Oral hygiene starts early in this family. Gramma Maria gave Sylvan a toothbrush nine months before he had any teeth, then, when Gramma Diana was here last month, she picked up another toothbrush (the downstairs toothbrush) and taught Sylvan to spit in the sink (or at least make a cute spitting sound) when he was done brushing. Sylvan’s new predilection for imitation means that brushing is great fun.
And Sylvan’s love of everything spherical has led to a new phenomenon: feeding himself! So apparently, if he can call it a ball, he wants to try to put it in his mouth. He only calls spherical objects balls if they’re larger than plums, which is convenient, since he has no interest in feeding himself grapes or cherries or any other manner of small choking hazards. Apple-balls are his new love. As I was unpacking our CSA share yesterday, Sylvan added his little bite-marks to three of the five apples.