2/25/09

More About Ian

Ian's personally became apparent mere minutes after we met him!

He's mostly a laid-back kind of boy with some quirks thrown in for fun. From the very beginning, his ability to be calm and flexible was amazing--especially to us, who were nervous first-time parents!

Ian loves to play--and he's recently started to pretend, which is always a fun thing to watch. Most recently, he used one of our subway passes that we keep on hand (for our occasional trips into the city) and opened up his play area as his "store." He'd approach us and ask, "What would you like to buy?" One or both of us would choose something and ask the cost...invariably, the answer is "Four dollars." Though, sometimes it's much more expensive. Can you tell that Ian is present on a lot of errand-running in our family?

He loves anything he can build with--legos, lincoln logs, unit blocks, or play dough. His attention span is lengthening, and he'll sit on the living room floor for HOURS just building and playing make-believe. Be careful, though, as another one of his favorite activities is knocking things down.

From before he was born, even, we began a collection of books that we add to as often as possible. We love reading together and he has the coveted role of "Chooser of the Books." =) We always read before nap time (though, "nap" time has now evolved into "sometimes it's nap time, and sometimes it's just quiet time"), and Ian's always anxious to say, "One more book, please," or "Mama, will you read to me some more?" It's a request that we have a very hard time refusing--and rarely do. His favorite books continue to be One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Pokey Little Puppy, The Napping House, and Dr. Seuss's The Tooth Book.

Being outdoors is always fun for him, too. We live on the very end of a cul-de-sac, and our back yard is completely surrounded by "Conservation Land." This means that nothing can ever be built on this land, and we often feel like we live in the rural woods. =) Ian loves playing in the yard, helping to shovel snow, climbing on the rock wall, looking for deer or rabbits, and running races with our neighbor's little boy.

The newest discover he's made is about SCHOOL. Every day, he wants to "go to school," so we do activities that will get him ready to be a better reader. He knows all of his letters and the sounds they make--he can spell his name, and even write a few letters.

Most of all, Ian is happy. He makes hillarious jokes that have us in stitches, and he's able to find the bright side of any situation. He's going to make someone a fantastic big brother some day, that's for sure.