birthday bed

Two weeks later, Benjamin's bedroom looks exactly as it did when he went to bed after his birthday party:

Birthday, etc.

Update: photos from Sam's mom

early birthday cake

Benjamin won't be 3 for another couple of weeks, but he had a practice run with his grandma:

tricycle

2 years old

Thanks grandma and Jerry for this great photo of the boytiger 2 days before his birthday:

- papa

PS Sammy asks what Benjamin is doing with the stick. Maman informs me that it was his trumpet.

His 2 strongest themes right now are tigers and trumpets.

Why trumpets? Because of Trotro, of course:

mo' riz

New words:

136. Andrew (Miss Angel's older son; Miss Kayla's younger brother)
137. popper
138. Mamie (Maman's maman)
139. main (hand)
140. riz (rice)

We had Indian takeout for Nathalie's birthday dinner, and apparently Nathalie didn't give Benjamin enough basmati rice, as he indicated by chanting "mo riz! mo riz! mo riz!"

So riz is a word I've only heard him use in 2-word combination.

I also heard a very gratifying 2-word combination when I gave him some papadum: "Merci, Papa."

Nathalie has been reading Toddler 411, according to which these are the standard milestones:

• 6 words other than "mama" and "dada": 14–21 months √
  
• 50–200-word vocabulary: 2-2½ years √
  
• speaks 2-word sentences: 21 months – 2 years √
  
• points to pictures when named: 18–24 months √
  
• knows 6 body parts: 18–25 months √
  

- papa

Blogged with Flock

hbd, N

Joyeux anniversaire, Maman!

- papa

(with many, many thanks to Benjamin's patron and art instructor, Miss Angel!)

a stand-up guy

I just saw Benjamin stand up!

Not the first time I've seen him standing unassisted — he does that all the time now — but the first time I've seen him get there from the floor without pulling up on anything.

His mother says he did this for the first time yesterday — on his birthday!

But I wasn't going to blog it until I saw him do it myself. Which I just did. How cool is that?

- papa

Joyeux Anniversaire, Benjamin

July 5, 2006 1 minute old	July 5, 2007 1 year old
July 17, 2006	July 4, 2007

July 5, 2007 …


… and a few minutes later.