The Penguin

A couple of months ago, Xander got his very own exersaucer. He had begun to play in one at day care, and he really liked it, so his mom and dad got him one for home. Actually, his grandma got it for him. It's a Baby Einstein exersaucer, and he really likes it.

This exersaucer is fully loaded. It's got a three key piano that plays songs or nature sounds. Xander likes the songs, so we leave it on that. It's got a little bird that spins in place vertically, with a felt top that he can suck on. It's got two giant purple circles with pictures of animals that hang from a tree that he can swing at and pull. It's got a lion puppet that people can put their hand in and play with him, he really likes that. It has a drum, a little bendy giraffe, an abacus-like thing with three little circles that he can swing from one side the other and two pandas on a see-saw. Finally, it has a penguin. The penguin is perched above a cylinder that contains a bunch of little balls. When you turn the penguin, the balls roll around the cylinder, making a noise that Xander really likes.

There was just one problem - Xander couldn't turn the penguin to spin the balls himself. He liked it whenever mom or dad did it for him, but when he would look at it, all he could think to do was hit it. While this never hurt him (Xander is a strong little boy) it also never made the penguin move. That is, until yesterday. For the first time, Xander was turning the penguin all by himself! To see the joy on his face when he turned it was indescribable. But you don't want to jump the gun on these things, maybe it was just a fluke, and he'd quickly forget what he learned. Not a chance. This morning, Xander had exersaucer time shortly after breakfast, as is quick becoming custom, and as soon as he got tired of banging on his piano keys, he spun around, and sure enough, started working that penguin over good. Sometimes breakthroughs take awhile, or they may seem like they take awhile for an adult, but when they happen, they are magic.