Abbies (and Ians) Bounce
Abbie loves to bounce. I’ve known that since at least last summer when I let her jump around the backyard trampoline in a display of child endangerment.
Her love of bouncing has only grown since then. While walking from car door to front door, if she encounters a ledge or some other object offering vertical disparity, she’ll perch atop it, steady herself before kneeling down, and hop down to the ground in a triumphant show of toddler prowess. Our front step is a favorite leaping point of hers, as is the drain spout in front of our home, although if our building manager asks, I have no idea how those dents appeared in the corrugated metal.
She doesn’t even need a ledge to bounce off of. While walking through the house, sometimes she’ll stop cold, steady herself, and bounce the rest of the way to her destination giggling the entire way. I don’t know what this game is, but I’m proud of her for inventing something fun that doesn’t involve hurting a brother, although reclaiming a toy a brother possesses is occasionally her destination.
She’ll also hop while watching television if she sees reason to do so. The most likely cause for this is the Sesame Street song “Hop,” though she’ll also hop along to random scenes from Dora the Explorer, as well as the weather map from The Weather Channel. Sometimes I’ll leave the television on for her while I work downstairs for a few minutes, and I’ll swear that she’s destroying the living room with all the banging and crashing coming through the floorboards. When I return upstairs a few, well, several minutes later, I’m relieved to see that she was mostly hopping and didn’t get into anything except for a couple picture frames, a few CD cases, and that basket of papers that was on top of the entertainment center.
She loves reading books with parts about jumping. She’ll point to a picture of a child jumping, and then go bounding into the next room, leaving me to put the book away. When we read the book about the bunny going for a hop, she’ll hop around the room. When we read the book showcasing actions, she’ll point to the child jumping and jump in place. When we read the book about the dog that wishes he was allowed to jump on his bed, she’ll jump on her bed.
I’ve recently harnessed her willingness to jump by hoisting her off the changing table. After changing her diaper, I’ll start counting, and at three I’ll lift her high in the air. When I set her back down she always has a smile on her face, and will usually go running or hopping out of her room. This is a great way to teach her counting and anticipation, and it puts a happy end to our scratching and screaming scrums while changing her diaper.
Now Ian is getting into hopping. This is a little surprising since when I simultaneously put all three children on the backyard trampoline in a stunning display of child endangerment, Tory enjoyed crawling around while Abbie jumped, but Ian tended to sit in one place until I rescued him. Tory still sticks to traditional locomotion, while Ian often pogos as best he can with his 11-month-old legs.
When we save Ian from his crib in the morning, he’s so excited he bounces in our arms. If we don’t grab him immediately, he’ll bop up and down in his crib while holding onto the railing. Set him down to crawl, and he’ll rock back and forth, squealing with delight despite the possible disappointment that he has a 0-inch vertical. When he’s really lucky we’ll set him in his crib and gently bounce him for a minute, lifting his feet off the ground. He giggles wildly, partly from the thrill of bouncing, and partly from the exhilaration of doing something that some dogs are forbidden to do.
Her love of bouncing has only grown since then. While walking from car door to front door, if she encounters a ledge or some other object offering vertical disparity, she’ll perch atop it, steady herself before kneeling down, and hop down to the ground in a triumphant show of toddler prowess. Our front step is a favorite leaping point of hers, as is the drain spout in front of our home, although if our building manager asks, I have no idea how those dents appeared in the corrugated metal.
She doesn’t even need a ledge to bounce off of. While walking through the house, sometimes she’ll stop cold, steady herself, and bounce the rest of the way to her destination giggling the entire way. I don’t know what this game is, but I’m proud of her for inventing something fun that doesn’t involve hurting a brother, although reclaiming a toy a brother possesses is occasionally her destination.
She’ll also hop while watching television if she sees reason to do so. The most likely cause for this is the Sesame Street song “Hop,” though she’ll also hop along to random scenes from Dora the Explorer, as well as the weather map from The Weather Channel. Sometimes I’ll leave the television on for her while I work downstairs for a few minutes, and I’ll swear that she’s destroying the living room with all the banging and crashing coming through the floorboards. When I return upstairs a few, well, several minutes later, I’m relieved to see that she was mostly hopping and didn’t get into anything except for a couple picture frames, a few CD cases, and that basket of papers that was on top of the entertainment center.
She loves reading books with parts about jumping. She’ll point to a picture of a child jumping, and then go bounding into the next room, leaving me to put the book away. When we read the book about the bunny going for a hop, she’ll hop around the room. When we read the book showcasing actions, she’ll point to the child jumping and jump in place. When we read the book about the dog that wishes he was allowed to jump on his bed, she’ll jump on her bed.
I’ve recently harnessed her willingness to jump by hoisting her off the changing table. After changing her diaper, I’ll start counting, and at three I’ll lift her high in the air. When I set her back down she always has a smile on her face, and will usually go running or hopping out of her room. This is a great way to teach her counting and anticipation, and it puts a happy end to our scratching and screaming scrums while changing her diaper.
Now Ian is getting into hopping. This is a little surprising since when I simultaneously put all three children on the backyard trampoline in a stunning display of child endangerment, Tory enjoyed crawling around while Abbie jumped, but Ian tended to sit in one place until I rescued him. Tory still sticks to traditional locomotion, while Ian often pogos as best he can with his 11-month-old legs.
When we save Ian from his crib in the morning, he’s so excited he bounces in our arms. If we don’t grab him immediately, he’ll bop up and down in his crib while holding onto the railing. Set him down to crawl, and he’ll rock back and forth, squealing with delight despite the possible disappointment that he has a 0-inch vertical. When he’s really lucky we’ll set him in his crib and gently bounce him for a minute, lifting his feet off the ground. He giggles wildly, partly from the thrill of bouncing, and partly from the exhilaration of doing something that some dogs are forbidden to do.
posted by Matt at
11:03 PM
1 Comments:
Abbie needs to teach these tricks to Rio. She doesn't jump or bounce at all and hates high places, aka the sofa.
Patty
By
Anonymous, at 9:17 AM
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