Jacob Loves... - 16 months Version

So I haven't done one of these in quite a while. Hmm... in almost a year. Oops. Oh well. Most of his interests stayed the same for quite some time and, of course, recently changed a bit (or have been added to) since he's become more mobile and understands more. He's up on his feet and has a pretty short attention span these days, but he does still love a lot of the same things as at five months - just in different ways.


* Being Outside

Jacob has to touch everything in reach and always wants something to carry around in at least one of his hands - sticks, rocks, flower tops, little mushrooms, seed pods from flowers, "helicopters" from the trees, grass, small clumps of dirt, leaves. He noticed little ants crawling around a week or two ago, so now he squats down and says "Buh buh buh!" (for "bug") whenever he sees a crawling insect and waves his hand to say "hi" (or "bye" if they're retreating into the ground).

We have a few squirrels that live in the one remaining tree in the front yard and a neighborhood bunny that usually makes an appearance a few times a week in front of one of the houses across the street. Jacob gets so excited whenever he sees them, so I usually leave the front door open so that he can stand at the storm door and watch for them. Then I'll quietly open the door and take him outside (holding him) so that he can see them closer. Sometimes I'll take him outside when they're not around and give him some raw, unsalted peanuts to throw under the tree for them. It's so cute to see him try to throw them - especially since most of them land within an inch or two of his shoes. ;)


Now that spring's here and summer's on its way, there's almost always someone outside mowing their lawn... and Jacob loves watching that, too. He'll say "muh, muh" (for mower) and move his little hands back and forth imitating someone pushing a lawn mower. The kids next door (probably about 8 or 9 years old?) come over to visit most times when they see us sitting or playing outside. Jacob loves watching them ride their bikes or do cartwheels or just mess around with each other. The boy loves wrestling almost as much as Dave does, so he and Jacob will play with the action figures sometimes. Other times Jacob will just watch them and smile at them while they talk or try to play with his toys with him.

I take him for walks in his wagon when I'm not too tired after work and on the weekends if it's nice out. He loves being able to look all around (which he can't do fully in a stroller) and reach out his hand to try to grab or touch things that we pass - flowers, bushes, Sweetgum Balls. He's very observant when it comes to spotting things that interest him (flowers, dogs, kids, squirrels, etc.), and I try to point out and talk about other things we come across (signs, puddles, our shadows, flags).


* Grandpa Nick

Grandpa's back for the summer, and now life for Jacob is a bit more interesting than simply looking at silly faces or smiling at silly noises. He likes Grandpa's computer games, but he's not as fascinated by them as he was when he was a little "bump on a log". He'll sign and say "Ah duh!" ("All done!") when he's ready to get down from Grandpa's lap and go play elsewhere. :) Grandpa has a change jar in his (Grandpa's) bedroom for Jacob, and Jacob loves putting the coins in whenever Grandpa comes around with money. All it takes is hearing the sound of coins jingling in Grandpa's hand or pocket, and Jacob stretches his arms out to be picked up and taken back to Grandpa's room. Sometimes he'll walk down the hallway and pat on Grandpa's door just to try to go in and play with the money. He loves his Grandpa. (He loves all of his Grandpa's, but he's been able to see Grandpa Nick much more than any of his other grandpas. If money wasn't such an issue, he'd know them all almost equally.)


* Throwing Things

I guess all toddlers go through the throwing stage, and that's where Jacob's at right now. Everything is so fun to throw - especially on the kitchen or bathroom tile (CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK!). I bought him a Leap Frog Magnetic Farm set with two-piece animals that you match together to hear a song or fact about each animals. He's not up to matching the pieces yet, but he loves throwing them as far into the kitchen as he can. ;P


* Putting Things IN Things (and taking them right back out)

Coins in banks or jars, plastic lids inside reused Earth Balance (vegan butter) containers, ping pong balls inside containers, crayons in and out of the crayon box... it's all fair game and fun for a few minutes here and there.


* YouTube Videos

I've tried to limit my computer time with him while my dad's here for the summer since he plays around online with Jacob almost daily (facebook games), but Jacob has several YouTube videos that he likes watching together - mainly before naps or while brushing his teeth before bed. Sometimes we'll watch signing videos to learn or reinforce signs. Sometimes we'll just watch videos of other little kids dancing, running, playing, singing or brushing THEIR teeth. Mostly, though, he likes watching these ones...


Twinkle Twinkle Little Star




Goodnight, Moon




Five Little Monkeys




The ABC Song




Five Little Ducks




and his new favorite...


Elmo's Ducks




We've watched the middle four every few nights since he was maybe six months old, and he still loves them. :)


* Watching, Observing, and Following

Jacob loves following us around and trying to get involved in everything. Whether it's messing around with all of Daddy's stuff while Dave's trying to sort things out in the "eBay room" or watching me while I cook or bake or taking the mail right out of our hands... Jacob wants in on the action.

* EVERYTHING!

I feel like this list could go on and on at this point in time. Jacob gets excited about so many things, but his attention span is about two minutes with most things. I'm always trying to find new things to show him and let him play with. Recently that's included cutting up a new dry sponge and playing with them in his highchair with a shallow dish of water. He loves getting them wet and squeezing the water out... tapping his fingers in the water... dumping the dish onto his highchair tray. A few days ago, I pulled a bag of cotton balls out of the bathroom and introduced him to fluffy balls. He loves throwing them and pulling them apart little by little. He thought it was hilarious when I "boinged" them on the top of his head and on his little nose and also when I took handfuls of them and blew them off with a few puffs. I'm thinking of doing shaving cream play next (well, baby-safe shaving cream alternatives like soy yogurt or pudding) as well as maybe some finger painting with natural materials. There's plenty of time for everything; it doesn't all need to be thrown out there at once. I'm just so excited to have the summer off to share it all with him!