Cause and Effect

Ethan is really moving these days, crawling and climbing everywhere. As we've watched him figure out how to control his body and gain the stength needed to get around, we've noticed that he seems to be a pretty coordinated baby.  I can't tell you how relieved I am to see that he has apparently gotten his father's coordination and not his mothers!  Big sigh of relief there...  

He doesn't have much balance yet so tumbles all the time.  When he first started pulling up we don't think he fully understood that climbing on things was causing him to bump his head.  He'd just look at us like "Hey, how'd that happen???".  We think he's actually starting to learn his first lesson in cause and effect because lately he's a lot more cautious as climbs.  He's even stopped letting go of the table edges and holds on tight.  Its neat to see him learn.  :)

By the way, we do watch him and keep him from hurting himself!  You can't take your eyes off him for a minute or he's into something new...

I read that often when babies hit new milestones (like crawling) their sleep patterns get messed up because their minds are so much more active.  This is true for Ethan.  He plays very hard lately and now has a very hard time going down for his afternoon nap.  But if he doesn't get this nap he is miserable all evening until bedtime.  Hopefully this transition time will be short and he'll figure out how good that afternoon nap feels and not fight it...until then we'll have a lot of crying in the afternoons...

E's latest development is refined finger and toes movement, moving his fingers separately instead of moving his hand as a block.  As he sits on our laps he has started to strum his fingers against us or against his head as he lays in his crib.  It's an adorable little trick. 

Ethan's favorite toys right now are a toothbrush, his baby comb, his pacifier clip string - not the pacifer, just the plastic that clips to his shirts (he seems to have weened himself off his pacifier...), his socks, and balls.  Four out of five of these surprise me...  Who needs Baby Einstein when you have Crest.

Just this week E started to look like he didn't mind eating solids. He's not quite at the point of actually enjoying it, but he doesn't seem to mind it now. He even opens his mouth a little for me every once in a while. I am still a little suprised that he didn't love solids right away because the kid has loved to eat anything else we've put in front of him - even Rotovirus vaccines. Apparently the guy just likes milk.