Happy Birthday, Ben!

I can't believe my little boy is walking around making the peace sign and saying "Two on my birfday!" This is so different from last year I can hardly process the difference. This year has been so much fun! Now I have a little boy who yells "OCTAGON!" when we pass a stop sign, requests hugs and kisses, and can put on his own mismatched socks and shoes! I can only imagine what he will be doing next year.

Happy Birthday to my little guy!

The Toddler Mantra

Bolded where it applies especially to Ben:

If it is on, I must turn it off.
If it is off, I must turn it on.
If it is folded, I must unfold it.
If it is not food, it must be tasted.
If it IS food, it must not be tasted.
If it is a liquid, it must be spilled.
If it is a solid, it must be thrown.
If it is high, it must be reached.
If it is shelved, it must be removed.
If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.
If it is closed, it must be opened.
If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.
If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.
If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.
If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
If Mommy wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
If it is a car seat, it must be protested with arched back.
If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.
And finally the defining trifecta:
If it is yours it must be mine.
If it ever was mine, it must still be mine.
If it looks like something that was once mine, it must be mine.

Here's a special one just for Ben: If there's a high likelihood that I will fall and bump my head, I must try it.

Already two things I forgot!

• Holding his foot out and saying, "Again?" when he wants me to do the "this little piggy" thing
• Taking my toes one by one and saying "piggy, piggy, piggy ..."

Fear of forgetting

I haven't really kept a Ben journal per se, but I think I've been pretty good about keeping track of most of the cute and unique things Ben has done. But these days he's just gotten so cute that I can't keep up! I've asked him to slow down, but he won't. I know this is not a complete list, but I've got to write some of these down before I forget, because he's already stopped doing some of them:

• Saying, "Hi, hi, hi!" in an increasingly agitated tone when he wants more attention, or he's just been forbidden to do something he wants to do. Answering "hi" and giving him a hug usually helps.
• Saying the name of the opposite parent in a questioning tone when one of us has told him to get down, stop touching that, or any number of things. Usually, the other parent has to confirm that he really has to do what has been asked.
• Saying, "Hug? Hug? Hug?" when he wants — you guessed it — a hug.
• Saying, "'KAY!" instead of "yes." Example: Would you like some juice, Ben? "'KAY!" (Also, nods usually accompany this.)
• Saying, "Hot?" when he doesn't like the taste of something. He said it recently when we gave him some chocolate milk, which he has never liked (even though we keep trying, since it's an important part of childhood). He also says "Hot?" when he approaches the kitchen when I'm cooking, or when he gets near the heating stove at my parents' house.
• Saying "Daddy go?" or "Daddy?" approximately 1 billion times if Daddy had to leave for work before Ben got up.
• Frantically making the sign for "eat" (which is putting your fingers to your lips) when he's hungry, to the extent that he's pretty much punching himself in the mouth. Also, making close-lipped whining sounds while he does this and occasionally stopping to reiterate: "Hungry! Eat!!!"
• Saying "Ben? Cake?" when he approaches the computer (he loves to watch a video of himself eating cake at his first birthday party).
• Playing enthusiastically with everyone's socks and shoes and saying the words "socks" and "shoes" over and over.
  
• Remembering specifics of stories. The other day I pointed out a seal in one of his books and he said "circus seal."
• Learning to combine descriptors, like identifying a number AND the color it's written in AND the shape it appears on.
  

I know there are many more, but that's all I can think of for now. A cute thing he was doing for awhile that he's long since stopped is approaching us with a book and nodding, as if to say, "Yes, I would like you to read me this book." Now that he can ask specifically for a book and pretend to read it to himself, he doesn't do that anymore. :(

Here's the video Ben loves:

Ben is my valentine

An Impression

Here's my impression of Ben whenever he has to get into his highchair or carseat and I have to take his book away for a minute:

"Book? Book? Uh oh, book? Uh oh! Uh oh! Book? Pees? Book? Book, pees? Uh oh, BOOK! BOOK! BOOK!"

Here's a picture of Ben caught reading during a diaper change around a year ago: