I've said before that when you first have a baby in your house, not a lot happens. That's still true, but I've come to realise over the past two months since my last post that it's also very untrue.
You see, the past two months have been spent with each day following the relatively same routine, and it feels like nothing changes, but there have been small instances which have made me realise that, in fact, lots has happened.
Firstly, my wife was cleaning out Ellis' chest of drawers, bagging up his old clothing that doesn't fit him any more. She came across one particular sleep suit which could never have possibly fit him, but it did. He was once that small, and in the space of mere months he's grown into the 12-16 month clothing wearing, 18 lb 2oz behemoth that he is.
Secondly, I was carrying him to go upstairs and stopped in front of the hall mirror so that he could look at his reflection, and I thought, as he studied his features in the reflection, 'When did he start becoming so alert?' He watches my wife and I, our cats, and any other family members or friends he sees. He notices toys and has begun to thrash them around wildly in his hands. He reacts to lights and sounds.
I also noticed that I was stood there, holding him in the crook of my arm, but that my other arm was free, and no longer supporting his head. When he began to hold his head up independently, I do not know, but he's doing it now.
Finally is his smile. I remember when seeing his smile was something that only happened when he slept. It gradually crept into his waking hours, and now all my wife and I need to do is say hello to him to make the biggest grin spread across his lips. He hasn't started laughing yet - that's still reserved for his dreams only - but I have a feeling it's close.
I could never pinpoint the moment he started doing all of these things. It just happened, without me really knowing it did. So in truth, while it seemed like nothing was going on, in reality, everything was.
And it still is.
Kael
