Underestimating

For some reason I've always been very cognizant of how much adults underestimate kids- babies, specifically. So when I became a mother I was really determined not to underestimate my own kids. However, I quickly discovered how hard that is. Babies grow and change so fast and they each learn things in a different order, so while you're looking for one milestone, they've leap-frogged it and suddenly they know how to do something or understand something you never expected!

Somehow, this has happened a few times in the space of two days.

First, I'm used to being able to lay Gunner down on the blanket I've carefully laid out for him with a few toys for him to play with, and walk away for a moment while make him a bottle or finish my makeup.  If he drops his toy or gets lonely, he'll cry and I'll come get him.  But this morning I went to check on him and he had rolled / belly scooted his way off the blanket by a foot or so, to grab one of NJ's toys (that I would never voluntarily let him play with without washing) and spit up on the carpet! So I guess the blanket thing isn't going to work much longer and I need to start being more careful of what's on the floor.

Next, I was really impressed today that when I sat Gunner up to a sitting position, he could pick up a toy and play with it.  He's been tripodding for a while, but not with much stability and not without both hands on the floor. Honestly, I think it kinda surprised him too because the next thing he did was drop the toy and look at me with both hands waving in the air, laughing, as if to say, "look mom! no hands!"

Last, and this one caught me most off guard,  I like to play a sort of peak-a-boo with him where I lay his taggie on his face and say, "where's baby?" Then I pull it off and say, "There you are!"  He loves this game and it's a sure way to get him to smile.  Well, when I was changing his diaper yesterday I did this a few times with him when I first laid him on the changing table and then turned my attention to the diaper itself.  He grabbed his own taggie and pulled it in front of his face and widely kicked his legs.  So, I played along and said, "Where's baby?" Then he pulled it off and I said, "There you are!" and he laughed and laughed and laughed.  The ability to move the taggie so quickly and precisely impressed me, but what really caught me off guard was how proud he was of himself for moving the taggie all on his own. I'm not sure I've described the scene well enough, but he suddenly seemed so much older and more interactive than I expected. In that moment, I caught a glimpse of the little boy he was growing into.