Thanksgiving

We have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, but I am starting with the fact that I am not expected to participate in the American Tradition of watching American Football all afternoon.  Ben, however, appears to be enjoying it, and Tom certainly is. The Green Bay Packers are his favourite team, and he bought Ben a team shirt ages ago in a charity shop. It's a bit on the small side now!

Bubbles!

This is him saying 'bubbles.'

We were reading a storybook last night that has a bathtime scene and bubbles. At that page, the book was flung aside and we had to race to the bathroom and begin bathtime immediately! He's so much fun at the moment.

Developing language

Ben has been a little behind some of his friends in developing words. When he went to the doctor recently she asked if he could point to his head, or his tummy. Marina had to admit he couldn't, but he would tell you where the dog was, or a duck.

However, today has been a day for learning new words, I attribute some of this to him moving from Baby Einstein to Sesame Street (thank goodness!) Today we learned Banana, because they were talking about them on the show.
Then at bath time Daddy rolled out his newest acquisition; a bubble machine that suction cups to the bathroom wall and blows bubbles down onto the bath. Ben loved it so much he learned to say 'bubble" just so he could ask for more. Pretty impressive turn-around.

Ben learns about bananas

Today Ben watched an episode of Sesame Street that was all about bananas. He now loves bananas.

I'm a little embarrassed that he learned about this fruit from a TV show, but he had ignored them up until now.

One year on

 Remember this little (okay, not very little, but RELATIVELY little) baby?

This time last year, just as it was starting to get cold, I got some pictures of Tom about to take Ben out on a dogwalk. At that point, 3 1/2 months old, Ben had an unfeasibly large head and so I gave up buying baby hats and bought some for a toddler, which were then ridiculously large, and really rather cute

This morning I realised, on the first day that it was cold enough for hats and gloves and scarves, that Ben was still wearing the same hat.

 Now he just looks like a lumberjack!  This effect is even more enhanced when he's in his dungarees:

Where did this great big boy come from? Walking with the occasional trip (just like his Mum), jabbering away in nonsensical talk (just like Dad) and now climbing onto big chairs and sitting in them with squeals of accomplishment. There's no stopping him!