21 Months

We have been itching to get outside after being cooped up all winter. Spring seems to be teasing us! My little daredevil seems to have learned some new skills. He would get to the top of the ladder and let go with both hands. Not funny! He also slides face first, on his tummy, and any other way he thinks it would be fun to go down. Benton also requested to swing on the big boy swing.

This is one cool dude!

It's been a while since I made myself sit down and write out what little man has been up to lately.

At 21 months Benton:

-has good taste in cars. He knows mommy drive a taho, daddy drives a chevy truck, and when asked knows his daddy works at "Hanner Chevrolet." He asked if he could drive the camero, but I told him not yet:)

-has 13 teeth. 4 top, 4 bottom, 4 molars, and 1 eye tooth.

-sleeps from 9 p.m. to about 8 a.m. Thank goodness for the afternoon nap, usually about 3-4 hours.

-still enjoys signing. He's learned lots of new animals, the colors, and many foods. He usually signs and speaks the words.

-counts to 20 and recognizes the numbers 0-9.

-knows the capital letters, and most of the lowercase letter of the alphabet, along with their sounds. He is always asking to play with his tub of "yetters."

-talks mostly in phrases and sentences. Hunter and I can understand most of what he says. We still have to do a lot of translating to others.

-is shy when he first sees people, even people he sees often. Usually he warms up pretty quickly.

-tells me he's "ready eat" every time he walks by his high chair or hears any mention of food. He would snack all day long if I let him.

-thinks it necessary to drink the milk out of his bowl after his cereal. Makes a huge mess if I don't catch him to help.

-will say his full name. "Benta Bane Hanner" sounds pretty cute rolling off his tongue. He also knows him mommy and daddy's full names.

-reminds us every night to read from his bible and say "payers". Usually they go something like, "Thank you mommy daddy, fred, outside, books, balls, hair, mommy daddy, baby ben clara," and then after several minutes of this we add in Jesus' name to cut him off and he says amen. He might have a future as a preacher with his long winded prayers.

-loves singing. Some of his current favorites include Jesus Loves Me, the B-I-B-L-E, Mary had a little lamb, monkeys jumping on the bed, itsy bitsy spider, and ring around the rosies. He claps, stomps, and shouts horray for "if you're happy and you know it."

-is very obedient in nature. He usually, but not always, follows my verbal commands. He will go play in his room when I ask, throws away his own diapers, puts away his dirty clothes, and helps clean up his toys. He has had to go sit on his bed "until he can be happy" a few times, and after a while I found him still sitting on his bed singing to himself. He greeted me with a smile and was ready to go about his business.

-can't wait to get out of the bath and run "nakie" with his puppy dog towel to find mommy. So predictable!

We are so proud of him! It's hard to believe he will be 2 in just a few months. It is a joy and delight to be mommy to this precious blue eyed boy.