Uck Uck and Ees a Boo!

Ben is now 23 months - less than a month until the BIG TWO! He's been talking a lot lately and I thought I should jot down a few of the things he says - Daddy (he also says Joe), Mommy, Bubba (Joe's mom), Ya Ya (Joe's dad), Be Be (my mom - sorry, dad, no Grandad - yet, but he points to you in a photo when we say Grandad), auntie and uncle (for Tim and Amanda), Sarah (his babysitter), AJ (we keep trying for Charlie, Aunt Holly and Uncle Chaz), Ellie, apple, banana, all gone, help please, dog, cat, choo-choo, Elmo, Ernie, hammer, oh no, thank you, beep beep, ball, no-no, up, blue, yellow, green, hi, hello, night-night, bye-bye, tick tock (when he sees a clock), knock-knock, balloon, shoes, socks,  light, bubble, cheese, circle, moon, star and puppy. Ben also combines hello and goodbye with another word - like "bye bye banana" - when we leave the kitchen and he sees a banana.

He can also point to his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, hand, fingers and feet. Ben loves to count as well and can say numbers 1 to 13 - sometimes in the right order, but usually not. He knows a lot of ABCs as well and can point to them.

The mystery words are "uck uck" and "Ees a Boo." He says these both constantly and we have NO IDEA what in the world they mean. So, if anyone has a guess, please let us know :)

Mr. Saturday Night

These pictures make it look like Joe and Tim were launching Ben into the air. . .but actually they were just raising Ben slowly up. Ben would then stiffen his entire body and strike a pose mid-air. It was really hysterical to watch!

This was also the night we went out to dinner and Ben drank ice water from a cup with a straw at the restaurant. He drank so much water his entire body was shivering and shaking. It was really pretty freaky to see. Thankfully I had ordered soup and I think that helped to warm him up. It was so strange!!

SQUISH

More fun with Daddy. . .
Ben loves to use cookie cutters with playdough and says "squish" when he plays with it.

A Real Crack Up

Clearly Ben thinks Joe is pretty hysterical. Joe had Ben laughing so hard the other night at dinner I had to get the video camera out - - - although as soon as Ben noticed the camera he sorta got shy.

Touchdown!

I think Uncle Tim gets "best dressed" this year,
BUT Alex DOES look good in orange and purple.

Cousin Alex and Uncle Tim
Even the MVP-Boston-guy thought it was cold!

Ben recovering after the game.

This year the annual family Hangover Bowl was FREEZING (hard to believe since it's in the 60s today), but we HAD to make an appearance in order for Ben to score his big touchdown. We literally were at the park for about 5 minutes and headed for home - in that time Ben's little eyes and nose were watering and his hands were bright red, but I guess that's what you endure when you're a pro-athlete -so he better get used to it!