Lately I have been struck by how grown up my baby is getting. Yesterday at “cuddle-ups” (baby story-time @ the library) was one of those moments. Most of the babies that could walk or crawl were moving around the room, but baby G just sat on my lap and watched the librarian. This from the child who usually only stops moving to eat and sleep. He was very attentive, mouth slightly ajar, eyes fixed on this little old lady singing a song with a duck puppet on her hand. Okay, I’ll admit he got antsy eventually, and tried to crawl out the room, eat the wheels on some other lady’s stroller, and pull the frizzy hair of the mommy sitting next to us. But he sat still for a very long time.
It kind of reminded me of when he was just a few months old- he was kind of a serious baby. He always had this furrowed-brow, pensive expression; we used to joke that he was saying “are you people really equipped to be parents?” He smiles and laughs often now, but he still kind of has a serious personality, I think.
Serious is maybe not the right word. He is focused. He often surprises me by how focused he can be. The perfect example- the TV remote control. He loves that thing. It must be because we are always keeping it away from him (the forbidden fruit). Also, maybe because it has buttons to push. And some of them light up when you push them. Anyway, the remote control is always on his radar, and he is constantly watching and waiting for the moment when we leave it within his reach. Then he’ll pounce. Sometimes we’ll put it where he can’t reach it or see it, like under a pillow. But he doesn’t forget. He’ll be happily playing, then all of the sudden crawl over and try to push the pillow out of the way. Or he’ll reach up to be held, but as soon as we sit him next to us on the couch, he’s reaching for the remote.
It will be interesting to see how this character trait manifests itself as G get older. Isn’t it fascinating the way babies are born with distinct personalities right from the start?
