Practicing

Nate is practicing rolling over both front to back and back to front. He's rolled from his front to his back several times already. Today for the first time he rolled from his back to his front. When rolling from his back to his side, he tends to put his fist his mouth; that makes it rather challenging to get his arm out of the way to turn over completely.

Facing the World

Until this week, when we carried Nate in the Bjorn, he faced us. Now his head support is so good that he can face the world.

Michael's Seals

Michael's favorite toy is the seal mobile that is hanging from the ceiling above the middle of the bed. The pictures do not do justice to its grace and charm. Michael particularly loves to watch the seals move. He seems to believe that the seals will dance if he smiles and coos at them enough. He is right. When he gets particularly adorable, someone is happy to wave something at the mobile indefinitely to make the seals dance. Today I found myself making up a song about the seals, and I can't sing at all. In general, Michael eventually gets bored with things that used to fascinate him. But the seals never lose their fascination.

His mom and dad often wake up to the sound of Michael's gurgling at the seals. But soon his coos turn to frustration until someone wakes up enough to swipe at them. Once they start to dance, he is no longer happy with an immobile seal mobile.

Tummy Time

When my daughters were infants, new parents were advised to make sure babies slept on their stomachs. Now the official wisdom is that babies need to sleep on their backs. As a result, babies need to have regularly scheduled tummy time so they can practice lifting their heads and ultimately crawling. These pictures show how dramatically Nate's ability to lift his head has improved.

May 25

June 10

July 10

July 10

So Big

Like his mommy, Nate loves to stand. Increasingly Nate is learning to take more of his own weight and need less support.

Vanessa, Cape Cod, three months old

Vanessa, Cape Cod, three months old

Nate, six weeks old

Nate, two months old

Leo the Late Bloomer

Vanessa loved Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus, pictures by Jose Aruego.  Nate enjoys it just as much.  The illustrations are irresistible.The appeal of the text is mysterious since neither Vanessa nor Nate qualify as late bloomers.

Using His Hands

Nate has been swatting at things for weeks, but now he is obviously using his hands more purposively.  His fists are no longer clenched; he opens his hands and is learning to use his fingers independently. Two weeks ago he didn't like this activity gym.  Today he enjoyed it, particularly when we figured out how to attach his favorite toys.