Things Jolly loves right now

Books - he's started reading them by turning the pages, starting at the beginning and methodically working to the end, at which point he sometimes shoves the entire thing gleefully into his mouth. But chewing and hitting is no longer the only fun he has with books, which is great. At work I let him go to town on a catalog that I got shipped which he proceeded to shred into bits. I think it'll be a while before he can independently handle noncardboard books, still!

Music, the more inappropriate the better. Right now M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" is capable of eliciting shrieks of laughter, especially the refrain about "Take your money!" and the bit at the end about murder and having more records than the KGB. Maybe need to stop listening to this before Jolly starts to figure out what the words mean. Gets much more of an enthusiastic response than the designated children's albums, though. I think instead of elevator muzak versions of grown up songs like they sell everywhere, I think we need grown-up sounding songs with wholesome, age-appropriate lyrics about watermelons and butterflies and sharing. Anyone know if they make something like this for the punk rock, hiphop or otherwise edgy baby?

Taking things out of racks and strewing them about: specifically cds and shoes, right now. Books and toys on his bookshelf are good, too.

Powercords - oh, the danger! The chewy texture! The fact that they are long and attach to things on both ends, and can be pulled out!

Eating! Oh yes. He has a really, really high attention span for shoving foods in his mouth. He has eaten pretty much everything we put in front of him with enthusiasm ranging from high to really off the charts. Particular favorites include pretzels, green beans, zucchini, sauteed tofu, tomatoes, cheese (cow, goat, sheep, buffalo), pears, miscellaneous carbohydrates, and prune juice served in an espresso cup held by a parent. (This is way messy right now, but he's ingesting ever larger quantities of juice while less of it is going down his front.) Being fed is still way uncool, and exceptions are only made when it's something that's really, truly, deeply enticing like nettle soup (made from stinging nettles in our backyard), and even then it's more acceptable if it's a grown-up sized spoon that is held in front of him for him to grab at and empty down his front.

People, including strangers - we seem to have skipped the stranger anxiety thing entirely here. He's just so excited to see people, which is part of why shopping is the most fun ever. Extra bonus points if it's somewhere like Costco where there are samples to eat WHILE looking at the hoards of people.

Throwing himself off things.

Biting. He is such a zombie, honestly. We are providing firm consequences every time, but man, that message has not yet gotten through. All seven teeth are regularly clenched around our arms, shoulders, feet, etc.

Crawling, bouncing himself up and down, and sitting up on his own in the crib which is as of yesterday the fun new replacement of naptime.

Having the comforter fluffled around, and liquids sloshing about in containers. Hilarious. Gravity, generally, is also top notch entertainment.

Showers - he just sort of goes limp with joy when the warm water hits him. Bathtimes are more about splashing, but also fun, as long as he is not reclining and is allowed to drink the bathwater via the washcloth.

Faculty meetings. He may be the only one!

ETA - it goes without saying that the cats are still top of the list. Now that he can crawl after them, he is in heaven. Cat tails dangling from chairs are no longer safe.