E-chan update

It's been a while since I've posted about E-chan's antics, I realised. So, he's 14 months old now, crawling, standing, cruising, chatting and saying the odd word, but very expressive with noises and actions. He's generally a cheerful and friendly chap, has a cheeky streak, loves fetching us books for us to read to him, and loves having baths (to the point where we have to spell the word out unless it's bath time, because he goes straight to the bathroom door and bangs on it otherwise, expecting a bath any moment soon).

He's not walking unsupported yet, but will do with a trolley to push or if we hold his hands. He mostly gets fed by us, but will feed himself chunks of cooked potato, bread, muffins, crackers, and cooked peas. He alternates between trying to use a spoon (ie banging, flinging, and tantruming if we try to shove food in his mouth) and just letting us feed him.

He seems to like going to child care, but sometimes reaches the end of his tether towards the end of the day, and wants to be at home with us (I don't blame him - I feel much the same!). He's learning to play with other kids, has great toys and a large outside playing area to play in (that we don't have at home), and best of all, likes the carers and will be settled and fed by them.

He's mastering attention seeking, and has a set of things that he know's he's not supposed to do that he does when he's bored or if he thinks we should stop whatever we're doing and play with him - namely pressing buttons and twirling dials on electronic equipment, playing with the vertical blinds, banging things, and clearing out bookshelves.

When we're out and about, we noticed he's frighteningly like us in some ways. For example, we're out at the playground, and we notice he's just sitting there watching the older kids play and try to encourage him to play a bit and crawl around. Then I notice I'm doing exactly the same thing - sitting and watching the other kids play! Is that learned or innate behaviour, or innate reinforced by watching us?! Many other examples of him copying me in subtle ways. But one thing that impresses us is his strong sense of self, stubbornness, clear sense of what he wants to do and how he wants to go about it.