Imitation

I think that the fact of learning by imitation is something I knew but didn't realize just how entertaining it would be- at least while they are imitating one of your more desirable traits! Last night, Dillon picked up one of her babies, then sat in the floor rocking back and forth saying "rocka rocka rocka" just as I have done to her. As far as she's concerned, that's what you do with babies- you carry them around and rock them, because that's been her experience. She also feeds her babies with a spoon and her sippy cup. It never ceases to amaze me the things she picks to imitate- like blowing her nose after she saw me do it or opening her mouth wide to show me she doesn't have any of Satchmo's food in it, because that's what I show her to do. Of course it only works once she's already shallowed the food & it isn't there anymore, but that's beside the point.

We went to the pool on Tuesday. It was a beautiful day and we went with another couple of ladies with toddlers, though it wasn't like we got to visit much as we mostly spoke in passing while chasing each of our respective children. Dillon absolutely loved the water this time and was overjoyed when I let her "jump" into the water from the side as she saw the bigger kids doing. She would actually just sit on the side and lean toward my hands which were just a couple of inches away. I'd dip her in the water to her waist and then lift her into the air during which time she would kick wildly and laugh. There were a couple of older kids that handed her a little toy so she could throw it in the water for them to try to catch. There was, of course, a lot of splashing and laughing, so she had a ball. Now if we could just have a few more days like that in the 3 weeks or so the pool is still open, that would be great. Today is supposed to be a high of 69 and raining, so the pool looks like a no-go today.

I just tried letting her play with paint by putting her in her high chair, putting a little bit of paint down on a piece of paper and giving her a small paintbrush. The entertainment value of that: approximately 3 minutes before she was standing in the chair saying "GO" loudly and decisively. The small piece of tape holding the paper in place got almost that much mileage with a lot less set up and clean up time. What's interesting about that is that I used to get all these paintings from the daycare when she was there with reports that she loved it. Not sure if they just had lower expectations of how long it would be entertaining or if they misinterpreted her signals of what she found interesting. Of course at that point she wasn't quite so clear as to stand and say "go."

I see the sun! Maybe there's hope for a beautiful summer day afterall.........