For example, I could tell he was obviously watching the fireworks explode in the sky. I know that doesn't sound like such a big deal, but it's more than he could do four months ago. We played cornhole last night at Brian and Amanda Langland's house (much fun), and I could tell that he was following the bags as they flew across the yard. It made it very difficult to feed him a bottle while his head was on a swivel.
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| Watching fireworks with Mom |
He grins at me from across the room when someone else is holding him. I'm able to get his attention, make one of my go-to funny faces or noises, and he flashes that big gorgeous grin at me. At church and in new places, he opens his big eyes wide as he absorbs every little detail that surrounds him. Things that I observed long ago and now take for granted, like nails in the back of the old wooden pews, or the spinning blades of a ceiling fan. He reminds me of an astronaut that has landed on an alien planet and has only just stepped out the door of his spaceship. He appears to scrutinize everything, and he doesn't want to miss anything. He prefers to face out and have a wide field of view of his environment.
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| Watching the iPhone with Dad |
He has learned his first "trick". A while ago I discovered that when he wakes up in the middle of the night, inconsolably hungry and screaming at the top of his lungs, I could pacify him somewhat by patting him gently on the mouth with my fingers, making his voice modulate. He found this slightly amusing for about ten seconds, then remembered that he was hungry and resumed his wailing, angrier than before at the attempt to placate him. Now, even when he is silent, if I gently pat him on the mouth, he starts making sounds so that he can hear his voice modulate. He doesn't scream - in fact, he makes the most gentle, soft little "coos". It's adorable. He grabs my thumb and pinky with his hands as if to feel the machinery behind those strange sounds coming from his mouth.
He and I often spend quality time just talking. We don't understand each other, but we have some fun exchanges. When I talk to him, I often see him watching my mouth as I form the words. It's fascinating to watch him learn. So sometimes I slow down my speech, and make rudimentary sounds (mainly, "da-da") so that he can more easily observe where the sounds come from.
He recognizes the bottle now, and even reaches for it. He's able to grasp things and put them in his mouth now. He's also able to roll over, and he uses it as his only means of locomotion. When I put him on the floor of his room to play, he watches me leave, begins to cry, and will sometimes roll towards the door. He rolls all over the room - we've found him in some pretty funny locations. I need to put a camera in his room so we can see how he is able to maneuver into some of the places we find him.
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| I don't know how he winds up here... |
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| Apparently, neither does he. |
Anyway, he's a fascinating little guy. I have a feeling he will only grow to be more so.
