The little guy is going through many subtle and not-so-subtle transformations these days. The most noticeable--it started during the last part of our stay in France--he's sitting up, not just for a few seconds at a time but for three or four minutes. It's still wobbly--he's got a very long torso and a thin neck--but getting better each day.
More subtle--he seems to observe what we say, especially the way that we say things, and our facial expressions, much more than he used to. If I'm rubbing my eyes repeatedly in a gesture of fatigue, for instance, his own eyes express genuine concern. Repeatedly during the day, I catch him staring into my face, studying it as if trying to guess what I'm thinking. It does give me the feeling of being on point--which has its positive and negative aspects, I suppose.
Another change--beginning today or maybe yesterday, he curls and uncurls his fingers, staring at them, as if saying to himself, "Fingers--what a concept." I'm sure this is a common development among babies, as I noticed many little ones in strollers in France who were entertaining themselves by staring at their fingers and opening and closing their fists (why I hadn't noticed this same behavior before in the United States, I'm not sure). However, I find it a particularly interesting and touching development--one day, he's just moving his hands about--the next, he's articulating his fingers and thinking about them. Does any other body part, aside from the brain, mean as much to us humans? And when a baby starts thinking about and using his fingers--what a monumental change in his ability to function in the world. It's as moving to me to see him do that as it would be to see him stand and walk on his own, I think.
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