Week 10: You can almost see the brain cells zipping by

Despite the fact that I have no photo evidence connected with this post, I wanted to note all the cool stuff that Maceo has started to be able to do in the last week +. It started out when we put him under the "activity mat". Translation - colorful little rug with an arc that you hang all sorts of high contrast rings and such from. At first he would get excited and thrash about, inadvertently knocking the dangling objects into motion and then watching them go. Slowly but surely he is beginning to understand that he can intentionally knock things about and make them move. Several of the object are plastic rings - often he gets ahold of one in each hand and shakes things violently, suggesting he might be the next US gymnastics great on the rings apparatus. He is also just beginning to develop the ability to see an object, reach for it with an open grasp, and retrieve it. Toys these days are pretty darn clever in that most are made with a zillions access points so a baby needs to do nothing more than direct his/her hand into the toy and some part of a finger will curl around a space and levitate the object. This makes the accidental grasps all the more satisfying and clearly encourages the habit. I think these developments may be providing more excitement and joy to mom and dad than Maceo, but he does seem to be growing in his interest to take charge of things.

Tonight Craig did a little experiment by placing a tiny green fabric frog on Maceo's face with the intention of seeing whether he could figure out how to remove the frog from his face and free up his vision (for all you anxious readers out there, there was no threat of suffocation). Sure enough, after about 4 attempts he quickly learned how to knock it off his face. Dad was thrilled. Craig is beginning a pattern of initiating an evening developmental boot camp to test all his new skills. The pressure is on for me to get lots of daytime practice in so that I can get an A along with Maceo.

Smiling is also a regular occurrence - first thing in the morning is prime time for a non-stop smiling show with an equal amount of "dry swimming". Maceo seems inspired to swim the English Channel on his changing table (hands down his most favorite place in the house ) - given his love of being nude and the vigor with which he flails his arms and legs in almost coordinated motion, I am beginning to think the nude beach will be on our travel itinerary this summer.

Other sweet things include much more staring into mom's eyes when nursing with a heart-melting gaze (along with opening and closing his hand around my shirt or stroking my chest); spending most mornings in the shower with dad LOVING the water and the skin to skin time; smiling sweetly just as he slips into slumber; and making a range of cooing sounds that remind me of a small bird.

Since he is still growing at a rate rarely seen without steroids (15.5 pounds and counting), I am finding myself cherishing these baby moments for fear that they will be gone before I know it.