Wow, I am so behind. Ben is into so many new things, it's hard for me to keep up! I'll try to cover a few:

• He LOVES Halloween. He got into skulls and monsters after seeing a commercial for an installation at the Kimbell that had some creepy imagery in it. Now that Halloween stuff is everywhere, he's excited about all aspects of it. Lately he's especially into scarecrows. Also, he's going to be a skeleton for Halloween.
• "Little bit time" is probably the most common phrase these days. It's kind of a mixture of "a little bit more" and "one more time." "Are you finished pottying, Ben?" "Potty a LITTLE BIT TIME!" "Ready to go, Ben?" "Look at scarecrows a LITTLE BIT TIME!"
• He's big into asking to be held or hugged, sometimes because he really wants to be and other times because he's restless or unhappy about something that just happened or is about to happen. In the car, he asks us to "Hug nu foot" and then sticks his foot within reach for us to squeeze it. ("Nu" is his word for "your.")
• He still doesn't like for us to sing or act overly exuberant when we're cheering him on. He likes a little bit of praise and excitement, but he likes to control the levels. Obviously, he can't always control them, but he's getting a little more tolerant about people, you know, having the right to be loud occasionally and stuff. :)
• He's completely potty-trained now and has been since I finally just started putting him in underwear several months ago. I probably could have done it a long time ago ... my mom and grandmother were right. He is happy to use any toilet and never says he doesn't need to go. In fact, we have the other problem: he ALWAYS says he needs to go and tends to linger!
• I can't believe I've waited this long to mention Big Tex. He LOVED him at the fair this year. He waved and waved at him and was happy to be parked in front of him even when he wasn't talking. He asks to see Big Tex again each morning and will answer his own question by explaining that Big Tex had to go and the fair is over.
• He loves his grandparents. Loves, loves, loves.
• He is starting to venture out on his own a little bit more. At a recent clothing swap, he happily played with the other children in a playroom while I participated with the other moms. A few months ago I think he would have wanted to stay with me the whole time. Also, at a park recently, he saw a girl around his age arrive with her mom, and asked me if he could go say hi. When I said he could, he moved a little closer to them and waved.
• He's really developing a sense of humor and beginning to communicate his interests in fascinating ways. It's so much fun spending time with him.