Beck's great day

Beck had such a great day yesterday. He's becoming more independent--as Mr. Monk says, "it's blessing and a curse."

He can lay on his stomach now for 10-15 minutes, and his hand are becoming more like hands! He can grasp at objects, and actually hit them with his hand most of the time. So he'll lay on his stomach pushing his toys around, babbling to himself. So cute!

When he gets tired of that I'll roll him over and he'll play with a toy, putting it up to his mouth and babbling as he chews on it. Something about having an object in his mouth makes him want to talk! He's so funny.

He really loves feeling things. That sounds hilarious, and maybe all babies are like this, but since he was a newborn he would rub his hands back and forth on different textures, my sleeve, his blankets, daddy's face . . . just feeling it. For this reason he LOVES stuffed animals--my aunt Gail sent him this huge stuffed polar bear, Arctic Harry, whom he will pull right into his face and stroke and stroke. Getting to pat the pets is pretty much his favorite activity. As soon as he sees one of the cats a big smile will light up his face and he holds out his hands to them, which means, "I want to pet one!"

But his favorite toys of all are empty chip bags. We figured this out on the plaine ride to Anchorage. I'd stuffed the diaper bag with tons of toys: things that rattle and jingle, things he could suck on or pull. I wanted to be sure I had lots of distractions because I was hoping he wouldn't scream the entire flight, as I've heard some infants do. The sewardess delivered our snacks once we were at altitude, and what do you know, he LOVED the empty snack pack bag. It was just big enough that he could put his tiny hand over it and slide it back and forth across the tray table. Daddy giave him his pack too, and there he was, happy as a little lark, sliding both hands across the tray making crinkle sounds.

Sigh, I thought as he grew more independent it would get easier for me to find little pockets of time to write. Not so. I drafted this weeks ago, and can't even remember why his day was so good!

I will say he is growing more content in the world most of the time. He cries much less often, and is soothed much quicker. He goes 10-20 minute stretches of being content on his own, in the high chair or on the floor with his toys. But he still spends most of the day being carried in a sling or baby carrier.

His new struggle is falling asleep. That is when he cries the most, right at that point between wake and sleep.

I'm really trying to remember to just be present with him and enjoy every moment: how incredibly soft his hair is, how tiny his chubby little hands still are, the incredible color of his eyes: copper from the front and blue-gray from the side.

If nothing else, he certainly makes me prioritize my life! Beck first, clean dishes and organized closet way after that!