The Great Imitation

Jake and Gabe play this game that I would imagine lots of fathers play with their 2-year-olds. Basically it consists of Jake chasing Gabe around, catching him, and blowing a raspberry on his belly. Gabe loves it, and thinks it's hilarious.

Today, I went to get Gabe up from his afternoon nap. Gabe sees me come in the room, and then looks at his Elmo laying in the crib. Without hesitation, he smooshes his face onto Elmo's tummy and tries to make a raspberry. Gabe looks up at me, grins ear to ear and announces, "I like Daddy!"

I laughed harder than I have in a long time, and I was also SO proud! Pretend play and imitation are skills that many children will pick up prior to 18 months. This was the first time I had really seen Gabriel try to imitate so blatantly. WooHoo!