An Independant Man

That's Bentley! This past week he decided that he wanted to take control of his eating regime in a more hands on way. Bentle is learning to use silverware! The progress looks to be very slow to me, as sometimes he sits in the high chair for more than 30 minutes and probably doesn't eat more than 1/2 teaspoon of food. But for whatever reason he has decided that letting other people feed him is no longer acceptable. He holds the spoon by the very end with two fingers, and dabs it in the food. Then the spoon is put slowly into the mouth (upside down, of course) and sometimes there is even a speck of food left on the spoon to lick off. Today, for the first time, he's actually putting the spoon into the bowl and then into the mouth with the right side up - enabling 3 specks of food to make it into the mouth. Great progress!

3 shoe stores later...

and Bentley is the proud owner of his first pair of "real" shoes! This would be wonderful if he felt happy about it, but I think proud is a stretch right now. I decided he needed some sandals for the upcoming trip to Florida and because it's finally getting warmer outside and I anticipate he'll want to play in the backyard while Matt gardens. The shopping experience was traumatic. It's now apparent to me that Bentley doesn't love shoes as much as I do - at least, not yet (to be honest he probably never will!). When we'd put a pair on his feet he would start to scream and stand very very still... he seems quite positive that walking in shoes is NOT something for him to try. Grandma bought him a pair of Spider Man shoes that have flashing lights in them. He was happy to hold and throw those shoes, as long as we didn't put them on his little feet. The theory is that if we let him play with them for a couple days he may become more comfortable with the idea of keeping them on his feet. We will see!

Bentley also had his 2nd haircut today. Of course, he was again traumatized by the event, despite my efforts to quiet the hysteria through offering chocolate chips. :-) He looks good though, and now we're just about ready for the big adventure in Florida!

First encounter with the flu

We should probably feel blessed that Bentley made it to almost 15 months old without coming down with the flu, but right now it's hard to appreciate that fact! He has been very lethargic the past couple of days due to a nasty flu bug caught somewhere (we can't figure out where though!). It is very odd to have my energetic child turn into a nonstop cuddle bug. I'd enjoy it more if he wasn't so unhappy looking!

We have been building closet units to organize the master bedroom closet, and Bentley does an awesome job of helping me turn the screw driver to tighten down the units. He has also been working on throwing, he does an excellent job with the ball now. I think his overhand throw is already better than mine!

Communication: coming soon?

This past week or two I've noticed a lot more noise and sound experimentation coming from Bentley. I'm hopeful this means we may soon be able to communicate in a meaningful manner. I know that he is speaking some language already, but it's not one that I understand! This past week he has been working on a shrill scream, and since hearing crows in the parking lot at the hardware store he has also been working on a "caw" noise.

In other news, I bought a "toy shelf" with lots of baskets to store all the toys in. So far Bentley is very helpful and often picks up all his toys and puts them away in baskets without any prompting!

Teething & Twirling

Teething bites. Or, at least, it seems to! I know - it's a bad pun. The past couple of days Bentley hasn't wanted to eat much at all, and spends a while chewing on bottle tops before drinking his milk. He has four molars that keep getting bigger, and it looks like he might be getting another tooth as well. Other than a lack of desire to eat, he is still very good and doesn't seem to mind teething. We are impressed!

In other news, about three days ago he learned how to twirl. He goes around and around in a circle, sometimes including nice ballerina hand gestures. Sometimes he'll stop before going around a corner when walking somewhere just to throw a twirl in - he has style! It's VERY cute.

The Perfect Host

Yesterday we had a bridal shower for my cousin Erynne at our house. There were 3 other children under 2 at the party, and Bentley was an excellent host! He shared his toys, tried to talk to them, and played nicely with them. He wandered around among the guests and was absolutely no trouble - I was very impressed!