Legos!

We have these gigantic fake Lego blocks. They're "Mega Blocks."

Well, Bennett can put them together! He's combined nesting with stacking and put the "single" block on other blocks. So cool! He's done it several times...but seems to refuse to do it for his dad -- and his dad is probably more excited about this particularly ability than anyone could imagine!

Dad comes to see, and he's not interested in putting anything ON or TOGETHER....only pulling stuff apart!

Also. He freaking loves carrots and applesauce (which I put puffed millet in because it's the only way I can get him to eat it...and we have lots of it!).

I'm pretty sure he ate a cup of applesauce after eating some onions and beans tonight.

Yet he won't really eat anything for lunch and he hardly eats anything for breakfast. Dinner is the big mealtime for Bennett!

Quick note - our pictures have moved!

Matt had decided to use Picasa instead of Photobucket. So now you can view his sometimes-updated photo collection at http://picasaweb.google.com/MattTomCarl/Bennett#.

Fun stuff!

Bennett is now officially a walker. He much prefers walking to crawling - he'll crawl to get over to something so he can pull up (he hasn't realized yet that he *is* actually capable of simply standing up wherever he is), but that's about it.

Anyhow, here are some pictures from the last couple weeks!

Bennett and his friend Noah crashing Bennett's car. So irresponsible!

Bennett looks a little concerned about Noah's driving...

Millet and Apple Sauce: A perfect pairing!

Dried mango -- YUMMY!

This past weekend I took Bennett for a run/walk on a 40-degree afternoon. He was pissed about having to wear something on his head - we had to use his jacket's hood because he instantly will rip a hat off. Anyway, he fussed about it before we left. This is when we returned. I have to say, he generally has this look on his face when in the stroller. He looks angry...but his dad's neutral face is a scowl, so perhaps that's the case here? He doesn't make a PEEP when he's in the stroller. He hardly moves. I think he's just chillin' out...

Close-up.

Bennett is obsessed with the dogs' food and water. Mainly, we think, the water. He just loves water. He puts his hand in their water bowl, and he's been known to dunk his shoe in (while not wearing it). So, this weekend we decided to give him a bowl of water sanctioned for play and see what happened. First he put his penguin pirate in (it's a bath toy he's been wandering around the house with lately), and then it seemed necessary to stand in it with his right foot. Repeatedly. It was serious business!

And a video of the occasion:

Wetfoot. He's pretty cute.

After dinner last night, during which Bennett smeared food in his hair, he got a bath. We let him stay in there for quite awhile...at least 30 minutes...and he still didn't seem to want out! (And he was rockin' quite the bath 'do.)

This is such typical Bennett. As he's getting ready for bed, he wants some hard toy. I've tried to get him interested in a few teddy bears and plush toys, but he could not care less about them! Last night he had a Valentine's Day bucket from Grandma Joan and half a toothbrush case (the toothbrush case is a favorite. He gets ahold of that thing almost every day and has even fed it with a spoon.)

I'm tired.

Bennett's walking is wearing me out.
The end.
Love to all.

Annnnnnd we have walking!

Bennett took his first steps Monday morning - right before plopping his poopy bottom onto the bathroom floor. Hey - there are much worse places he could have chosen to plop a poopy bottom!

Tuesday we caught it on video, and it was hilarious! Today he wasn't much interested in walking - he did it a few times, but nowhere near as far or as consistently as he was last night. I think it was like an amusement park ride for him last night!! Doesn't he know that walking is serious business?

Our day today - baby psych experiment = really cool...then mommy embarassment

I realized recently that the things I should really be posting for family, friends, and others who are specifically interested in Bennett and the rest of our team I have often been posting on a forum I frequented during my pregnancy (especially while on bedrest).

That's pretty silly.

So, in the interest of starting to share this stuff with people who care....here goes!

Science is Cool
Matt and I signed Bennett up to participate in some studies through the Psychology and Brain Science School...or whatever the hell they call it here. They contact us when there is a study going on for babies/children his current age. So today we headed off for our first study.

They didn't tell us exactly what they were looking for in the beginning - just what they were going to do. The meat of the experiment consisted of a box with two holes and two lids. The experimenter used those claw grabber things (if you know what I'm talking about) to put a toy into the hole to our left, put the lid on, take the lid off, get the toy out, show it to Bennett. He did this over and over. I lost count and was honestly a bit entranced by it - it was kind of rhythmic and he did the same actions over and over, including putting the grabber things out of sight during the process -- which Bennett watched as closely as he did what happened to the toy.

Anyway, at the very end, the experimenter put the toy in the hole to our right, and then pushed the whole thing toward us. Bennett went to look for the toy in the hole to the left.

Apparently, this was a very close copy of an old experiment. They got these same results the first time. However, they copied it before and got the opposite result -- the babies went for the correct hole.

So what was different during that first copy? The babies could not see the hands of the experimenter manipulating the claws! So they posit that there is some social aspect to where the baby thinks the toy is placed! Isn't that cool?

Science is Embarrassing....
Right before we went for the experiment, I woke Bennett up from his nap (yes, he's only taking one freaking nap a day now...and everyone is suffering). In the interest of tanking him up during the daylight hours so he sleeps a little better at night, I nursed him while he was still drowsy - and then very hurriedly got him ready to leave the house.

Guess what? I discovered when I was getting back in the car after the experiment that I never put back up the stupid access panel on my nursing bra. And you could tell (I noticed in a reflection, not because it felt weird).

The worst part? They videotaped Bennett and me, and have permission to use the video for whatever purpose (conferences, lectures, etc). I suppose I could call and say, "please do not use any footage where you can see the outline of my breast," but I'm a little embarrassed at the prospect! I mean, I think it would have to be added to my consent form, and I don't really want to call further attention to it...

So....yeah.

Something other than Hanukkah - what Bennett is up to

Bennett is starting to do some very cool things. His fine motor and verbal skills are really picking up, and his gross motor is still definitely advancing....but not quite as quickly as before, which is a RELIEF! I don't believe I wrote about this on here (and if I did, I blame sleep deprivation for my non-existant memory), but we think Bennett is going to be a sleep walker.

I was a sleep walker to some extent as a child, and Bennett is showing signs of doing the same thing (according to the pediatrician, it does run in families and Bennett's "practicing" of these skills in his sleep does indicate he might sleep walk as a child.). When he learned to sit up, he did it in his sleep - which was SO strange. He would sit up and not be awake, and suddenly wake up and start screaming. And then there was the sleep crawling - he would get up on all fours and crawl into the wall, repeatedly hitting his head until he woke up! It was funny and sad and made for some very restless sleep for the Little Goo.

Anyhow, he is now cruising all over the place. He cruises up to stand on toys, he tries to pull up on the dogs, he often cruises with one hand -- and a few times has picked up both hands and stood for a few seconds!

He will also take a few steps if you hold his hands and stand behind him - but only if he REALLY wants to get somewhere. Like to Mom. And then he BEAMS at me like it's the best thing ever!

The Goo is starting to eat more solids. We give him anything he can feed himself that I'm not worried he'll choke on. This means puffed rice, toasted oats (Cheerios), grated sharp cheddar cheese, apple sauce (by the handful! He LOVES it!), mango cheeks (though I have to watch because he has been known to stuff the entire thing in his mouth), squash, carrots, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin. His pincer grasp is quite good now.

Over the last week or so Bennett has clearly started pointing. He mainly just points at us as if to say, "YOU! I see you!" Sometimes he sticks out that finger to touch it to a page of a book. We also think he *might* be saying "mama" and meaning me. It's unclear. And today he babbled a WHOLE lot of "dada." He also screaches and does this throaty gutteral thing that sounds like he's possessed. But I swear! He's not!

The other funny thing he does is feed his mother. He thinks it's hilarious to put food in my mouth. In fact, today I gave him a frozen bagel to help with his teething (that's what the pediatrician recommended) and, once he figured out it was food (because I kept putting it in my mouth trying to convince him to put it in his) he shoved it in my mouth with gusto. While he screamed. It didn't do a damned thing for his teething pain to have it in MY mouth!

He continues to be a very happy, busy, vocal, and social baby. When we go to the grocery store, he screaches until people look at him, and then he flashes them his big grin....before screaching some more.

Alright. I should go. He's found the envelope from a Netlix movie and I cannot for the life of me convince him not to eat paper....