Of all our boys, Sawyer is the least likely to initiate, whether for play or just interaction. He very much prefers to do his own thing in his own way. Some of his current favorites are to organize magnetic letters in random patterns on the art easel or to arrange the linking rings (not linked, of course) in yet another pattern of his choosing. He also likes to play with puzzles and look through books.
But lately, we're seeing more and more attempted interaction from him. He still likes to do his own thing, of course, but he also wants to play. One of his favorite things to do since the baby gates came down is to take a plush football and either bounce it up the stairs (and dance while it bounces back down) or toss it down the stairs (while dancing on the landing from which he throws it). For some reason, he likes this. A lot.
In the last few weeks, he's taken this favorite toy and started to interact with us. He actually wants to toss the football with you. One night while I was at work, Josh told me he played for over 30 minutes just tossing it back and forth. And he constantly walks up to me during the day holding it out with his cute little grin. Play with me, it seems to say. He'll toss it (usually at your knees), and then he'll hold out his arms for you to toss it back. Sometimes he catches it, sometimes not. But he picks it up and goes through the same thing again and again. He smiles when he throws it at you, and he smiles again when you throw it back. He even dances while he waits for it to come.
It's adorable.
And amazing. The little boy who used to push people away and hide in one particular corner of the house for most of his day is now following people around wanting them to play with him. And though tossing a plush football for hours on end is not necessarily the highlight of my day, watching him engage with the world makes it all incredibly worth while.
