The Brothers Bennett: Ronan in the Big Apple

Happy holidays, everyone! We here in the Bennett household feel like the last two months have been a blur... and now it's almost Christmas.

At 20.5 months, Ronan is an outgoing, exuberant toddler. He's turning into a little BOY with each passing day. He has little boy energy, little boy tantrums, little boy urges to explore, little boy conversations with stuffed animals and trucks, and best of all, hearty little boy belly laughter. And yet, he’s still our baby too! Once in a while, when he’s sleepy and wants to snuggle in bed with us, we see glimpses of the tiny three-month-old baby he used to be, with chubby cheeks and perfect lashes. I saw a billboard on my drive home today, a bank ad that said “2 a.m. feeding today. 2 a.m. pizza tomorrow.” You veteran parents aren’t kidding when you say that time passes inexplicably fast and one day your baby has turned into a teenager!

Here are Ronan’s favorite things at 20.5 months:

1) Exploring. I think Ronan might love to join Dora on her show. He is a little man on the go. Lots of places to see, people to meet. He’s so unafraid that we think he can be a bit reckless. We took him to NYC last week and he had no problem running into and out of restaurants, up and down wintry stairs, and toward the traffic that was everywhere. He charged down the stairs of a pizza parlor without even looking down or holding onto anything. Could have been a major spill if Daddy hadn’t been there to grab him! Ronan enjoyed meeting the dinosaurs and butterflies at the Natural History Museum and running around Central Park. His least favorite things (in NY and elsewhere) are any situations that involve non-movement. A child who can sit still and do quiet activities he is NOT – which makes restaurants and plane rides particular challenges.

2) Talking and signing. He’s adding more and more words to his repertoire. Some babies are speaking at 12 months, but Ronan is really starting to speak now and it’s precious. Recent words include apple (appuh), elbow (eh-bo), eyebrow (ah-bo), ball, row, up, duck, shoe, sock. He can also sign a lot more words: outside, stars, moon, shoes, socks, gorilla, apple, cereal, diaper change, and bath time. Whenever we pass a parking meter on the street, he points and yells "BOW!!!" as if he's firing at it. Hmm....

3) Balloons. Our little one needs to always have a balloon in his life! He loves any and all balloons, and calls out to them whenever we pass them on the street or see them on TV. It only gets difficult when he wants one of the balloons on a store sign or someone ELSE's balloon. Trader Joe's is a favorite place of Ronan's....

4) Nicolas. His share care buddy is Ronan’s idea of ultimate FUN. When Nicolas arrives in the morning (just once a week, but hopefully it will become more often), Ronan’s face lights up and he races around saying “HI! HI! HI!” and finding things to give to Nicolas. He loves hugging and kissing his little buddy and trying to initiate games of tag... Nicolas, at 18 months, is more reserved (i.e. not quite as kissy-huggy as our son) but he’s every bit as active and curious! Lisa has her hands full chasing these two bundles of energy around.

5) Ronan’s love affair with fire engines, trucks, cars (basically anything motorized) is still going strong. I think little boys come pre-programmed to love motors. It’s amazing to watch Nature take its course. When Grandma Kathy babysits, Ronan gets the treat of rambling in and around whatever car is parked in our garage. He “drives” the steering wheel, plays with the lights and radio knobs, and tries to put his seat belt on like a big boy. Note to Papa: No 911 can be complete without Ronan in the driver’s seat making his “Zhhhrrrrrrrr” sound. :-)

6) For the first 14 months of his life, Ronan was unattached and oblivious to any stuffed animal or lovey. Now, though, his two identical lambs (Lambie 1 and Lambie 2, naturally) are his best friends. He carries them around the house, hugs them, and smooches them. Lately, he has started making them kiss each OTHER, which is just too cute. I love this affectionate phase; it's so pure and innocent. It’s as if he’s caring for another creature for the very first time, and he gets so much joy out of doing so. The other night, he insisted that Lambie eat dinner with him. He proceeded to plop Lambie in his bowl of pasta, lean forward to kiss Lambie’s nose, and then scoop up a nice spoonful of pasta to feed Lambie.

7) TV. Yes, we have gradually let Ronan watch more TV and now he is hooked. He can watch his baby signs, Clifford, and Sesame Street DVDs over and over and over again. He likes singing "row, row, row" (but not "your boat") when the Sesame St. gang gets to that song. He’s also a big fan of Curious George, Dragon Tales, and Caillou. They’re all good shows. They're great for getting his TV-illiterate parents to watch too.

Another trip to the Zoo: