little man, big imagination

I am feeling so blessed to be spending so much time with both Jackson and Audrey while I'm on maternity leave. To be able to keep Audrey at home with me during her first, most precious months is incredible and I'll treasure these days forever. And I'll treasure just as much my time with Jackson. To be able to be here with him while he is in such a developmentally expansive stage is thrilling for me. He blows my mind on a daily basis with how much he is learning and growing right before my eyes. Dan and I both try to seamlessly teach him as much as possible through play, "chores" and conversation and I personally feel that us preventing him from watching television is more than paying off. I am going to spend the time really recapping our growing little man next month when he turns TWO, but I had to capture for now one of the most entertaining parts of Jackson at the moment- his enormous imagination. A few weeks ago he began "cooking" for us... he pretends to cook and mix and bake and then serve to us whatever we request- or whatever he wishes for us to eat. The funniest part of this for me is that he has no play kitchen, he has no play food and we have never played this game of cooking with him. He came up with the game completely on his own, complete with a whirlwind of intricate little hand motions that must convey stirring, chopping, egg-breaking and he has designated the brick chimney as his refrigerator and oven. I'm telling you, the boy knows how to imagine, all on his own, without the help of cute little cartoon characters or catchy little jingles. It is his mind working on its own and it is almost as much fun for us to witness as it is for him to dive into these worlds he creates.