So we’re 3 months late posting this… we discovered we have a great view of the fireworks in downtown Tavares from our living room. Ben had a wand with multicolored fiberoptic strands coming out of it.
Toddlers sleep in the strangest places
Ben doesn’t have a regular nap schedule, or even a regular nap location! This hyperactive kid will fall asleep wherever he crashes.
- Sitting up reading a book
- On the coffee table
- On the coffee table
- On the coffee table
- On the floor in between the couch and coffee table
- On the floor in between the couch and coffee table
- On the floor in between the couch and coffee table
- On half a couch cushion after he removed a few cushions
The boy can talk!
He’s catching up on all those months of no talking. Doctor’s visit after doctor’s visit, he would be behind on the speech portion of his developmental milestones checklists. It was bad enough that the doctor recommended he be screened for Early Steps, a program that evaluates kids who are developmentally behind and provides free supplemental training/therapy to boost their skills. Ben went through the evaluation and was found to be ok. But we were still worried. All the checklists quantified how many words he could say. For a while he didn’t have any words he consistently said.
Well, now he has lots of words! Let’s start a list:
- Mommy
- Daddy
- Up
- Please
- More
- Cat/kitty
- Dora (Dora the Explorer)
- Gabba (Yo Gabba Gabba TV show)
- Milk
- Water
- Cup
- Ball
- Key
- Car
- Click
- Conk (a word we say when you “conk” your head/foot/etc. on something)
- Ow
- No
- Yes
- Chip
- Dip
- Ben
- Thank you
- Apple
- Orange
- Juice
- On
- Dog
- Puppy
- Shoe
- Hair
- Head
- Belly/belly button
- Bubbles
- Pop
- Cover
- Kiss
And I’m probably forgetting some but he’s catching up!
Chart of milestones from BabyCenter.com:
Child’s Age | ![]() Mastered Skills (most kids can do) |
![]() Emerging Skills (half of kids can do) |
![]() Advanced Skills (a few kids can do) |
19 months | Uses a spoon and fork Runs Throws a ball underhand Enjoys helping around the house |
Understands as many as 200 words Recognizes when something is wrong (e.g., calling a dog a cat) |
Washes and dries own hands with help Points to picture or object when you call it by name May know when she needs to pee |
20 months | Feeds doll Takes off own clothes Dumps an object in imitation, such as throwing garbage away |
Learns words at a rate of ten or more a day Can walk up stairs (but probably not down) |
May start exploring genitals Draws a straight line Names several body parts |
21 months | Can walk up stairs Able to set simple goals (e.g., deciding to put a toy in a certain place) |
Throws a ball overhand Kicks ball forward Stacks six blocks |
Names simple picture in a book Can walk down stairs |
22 months | Kicks ball forward Follows two-step requests(e.g., “Get your doll and bring it here”) |
Does simple puzzles Draws a straight line Names several body parts |
Puts on loose-fitting clothes Might be ready for a big bed Understands opposites (e.g., tall vs. short) |
23 months | Names simple picture in a book Uses 50 to 70 words |
Opens doors Sings simple tunes Takes more of an interest in playing with other kids |
Talks about self (likes, dislikes) Asks “why?” |
24 months | Names at least six body parts Half of speech is understandable Makes two- to three-word sentences |
Talks about self Arranges things in categories Can walk down stairs |
Begins to understand abstract concepts (e.g., sooner and later) Becomes attuned to gender differences Learns to jump |
3 months, no posts? Bad blogger mommy!
Apologies for the lack of posts. I figured no one was actually looking at the site so no one would miss us. But I was wrong. Thank you for missing us!
Swim lessons
At the Y. Ben liked it the first day. Then it all fell apart. He stopped participating, instead just dunking his head underwater or jumping into the pool. The swim instructor said he was one of the laziest kids she’d ever had. Then he was kicked out because he wouldn’t stop screaming…
Belated Easter
I just found these “Easter” photos that I forgot to post. We didn’t celebrate Easter, but Blake went to Target the day after, got Ben an Elmo basket and some  eggs, and we hid them. I don’t know why he’s not wearing a shirt…
Great Grandpa’s 80th Birthday
Ben quickly found the booze cooler at my Pop-Pop’s 80th birthday party. Of course he never drank any but we got a kick out of him carrying around the cans. 🙂 Ben also got to meet his Great Great Uncle Donald from Canada.
Ben doing chores
Ben gets a kick out of helping, whether it be with laundry, loading the fridge with water bottles, throwing stuff away.
Some random recent photos:
18 month check up
We went to the doctor yesterday. Ben is still above the 98th percentile for his height. He is fattening up, so much so that if he weren’t so tall, he’d be getting chubby. His development is on track. He may not be communicating with many words, but he understands, responds, and communicates in other ways. He does need to work on using a spoon and fork, and we need to get him off his noony/pacifier.
This is a list of milestones we can be looking forward to:
:::Source: BabyCenter.com
Child’s Age | ![]() Mastered Skills (most kids can do) |
![]() Emerging Skills (half of kids can do) |
![]() Advanced Skills (a few kids can do) |
19 months | Uses a spoon and fork Runs Throws a ball underhand Enjoys helping around the house |
Understands as many as 200 words Recognizes when something is wrong (e.g., calling a dog a cat) |
Washes and dries own hands with help Points to picture or object when you call it by name May know when she needs to pee |