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Over the past few weeks Ben has worked out how to shake his head as if to say ‘no’.  He seems to be going through a ‘no’ phase and shakes his head at most things I ask him to do.  When he really does not want to do something he shakes his head more vigorously and for longer.  Sometimes I think he just does it because he can when he actually wants to say ‘yes’…. I think he is enjoying the effect his communication has on his parents.

Jen

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Well the car trip ended up being quite pleasant and Ben slept on and off.  When he got crankey we either put on some nursery rhymes to listen to or fed him a cracker and he seemed to be happy with that.  We managed to visit a number of winery’s, cheese and chocolate factories and take in the spectacular costal scenary.   This is an area that we will have to visit again.

Jen

We are planning to go away for the weekend to the Margaret River Wine area, 4 hours south of Perth.  I am not looking forward to the long car trip with Ben.  We plan to drive for a few hours in the afternoon, break for dinner and then drive a few more hours in which time Ben will hopefully be asleep.  Lets hope it is a pleasant weekend!

Jen

Recently I have found it a challenge to change Ben’s diaper, he squirms around, tries to roll over and tries to do anything except lie on his back.  My recent trick is to get him to make animal noises, I say the animal and he makes the noise.  If he does not know the noise, he tends to make it up.  It is very effective in keeping Ben still and focused during a nappy change but I am finding it difficult to think up a variety of animals.  I always start with lion, elephant, dog and cat but after that my brain turns to mush and I often end up saying what ever animal comes out of my mouth and have to create a noise for it, for example turtle (what noise does a turtle make????).

Luckily it does not seem to matter what animal I say as long as I keep churning out animal names.

Jen

I have found a great activity to do during the week with Ben.  A local group organises a session called ‘Toddler Jam’ - it is basically a fun music session for toddlers.   During the session nursery rhymes are said, stories are read and kids songs are sung.  The kids can join in and do what ever they want.  They are given musical instruments to bang and clang, plastic plates to hit together and at the end all the toddlers lie under a parachute as it goes up and down and watch the colors.  Morning tea is included for the kids and adults all for only $5. 

Ben took to the class like a duck to water, he especially liked the vibrations that came from the large speakers on the stage.  He loved dancing and clapping along to the songs.  I think this will be come a regular weekly outing for us.

Jen

I went to a friends place last week and she had the game Elefun for he 2 and 4 year old kids.  It is such a great game for kids and Ben (16 months also loved it).  It is a small battery operated elephant, you put paper butterflies in the trunk, turn on the machine and a fan lifts the butterflies so they fly out of the trunk.  The kids run around with butterfly nets to catch the butterflies as they fall from the sky, (young children pick them up from the ground).  It is a great toy, good for all ages and both boys and girls - a great gift idea for a 3 or 4 year old.

 Jen

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Washing hands has not always been greeted with happiness by our toddler Ben, so I have tried a few tricks that seem to have worked.  I have a spray bottle filled with water and at the end of a meal hold out Ben’s hands and spray them, then wipe them with a dry cloth.  He seemed to like this for a few months, he especially liked to open his mouth and have me spray the water in, sometimes making it in his mouth and other times around his face so I could clean that too.

More recently Ben has complained about the spray bottle and he is to small to reach our bathroom basin even on a stool.  So I have started to fill a small plastic bowl with warm water and a bit of liquid soap.  I roll up Ben’s sleeves and get him to swish his hands in the bowl - he loves it!  Last week he sat for 10 minutes after dinner swishing his hands in the bowl having a great time.   

Jen

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I took Ben for his first hair cut yesterday.  I thought that if I went to a hairdresser then they may do a decent job, I wasn’t confident enough to do it myself.  I asked the hairdresser if she had cut many kids hair and she said she had done many.  So, I asked her to neaten it up and not cut to much…..  well the scissors started snipping and before I knew it Ben’s fringe was cut half way up his forehead!  I tried not to be to shocked or rude as the hairdresser still had to cut the rest of his hair but it looked terrible! 

So my poor son has the ugliest haircut, he is still cute with a beanie on but I have banned photos for the next few weeks.  At least hair grows quickly (maybe not quickly enough).

Jen

Today was the first day that I dropped Ben off at Day Care and he did not cry when I left.  I think he has developed a good bond with one of the staff, she greeted him and he was content to go to her and then happily waved me goodbye!  After about 1 month of tears it is good to see that he has settled into the routine. 

Jen

There is no major milestone for a 16 month old kid, no immunisation needed, no bells and whistles when you reach it.  But it is still nice to reflect back and see how far your little one has come.  At 16 months Ben is still a delightful kid, he has his moments, usually when he is tired and ends up being cranky and wingey but normally he is pretty good natured.  At the moment his development in the area of language seems to be moving along at a rapid pace.  He continually repeats words that I say and sometimes what comes out of his mouth is recognisable!  He is also enjoying his new skills of walking but still has to keep his arms up high to keep his balance.  I hope the next 16 years are as delightful as the first 16 months!

 Jen