HAPPY 18 MONTHS

My little boy turned 18 months today. It is usually a big deal for a LDS parent because their kid finally gets to go to nursery. But since I am the nursery leader in our Ward, Ben's been in the nursery since he was about 7 months old. He absolutely loves nursery. A couple of weeks ago, our 2nd and 3rd hours of church got canceled and as we were leaving the building after the Sacrament meeting, he started crying and saying "nursery".

It's so fun watching your kids grow and learn new things every day. Every little milestone seems like such a huge accomplishment and make you the proudest parent.

As a little tribute to my big boy, here's 18 fun facts about Ben:

1. He loves music and dancing. He starts dancing whenever he hears music or sees anyone dance. He asks for music to be turned on when we are in the car. He will even tell you "no" if he doesn't like the song, or "yes" if that's the one he wants to listen to. No joke, he picks the songs he wants to listen to.

2. He loves going to the park. If I dare to try to skip our ritual trip to the park, he will always remind me with "go to park".

3. He LOVES water in any shape or form. He loves baths, swimming pools, lake, rain, puddles, playing with the hose, playing in the toilet water... you name it.

4. He talks A LOT. His latest language accomplishments are "brush teeff", " wa hands", "brush hair", "drink of water", "piece of bread", "get me out", "watch Nemo", "thank you, you're welcome", "real hot", "bunk the head", "read the book", "dig dirt", "go to park", "grandpa here", "I yove you", "don't do it", "no touch"... the list goes on. He really has no problem communicating. He talks all the time, our house is never quiet unless Ben is asleep.

5. He can count till ten.

6. He loves the "Old McDonald song" and sings along with it.

7. He can recognize most of the animals, he knows their names and the sounds they make.

8. He wakes up really grumpy after his afternoon nap.

9. He is Mamma's boy. He asks for mamma all the time, whether he is hungry, tired, hurt, needs someone to play with or just needs help.

10. He has Scott's laugh. If you ever heard Scott laugh, really laugh... it's this deep laugh that sounds like it comes from the bottom of his stomach or something. Ben laughs the exact same way. It's hilarious.

11. He loves books. We have tons of books and he carries them around and says "read the book".

12. He loves chips and salsa. He will dip his chip no matter how hot the salsa is. He's eaten salsa that was way too hot for me. He kind of pants and blows a little but then asks for more. I guess you can't be a Hardy and not love salsa, it must run in the genes.

13. Ben's favorite thing in the morning is to brush his teeth. He goes to the sink and says "brush teeff", then he makes sure I put toothpaste on it. He won't brush unless there is toothpaste. I think he just likes the taste of it, it's the kiddie one so it's flavored.

14. He loves when daddy chases him. In fact, as soon as he sees Scott he starts running away laughing and screaming "get ya".

15. He likes playing with the ball, throwing it, kicking it, whatever. He really gets a kick out of it.

16. He has 2 favorite blankets and, lately, he has to have both of them in his bed.

17. He loves his bed. We had so much trouble with his crib, he kept climbing out of it. Since then we converted his crib into a toddler bed and Ben absolutely loves it. I just tell him that it's time for sleep and he goes and climbs right into his bed. Going to sleep has never been easier.

18. He has the most contagious smile.