Fock! (er... he means "sock")

The past few weeks have been a bit out of the ordinary in "Benland." Clay had to go out of town for work last week, so Ben and I went to El Paso to stay with my parents. My dad is valiantly battling health issues right now, so my mom, Ben and I mostly did stuff at home. It's nice to feel useful, and I love seeing Benben having so much fun with his grandparents and his Uncle Greg!

His Gramma also taught him all sorts of new words ("foot," "hair," "tree," and "fly" along with a few others). He loved bringing her toys to play with and books to read.

Probably the worst thing about our visit to El paso was the discovery that Ben has started boycotting sleeping on airplanes. Things got a bit intense on the ride out there and the ride back, even though the flights are only an hour and a half. Luckily the other passengers were mostly nice about his screeching, toy banging, seat kicking (*wince*), and across-the aisle-puppet tossing.

In other news, when we got back to San Antonio I took Ben to the pediatrician this week to get him back on reflux meds (poor Benito couldn't stop burping uncomfortably and waking up from a nap with milk in his mouth). In the past three weeks, (since his 15 month pediatrician check-up), he has gained over a pound--which is a lot for him. I guess things are going better with his diet than I sometimes think.

The doctor was also impressed that Ben is already stringing together two-word phrases... the first being "no more" (which is always said with a definite shake of his head). I guess it's good that he's not shy about his needs and desires. In fact his new favorite word is "hug!" accompanied by him throwing his arms around me. Talk about a magical mommy moment! In a not-so-great-but-hilarious new-word development, Ben has also taken to joyfully yelling "fock!" at odd times. Finally this morning I figured out that what sounds like "the F word" actually means "sock" to him... and since it gets huge giggles out of us, he keeps doing it.....

Uncle Greg

Seeing how active Ben is (he took off running down the hall at the pediatrician's office wearing only a diaper), the doctor suggested I put bells on his shoes so we always know where he is. The thing is, our house is so small, that I pretty much always know where he is. Plus, he definitely has his happy, independent quiet times (see video below where I found him "reading" to himself), and playing single-mindedly with his toys.

Speaking of toys, I'm part of a San Antonio online parenting community, and every Saturday they have a online garage sale. Over the last few weeks I've gotten fantastic deals on several different toys that other parents no longer wanted: the Little Tykes car in the video below, the ride-on doggie (pictured below), and a sit-and-spin I'm waiting to bring out until he's older. There are so many things I love about living in San Antonio, and knowing such people is definitely one of them!

Autumn comes to Olmos Park, (& Ben tries to hit everything with a stick)

this little doggie (was bought on super sale)

learning about car "maintenance"

"reading"

getting to be Mr. Independent on our backyard playset (thanks again, Leilani!)

Rally! Rally! Rally!

going for a ride on Emma's kiddie scoot

Ben: small, but social

This weekend was Rally De Los Muertos 2013, a scooter rally that Clay and two of our friends put together for the second year in a row. Much fun as had by all, including my brother and his wife (who drove in from Houston for the weekend). Rally! Rally! Rally! Rally!

Ben exploring The Motorcycle Shop

@ The Cove: too bad the temporary face tattoo gave me a terrible headache and stomach ache!

playing at the park with Aunt Sandy

hanging out with Uncle Matt

first taste of salmon pate this morning; my boy has gourmet tastes

Sad face, Super Duck. Happy face, Mama!

Ducks shouldn't look so dismal :(

Ben celebrated the second Halloween of his life yesterday. Sadly, neither Ben, nor his friend, Auden, could stand being in their costumes for more than about 40 minutes. We took them (not in costume) to one of the local library's Halloween parties, but they were both too young to do any of the crafts, and the "haunted house" and the man with vampire fangs just totally freaked Ben out......So the adventures of Super Duck and Incredible Lion were quite short.

That's okay though.  Hopefully next year Ben's Halloween costume will be more comfortable. Plus, by then he should be able to look in the mirror and realize it's himself he's looking at, which should make costume wearing more fun.

It seems like Halloween was destined to fall a bit flat this year; last night we got literally two trick or treaters. Plus, those two trick-or-treaters came together, and Clay says they looked old enough to drive. So now I'm going to have to valiantly try to deal with all the Halloween candy. Man, I have a hard life! 

Yesterday Ben had (what I hope to be) his very last speech therapy (chewing/eating help) sessions. The therapist said (based on what she's seen of Ben's eating and based on what I've told her about how he does at home) that his eating capabilities and his willingness to let me feed him have increased so much that as long as Ben continues to gain weight, he's well on his way to being a normal toddler (eating-wise). At this point it seems like Ben's biggest issue is just pickiness (he still spits out food or drops it on the floor when he's not in the mood or doesn't like it). The therapist gave me some ideas about improving picky eating (one is called "food chaining," where the parent finds one food the child will eat and start adding little bits of new foods to that). So unless Ben develops a new eating issue, we're done with speech therapy!

As an example of how Ben's eating has improved: there have been several days this past week where Ben only wanted 2 bottles of milk (he used to take 5-6 a day) and the other day he actually FINISHED a complete meal I'd prepared for him, for the first time ever!

Also, good news from Ben's pediatrician visit today: all his stats are good and no problems!!! This may be the first doctor check up where something worrisome wasn't discovered. He's still in the 25th percentile in weight and 75th percentile in height, but the pediatrician says that's probably just where his body type is naturally, so as long as he keeps eating okay, I don't need to stress about his calorie intake!! Hurray!

our pumpkin

She also said that he can begin only taking his reflux meds every other day until this bottle is gone, and then stop taking them altogether!! That's $70 a month we'll save. And speaking of future money savings, she said I can switch him off toddler formula and onto whole milk whenever I want to (that's over $130 a month!). However, I just ordered a new crate of toddler formula, so I'm going to switch him over to whole milk slowly.

Ben meets pumpkin

I'm so excited that things are looking up for Ben health-wise and that he's moving on nicely to a new phase in life (which I'm calling "operation insanely fun/adorable & try-to-run-away-from-mama mania).

P.S. Ben is exactly 15 months old today!

Ben & Auden: "This is as close to both of us smiling as you're gonna get!"

Ben listens attentively to Auden's costume protest

just as a comparison: here's Ben a year ago!

yep, that's my boy!

Ben's first finished meal: yogurt with strawberries

"flying lessons" last weekend

At Hardberger Park

During letter time this week, here's what Ben did when I told him "C" is for "cat". Oz was not so amused.