Skip to main content

Milestone: Mimicking

It is so much fun to watch my son develop theory of mind. I love interacting with him and seeing evidence of his increased understanding of the world.

His most recent thought-accomplishment: realizing that our body parts and his body parts are similar and can do much of the same things.

It all started on Sunday when he crawled up to the coffee table and picked up Scott's glasses. Usually Scott is wearing them and we don't let Soren grab them from off his face. But that day, the glasses were free for the taking. Soren was elated. He picked them up and straightaway tried to put them on his face. He didn't get the ear pieces so the glasses never perched securely on his face but he was still excited about looking through the eyepieces just like he had seen his father do. We were a little shocked and very pleased, although not as pleased as Soren was. He grinned and then started laughing. I hurried to take a picture.

Then, on Monday, we were sitting at the table eating lunch. I had made a pot of chicken noodle soup (because Scott was sick) and all three of us were enjoying it. Before I put a spoonful in Soren's mouth, I blew on it to make sure it wasn't too hot. After a couple reiterations of this, Soren started blowing on the spoon too! He would blow and then look at me and smile. It's like he'd figured it out: I had lips, he had lips, and he could do with his lips whatever I could do with mine.

Yesterday we all went to the dentist and, following the torture, got new toothbrushes. In spite of the fact that Soren has had teeth for at least 6 months, I hadn't ever gotten him a toothbrush. So when we gave it to him yesterday, he didn't know what to do with it. He looked at it, touched the bristles, and then threw it aside.

But, taking into consideration his new skill, Scott thought he could convince the boy to brush his teeth. Scott went to the bathroom and got his toothbrush. He sat down on the couch next to Soren and started brushing vigorously. Soren pawed at him and tried to reach for his toothbrush, so I hurriedly gave him the kiddie one. I could just see the wheels in his head turning! He looked at his dad and his dad's toothbrush. Then he looked at the little toothbrush in his hand. He experimentally put it into his mouth and chewed on it. He looked at me, as though to question whether he was doing it right. I said, "Good boy!" with enthusiasm and he started brushing more excitedly.

He's our little copycat now. I guess we'll have to start being righteous role models.

Comments

Unknown said…
How wonderful!! It's great that he wants to do everything you guys are doing!!
Brianna said…
where do you get your backrounds? They are way cute! Soren looks so cute on youtube trying to put on his glasses!

Popular posts from this blog

Surrounded by Love

One of my greatest worries about having four children was that I would not be able to welcome and love my new baby as well as I had the others.  Now that he is here, I feel that he is perhaps the most welcomed and best loved of all my sons.  More on that in a moment. I struggled to bond with Leif in utero, in part because pregnancy was old hat to me and in part because life was busy with too many other things.  The new miracle  growing inside of me was the most normal thing about my life.  There were a few good moments that helped me prepare mentally: doing guided meditations during Christmas vacation, my blessingway on January 6th, and a really good conversation I had with Scott about my hopes and worries.  But mostly, my mind was elsewhere. And then there was the birth.  I should have known that it would be a totally unique experience and that it would prepare me for this totally unique child. Needless to say, I'm crazy about the little guy. ...

What Works for Us: Room Time

I've decided to do a new series of posts on how I make parenting work for us. Every parent does it differently--which is great!--but I have a hard time keeping my discoveries to myself. The things I do may not work for anyone else but I want to record them and remember them. Hopefully, it will also help me vent my soap-box-y-ness so that I'm not always imposing my ideas on other people. That will be what "What-Works-for-Us Posts" are about. One of the things that we have always done, but has made a HUGE difference in the move from one to two children, is Room Time . When Soren was 6 months old, I started having him play alone (in a safe place) every day for a few minutes. At first it was only five minutes in the port-a-crib but we quickly worked up to fifteen, then thirty. At that time, I used those precious minutes to do housework or relax on the couch. When I was pregnant with Carl, Soren would play alone for about an hour in his room and I would usually tak...

Favorites

1. I have enjoyed the sunshine this week.  It has been perfect autumn weather.  Our kindergarten walks have been very pleasant.  I love to see the brown and yellow leaves falling all around me.  I told the kids that when they caught a falling leaf, they caught a wish in their hand.  It's harder than it sounds!  Today, one fell right on my head!  I decided to count that. 2. Monday was my brother Timothy's last P-day of his mission!  We chatted on gmail for about an hour that morning.  I am really excited for him to come home! 3. I made an apple pie for FHE.  It was amazing. 4. Scott went on a father-son date with Soren on Wednesday night.  They went to the U of U parking lot and wrote down all the license plates they saw.  When they got home, Soren was very excited to tell me about the snazzy sports car they saw as well as the license plate from England. 5. I gave myself permission to take a nap every day this week. ...