Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Bennett at 18 Months

This child.
Oh, how I love him.

He still looks so much like his brother, but is absolutely his own person in every single other way possible.

He's speaking a little, but probably only 15-20 words or so. He still signs most everything, though he's picking up more language every day. He mimics our intonation perfectly when trying to repeat back new words, but can't quite make out the actual sounds for everything yet. He understands hundreds of words though, and often answers our questions with a sign, or a head shake for "no" or "yes," but mostly "no" because he's a toddler.
The way he says "outside" (ow-sigh) makes me want to grant every request he makes to go play "ow-sigh" because it's just too damn cute. I'd forgotten how much I loved toddler language and the way their pronunciation melts you into a puddle.

He's also daring--trying to impale, strangle, or maim himself at every possible opportunity. If there's something to climb on, he's scaled it before I can blink. I feel a strong urge to keep him covered in bubble wrap at all times.
He's a feisty one, and a little bit of a biter. If you ignore his demands or dare take a toy he wants, he'll come after you, mouth open, ready to defend his territory with that mouthful of chompers he's got. We're working on time-outs, etc. to curb his angry outbursts, but we've already had to sign a couple incident reports at daycare because he "bit a friend." Dude. Friends don't bite. Not the good ones anyway. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this little phase passes soon.

He's also such a cuddler, and I'm soaking up every single second of it before he outgrows this huggy/kissy phase. When he first wakes, he requires a snuggle. You'd might as well just drop everything else and give in because there's no better way to start the day. He melts his little body into yours and sighs, lavishing in a warm cuddle for a few moments before he's off and moving.

He loves his big brother fiercely, and wants to do everything Gavin does. His latest mimic is trying to jump, which mostly is just him rising up on his tip-toes and then back down again.

At eighteen months (already?!) he's this perfect little combo of spunk and sweetness, and I couldn't imagine our lives without him.
  

No comments: