18 Month Recap

This is Benjamin's friend "Elephant". "Elephant" is a very important part of the Gehring family these days, and goes most places with Benjamin.

Benjamin has become quite the little parrot and is astute at echolalia. A funny example happened on a recent walk: I had Ben in the stroller and Sadie on the leash and we were trying to pass a family that was dwaddling. The mom of the family told her kids, "Let's let this family pass because we are a bunch of slow pokes." As we're passing, Benjamin looks over his shoulder at them and says, "Slow Pokes!"

He seems to have outgrown "scary baby," which is kinda sad. He would run around waving his arms and saying, "Boo!" No one was better at acting more scared than Papa. His new favorite word is, "Snuggle!" If we are trying to get him to do anything that he doesn't want to do, he knows all he has to say is, "snuggle," and we immediately stop what we are doing, pick him up, and snuggle!

We often tell him, "You can do it," whenever his seems frustrated. Now when he can't do something or drops something he says, "You do it," or "You get it!" He hasn't quite figured out "I," and he sounds so demanding when he says this! He also says "stuck" whenever a toy gets wedged or he finds himself in a position where he can't move; unfortunately, it sounds like "Suck!" Add this to "Mean Mama" (interpretation: My Mama) and "O Sh**" (interpretation: Ocean) and it sounds like I have quite the potty-mouthed son.

Our little guy is showing more personality, and it is obvious he is a fan of books, music and food! He is actually pretty timid and it surprises me when I am around other little boys that are screaming, racing around and tumbling. Ben is super cautious and often says, "Careful" and "Feet First"....hmmm, wonder where he learned those phrases? He is enrolled in a Music Together class and Ben requests his favorite songs by his invented names, "Tumbala," "Button Moon" and "Bum." He is now starting to pretend and likes to find "hidey holes" to play in and feed us pretend meals. Best of all are his great bear hugs and his sweet "I You!'s" (interpretation: I Love You!) before bed.