Bennett has finally started talking. He's been doing animal noises for a while now, but the only words he said consistently were "mama" and "dada." Now he has started mimicking some one word phrases we say, even though most of them don't sound exactly like the word. He can usually get the first consonant sound correct, sometimes the correct vowel sound, and usually never says the final consonant. The only word he can say the final consonant on is "up," which is very exaggerated, like "uuuu-ppp!" And usually this is said with arms stretching up towards me, and followed with dramatic crying if I don't comply. Or sometimes for added drama, he'll say it over and over, like, "Up, up up up up uuuuupppp!" He also uses "up" when he wants to get down, despite our best efforts to teach him "down" ("dow"). In the morning, Bennett usually wakes up around 6am, plays/reads in bed for 15-20 minutes, and then we hear either "Dada! Dada!" or "Mama! Mama!" when he's ready to get out. Other words he says now pretty consistently are Oh-oh, banana (nuh-nuh), ball ("Bah"), Bottle ("buh-buh"), Bye, ("Bahhh!"). He will often repeat Cooper ("Pah-pah/pah"), ow, and hot ("aht!" and he'll blow on the food, too). He also still babbles to us and himself a lot, which we often have no idea what he is saying.
Speaking of animal noises, they are definitely still here and the amount of noises is growing and growing. I'm also constantly impressed by how many he recognizes! We were at the beach the other day and a little girl was wearing a Hello Kitty swimming suit, and Bennett walked up to her, poked her belly (where the kitty was), and said, "Meoooow!" Which was cute until he did it 3 or 4 more times, and I felt she was getting uncomfortable, LOL. Then I took him away to play elsewhere. When I pull the container of milk out of the fridge, I'll hear, "Moooo!" and somehow he sees the tiny cows in the barn in the picture on the container. And after every nap he has to point to all the owls around his room and yell "Hoo hoooo!"
Bennett LOVES music and dancing, and if you are willing to sing to him, he will reward you with swinging arms, swaying side to side, and bouncing up and down. He even sometimes turns in a circle. Bennett also loves peek-a-boo, chase games (I'm gonna get you!), and being outside. I swear, if I was happy being outside all day everyday, he would never whine or cry. But it rains, it gets sunny and hot, and sometimes I need a break from chasing him around the yard (Oh how I wish we could have a fence!). He loves playing with his water table, playing in the sandbox, swinging, playing in his playhouse, picking up and carrying things around, pushing things/toys, and smelling flowers. Oh man does this kid LOVE smelling flowers - fake or real. And candles too. If he sees a flower or candle, he'll point at it and say, "Nah nah nah," until you pick him up so he can reach and smell it. Then he'll loudly say, "Mmmmm!" Bennett also still likes books, although he doesn't sit still to listen all the time. He will usually start on your lap for a book, and midway through grab a different one, or start walking around the room. His favorites are animal books (so he can point and make the noises), and Dr. Seuss books (so he can bounce and kick his feet to the rhythm).
We are currently trying our hand at time-outs. I'm sure he's much too young, but we don't like the idea of spanking when he's so young and doesn't understand it (we don't want him to start hitting other kids). So we give a warning, "Stop or you will have a timeout." Then if he still does it, which he usually does - looking at us as if he's testing our follow-through, he goes on the kitchen rug and we set the microwave timer for one minute. We usually have to stay in the kitchen too, because he tries to see if he can get off the rug without us noticing. After one minute we remind him what he did that was wrong, and get a hug. At first he cried and tried to come by us every time, and now he's getting better at staying there for the minute. Things he does that often warrant timeouts: standing on the couch/his chair and throwing food purposely to Cooper.
Bennett's night sleep is very consistent: 8pm-6am pretty much every day. Sometimes he can hold off until 6:30am, if we're lucky. :) So much for sleeping in during summer break, right? He now sleeps with a blanket. He has a mini pillow in his crib that he doesn't use, plus a small owl toy and some books, which he reads before he falls asleep. Brad and I will be washing dishes or watching TV and we'll hear, "hoo, hoo" then "baaaa," as he reads his animal books. Naps are less consistent. He was taking two 1.5 hour naps until summer, and then he started not falling asleep for the second one. But the first one is so early, he got crabby early at night. He *usually* takes a nap now from about 10-11:30, then *maybe* a second one around 3pm. Otherwise I just put him in there at 3pm and he reads/talks to himself, which is okay because at least I get a little break. I usually use that break to do lunch dishes and prep dinner so it's quicker later when he's awake.
The best part about having a 15 month old is watching his personality develop and blossom. Bennett is super outgoing and LOVES to be around people/kids. He will reach out for anyone, with no sense of "stranger danger" yet. He likes to be silly and make you laugh. He cries if you won't pick him up, or if his feelings get hurt when you say, "No." He also sometimes cries when Brad leaves for work in the morning, and he runs excitedly to the door when he hears the garage door when Brad comes home. He proudly smiles and says, "Dada!" He loves to share food, but not so much toys or his chair. He loves to drink or eat whatever he sees us having, especially if it's something he shouldn't have (like pizza, coffee, beer, or candy/sweets). We love our big boy, and we are so excited for him to be a big brother!
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