17! 17! 17!

Hola, amigos! I've returned with another update for you! Last week our baby toddler hit the 17 month mark! We've had a really fun month, even with a week of icky sickies in the house. Besides that, we pretty much spent the whole time playing outside in the unusually warm weather! (I'm not complaining!) This has been quite the busy month for us. Joel has been finishing up his second year of med school so he's been beyond busy studying and taking finals! (He's done now - yeah!!!) Benjamin and I have tried hard to stick to our routine and still have lots of fun without Dad. He's totally taken over as the man of the house. I feel like he's been doing quite a bit of growing this month. We took Benjamin to the doctor this month for cold/ear infection symptoms and he weighed in at NINETEEN pounds!!! Woohoo! We're going to hit that 20 lb mark anytime now! :) While he hasn't grown too much out, I do feel like he's gotten taller. All his pants are getting to be way too short! What a big boy.

I haven't noticed any huge milestones or changes this month in his development. Benjamin's still saying TONS of words, and more everyday. He's very good at communicating his needs and wants. He's getting really good at using utensils when he eats. He's sleeping GREAT at night, although he's starting to boycott his afternoon naps! (NOOOO!!!) Lately he's been sitting in his crib, playing and talking to himself, for 1 1/2-2 hours at a time during his "nap" time. I refuse to get him out... Benjamin loves going to the park to play with his friends. He especially enjoys the slide, which he can do all by himself, and the swings. He's also growing some molars this month. I've noticed two on top that have emerged and one on the bottom just beginning to peek through.  It will be nice for him to have some teeth to chew food.

Well, I don't have too much to talk about this past month. It's gone by in a blink of an eye. We're gearing up for some life changes in the next couple months so I'll keep you posted on that!