don’t add any sugar or butter to it. He usually insists that I turn on the television in the kitchen while he eats (like mother, like son), so we normally watch the local Fox affiliate’s morning news program. We know everyone from the anchors to the weatherman to the roving reporter by first name. Some days he also has some fruit with his breakfast, either a jar of baby food or pieces of banana.
• Getting out of the House – Most mornings after breakfast we get out of the house before his nap. While we’re in the car, Benjamin likes to listen to music, and he lets me know whether or not he likes the song that’s playing by saying “no” or by dancing. He seems to have a preference for music with a heavy beat, since he responds most enthusiastically to hip hop (Black Eye Peas), reggae (“Oh, Baby, I Love Your Way”), and pop rock (Rob Thomas). Two or three days a week our destination is the gym, where he plays in the Kids’ Club while I get a 30 to 60 minute workout. (I especially relish my time on the exercise bike, when I either chat with friends on my cell phone or make progress in whatever book I’m reading.) On Tuesdays we go to Toddler Time at the library (which he enjoys more and more each time), and starting this fall, I’ll be going to a MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) group at our church two Thursdays a month. These morning excursions jump start our day, and tire him out for his nap.
• Nap #1 – We’re still holding on to the morning nap, and he really still needs it. Usually he sleeps 1 to 1 1/2 hours. He rarely resists his naps. I sing to him, sometimes read to him, and then he just waves bye bye and snuggles with his monkey as I leave the room.
• Lunch – About a month ago we finally started to transition away from baby food, but he still eats it sometimes. For lunch he usually has something fast, whether it’s a PB&J, toddler-friendly ravioli in a can, or a Lunchable. Today he had some crackers, a baby food jar of green beans, a serving of the carrot ginger cashew soup that we were eating, and a baby food jar of fruit.
• Around Town – 12:30-2:30 is my window of time to run errands between his lunch and his pre-naptime snack. We usually either go to Walmart, Albertsons, or Target, depending on how much time we have to work with. Trips to Walmart are never very pleasant, because Benjamin’s patience for shopping wears thin after about 30 minutes. (I can’t seem to make it in and out of Walmart in less than an hour.) Target is more pleasant, as is Albertsons, because neither place takes as long, they both have friendlier employees, and Albertson’s plays some good 80s and 90s music that Benjamin enjoys dancing to.

Watching Baby Einstein while playing with a water bottle and a puppet

• Playtime – Lately we haven’t been getting out as much in the afternoons because I’ve been inviting friends to the house more often during this time. The moms in our church small group have talked about organizing a weekly gathering, and I’ve volunteered my house since it has the playroom that’s good for containing and entertaining the kids while we chat and relax (and hold the little babies!). And sometimes we just stay in by ourselves and play after lunch. Benjamin’s favorite toys lately have been everyday household objects such as lime juice bottles, empty wipes containers, and a tire pressure gauge. He still enjoys throwing toys out of the playroom, at which they make a resounding clatter on the tile floor in the kitchen.
• Snack – We still go by the theory that giving him a snack before his nap helps him sleep better. And so, about half an hour before his nap we give him something to eat – yogurt, cheerios, a fruit bar, cheese, or some combination of those.
• Nap #2 – Thankfully this is usually his longer nap of the day, which gives me time to rest a bit and then get some things done. I usually postpone my household duties in order to do something more fun like blogging or Facebooking, and depending on the day, I sometimes have school lesson plans or grading to work on. He usually sleeps from around 2:45 or 3:00 to between 4:30 and 5:00.
• Playing with Daddy – Once the work day is over, Brad emerges from his office and spends more time with Benjamin while I prepare dinner. Benjamin is always so excited to play with Brad, whether it involves chasing, tickling, reading, or exploring outside.
• Dinner – We still usually all eat together at the table. And more and more often Benjamin eats what we eat. Last night it was a hearty beef stew. Several months ago Benjamin would whine whenever I tried to talk to Brad at the dinner table, but now he’s more content to hang out with us while we converse, especially if we give him finger foods.

Benjamin is a very careful child - here he is stepping over a dip in the sidewalk.

• Family Time – After dinner we make a point to all spend time together. Sometimes we go for a walk, sometimes we go to the park, and sometimes we just all hang out in the living room. I think it’s important to spend quality time together as a family for many reasons, one of which is so that caring for Benjamin never seems like babysitting to either me or Brad, while the other one of us is off in another room doing something else. We had fun earlier this week going to eat at Luby’s cafeteria, after which we had planned to attend an event at Brookhaven College. Unfortunately, the event – which was to feature the school’s jazz band, as well as poetry readings and art displays – was postponed because of stormy weather. We still had fun walking around campus, though.
• Bath time – Benjamin still loves his baths, but he is quite a handful now! He used to be extremely cautious, not moving from one spot, and getting nervous when we laid him back to wash his hair. Now he boldly stands up and bounds from one side of the tub to the other, and he pours water over his head and giggles uncontrollably (it’s very contagious!). By the end of the bath, whoever bathed him is pretty well soaked with water from all the festivities. We also recently resumed our no pressure potty training efforts, so Benjamin sits on the potty every night before his bath. So far there has been no pee pee in the potty this go-round, so we’ll just keep at it and see what happens.

Benjamin reaches up to pet Chloe. As he continues getting taller, she'll soon run out of safety zones.

• Bedtime routine – By 8:00 every night, Benjamin is a wild child, and Brad and I are exhausted. It’s all we can do to make it another 15 to 30 minutes before putting him to bed. This time is usually spent with us sitting on the sofa watching Benjamin dart to and fro picking up various books and toys, taking sips of milk, and occasionally climbing on top of us. As we begin the ten minute countdown to bedtime, we intercept him in the midst of his wandering, and he picks out a book for us to read together. After we finish the book, he puts his milk in the kitchen, we brush his teeth, and then sing the “I Love You” song in his room. After we put him in his crib, he usually stands up and jumps around a bit to release the last of his energy. He also likes to reach his hands through the crib slats and touch our hands (he is highly amused by this for some reason), and after that he generally settles down and snuggles with his monkey. After that, we don’t hear from him again until the next morning.
• The two or three hours after Benjamin goes to bed are a relaxing and renewing time. I relish the quiet house and the indulgence of sitting down for an extended period of time, not to mention enjoying a leisurely snack. (When he’s awake, it seems like I only sit down long enough to feed him or check my email before hopping up again to keep up with my little Energizer bunny.) These nightly breaks from parenting, plus the occasional date or girls’ night away from home, help keep me fresh for the daily adventures (and joys!) of keeping up with a toddler.

The Challenges

• Hitting in the face – This is our biggest challenge lately. For the past couple of weeks Benjamin has been hitting us harder and more often, usually when we’re singing him his good night song at nap and bed time. I am hesitant to be stern with him at sleeping time because the one time I was, he ended up not being able to settle down and didn’t take his afternoon nap. My latest strategy is to tell him that if he feels like hitting me, to tickle me instead, and that has worked pretty well. He is learning to channel that energy into the more pleasant action of tickling. I also tell him that if he hits me while I’m singing to him, I won’t finish the song. He enjoys his lullabye, so this has also been a good deterrent. When it isn’t bed time, we’ve tried applying pressure to his palm, swatting his hand, or putting him in a time out. The time out seems to be the most effective of these three so far. Thankfully, it looks like the hitting has already started to subside some since we’ve become more consistent with our discipline strategy. At least he doesn’t hit other people – just Mama, Daddy, and Chloe.
• Disobeying – Other than the hitting problem, our current challenge is how to respond when Benjamin disregards or disobeys us. Some of his more recent acts of defiance: flushing the toilet (when there’s nothing to flush) and messing with the tv buttons. When we are at home, our words or warning are, “Do you want to go in the other room?”, which means that if he disobeys again, he’ll have to go to his playroom, which means he can’t have fun hanging out with Mama and Daddy. We haven’t figured out what to do out in public, but then he’s usually well behaved out in public.

So, that’s Benjamin at 18 months. I’ll continue to update the blog with our family adventures, so check back in from time to time.

Benjamin is too busy exploring the yard to pause for a picture.

Related Posts

• Benjamin at 15 Months
• Benjamin’s Growth and Development – This page contains all the growth and development posts I’ve written since Benjamin was born, so it’s the place to go if you’d like to see and read about how he has changed over the past 18 months.