Bennett Update {13 and 14 Months}

We have been so incredibly busy with Bennett that I keep forgetting to update on what is new with him!

Sleeping: He is going between 1 and 2 naps a day. Depending on the day, somedays he will take one afternoon nap and sometimes he still needs a morning and afternoon nap. Usually they are 1-2 hours long, and sometimes the afternoon nap is 3 hours long, if it is the only one of the day. 

Development: He is a jabber mouth! He mostly babbles but lately, we catch him repeating things we say such a "All Done!" he will say something like "ahhh duuhhh," so that has been a lot of fun. I think he says about 7-10 words, but many times words have multiple meanings (ex. "ba" can mean ball, bath, book, bubbles, anything that starts with a B). He also overuses "uh oh," everything is "hahhh" (hot), and he is specifically calling me, mama and Josh, dada. He is very athletic, and loves to throw balls (and he has a good arm!). He does not miss a thing! If you try to sneak away to get a snack, he knows right away that we are eating something and will follow you until you share. He loves to throw things away in the garbage, which is fun but also annoying (I find several non-trash items daily in the garbage). And he LOVES to copy anything we do; cooking, cleaning, vacuuming, even when I am putting on makeup or brushing my hair, he wants to pretend he is doing the same thing with the hairbrush or makeup brush (sorry Josh!)

Likes/Dislikes: Bennett absolutely loves daycare and his little friends at daycare. Books have become more popular in the last couple of months. He will now plop himself down on our laps with a book for us to read to him. Although, he typically just wants to turn the pages faster than we can read, it is still really fun. Bennett absolutely loves being outside, and I am seriously concerned for when the weather gets cold. He will stand at the garage door and pound on it until we go outside. Recently, he has fallen in love with his fuzzy blanket, and we have to carry that with us immediately after bed or nap-time until he fully wakes up. Bennett's dislikes these days are definitely the camera: phone or real thing. He could be doing the cutest thing and we get our camera out and he is over it. He hates to sit still and it is near impossible to get a picture of him unless he isn't looking. He also hates getting dressed, having his diaper changed, getting into his car seat, being put in timeout (yes, we do timeout already), or anytime we tell him "no" to (which is a lot these days). Josh and I are struggling with how to teach Bennett boundaries because it seems he wants to do anything and everything and does not care if we tell him "no." For example, he loves to play in the street, he will just walk into the street, throw his balls, play with his toys and the moment we pull him off the street he throws a fit. Oh, and don't even get me started on the tantrums! He is a passionate, determined, stubborn little boy (where did he get that from? his mom?! no way!!). We are constantly pulling him away from dangerous situations or having to tell him no and redirect his attention. I will keep you updated on how this goes because it is still a work in progress.

 (Top Left: enjoying the last few days of warm weather, playing outside. Top Middle: He loves washing the car and/or playing with water in general. Top Right: outside at the park. Bottom left: Enjoying a Waukee High School Football game. Bottom Middle: see what I mean about climing in things?? Bottom left: playing so hard, he fell asleep in the middle of the living room!)

Melissa is so great about sending us pictures throughout the day while Bennett is at daycare, these are a few fun ones I received this past month