Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes ...

At 3.5, developmental changes for Benjamin are typical subtle, slowly developing over time. But the last couple weeks have brought some big changes, with the theme of increasing independence in common.

Leaving his room on his own
For the first time ever, when he woke up, he got out of bed and came out of his room without saying a word. I hear footsteps scampering down the hallway and see him standing at the top of the stairs, clearly pleased with himself and in a great mood to start the day :) Prior to this, he would stay in bed and call for us "Mahhhhh-meeeee cuhhhhhh-uhhhhhhhm!" And for the longest time, we would go right into his room. A couple months ago, he asked us to start knocking and then would say "Come in!", and then about 3 weeks ago, we had to knock and then wait for him at the door while he said "ok, i'm a-comin' mama!"got out of bed, turned on the light, and came to open the door for us. And then, one day, it all changed and out little time in paradise of him staying in bed was over. He hasn't looked back.

Taking a shower by himself
Benjamin just took his first shower all by himself. He has showered with us, and has cleaned himself in the bathtub sometimes, but he now is able and interested in standing in the shower, cleaning himself, and doing the whole thing on his own. I could get used to this ;) I was just getting into the routine of letting Jacob jump into the tub with Ben each evening, now that he is 7 months old, so there is a part of me that hopes we continue baths with Benjamin in the evenings. But for other times when Jake isn't there, the shower is much preferred!

No more naps
We went through a couple weeks of long awake/talking/singing/playing times in bed at afternoon nap, and decided to try no nap one day. He did great! We started trying every other day no nap and this transitioned to 2, 3, 4 days between naps over a few weeks. He now rarely takes a nap and does great during the day. We do a "resting time" on the couch in the afternoon during which time we read books and watch a couple shows on the iPad. Big upside to this chnge is that he now gets into bed and, more importantly, goes to sleep around 6:30 or 7pm and sleeps about 12 hours. Mommy and Daddy like this new found time in the evenings! His bedtime with naps was around 8pm. For some reason, this extra hour in the evening makes a big difference!