Jacob is a helper

At Jacob's 15 month pediatrician appointment, I had to fill out a questionnaire about his development. One question asked, "Does your child help around the house?" which definitely had me circling "no." When it came to household chores, he was the opposite of helpful. If we folded clean laundry in a basket, he would spread the clothes all over the floor. If he found a basketful of dirty laundry, he would spread the clothes all over the floor. When we picked up toys to vacuum, he would redistribute them. The two ways to solve this problem were (1) to be quicker than him, so eventually everything would be picked up (even if picked up several times) or (2) to wait for him to fall asleep and then pick up and vacuum. At meals, he liked to drop some food on the floor for a snack later. The closest he got to helping out was when we'd sweep up the kitchen. He'd take the broom from us and walk around all over the house. Too bad he held the bristles up in the air.

Now, things have changed. When I take him downstairs to put on some laundry, he actually takes items from the basket and puts them in the machine. He'll even push the start button on the washer, and if I lift him up he'll push the start button on the dryer. Whether clothes are in the dryer or not is of little consequence to him. In the garage, we have to push two buttons simultaneously in order to open the garage door from the inside. Jacob has his button and I have mine. We have a great time opening the door when we head out for errands. He'll even put books back on his bookshelf and toys back in the bin. Not always, but definitely more often than he used to. He even puts his laundry in his basket when we undress him for bath time. He still drops food on the floor at meal times. I guess you can't win 'em all.

We go back to the pediatrician next week for his 18 month check up and shots. I hope they still have that question on the development questionnaire, because I can't wait to circle "yes"!!