I’ve been making some notes about things that Austin has learned to do in the last few weeks, so I think I’ll roll them all into one rather eclectic post. He has really changed a lot, even just in the last few days, so here’s what he’s up to now.
- Recognizing people: he definitely recognizes his family now. You can tell that it makes him happy to see me, Amanda…and especially Adria.
- Showing off: he will do things — like squeal or bang something or kick his legs — and then look up at you to see what kind of reaction he gets. He’ll laugh if you do.
- Grab things: if you hold something out to him, he’ll give it the eye for a second or two to make sure that it’s going to stick around, and then he’ll reach out and grab it with both hands. And then he’ll put it in his mouth. He’s quite good at the grabbing, although the motion sometimes takes some refinement. The appearance is as though his depth perception isn’t very good…he’ll often miss his target in a front-to-back direction, and then come back to it.
- Go get things: he will roll over (back to front only, still) to get things that he wants. He will specifically reach for something, not be able to get there, and then roll over to get it. This behavior makes me think that rolling from front to back (hot dog rolls) and crawling won’t be too delayed…he seems interested in going out to get things.
- Pushing up: he’s starting to push his chest off the ground when he’s laying on his belly. He can pretty much get his arms straight….for a moment.
- Refusing milk: he will purse his lips tightly and turn his head away from the bottle if he doesn’t want it. Fair enough…we’re communicating here.
- Whine for something: If you are fixing a bottle and he really wants it, he’ll start to whine for it. He’ll also whine if he drops a toy out of reach and wants it back. This may sound annoying, and it may get annoying eventually…but right now, I’m just happy that we’re “talking”.
- Like his mobile: this is random, but he likes the mobile in his crib. Adria was ambivalent, but if you put Austin in the crib and turn on the mobile, he’ll watch it for many minutes at a time.
- Rest face down: for the longest time, he would refuse to put his head down when he was on his belly. He would keep his neck and back arched up, never resting, and eventually he would get tired and this would lead to whining, crying, and/or wailing. Now when he gets tired, he’ll quietly put his head down and rest…I think we’re on our way to belly sleeping.
Austin taking a break on the carpet (not asleep)
