The Brothers Bennett: Our little driller (pics added!)

Ronan is a little over 18 months old and the words that come to mind now are: Sweet, inquisitive, bold, gleeful, and delightfully mischievous! We do our best to surround him with endless love and affirmation everyday, and I think it shows in his exuberant outlook on life (or at least we like to think we actually have an influence. ;-)). He loves trying new things, meeting new kids, and exploring new places. He's mad about figuring out how things work. Just recently, he figured out the soap dispensers and the stereo, and he's working hard on the doorknobs. Ronan's an outdoorsy kid too, which makes his Daddy happy. Loves the mud and grass. At our nanny's suggestion, I bought him some "wellies" so he can stomp in all the mud puddles his heart desires.

Vitals
Despite Ronan's utter fear and loathing of the doctor's office, Dr. Langston managed to give him his 18-month shots (including his flu shot) and measure his squirming, twisting body:

Height: 35 inches (92%)
Weight: 26 lbs (60%)
Head: 19 inches (75%)

Nicknames
Because we'd like to remember all his funny nicknames, here they are: The Ronan, Roni, Ronie Pop, Sweet Love, Little Love, Prince, Ro Ro, Bunny, Boo-Boo, Boy Boy (what's with the repetitive names?), The Boy, Boylet, Precious Cargo, Little One... to name just a few!

Ronan's Favorites

1. First and foremost in this list of faves is DRILLING. We're not sure when, but at some point in the last year Ronan saw his papa using an electric drill, and he's now incorporated that into his daily life. It's so darn cute!! He'll take anything pointy -- a pen, a knife sharpener -- and go around the house drilling things. He bends his knees slightly, points his little "drill" at, say, the wall and says "Zhhrrrrrrr." Then he moves to a new location, bends his knees, points his drill, and repeats "Zhhherrrrrrr." This goes on and on, all over the house. He drills window sills, the TV, doors, pretty much anything that needs work.

2. His love for motors extends to other things: cars, motorcycles, planes, the blender. Tonight he put his hand on the top of the blender (just like mom does) and did his drill noise, only slightly modified, of course, for the new appliance: "Rarrrrrrrr. Rarararrr. Raaaaarrrrrr."

3. Climbing. He was a late walker but an early climber, and he can now scale the couch, the dining room chairs, the highchair, and the coffee table with growing ease. He scrambles up, then bounces and giggles. Hmm. Our disciplinary measures are now targeted at encouraging him NOT to climb chairs and tables. But speaking of bouncing.... our friend had a big inflatable bouncy house at her birthday party and Ronan fell in love with it. He couldn't get enough of the bouncing, rolling, jumping, spontaneous craziness of it and cried every time we took him out.

4. Lest you think he is ALL boy, Ronan does love art projects too! Lisa has been great at introducing him to play-doh (which he no longer eats), finger painting (which gets more on him than on the paper), and drawing. He even has a little art case with his name lettered on it, to hold all his smeary, colorful creations. Every time a pen comes within his peripheral vision, he absolutely won't stop until he's clutching it and drawing.

5. Mama's cleaning and sweeping is paying off (haha) -- Ronan loves wiping things up with little napkins and towels! When he spills his drink, he says an adorable "Oh" and then looks for something to wipe it up with. Usually it's his hand, but hey, the intention is there. He also enjoys pretending to "spray" things with cleanser (he says "Shhh -- Shh -- Shhh") and then wiping it up. When he finds my hairbrush in my purse, he first brushes his hair and then turns it into a handy housecleaning brush, sweeping under the couch for little bits of dirt and dustbunnies. ;-)

6. Nicolas! Ronan has a new friend that he sees every week. Nicolas is an energetic outgoing little 16 month-old who comes over to play, nap, and eat on Thursdays. It's been great to see the boys learn about each other. First, Nicolas cried after his mom left, while Ronan happily showed him his toys, his Lambie, his tupperware cabinet. Then, several hours later, Ronan cried, as if to say "What - you're still here??" He warmed up after a good thumb-sucking and the two were soon jabbering away to each other and racing around the house. Lisa was exhausted!

I'm trying to set up a share care for another day of the week, too, to capitalize on Ronan's supreme zeal for fellow short people.

Lastly, we had a lovely visit from Grandma Linda (C's mom) over the weekend. It was the first time she'd seen Ronan in about 14 months, yet they took to each other immediately. Lots of laughs, cuddles, and gentle pats. So sweet!

And now for the pictures...

This is The Boy doing one of his favorite activities - chattin' on the phone.

Papa and Ronan at the SF Zoo before his first train ride.

He loved the petting zoo, with all the ducks, goats, tractors, and rakes. This is such a funny shot of him driving his tractor. He's got a bit of the old lady posture!