Saturday was September 12. September 12, 2009.
Eighteen months. Our son is eighteen months old. Now we realize what all of these older people have been saying for the last five hundred and forty-seven days. They grow up fast.
Benjamin is still shy of 27 pounds. But he's sailed past the 33 inch mark. His head is in the 60th percentile for circumference, which is a nice place to land after hovering below the 25th percentile for the first few months of life. Pinhead.
Most people, at this point in their child's life, list all of the cool things their kid can do. I, on the other hand, would rather describe, in detail, a day in the life of Benjamin John, 18 Month-Old Boy Geinus.
7 AM: Begin waking up. Somedays I just lay there and chatter about brilliant things like the weather, the shapes the shadows make on my wall, and turtles. Other days I bang, kick, and yell Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da until someone - preferably Da Da - comes and gets me out of bed.
7:15: I'm in my high chair. Some mornings I've fed the dogs with Mommy or Da Da's help. Other mornings I'm too concerned about Wall Street to mess with details of the canine persuasion. So I drink my milk, eat my Eggo, and - if it's raining outside and I see that my playtime is going to be inhibited - rub syrup or butter in my hair.
7:30: We're in the living room and watching the Today Show. Kate Gosselin and the Duggar family are highly irritating. As is Willard Scott. Turn on Jack's Big Music Show.
7:45: Exhausted from dancing to Jack's Songs, sit on floor to play trains.
8:00: See Da Da heading for the shower half-dressed. Notice belly button. Lift my own shirt and walk around going "B...B...B..." Lift up Mommy's shirt to make sure she has one, too.
8:30 Begin morning reading. "Reading" pictures and calling out "Woof" for dog, "Ball," "Eat," "Baby," and giving kisses to said pictures as necessary.
9:00: Mommy asks me if I'm ready to go night-night. I grab both bunnies, wedge one in-between my ear and my raised arm, hold other bunny in raised hand, put passy in mouth with opposite hand, grab milk, then head to bed. Sometimes I read until I fall asleep.
11:00: Up for lunch. Depending on what I'm having, declare, "Hot Hot Hot" before touching food. Repeat "Eat" "Eat" throughout lunch.
11:30: Out for errands. Sometimes we go to the park. I put my own arms through my car seat straps, and I can turn on my DVD player all by myself.
At the park, I climb the steps, go down the slide, play in the playhouses, and pedal the cars by myself.
1:30: Back home. Spend afternoon opening and closing all manner of drawers, cabinets, and doors. Hide milk, keys, cell phones, and other necessities in unusual spaces. Laugh when Mommy and Da Da wander around looking for them.
2:00: Time to laugh at the dogs. Annabelle usually provokes Bailey, and I start chanting, "Go, Go, Go, Go." Chase ensues. Fall on the floor laughing.
2:30: Repeat Naptime Procedure. See entry: 9:00 AM
4:30: Up from afternoon nap, and usually irritated at something Al Roker said earlier that morning. Stand at the door and fuss until Da Da arrives...sometime between now and 5:00.
5:00: Feed dogs. Spill kibble on floor. Pick up each morsel by hand and transfer to appropriate bowl. All the while declaring, "Eat." "Eat." "Eat."
5:30: Mommy or Da Da or both are usully cooking. I sit in my high chair nibbling on cheezits or yougurt pronouncing observable steam to be "Hot Hot Hot."
6:30: Wheel of Fortune being DVR-ed. Bath time. Walk around half-naked proclaiming "Baa" "Baa" "Baa" and spend next fifteen to twenty minutes throwing water-soaked toys across the bathroom.
7:00: Wheel of Fortune Playback. This is serious fun. Yell "YEA!!!" over and over and clap every time the wheel spins or the people on TV clap. Da Da usually solves the puzzles before Mommy.
7:30: Starting to get cranky. Begin wandering the house proclaiming, "Buh-ee..." "Buh-ee..." until someone finds my bunnies, hidden somewhere, sometime between 4:30 and now.
7:45: Brush my own teeth, clapping when I've finished, and head for the bed. Sometimes I like to be rocked, but never for more than 3-5 minutes. Always listen to music and take at least three books to bed.
10:00: They think I'm alseep, but I always know they're there. They sneak in every night, turn off my music, and turn off my lamp. Sometimes Bailey or Annabelle sneaks in, too, just to make sure I'm okay. Mommy straightens me in the bed, and makes sure passy and both bunnies are within reach. She covers me with my blankets, kisses her hand, and puts her hand on my head. Daddy is taller, and can lean lower into the crib. He kisses my head. Or my arm. Or both. Every night. It's the best part of my day.
He just loves her..!
Steppin' out in his turkey outfit...Smocked by Pippi...Sewn by Mommy. 
