Interesting Baby

Graham is a very interesting baby. He seems different than my other kids were at his age. At 12 months his favorite things are throwing and catching balls and tinker toys. He doesn't just knock down the kids' little creations, he wants to build something himself. He examines each piece and smiles and hold it up and shows me, then he shows me where he'd like to put it. He is very patient and works on those little fine motor skills, trying to fit the sticks of different lengths into the connection holes. When he cannot do it, I help him guide them. He seems to have a real clear idea that he's trying to build something and is not just knocking pieces around. He likes to practice putting pieces together and apart dozens of times to make sure he can do it well and see what it looks like separate and together. He can tell which pieces are similar and group them together and which pieces are different. You can see his eyes examining up and down the different structures and noticing things about them. His face eminates wonder and delight when he holds up a piece he particularly likes. What a special boy! 

At this point he's not very verbal and makes normal baby sounds, but is not really forming words. However, he has a complex system of pointing, gestures, facial expressions and little noises that let you know exactly what he wants. He's very communicative if you watch closely. Sometimes I feel like a mind reader because I know exactly what he wants even though he doesn't use words. He does say his favorite phrase "ut-oh" for everything. 

I wish I had photos of him playing tinker toys, but I was playing with him and the camera wasn't handy and I decided to just stay in the moment.