A Game of Catch

Daddy has been playing catch with me since I was about 6 months old. In its usual form, Daddy rolls the ball to me and then I throw it "back" (which technically means only that I throw it---without regard for direction). The accurate throwing part has gotten much better. When I want to, I can actually throw the ball to Daddy although sometimes it's more fun to throw it away from him to watch him go get it. This past weekend, though, there was a big breakthrough in my catching skills. I noticed that when I threw the ball to Daddy, he could pluck it right out of the air. I wanted to do that too, so I had Daddy throw the ball to me instead of rolling it. Initially, I discovered that catching a ball out of the air is difficult. I flung my arms outward but somehow the ball did not end up in my hands. With a few practice tosses, however, I got it. I caught the ball---straight out of the air. Daddy whooped for joy and we did a little "catch the ball" dance. Then we repeated it, and I caught the ball again. We even tried with different sized balls and, after a couple of tries, I could catch these too. Catching is great (but still not as fun as throwing.)