All About the Benjamin

Do you remember when I had my first baby?  And I never stopped talking and blogging about her?

Well, I suppose I still never stop talking about her..or her brother.  But as far as the Internet goes...

Perhaps that's one of the greatest things about having your second child. 

(Though remarkable and completely essential information to probably everybody)

You don't feel as inclined to publicize to the world the substance of their every breathing moment. 

Sometimes, though, I regret getting carried away with that feeling when I look for the story of his first year and realize it’s only inside of me.  Never to be written and remembered in exasperating detail like Zoe’s first year was. Hah.  I used to pour so much time and thought into this blog.  Back when I had time to think, and time to write.  It’s a very different time now.  An Instragram snapshot and caption is my extent of scrapbooking these days.

I have been feeling the pull to put some of my favorite details about him down, though.  So allow me.

My sister and I were always complete opposites, so I don’t know why, as the days unfold and reveal his personality, I fancy it as such a curious thing to discover that Zoe and Benjamin are turning out that way as well.  It’s impossible not to compare your children to one another when their ages are relatively close and it’s fun to see how much two people with similar nature and nurture can deviate so greatly. 

These are a few of my favorite things about my boy: 

1.        He drills his face into the nearest cuddly object.  The moment I drape a blanket across my shoulder, he imediately face plants it.  When I pull him out of his crib after a nap, he goes to touch the tiny stuffed Winnie The Pooh characters on his mobile, brushes them against his cheek, all with a tickled grin and giggle like he’s meeting a celebrity.

2.       His lips.  His beautiful, intense sapphire eyes may be a window to his soul, but those lips are tell tale to how he is feeling.  They are the most expressive/communicative lips.  When I was 20 weeks pregnant with him, though his features were still developing, those lips stood out to me first thing on the ultrasound. 

3.       HE actually EATS! A lot.  Of anything.  When I think about what his favorite foods are, I can’t even deduct because he accepts it all graciously.  As long as you let him feed himself and make a huge mess.  He will clean a plate before Zoe agrees to gag down her third bite.

4.       He thinks Zoe is the funniest person alive.  He follows her, chases her via crawl, watches her in awe, and is always watching her -- anxiously awaiting her next move.  I realized they were true siblings one day when Zoe did something that I found completely irritating while her and Benjamin laughed together forever.  She loves him back just the same.  A little too physically hard sometimes, which is the only time she makes him cry.  Oh and when she takes all his toys.

5.       Boy has an insatiable demand for being carried and held.   At 26 lbs., it sucks for me.  The boy is stout.  He's not what I'd call an easy-going baby.  He demands a lot and really needs that physical closeness.  Maybe because he lacks that one-on-one time that is difficult to give with his sister around.

6.       His hair is so silly.  It’s this down feather naturally occurring Mohawk thing.  I’ve already given him his first haircut (to keep it off his ears).  But it puts me at a loss.  I don’t know what to do with it.  Everywhere we go old ladies offer their commentary on how cute but funny it is.

7.       He got six teeth in one month (His 8^th month, I think?) and none since.

8.       He’s a strict tummy sleeper.  And a light sleeper like his mama. 

9.       I find it hysterical when he throws his fits because I’ve never been around baby boys in my life enough to realize the extreme of their theatrics.  May even rival the girls.  He is king at throwing his body back and kicking across the floor at even the slightest hint of thinking he’s going to get his diaper changed.  And clothing him?  I don’t even know why I bother.  He is usually dirty within 10 minutes and half the time I’m physically unable to hold him down and accomplish the undertaking of dressing his belligerent flailing limbs anyway. 

10.   But he makes the cutest little gruff monster noises in the back of his throat and yells at you when he’s displeased. 

11.   Dada was his first word, around 6 months or so, but Mama is his favorite word.  Baba is also big.

12.   Boy loves to clap.

13.  He also loves music.  Zoe never cared for me to sing to her, and now she tells me to shut up when I try.  Benjamin snaps right out of whatever ill temper he's in when I sing to him and smiles so completely.  It melts my heart. 

14.  We call him Benjamin half the time.  I personally like to call him Benny, which BJ hates. Zoe usually picks up calling him whatever I do. I slip and call him Benji a lot, too-- a name we agreed not to use, but it has grown on me, eh.  He's also Benja, Been-Jamin, Booba, Benny-B, etc.