Profile of a toddler

Name: Ben, age 2 years and 9 months

Also goes by: Benny, Benjy, Mushy, Yummy Boy, "STOPPPPPP OR YOU'LL GET HURT!!!"

Favorite activities: Playing with toy trains and trucks, flushing the toilet, not eating vegetables, driving through tunnels in our minivan, locking the bathroom door from the inside, playing with sand, playing with the water faucet, pushing his ride-on car around the neighborhood instead of actually riding in it, throwing anything he can get his hands on over the railing of our porch, not napping, riding his backyard roller coaster, leaving trails of graham cracker crumbs.

Favorite book: All the train books

Favorite foods: Bananas, pizza, broccoli, crackers, peas, cookies, ice-cream, chocolate and everything else that has lots of sugar

Favorite drink: "A smoothme"

Notable talents: Saying the ABCs, counting to 10, knowing exactly when Mommy could use a kiss (all the time), giving the side-eye

Especially awesome stuff he says: "lookit!" (as in, "Lookit! Bug!"); "onish" (ocean/lotion); "oh my gosh!"; "Sorry, Charlie"; "hold you!" (he means, "hold me"); "8:40!" (whenever you ask him what time it is).

Favorite drink: Milk. Warm, not cold. Shaken, not stirred.

Favorite place to be: The playground or our bed at 2:00 a.m.

Most puzzling thing he says: "I like soda!" (He's never had it.)

Favorite song: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" sung at the top of his lungs

Favorite TV show: Sesame Street or any football game

Particularly interesting habit: Randomly starting to dance, like when he's sitting at breakfast and eating pancakes.

Worst habit: See: "Our bed at 2:00 a.m."

Other worst habit: Gleefully swiping piles of papers off counters. Although he always says "Sorry!" first before he does it. 

Best accessory: Sun hat

Favorite way to chill: Foot rub

Celeb he's obsessed with: Cookie Monster

Most likely to grow up to be: An engineer—he's fascinated by how toys work. Or a lawyer, as he's always negotiating ("Two more minutes!").