Benjamin Reid at 18 Months

These pictures say a few things about Benjamin. First, he loves to climb. Counters, table, pantry, Ana's windowsill, anything and everything. And second, he loves to please his sister Ana. If he can make her laugh, then he's a happy little boy.

I love my little Benjamin. For several reasons:

-he has the whitest hair and eyebrows of any little kid that I know
-I think his motto in life is: why say it if you can yell it? So he yells. Everything! And it's usually a crescendo. Is that the right word for when you start out quiet and get louder? Well, it's that word I'm looking for
-He is always covered in scratches and bruises from one thing or another
-he loves pleasing Ana and making her laugh, and he loves to play with her
-he is getting to be quite the tease. When you tell him not to do something, it becomes his mission in life to do exactly that: with a naughty smile on his face and a high-pitched squeal, he runs away giggling when you try to stop him
-he knows how to push Ana's buttons. He knows that he can cause all sorts of havoc by trying to touch Ana's toys while she's playing with them. That's a big no-no.
-he loves balls, planes, trains, and big cars and trucks. When he sees a train or a big vehicle, he stops, points, and yells, "whhhoooaaaahhh!!! whhooaaahhh! OOOoooohhhhhh!"
-his face lights up when he hears the garage door opening around 5:30 p.m. every weekday, because that means that Daddy's home. He runs to the garage door and waits for someone to open it, then he crawls down the steps, and totters out to meet Thad's car in the driveway. He knows that Thad will open the car door and scoop him up into his lap, and let him steer the car into the driveway. This has become a daily tradition with he and Ana, that we all love. It is Thad's favorite part of the day.
-he gets scared of loud noises. Ana knows this, and sometimes she yells "Booo!" really loud in his face because she knows he will scream with fear
-he is a cuddly little boy. He loves to cuddle up on a shoulder with his "bee-bee" (blanky) when he's tired
-he eats pretty well most of the time, and is still a little clumsy with his silverware. He prefers using his hands
-he calls all drinks, "jew" for juice. Although he is starting to say "meh" for milk.
-he's a skinny little bean with no bum
-he sounds out new words every day, and when we smile and praise him, he just beams

We LOVE our little Benji