More Toddler-ish-ness

We've gotten a few other gems on video over the past month, and since I could use a little distraction from the fact that my semester is starting on Tuesday, I thought I'd take the time to post some of them. Here's my selection criteria: to me each of these videos seems to bring out Simon's emerging toddler-ish-ness.

Simon never stops. A while ago I showed that with a little video of him laying on his back, kicking and flailing his arms...well, he doesn't so much lay on his back anymore (ever), but he is still as busy as ever. Recently he has become even more entertaining to watch because his actions seem much more purposeful and he can be quite intent on accomplishing something...its not always clear what, but he is intent about it :).

Busy, Busy (2 min 11 sec):

Simon still loves to take things "out"...but now he also loves to put them "in"! We're fairly certain this won't carry over into clean-up behavior when he's a toddler, but it is helpful right now that getting his toys put away can be like a game for him (only if he's in the mood to play, of course).

Putting In (31 seconds):

Simon has loved bathtime ever since he was old enough to sit upright and splash with his legs. Well, he still loves it, and still loves to splash, but recently he has discovered that he can also use his arms to splash...and since I only have a limited time wherein I can get away with posting nude Simon content, I thought I'd better share this one. (Here he is in Grandma & Grandpa's big tub, a couple weeks ago.)

Splish-Splash (1 min 12 sec):

For a while now, Simon has expressed a preference in what book we read to him, if he's given the choice. (If you hold up two books and ask him, he'll consider both and choose one.) He also clearly liked some books more than others, and if he happened to grab one he really liked, he might try doing his "book" sign to get you to read it. In the past few weeks, however, he has become much more deliberate and direct--he has started crawling over to one of his bookshelves, sifting through several until he finds one he wants, then pulling it off the shelf, holding it out toward us, and vocalizing, until we read it! And, when being read to, he now shows a little (or sometimes a lot) more initiative in directing the reading. Here he was so excited and so curious that he could hardly contain his grunting-requests as he pointed as various pictures on the page:

Pointing in Books (46 seconds):

P.S. The book I'm reading here is Simon's most recent Imagination Library book--if you have a child under five, check to see if your local United Way participates in this program (you can search by zipcode on the site above)! They will send your child a free book in the mail every month until they are five years old--books are paid for by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, postage paid by your local United Way. We love it!