Boy, this kid keeps me on my toes.
Bence is so busy right now.
He is constantly moving, exploring, climbing, interacting and doing.
He never stops.
I really can't believe that he's 16 months either.
Last year at this time he was such a little peanut.
He used to be this compact, squishy little baby; covered in rolls and pudginess.
Now...he's still pretty compact, but he's growing so tall! And lengthening out so much.
Somedays when I look at him I don't see my baby anymore. I see a little boy. A real kid.
Anyway, for my own sake, I wanted to type up some of the new things he's started doing.
And he's been doing a lot.
A few weeks ago he figured out how to shake his head "no."
He does this in response to just about everything.
"Do you want lunch, bence?"
"Do you want to read a story?"
"Do you want some ice cream?"
No is always the answer. (If we get an answer at all.)
On one or two occasions he's managed to shake his head "yes", but I'm pretty sure it was a fluke.
A few times he has shaken his head so vehemently he's fallen over on his bum.
He's also much more talkative lately. Sometimes when he tries to imitate us he gets really close to saying (or sounding like he's saying) real words. like "eeehhh dud!" (for hey dad!) or just "eh!" for hey! Here's a few of his favorites;
"NANANNANANAN": I'm pretty sure this is his way of saying no. He says this while screaming when I buckle him into his car seat. Or when I buckle him into his highchair. Or when I wipe him down after eating. Basically he says this whenever I restrain him from moving.
"Aud-On": I think this is his version of "all done," but he doesn't always say it in the right context, so I can't be sure.
"MAMAMAMAMAMAMA": also said amidst tears and screaming; usually only when he's totally exhausted and I can't get him a bottle/sippy cup fast enough and he wants me to hold him. This is also the only time he will ever cry for me. (Independant little thing.)
"Dadadadadada": just like almost everything else he says, he says it over and over and over really fast. This one he reserves for times of great excitement, like when we play with his favorite toys or when mommy chases him around the house. Or when daddy walks in the door at the end of the day. I try to not be jealous that daddy's name is synonymous with all things fun.
Overall, he's a chatterbox. He's almost always saying something while he's awake, and he prefers to scream rather than talk. When he gets really excited or emphatic about something, he'll raise his voice so it's super high-pitched and shrill. (And loud.) as nana and papa can attest, his vocal abilities can
shatter glass. But we love him anyway.
Bence loves to play games. He is really good about playing with his toys on his own, but he loves to play with people. His all time favorite game usually involves me trying to "get him," and bence runs away as fast as his pudgy legs will allow him while he laughs maniacally. He'll run behind the couch or hide under the kitchen table or squeeze between the wall and the rocking chair while I thunder around as loud as I can while looking for him. He thinks it's hilarious.
He also loves to read. If I sit on his bedroom floor and pull a book off the shelf he will walk right over and plop on my lap, ready to listen. He isn't very good at holding still for many things, but he'll sit and listen to (sometimes) four or five books in a row, maybe more depending on how worn out he is. We love
llama llama waky-wake,
the big pets,
I am a bunny and
sleepy me.
He is also very adventurous. We have had to keep our chairs away from the kitchen table for the last couple months because he was constantly climbing them. for a while we've been able to just pull them into the living room where he still climbs on them but can't reach/climb onto anything else. But the last couple days we've had to take things a step farther and put said chairs in our room with the door shut. He climbed on one that had been in the living room and he tried dancing and jumping and rocking the chair back and forth. We decided it was safer for everyone to keep all the chairs locked away for now.
Bence is also a danger-seeker in the bathtub. Yesterday he kept trying to get his foot onto the ledge of the tub while putting his other foot into the niche in the shower typically reserved for shampoo and other bottles. His flexibility surprises even me, sometimes. His foot was literally above his head. In any case he slipped and fell and bit his gum hard enough to make it bleed. After many snuggles and hugs and kisses and the comfort of a bottle and paci, he finally stopped crying and fell asleep. and I held him for at least an hour while he napped. It was heaven, and snuggles like that don't happen in this house very often. He is just too active to sit still on mommy's lap for very long.
He has started to express himself so much more in the last couple weeks. The other weekend we were visiting my parents and bence was pretty wild. Typical for him, but somewhat detrimental to Papa's furniture. Bence was taking his toy popper and flinging it above his head, knocking into and hitting everything within a four foot radius. Daddy took his toy away before he could do any damage and Bence's immediate reaction was to clap his hands to each side of his face and scream. We're still not sure where he picked that up from. He continues to do it whenever he has an "oh, dear!" Kind of moment. it's too cute for words.
Have I mentioned that this boy is a little wild? Church has been a bit of a fiasco ever since bence has been able to walk. Our chapel is particularly difficult. We have a wheelchair access ramp leading to the podium in the front of the chapel and every week is a battle keeping bence away from it. His favorite thing to do is run full-pelt up that ramp while laughing like a madman. I'm pretty sure he knows he's being naughty, and that's why he laughs so hard. I've had multiple people in our ward mention that he must be preparing early for future callings in the bishopric.
He still can't point accurately to too many things. If you ask bence where his nose is he'll just give you a blank stare 90% of the time. But occasionally he'll stick his finger right in his nose, so I think he gets the idea. He likes to touch other peoples noses though. Sometimes, late at night when I'm trying to rock him to sleep he'll use that little pointer finger to touch my eyes, my lips, my teeth. He'll stick his finger in my ear and then notice my earring and pick at that too. He's very gently about it, which is unusual for him. Not too long ago he still slapped me in the face all the time. not on purpose, but he just couldn't figure out how to control his hands when they got close to my face. That little pointer finger is one of the cutest things he does and it's how he experiences the world around him.
I love to tickle this boy. He has really thinned out, but he still has folds in his thighs and around his ankles. He is so so ticklish, especially his neck.and he has the sweetest little throaty chortle when you tickle him. He raises his shoulders and squishes his face to make his neck as small a target as possible. The other night I was holding him on my lap and he was facing me and he kept raising his hands to my chest and scratching me while he laughed. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what he was doing until Henry said, "I think he's trying to tickle you!"
We've hit a lot of milestones this winter. Since we're a one- car family we've been stuck at home quite a bit during the week while daddy is at work. Coupled with the fact that we seem to be sick every other week we haven't been up to much the last couple months. Bence has had a rough time with strep throat, incoming molars and multiple colds. He's reverted back to not sleeping which is hard for all of us. All I can say is that I have never spend a better 70 bucks than what I spent on amazon prime (amazons version of netflix.) we've watched little bear, dinosaur train, Olivia, Arthur and his newest favorite, seasame street! He loves seasame street because there's lots of music to dance to and it's not too slow. Right now he's contentedly watching Star Wars. It's so funny to watch him watch some of these shows. Occasionally he'll find something funny and laugh out loud and I wonder what his 16 month old brain thought was so funny. I have never been so grateful for children's programing in my life. (We've tried to stick to things that are somewhat educational....most the time.)
Despite the sleep deprivation, Bence is really a good little boy. He is so happy during the day and so sweet. When I haven't felt very well, he will play on his own with his toys or watch tv so quietly I almost can't believe that it's bence. (he's just normally so busy!) He only gets fussy when he's hungry/thirsty or really tired. and when he gets tired, he's like a little drunk. He can't walk a straight line and falls all over the place, usually bonking his head or stubbing his toe which makes him cry even more. when we walk back to his room at the end of the day to sit in the rocker and give him his last bottle he will sometimes give up a few feet away from the chair and I have to stand up and pick him up since he just can't make it that last few steps. it's so sweet and sad and pathetic I just can't take it. It is usually my favorite part of the day because it's the only time he cuddles and lets my kiss his face and stroke his hair. This boy is perfect.
Bence, we love you so much. We are so glad you came to our family.
