![\"Dom](\"http:\/\/www.puckandmary.com\/blog_mary\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/50_dom_alex.jpg\" "\\"50_dom_alex\\"")
<\/a>Dom lifts his chin to laugh at Daddy.<\/p><\/div>\n
This week we have also seen Dominic take the lead in babbling. \u00a0Dominic has been desperately trying to articulate with his Mama, and he’s started experimenting with the different vocal noises he can make. \u00a0Keep in mind that we’re already building on a veritable symphony of grunts, snorts, and various expressive wheezes as well as the different shades of crying, squawking, and wallerin.<\/p>\n
On Using the Hands<\/h4>\n
“There is nothing in the world which Nature, wise mistress and benign mother of the universe, with greater genius, and more diligent regard, provides Man for the conservation of his self (of which, more so than any other noble creature, he shows himself very dear of its safety), than the singular privilege of the hand, with which not only does he go procuring all things necessary for the sustenance of his life, but arming himself yet with the sword, noblest instrument of all, he protects and defends himself against any assault whatsoever of inimical force; following nonetheless the strict rule of true valor, and of the art of fencing.”<\/em><\/p>\n ~Ridofo Capoferro, 1610 (as translated by Swanger and Wilson)<\/p>\n While Alex doesn’t babble as much, he is the Master of Grabby<\/strong>. \u00a0He is the one most likely to stealthily grab your shirt while you are changing his diaper. \u00a0He has also started guiding random objects towards the all-tasting baby sense organ. \u00a0His motto being, “If I can hold it, I might be able to eat it.<\/span><\/strong><\/em>” \u00a0This is the same kid who was tasting his brother’s head and the Great Dane to see if they were edible so this makes some sense. \u00a0I don’t know if Alex realizes he has hands yet or if Mr. Grabby is only an opportunistic grabber. \u00a0(What this says about his future love life remains pure speculation.)<\/p>\n Alexander flashes the big pickle smile which is certain to charm the ladies<\/p><\/div>\n With that in mind, both kids have now figured out that they have hands which are useful as snacks when the going gets tough. \u00a0Each boy is regularly sucking on his fist, and it’s gone from being a target of opportunity (“What the heck! \u00a0Hey, can I eat this thing?<\/span><\/em><\/strong>“) to an intentional target (“Hungry hungry baby fingers!! \u00a0Nummy nummy nummy nummy!!<\/span><\/em><\/strong>“) \u00a0I have heard that figuring out you have hands and can interact with the world is the beginning of knowing that you are an “I”. \u00a0For the record, self-awareness begins with “Nummy nummy nummy nummy!!<\/span><\/em><\/strong>”<\/p>\n Friday I put both boys down for some tummy-time which they endured with good grace. \u00a0Within moments Alex actually managed to roll over for the first time! \u00a0I don’t think he knew what he was doing. He wasn’t able to recreate the feat of dexterity again, but he certainly surprised his parents by doing it. \u00a0On the other side of the blanket, Dominic worked on baby push ups, lifting up his head to look around and tasting the blanket to see if it was perhaps made of ice cream.<\/p>\n All of this seems to be happening at a blistering and breakneck pace. \u00a0As someone who spent months working on collision avoidance algorithms for an\u00a0autonomous\u00a0robotic rover, the continous cycling to greater levels of sophisticated behavior seems nothing short of miraculous.<\/a> No programmer I’ve ever met could match the developmental pace of these two children. \u00a0We have come to accept this tsunami of growing intelligence and behavior as normal in babies, but knowing what is required to produce this kind of behavior from a construct like my rover, it shifts this mundanity from the ordinary world into a realm of wonders.<\/p>\n<\/a>Tummy-Time<\/h4>\n