Little Benny Boo-Boo Hopping Through the Forest...

For my 100th post, I was going to post "100 Things About Us", but then I figured that it would have been too long of a post and no one would have read the entire thing. So instead, I'm going to split it up into separate posts. Let's hear it for Ben today!

(Previous "100 Things": Owen and Daddio).

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1. Ben was born in Plattsburgh, NY at 3:12 PM (yes, I had to look it up). He weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long. Like Owen, Ben was also born on his due date, however, his was an induced labor, (because I was about 2 hours away from the hospital where I was going to deliver). Compared to Owen, Ben's delivery was a walk in the park. Thank goodness for epidurals!

2. Ben's name was a mutual choice between Daddio and myself. It was a name that had appeared on both of our name lists for Owen, and one of the only ones that we both liked. His middle name, Ryan, is the same as Daddio's.

3. Ben had really dark hair when he was born. His hair is now blond.

4. I made the mistake of rocking Ben to sleep every night and during nap time. (I had Owen "trained" to put himself to sleep around 1 month). This was mainly due to the fact that I was afraid that his crying would wake up Owen or Daddio, who was on the midnight shift at the time. This lasted too long. He was closer to a year old before I finally broke him of the habit. (NEVER rock your child to sleep! Put him or her to bed when he/she is still awake and let him/her fall asleep on his or her own! Trust me on this one. It will save you so much stress in the long run).

5. Ben also had to be swaddled until he was about 6-8 months old. Yeah, I know. It was probably my own doing, but he was such a screamer that I could never let him just cry it out. He would cry for hours if I let him! Thankfully he now falls asleep on his own, without being swaddled. However....

6. Now, Ben will not go to sleep unless he has one specific paci in his mouth, and the other held in his hand. (They are two different brands, and are not interchangeable). If he loses one, he won't go to sleep. He also has to have his Glow Worm next to him so he can play music over and over again until he falls asleep. He will not go to sleep if his pajama leg is up around his knees, which means that I will be putting this child in footie pajamas until he is 10! He won't sleep with socks on either. I feel for his future wife.

He's the spitting image of his mother.

7. If ever there was a picky eater, it is Mr. Benjamin. He is worse than Owen. It used to be that Ben would always eat anything with ground beef in it, steak, and pizza. Now, it is hit or miss getting him to eat those things. Currently, he prefers breakfast foods (waffles, french toast, pancakes, muffins, oatmeal, etc.), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, yogurt, and depending on his mood, meatloaf. He rarely eats any form of chicken. He won't eat vegetables, or fruit (with the exception of apples). He won't touch orange juice or pasta. He won't even eat french fries or grilled cheese.

8. Ben also hates messy foods. He freaks out if anything, like oatmeal, gets on his cheeks, chin, or lips. He will not put a spoonful of anything in his mouth if he thinks that it will touch the sides of it. And if he gets any food on his hands, he will not let it go until it has been wiped off. I feel for his future wife.

9. It is not uncommon to hear Ben singing to himself while he plays. His favorite song to sing seems to be the theme song to Scooby-Doo, (completely recognizable as such), but he has also been known to attempt "Paparazzi" by Lady Ga-Ga.  He has no fear singing (or dancing) in public, (unlike Owen), especially during story hour at the library.

10. Ben has already had two boo-boos (and scars) at the hands of his older brother. The first occurred when Owen tried pulling a toy out of Ben's hands. He ended up wacking poor Ben in the face and split open his eye. The second incident was Ben's fault for being too trusting of Owen. Ben was standing on the couch, and Owen was on the coffee table. (I was in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner. Daddio was at work). Owen convinced Ben that he would catch him if he jumped from the couch to the coffee table. Ben believed him, but needless to say, Owen did not catch him and Ben split open his chin on the coffee table. No stitches for either battle wound, thank goodness. 

A Spider-Man bandage always makes things better.

11. Ben is in love with "Ninny", "Buh", and "Goo". (Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, and Scooby-Doo). He freaks out anytime he sees them anywhere. He especially loves Mickey Mouse and the first thing that he has to do when he gets up in the morning is read his Mickey Mouse board books. I kid you not. When he has finished a cuddle time with Mommy, he makes me go into his room to pull out the books so he can sit down and chew read them.

12. The phrases that Ben knows how to say are mainly commands. They include "Get up!", "Come. See.", and "Get outta here!" (the last one usually spoken to Daddio any time he goes near me). He also knows how to say "I get up?". This one is asked immediately after he has been placed in time out and repeated over and over again until he is allowed to get up. Another favorite phrase of his is "I di-it!" which he exclaims, while jumping up and down ecstatically, after every single thing he does worthy of praise. This includes putting food on his spoon, eating by himself, building something with his blocks, walking up the stairs, and putting his pacis back in his crib. It also has to be immediately followed up with a high five.

13. It's possible that Ben may be ambidextrous. Daddio is (He writes with his left hand, but uses his right for other things). Ben does not seem to favor one hand over the other and will use his utensils with either. Although he does prefer to grab his diaper, pick his nose, and high fives with his right hand. He pulls hair with his left. 

14. There is a slight chance that Ben may think that he is a dog. He usually has his tongue hanging out of his mouth, and quite frequently crawls around on the floor while barking. He also eats food off the floor, and chews on everything! Any time we go to someone's house who owns a dog, he snuggles up on the dog's bed, or closes himself into its cage, with or without the dog. I feel for his future wife.

15. Ben is my little Dennis the Menace. It was a pretty good indication that he would be the one to keep an eye on when he managed to climb to the top bunk at ten months old! He has also dumped a bag of pretzels on the kitchen floor, tried to "bake" at Grandma S.'s with real eggs (she keeps a small refrigerator of eggs in the boys' room, right next to the play kitchen, so it was bound to happen), emptied all of the board games and Memory games out on the floor, unrolled a new roll of toilet paper, and has tried to give himself a bath, fully dressed with the water running, while I was in the shower.

16. Ben loves Owen unconditionally. He is always attacking him with hugs and kisses, much to Owen's dismay.

17. Ben has mastered drinking out of a big boy cup, although he prefers shot glasses.

18. He also tries to dress himself, and gets very stubborn if anyone tried to help him. He likes to try to put on his own pants and socks. He is always unsuccessful. However, he is very successful at taking off his socks, and never leaves them on for even half the day. Some days he is even able to take off all of his clothes, which is always followed by "I di-it!"

19. Ben likes to play hide and seek. His favorite place to hide is in one of the closets or under the end table in the living room. However, he has managed to find some pretty good alternate hiding places:

20.  Owen says that Ben is crazy because "he climbs up in his crib and gets stuck". He "goes round in circles and laugh."

And now you know Ben.