42 Weeks

It is amazing that in just 42 weeks, Bennett can go from a little baby that just ate and slept, to a little kid with a personality. Last night at dinner, we were having Mexican food. I was letting Bennett eat some of my food, and was alternating between bites of rice, beans and shredded chicken. Sometimes I'd offer him some rice and he'd shake his head no, so I'd give beans or beef. At first we thought he didn't like the rice, but when we'd give it to him a little later, he'd eat it. We soon figured out that he just didn't want a bite of rice AT THAT MOMENT, and wanted more beef or beans. This is just so incredible to me! I didn't think he paid much attention to what I was shoving in his mouth, but in fact he does and knows when he wants to eat something different. So amazing!

For his 42 week photos, I decided to let him play with gifts, mostly because I'm out of ideas for ways to keep him still. He seemed moderately interested in his presents, but really doesn't know what they are. This is good  because he leaves them alone for the most part, and actually doesn't get into the tree much either. He mostly likes to pull on the ball ornaments and we have to remind him to be gentle with them so that he doesn't pull too hard. All the ball ornaments at the bottom of the tree are plastic, so it doesn't really matter if they break. We put the fancier, breakable, expensive ones towards the top, out of his reach. Maybe each year we can buy a few fancy ornaments, and by the time he can resist the urge to play with them, we'll have a tree full of nice ornaments.

This week was the first time I was sick sick since Bennett was born. Really, it was the first time in years I was throw up, weak, sleep-all-day-because-you-have-to-not-because-you-want-to sick. It only lasted a day, and Joel was home with us, but it was tough! Twice I tried to watch Bennett so that Joel could get some work done, but after 15 minutes, I was so exhausted, I had to give him back to Joel so that I could go back to sleep. I slept pretty much from 7 am until 5 pm that day, but it made me really grateful that 1) I have a husband who is super helpful and 2) I rarely get sick. 

I can't recall what Bennett accomplished in his 42 week of life. He has become better at waving goodbye and still babbles "maaaaa maaaaa" and "daaaaa daaaaaaa". He doesn't like getting his diaper changed, changing clothing, or putting on lotion. Bennett still loves to read and can keep himself occupied for 10-15 minutes with a book. Whenever he sees a new book, you can see he is interested, and then will spend time flipping through it. Reading is mostly an individual thing to him. When we read to him, he likes to take the book from us and flip through the pages on his own. This makes reading together more challenging, but if he likes books, I'm not complaining.

Bennett still loves to eat, especially Cherrios and puffs. Even when he's full, he can't stop eating them. He is still willing to try everything, but will refuse foods he doesn't want to eat. Sometimes when we offer him something and he is either not hungry or unsure if he wants to eat it, he will stick out his tongue to lick it and see if he likes the flavor. It is so cute! If he likes it, then he'll open his mouth for more, otherwise he seals his lips, looks away, or shakes his head no. I am perfectly fine with him saying no to food as long as he is willing to try!

Bennett makes his face a lot. Not too sure why he likes to suck on his cheeks, probably because he can.

I posted earlier that Bennett managed to get a present open. Here are some more pictures of his triumph. Photo #1 is probably right after he ripped the wrapping paper off, and of course, needed to give it a taste. "Is it food?" Then I must've yelled at him to get it out of his mouth, so photo #2 is him asking, "You mean this? I shouldn't eat this?" And finally in photo #3, he is admiring his handy work. "I did it! I got a piece of paper to play with!"

Yes, he was VERY happy with himself. He was waving his arms in excitement.