Buddy Report

My favorite thing these days is observing HR while he plays independently. The fact that he plays by himself at all for a sustained amount of time is relatively new, and I find myself sort of holding my breath as I watch him, not wanting to disturb him by reminding him of my presence. He's been really into gathering up all his little people and cars and putting them on a table, then arranging and rearranging them and putting them on the floor, then back up. Sometimes he just knocks them all to the ground. I realize it doesn't sound very entertaining but watching him use his imagination--to know that something is going on inside that little brain that is not transparent to me--is amazing. He is becoming a real person, so fast, right before my eyes. He's still a boy of few words (the latest is "magnet" which brings us up to five, maybe six in his repertoire?) but he understands commands and requests, and he can point to any thing or person when asked. Today he apparently pointed to the phone repeatedly and said "Dada" until Mike surmised he was asking for me. So they called me at work and he got on and said "Mama."

Obviously I'm not saying I have a wee genius here, just that my baby is leaping into little-boy-hood and I thought I was ready for that but it is going a bit too quickly for my taste. In some ways of course he's still very much a baby, and quite the mama's boy at that, but I'm finding I'm not so anxious as I used to be regarding what he should be doing and when. He's my baby, he's going to be how he's going to be, and of course he needs our guidance and discipline and Mike and I are doing our best to do what we think is best and important, but I just feel OK about it all in a way I certainly did not a year ago. Above all I want him to be secure in the knowledge that he's loved, and at this point it wouldn't occur to him to think otherwise, so I guess we're doing our jobs. Through it all, this little life is my privilege to witness and have a hand in shaping. Just in case you were wondering.