who needs toys?

after caleb wakes up in the morning or after a nap, we have a pretty standard routine. he gets his diaper checked/changed, and then i nurse him, or i try to anyway, for as long as he has the patience to endure, which on some occasions is not at all. (and even if he does, i've come to see them as polite pity-feedings, like when you make yourself eat that cookie someone gives you just to not seem rude.)

but eventually his inquisitiveness takes over and he must, simply must, explore the table next to the rocking chair. so, i hold on to him as he sits on the arm of the rocking chair and let him explore. obviously, the items have accumulated there for mommy to use, not for baby to play with, but he doesn't know that. he just knows he likes to push the button that turns the radio on and off, chew on the nail file, knock his clippers to the ground, pick up the kleenex box, pull out the kleenex, and bang on the fan remote. he gets excited when the phone rings or when i pick it up to call someone, and he loves watching mommy drink from the glass and tries his best to imitate her (with help and an empty glass, of course.) and when all the objects have either been knocked off, pushed out of reach, or cautiously removed by mommy, there's the table itself with all the fun colors and textures. my mom and i made it when i was still pregnant with him. unfortunately, it's too top heavy and unstable and will either have to be removed or put on shorter legs once caleb starts pulling up on things.

this to me is one of the great things about kids - i think if he didn't have a single toy he'd be just has happy to pour over the everyday objects around the house (carefully selected for safety, of course.) just another reminder of how fun things are gonna be when he can crawl and has a whole houseful of found objects to explore.