Self-Feeding

Ben was full of surprises today. It started when I went to get him from his nap and found all of his hats that we hang on hooks beside his crib in bed with him! I'm not certain if he stood up to get them (I have not caught him standing in his crib yet) or if he just managed to reach through the slats to get them, but it was funny nonetheless to find him in a different surrounding than when I had left him an hour and a half earlier.

The fun continued when it was dinnertime. For weeks Ben has been grabbing the spoon from us and then just wanting to play with it or throw it on the floor. However, today he grabbed his spoon and proceeded to feed himself his own dinner. He would open his mouth, shovel the food in, and then hand the spoon back to me so that I could put more peas and carrots on it for him! This happened during the entire meal and he literally fed himself every drop of his dinner tonight. Despite the (messy) photos I captured, he actually did not do too badly with his new feat and did manage to get most of the food into his mouth. I had read that babies will usually turn the spoon on its side before it gets to their mouth but Ben didn't seem to have too many problems keeping it straight and getting himself fed.

What a big boy he is feeding himself dinner!

"All gone!" (He never likes these words, given the hearty appetite he has. :) ). Yes, he was as angry at me as he appears when I had to break the bad news to him!

So proud of himself!

Barney likes it much better when Benjamin feeds himself dinner or eats finger food as opposed to when I feed him (and make much less of a mess). Carrots are Barney's favorite snack (seriously!) so he particularly liked tonight's choice of baby cuisine.

"No, Benjamin! Spoons are only for humans!!!!"

Look at this face. Couldn't you just kiss it? (if it weren't covered in carrots and yogurt!). These are always the moments when Ben decides to give me big hugs and kisses (plus I had on a white shirt today!!).

Now that dinner is over, time for a....BATH!

Aw, Mom, clean up is never as much fun as getting messy!