The party is 11/19 but Ben turned one on Wednesday, November 16.
At his 12 month check up today, his measurements were:
We picked up a blow up lion named Ben (the actual name on the box) off the clearance rack at Target and filled the bottom with 2 pounds of black beans. The end result is a toy that Ben will enjoy attacking.
The past few days, Ben has started babbling, yodeling, and carrying on conversations. I tried to capture it on video. Pardon the disaster of a living room – as soon as I clean up, he’s right behind me to make a mess!
Pardon the poor quality – it’s still cute and I love Ben’s laugh!
At my counsin Jade’s 3rd birthday party a couple weeks ago, Ben got to come along to meet his second-counsin. My mom is holding Ben on the right and Jade is sitting in he babysitter (didn’t catch her name) on the left. Right after this photo was taken, Ben lunged at Jade, stuck his fingers in her mouth and made her cry. What a charming, well-mannered boy! Ben hasn’t had much interaction with other children… something we need to work on.
Blake’s parents bought Ben a push cart from IKEA. We bought him something like that a few months ago but he doesn’t like ours nearly as much as his new one.
Blake and his mom took Ben for his nine-month check up. His stats are:
According to this growth percentile calculator, Ben is in the following percentiles:
Meaning he’s taller than most, thinner than average, and has an average sized head – like usual.
His two bottom teeth are mostly in. And he has two top teeth that are breaking through – those things are big!
In terms of clothes, he’s now in 12 month stuff, 18 months if we’re talking onesies. I’m trying to predict what size he’ll be in when it gets cold in a couple months, and also on his birthday. I’m guessing 18 month stuff.
Below is a chart of milestones that Ben needs to be achieving. He’s doing well with the Mastered and Emerging skills and he’s working on the Advanced for a 9-month old. He can also do several of the tasks identified for older babies. He’ll figure it all out though… we all do!
One new thing we’ve started – he’s on the Your Baby Can Read program. He’s almost through his first month and while he’s not reading Shakespeare yet, he is babbling more and definitely at least showing an interest.
One of his favorite toys right now is actually a sippy cup. 🙂
| Child’s Age |  Mastered Skills (most kids can do) |
Emerging Skills (half of kids can do) |
Advanced Skills (a few kids can do) |
| 9 months | Stands while holding onto something Jabbers or combines syllables Understands object permanence |
Cruises while holding onto furniture Drinks from a sippy cup Eats with fingers Bangs objects together |
Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent |
| 10 months | Waves goodbye Picks things up withpincer grasp Crawls well, with belly off the ground |
Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent Indicates wants with gestures |
Stands alone for a couple of seconds Puts objects into a container |
| 11 months | Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Stands alone for a couple of seconds Cruises |
Understands “no” and simple instructions Puts objects into a container |
Says one word besides “mama” or “dada” Stoops from standing position |
| 12 months | Imitates others’ activities Indicates wants with gestures |
Takes a few steps Says one word besides “mama” or “dada” |
Walks alone Scribbles with a crayon Says two words besides “mama” or “dada” |
Ben is very talkative – long strings of mamamamama and dadadadada. And he spits/blows raspberries for no reason too. It’d be adorable if it weren’t so gross.
Ben and I play “Where’s the baby?” a lot: