A boy and his shoes

For as long as Jacob has been able to move, he has always sought out shoes to play with. It's a fascinating, yet slightly odd, obsession!

Our bedroom closet has always been one of his favorite places to play because there are so many shoes!!He also really enjoys playing in our entryway from the garage where we keep a lot of our shoes on a shoe rack. He will pull all the shoes off of the rack and look at them, throw them, or just take them to other areas of the house. (You don't know how many times I have had to search the house for the match to a pair that I was planning to wear!)

Whenever he sees someone while we are out, whether it is at the grocery store or the playground, he always looks down at their shoes! It can be kind of embarrassing but cute. I usually have to explain to people when they ask what he is looking at. "He is just looking at your shoes. He is sort of fascinated with them." And then, that usually leads to the stranger saying something like "Oh, do you like my sparkly sandles?" or "Nothing fancy here - I just have my boring sneakers on today." It's kind of comical and creepy all at the same time! He also seeks out shoes at other people's houses. He obviously isn't picky when it comes to the quality, color or smell of the shoe. He likes all kinds!!

Over the past month or so, he has really started to understand that putting shoes on means we are going outside or in the car. Since he LOVES to be outside these days (even in 90 degree heat!!), he is constantly bringing Keith or me our shoes. That is a sign that he wants to go outside. This often happens first thing in the morning and numerous times during the day. When Keith is home, he is really good about taking Jacob outside to play in the yard, take rides up and down the driveway in the wagon (which he could do all day!), or to go for a walk. I, on the other hand, will go outside but I don't like to stay out in the heat very long. I am definitely looking forward to cooler weather so we can enjoy more outside time!

Whenever we are going to go somewhere lately - outside or in the car - I have been telling Jacob to go get his shoes. He is really good about going to the shoe rack, getting them, and bringing them to me. And in the last few weeks, he has started sitting down so that I can put them on. (In all honesty, just me saying the word "outside" makes him run from whatever he is doing and grab his shoes. The whole time he is saying "shoes, shoes, out-shide, out-shide". It's too cute!!)

Well yesterday I was doing something in the kitchen and he was in the entryway being very quiet (always a sign that he is either concentrating really hard on something or is into something he shouldn't be). When I went to see what he was doing, this is what I saw:

Aww, my baby boy is growing up so fast!!! I was so excited and proud to see him trying to put his shoes on. Clearly he still has a long way to go before he can really do it himself, but this is a start! And, the fact that he thought to do it all by himself without me prompting him makes me happy (and sad!) that he is gaining so much independence. As you can see from the video, whenever he gets frustrated, he throws whatever he has in his hands. But, it was good to see that he didn't give up and he continued trying even though he was having trouble. I am so proud of you little man!!

If that wasn't enough, today he decided he was not only going to put his shoes on, but Mommy's too. What a silly little boy!

I have joked that maybe Jacob will be a shoe salesman or a shoe designer when he grows up. Someone else said maybe a podiatrist. I think that whatever he grows up to be, he will always know a good pair of shoes!!