The Many Faces of Boo

Benjamin has always been an expressive baby. From the time he was a wee infant, a quick glance at his face would give us a good indication of how he was feeling. Certain faces indicated he was in a good mood...
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Certain faces indicated he was in a bad one...

Or a really bad one...

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Certain faces indicated he had something important to tell us...

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Other faces he put on when he was trying to be brave...

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Lately, I've been seeing more of one particular face, and I'm trying to figure out what it means...

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It's a cross between a sniff, a huff, and a Bruce Lee-style nose-thumbing, and it makes me laugh every time. I mean, what in the Sam Hill is Benjamin trying to tell me with this face? Is this a defiant face? A proud face? A stubborn face? A mean face?

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The first time I saw him make this face was several month ago when he realized that he was able to sit on the teeter-totter all by himself with no support from mommy. Back then, I thought that this was a face of pride.

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Now he makes that face when he's doing a variety of things - sitting by himself in a chair, banging on toys, ripping up paper, or simply just strutting around. I've come to the conclusion that this face is Benjamin's tough-guy face, a face that proclaims, "Look out world, Benjamin the Badass is coming!" It's a face that he puts on when he's being his most rough-n-tumble, boy-like self, and I think I know who he learned it from.