The Last One Turned One

When people ask me about Benjamin and what type of baby he is I always respond, "he is a baby to remember". Besides the sleeping thing, Benj is the exact baby you hope your babies to be. He is happy, cuddly, curious and squirmy enough to keep you interested. His smile, that now boasts four teeth and a David Letterman-esque gap, lights up a room. He has made being a mother for the fourth time do-able and more than just do-able, enjoyable. For his dad, who wasn't even convinced he wanted four kids, Benj has made him want more. Dave has always kicked in to high gear fatherhood at age one, but Benji had him at the get-go. He charmed him immediately and I have never seen Dave so wrapped up in any of our other babies.

His sisters dote on him, his brother tolerates him and sometimes even gets a real kick out of him too. In turn, he loves them all. He is happy when they are around and goes most mornings for at least an hour without even wanting me. His sisters get him up in the morning, at some outrageous hour, and they will bring him to me in when he has destroyed their Lego castles and drawn on their art projects saying something authoritative like, "Here. Take this squirmy runt." I love waking up to the sounds of all of them playing close by.


Benjamin attempts to say several words, but can really only get out "Stu", his cousin's dog, and "Dad" clearly. He chatters in his own language though and it doesn't seem to bother him that no one else can understand him. The kids repeat his language back to him, so he must think he is communicating something.

Benji is our smallest baby and has stayed that way. I know this is a tender mercy to me, because he looks like a baby still. His first year went slow, slow the way you want it to be, where you have time to remember moments, looks and feelings.

Benji rolled over and crawled early and walked holding on to things almost immediately after he started crawling. I thought he would be my earliest walker. He will take three or four steps here and there, but he still prefers crawling and he can get around pretty quick. He prefers all things adult as play toys and isn't even interested in baby toys. He opens cabinets, flings pots and pans, throws clothes and books on the floor, climbs in dishwashers and drawers, digs in the dirt and uproots plants—basically, leaves a mess in his wake everywhere he goes. His face and hands are always sticky and grimy. His pants always have holes in the knees and his shirt always has drips and dirt on the front. Yet still, he is my "baby to remember", because through it all he will smile up at you with joy in those bright blue, smart eyes and just melt your heart.