I wana be like Dad

I don't give the kid enough credit sometimes.   I bought these round containers at IKEA (They say 1,2,3 on them)   and was going to use them to help teach him to sort.  He really has not shown any interest in putting things in groups, so I put them aside and figured I'd bring them out later.   I forget what he was doing on this day that made me think to do this, but I figured, what the heck, do you think he would understand 'the Grand Prize Game?'  (I think that's what they called it on the Bozo show?)

So I put a bunch of balls in the big basket and set the small ones out in front of him.  I toss a ball in a few times and call out what color I was aiming for.

And before I know it....he's doing it to.   He empties the basket with all the balls, then goes and collects them again and moved the 1,2,3 containers to different spots and tries again.   He played this game for most of the afternoon.  We had plastic balls, bean bags, wiffle balls, all types.  He seamed to really enjoy it.

Of course when dad gets home, he teaches Austin a much more challenging way to hit the buckets....from the second floor. 

Not only does he like to cut with scissors, but his knife too.  He is an expert at cutting pears and apples into bite size pieces.  He'll even share if you standing next to him.

A few weeks ago we bought a piece of wood and some hardware pieces to make an activity board for Austin.  I was in the house this Saturday and hear a power tool turn on.  I peak out in the garage to see what my boys are doing and find the two of them here.

Mr. Safety has on his glasses and is keeping his hands away from the portable Sander. (Grandpa F...do you recognize it?  We actually use it on quite a few projects).

(UHgg  again I don't want to take the time to figure out why it wont flip this picture...you know what to do....tilt your head to the right again - thanks) Here is the finished project.   There is room on the board to add more as I find neat latches, hinges and locks.  We wanted to make sure Austin liked it before we spent too much on hardware.

And this is Austins first Big Boy hair cut. He got to sit on the chair and wear the cape, just like Daddy.  It actually worked out much better than doing it in the tub (Where his last few haircuts have been)  The cape kept his hands out of the way and he couldn't shoo my hands away.  I get braver with each haircut and may not need to take him to a pro after all.  We'll see how the next few go.