In what follows, I’ll be listing several “aw isn’t that cute” facts about my toddler child. But there’s a serious question being asked, here, so I feel justified in GQing it. 
I often wonder about the things my seventeen month old does. I wonder whether I am seeing aspects of his personality developing, or rather, whether I am seeing him do things pretty much all kids his age do.
That’s a false dichotomy, of course, but you get the gist of what I’m wondering, I’m sure.
So, for example, he:
–Seems to really enjoy music. When he hear music, he stops to turn to look and listen to the source, and after a few seconds will sort of “dance”/stomp around, and clap his hands. He seems to be zeroing in on an ability to clap in rhythm, even, though he’s far from perfect or even good at it as yet.
–Really likes books, and really digs the activity of identifying pictures found within them. He can’t really say any words yet, but when I say, for example, “Where’s the kitty,” he’ll point to the kitty. He really likes playing this game and is visibly disappointed when I stop playing it with him. Anyway, his enjoyment of books seems to have been quite natural to him–we do plenty of activities with him, but for some reason, he always gravitates toward the books though we’ve made no special effort to lead him in that direction.
–Does sometimes throw a tantrum when he’s told “no” about something, but as near as I can tell, his concern isn’t “how dare they not let me do this” but rather “I don’t want to be in trouble!” He is consoled, not by recieving the desired object, but rather, by a kind tone and an assurance (which he surely can’t understand linguistically) that he’s “not in trouble” and a few seconds of hugging. (Interestingly, this was always true of my wife when she was a kid–she wasn’t upset about being grounded per se, but rather, about the idea that there was now this terrible rift between her and her parents. She hated “being in trouble,” not “having goods denied me.”)
–Is utterly fascinated and excited by all animals he spots. Sometimes digs flowers and tree trunks as well.
–Shows a kind of strange fascination with license plates, pointing out the letters (I think–he seems to zero in on particular letters, rather than pointing to random spots on the license plate) on them as we walk along a parking lot.
–Runs up to other kids around his age and a little older, and stops and stands and grins, but seems to have no idea what to do next. The kids look sidelong at him and sometimes even start to try to walk away from him–at which point he begins “stalking” them.
–Is not at all picky about foods–he’ll eat pretty much whatever we give him, though certain special “treats” he particularly enjoys.
–loves to feed our cats and also to give them what we call “kitty treats”–just little snacks for cats you buy in a little canister. We had no idea he even knew we were feeding the cats til we noticed him doing it. And we haven’t given the cats treats since before he was born–we just had a canister of treats laying around which we’d given up on because the cats didn’t seem to like them. When little Jake would bring them up to one of us asking for us to give him a tidbit out of them, we’d say, “No, those are for the kitties” then take it away. One day, on a whim, I gave him one–and to our amazement he walked over to the cat and placed it in front of her. He does this once or twice a day, now–and sometimes the cats even eat them.
–When doing the block-sorting canister puzzle, he used to try a block in the wrong hole a few times, then take the lid off, put the block in the canister, then put the lid back on, then try the next block in another wrong hole. Rince repeat. Very funny, but say, does this mean my kid is a cheater? Or more positively, that he thinks outside the box? 
–Gets a big kick out of imitating our hand gestures and body movements
–Waves and says “hi” to everyone he sees, friend or stranger
That’s all I can think of right now.
So, are all of these things just things all kids do? Or can I safely say some of these things literally show what kind of personality he’s developing?
I’ve tried to avoid “reading into” things here, but tell me what you think about that, too, if anything.
-FrL-