K is trying to learn how to jump. She crouches down, then raises her arms and leaps upwards, saying "Jump!" Only her feet never leave the ground. But she keeps trying. The other day at the playground, she saw some girls playing jumprope and nearly died of the excitement of trying to jump along while she watched them.
We were having dinner with a friend last week, eating outside on the sidewalk at a restaurant. K started climbing up on a step and then jumping off in triumph. "Jump! Jump! Jump!"
I think I'll be disappointed when she can actually get off the ground.
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Every night, we read K three or four books before bed, depending on how long she can manage to lengthen the bedtime process. Lately, when we put her in her crib, she has been demanding a book go in with her. Since it hasn't prevented her from falling asleep yet and the alternatives is a full-bore toddler tantrum, we give it to her. Satisfied, she lies back, gathers her baby doll in the crook of her arm, and proceeds to read the book to her baby.
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Tonight, K insisted that I lie down on the couch, insistently pushing me back and then patting the end of the couch where I was supposed to put my feet up. Once I was settled, she put a blanket over me, tucked a pacifier at my side in case I should want it, and then proceeded to apply a screwdriver to my hip to give my joints a tuneup. Every time I lifted my head, she would sternly push it back down, ordering "Head down!"
I know toddler behavior involves a lot of modelling of what they see. But for the life of me, I can't think of when we modelled the behavior of putting her to bed and then poking her repeatedly with a screwdriver.
