Another milestone

I'd like to add another of Isaac's accomplishments to my recent list of his 17-month milestones: he can feed the dog.

I started helping Izzy feed the dog as soon as he could walk well enough, but it wasn't always a success. Most of the problems involved the scattering of generous amounts of kibble -- both accidentally and deliberately -- but there was also the problem of the wrong recipient putting said kibble in his mouth. (I told Isaac that dog food was yucky, but as this made no difference Craig suggested that perhaps it wasn't.)

Isaac wasn't ready yet, of course -- it was hard to use the handle on the measuring cup to scoop out the food, hard to carry the full scoop steadily across the room, hard to pour it neatly into the correct bowl, and especially hard to resist the temptation of shaking the scoop and watching the kibble bounce out. Anyway, when it stopped being fun I eventually settled for feeding the dog myself, then letting Isaac carry the empty scoop back to the bucket where the dog food is stored and helping him snap on the lid.

But last night I realized that Isaac's recent enthusiasm for digging might have prepared him for feeding the dog -- he's gotten quite good at scooping sand up in a little trowel, keeping the trowel level, then pouring the sand into a mixing bowl. (Also, he mostly manages to avoid eating the sand.) Were these transferable skills?

Yes! He's fed the dog twice so far -- and he is bursting with pride. Both times I've guided his hand as he reached into the bucket to scoop up the food, and the first time I also provided a steadying hand as he carried the full scoop across the room to the dog's bowl. But the second time he carried the scoop entirely by himself. He started out holding the scoop's handle in one hand, but he quickly realized it would be easier to balance it if he used both hands. Even as he walked, he never took his eyes off the scoop -- it tipped a little precariously at one point, but he didn't spill a single piece, not even when he poured it into the bowl.

I applauded, but he had already taken the empty scoop and was hurrying back to the pantry to put it away in the dog food bucket. I told him, "Great job! Walt will be very happy!" And Isaac echoed, "Happy!"