Spencer Aaron: Typical boy

So I really tried not to gender-type Spencer. By the time he was a year old he had a plastic doll house, an old Barbie style horse (no Barbie), and a doll that was designed to practice buttoning, zipping, tying, etc. Well, he never cared much for any of these items. As soon as Fred bought him a plastic CASTLE for his 2nd birthday, with a dragon, they instantly became his favorite toys. That castle is not so different from the doll house...but it's a castle. He loves it. He also loves tractors, excavators, bulldozers, loaders, cranes, trains, airplanes...all the stereotypical boy stuff. Oh well. I did recently read about a new study that shows the same phenomenon in baby and toddler monkeys. The female monkeys would play with masculine or feminine toys, but the male monkeys were much more drawn to the masculine toys. So, while I'm sure there is some nurture involved, a lot of it does seem to be nature related. According to the results of this study boys will be boys.

Spencer has recently discovered garbage trucks. They have become his new favorite thing. We went on a rare shopping trip for some new toys and we were of course in the truck/tractor toy section, and Spencer said he wanted a garbage truck. Fred and I looked at each other and shrugged, both thinking there was no such toy in existence. I even told Spencer we couldn't get a garbage truck. Well, Fred moved a toy aside and lo and behold, in the very back of the toy shelf there was a single big, plastic garbage truck! Actually, it's a recycling truck, which to me is even better. It was fate. Spencer was so excited. He loves his new toy garbage truck. It even has a little dumpster that attaches to the front. Very fun.

His vocabulary keeps growing, and he almost exclusively talks in full sentences (if I point at an 'A' and ask him what letter it is, he says 'That's an A' never just 'A'). He picks up words and phrases everywhere, and repeats them correctly later (yep, we really have to watch what we say these days even when we don't think he's paying attention). He still loves his books, but enjoys a little bit of education television especially if it's related to garbage trucks, fire trucks, trains or airplanes. He can almost recite numbers up to 20 (1-15 is good, gets a bit shaky after that), is quickly learning basic colors, and knows all the upper and lower case letters. I hope he doesn't get too bored in pre-K. Oh, and most importantly he's learning the concept of 'time out'. Very important.

But he's still our little baby in some ways...we still have diapers, pacifiers, and crib. But the time will come when I'll really have to stop referring to his as 'baby boy'. Sigh.

Helping feed the cat...and quickly becoming her new BFF!