A master of vacuuming

The other day I had the hand vacuum out for something. Quinn got ahold of it when I set it down. He wanted me to turn it on for me. I encouraged him to do it himself. He wanted to cover his ears though (he's very sensitive to noise). I said maybe he could put on his earmuffs (ear protection we bought for him for taking him to concerts). He liked that idea. He found his earmuffs and wanted me to put them on for him. I encouraged him to do it himself, and showed him how. Then he wanted me to turn it on. I encouraged him to try it himself, using his two thumbs to press harder on the button, which is kind of stiff.

He then proceeded to vacuum everything in sight. The couch, the ottoman, the living room floor, the kitchen floor. I even moved some furniture to take advantage this outburst of industriousness. He took his earmuffs on and off, and turned the vacuum on and off, and was quite proud of doing so all by himself, all 27 times. Then he figured out how to empty it, which was a little messy, but no matter. The battery eventually died and that was the end of that, except for him chattering about it for another half hour.

The next day I got home from work to see him with the big vacuum cleaner out, earmuffs on, vacuuming like mad. He could turn it on and off, retract the cord, empty the bin in the kitchen garbage can, put the bin back on, lining up the notch, and start vacuuming again. He vacuumed for an hour.

Every now and then I have to remind myself he's two.

He's very serious and businesslike when he's putting his earmuffs and going to work, but also has a certain air of satisfaction in going about. I wonder if maybe he's mirroring me tearing down the garage a couple weeks ago, which Quinn watched intently. It's early to say for sure, but it appears he'll have a work ethic, and also safety consciousness, both of which please me. It makes me wonder whether it's just his nature, or whether early examples can be formative lifelong. Whatever the case, he is a master of vacuuming now, and proud of it.