"Benj" & other toddlerisms

I don't think I've mentioned that Benjamin, unable or unwilling to say "Benjamin", now refers to himself as Benj. This has always been one of my nicknames for him, but it is so funny to hear him say it! He is still in the stage where he refers to himself in the third person, so he is constantly saying things like, "Benj eat!", "Benj read book," and "Benj stinky!"

Five months ago I was a little worried about Benjamin's language development as he was not yet putting two words together. I need not have been concerned! The little jabberbox never stops talking! I wish I had a video clip of the way he explains things to me--hands out, fingers splayed (palms up), emphatically gesturing to punctuate every word. When he really gets going he alternates this with patting his thighs. It is hysterical to watch!

Another fun little development has been the discovery of his creative side. Benjamin has begun to make up words to the tunes of songs he knows. For example (to the tune of the "clean up" song): "Read books, read books, ev...mmmbb ev...mmm" (I think that's "everybody everywhere"). Or how about (to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle"): "Benjamin, Benjamin, Benjamin-min, Benjamin." He has also started telling his own jokes. This is one of our dinner favorites. (Any family member followed by anything they are not actually eating may be substituted in, as desired): "Talia's eating....(dramatic pause) PIZZA!" (Hysterical laughter) "Talia's eating...CEREAL!" (Ha ha ha ha ha)

He is still quite enamored with letters and numbers. He has known all the sounds the letters make for quite some time now, and has gradually been learning each letter's name, but we recently discovered that he can say the entire alphabet, in order, quite clearly. He also loves to sing the alphabet, as long as you go slowly. He loves to count, too, which is a great motivator to get him to do things he doesn't want to do (like eat and pick up toys). He can count up to 29 so that gives us plenty of room to get accomplished what we need to do (29 bites--that's a lot of bites!) One of his new favorite activities is playing this game on the computer.

Right now Benjamin is also very hung up on the "rules." He goes around the house reciting things like, "no ball on table," "no push Ya Ya," "no touching," "no lick (his lips are quite chapped)." And when we put him down to bed the script goes like this: "No talking, no singing, no kick wall, no ABC's, no 1, no 2, no 3, no 4....etc," which are all things he loves to do, enabling him to stay awake (and keep his sister up) long after we put him to bed! It makes me wonder if he ever absorbes the positive things I say to him. I really don't follow him around telling him "no" all the time! I guess it's just his personality. He loves rules and order and routine. I wonder where he got that?.... :)

Healthwise, we are still dealing with some issues. He did get over the pneumonia from a couple of weeks ago, but the day before his re-check appointment he started coughing again and now we are back on an antibiotic, as well as the nebulizer for another 6 weeks, Singulair, a cough medicine, an antibiotic ointment for infected patches of eczema, and Tylenol for fever! We are realizing more and more that he is just kind of a sickly little guy and is in need of God's healing. We are praying for permanent strengthening for his weak body.

I know this doesn't nearly summarize all that Benjamin is doing and saying these days, but I hope it gives you a glimpse into his busy little life that brings us so much joy.