Benjamin did well through his surgery and is recovering well. He has struggled with the pain, and between the pain and the pain medicine, his behavior has been less than good. It has been an exhausting couple of days for Mama and Papa. The surgery lasted 2 hours, but both the surgeon and the anesthesiologist said he did great. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM for a 7:30 AM surgery. I had hoped Benjamin would sleep through most of the wait, but that was a pipe dream! He woke up as we carried him to the car, and he did not go to sleep the rest of the morning. He was quite entertaining in pre-op, as he rode around in a little car and attempted to jump in his crib. But after surgery, he was much more mellow and just wanted to be held by Mama. He actually spent 1.5 hours on my lap Thursday evening. I know it was the drugs and the pain, but I enjoyed every second of it!

Benjamin continues to add words to his vocabulary. He now knows the word "car" and points out every car he sees, whether driving by or on TV. He recently learned "baby" and says it everything he sees a baby. He has also learned "go". You can get him going by saying, "ready, set" and he will yell "go"! Yesterday, at a restaurant, he was yelling "go" as he pushed his car. Everyone in the restaurant heard him I am sure. His favorite word right now is "Papa". He is constantly pointing at Brian and saying "Papa". Or if we are in another part of the house, he will point to where Brian is and say "Papa". If we are looking through pictures, he will point at Brian and say "Papa". Each time he gets up, morning and nap time, he looks at me, points out the door and says, "Papa" as a question. Like "where is papa?" I am trying not to be too disappointed. If pressed, I am also "papa" or sometimes it sounds like "baba". At least through this recovery period, he has been running to me to be held. And tonight, he was pouring on the kisses!!