Ian Makes a New Friend

Today was yet another exciting day for Ian. He had his very first playdate! One of my coworkers has a super-cutie-pie son a month younger than Ian, so we thought it would be fun to get them together. I was especially interested to see how they compared in size, speech, play, etc.

Ian and Jason played great together...well, they played near each other most of the time and not so much together, but there was no hitting and only a few 10 second tantrums. Jason also did a great job of sharing, which is a skill I didn't know a 21 month old could possess. During the morning, I also noticed that:

1. Jason is at a flat run while Ian is still learning to bend his knees when he walks
   
2. Jason takes bites from bigger pieces of food while Ian takes his food bite sized...or tries to shove it all in at once
   
3. Jason knows about 50 understandable words. Ian's vocabulary mostly consists of about a dozen partial words
   
4. Ian gravitated toward ALL of Jason's wheeled and musical toys
   
5. Kids in motion make for blurry pictures
   
6. A 2 hour playdate is pushing it
   
7. Asking a toddler to say "sorry" is almost comical
   
8. Getting a toddler to take a nap right after a playdate is asking a lot

I say the latter as Ian is in his crib right now, no doubt exhausted, but is still playing. I'm sure he's in there re-enacting his playdate. Shawn says he's like that if I come home from work for lunch before his nap.

For the most part, I don't want to make too many comparisons because I know that Ian has already made huge strides in catching up. I know that a year from now, he will be right there with his peers and I will be saying "remember when I was so worried about that?". After today, I can see just how important preschool will be for Ian and it will probably make a big difference in some of these things I tend to obsess about. Although it's still pretty scary, I am actually starting to get excited for him to start in just over a week.

Ian and Jason playing with legos...Shawn will be so thrilled to know his son is on his way to lego fanatic status!

Ian loved this table...lights? sounds? dials? Yes! It's a little like his piano, which he can't live without. I might have to splurge or drop some hints for the grandmas.

Ian and Jason sharing. So cute!