Peckasso

Ivan fascinates me. You can tell he is his own person with his own ideas. I have his daddy's juggling balls in a tube. He loves to take them out and check the tube to make sure it is empty. He also enjoys carrying the balls in his mouth, but that's another matter. The other day, I watched him meticulously transport all three balls to a window ledge. He placed two balls on the ledge, then squeezed the third in between them. He seemed happy with this accomplishment, then in a burst of energy, he threw them all down to the floor. I have no idea what this little ritual was, but it was obviously thought out and gave him delight.

Ivan is learning about spoons, forks, pens and pencils. He uses all of them in much the same way. He will let me scoop food up for him, but left alone, he wants to tap the utensil in his food, over and over and over. The same with writing tools. He will let me help him scribble, but he bores with this quite easily, then taps, making little dots and dot squiggles.
This is Ivan Peckasso Baggett's first all by himself creation. (It was done in marker and erase-a-board, which is why I had to scan it for posterity). I was excited because I'll place the writing utensil in his hand and he will invariably flip it to the cap end to color (which of course does not work!) So I'll place it the way he flipped it and he'll switch on me again. You don't realize how complicated something as easy as a pen is, until you try to teach a 14 month old to draw! "Ivan, I don't know why the pens and pencils only have one end, but you have to learn which end will write." Maybe the other end is for chewing!!! (Ivan still thinks the whole thing is for chewing.) In any case, he did this drawing without any help (apart from me putting the marker in his hand the "right way", which was a big accomplishment for mommy!)

Auntie Jen, before you get too excited, I really think Ivan is right-handed, although the picture shows him with the pencil in his left. Of course, only time will tell.