Milestones

Solve the Puzzle

Yesterday was my day off. I had the chance to tease my wife about the chance of her winning a date with our son for the entire day, and she wasn't too interested. I was kidding of course, I did not want to pass up the chance to spend time, before and after work, before and after sleep. And most especially on day offs. Besides, we learn a lot of things together, though I've got tons of other things to do or PLan todo, and read and yes, write about. This is a short list of Gabe's milestones.

Gabe has learned to say A-Na-Na when cajoled to say Ba-Na-Na. This is something my wife and her sister had worked on and succeeded. I, on the other hand, has been working on Re-Fri-Ge-Rator since he was 3 months old and still can't get pass the first syllable, but he never fails to pin point the location of the fridge with a stare, or by pointing with all 5 fingers.

He is only 10 months old, or shall I say, wtf he's 10 months old already? I don't remember growing up that fast in my entire life.

Reading the hundreds of websites on infant development actually helped us paint a general picture of what he should be able to do at this point. Compounded by the grand parent's insistent everyday lessons on the to-do's and what not to do's in a baby's life. Make them Grand parents from both sides, talk about double Tag Teams. But Gabe is coping up pretty good except...

Walking, We still have to find time for proper training. I couldn't properly teach something when I don't remember how it was taught to me in the first place. I can teach my son bike or sports or chess or how to drive easy, but walking? Where did I start with that?

There are kids his age who can walk a couple of steps with only a hand to guide them. Gabe runs wild with a gait and step of a crippled reindeer with 5 hooves. They say it's hard to train babies when their first impulse is to jump up and down or run.

He can do the close open antics, and clapping of the hands. But not always though, only if he finds it appropriate. He says mam-ma mam-ma when calling his mom or when he gets bored. He's favorite toy is the Truck, and the Car, he can identify at least 50 things by pointing or staring at them.

He becomes anxious and afraid with new stuffed toys. I brought him to a place where parents leave their kids when visiting the malls, and he was terrified with the place. It was called Play Land. It was confusing for all 3 of us.

Shouts at an airplane or a motorcycle or a car passing by. Loves the peekaboo and throws a plastic ball at 33 mph. 10 more ticks and he's at equal arm strength with his father. I destroyed my arm when I had too much baseball without warming up.

He loves to throw things around and down the floor, then start to try and pick them up and push them around. Over and over again. He is at the point where he needs to warm up with new things before he starts playing with them.

Laughs and kicks and crawls up and down the bed. He has learned the art of playing Tag, long before he can walk. I need to prop him up and guide him so he can run his own when another pretends to go after him. He really thinks he's on his own these days.

He just eats anything fed to him. He eats liver Atay and his father would say "Pinoy Fear Factor." Opens his mouth to his vitamins with gusto, but not without grimacing with the after taste. He shouts at Jollibee, the light, some other kids, and the Lizards on the ceiling. Especially the lizards. He puts up a fake smile as if of wry humour, when a camera is readied in his face and somebody exclaims Picture2x!

He loves to leaf through the pages of the book, he just tore the front page of my book yesterday. He turns shy and breaks stare when Aleka or that cute girl in one of the Einstein videos starts talking. The giggle and the anxiety of excitement is obvious, and his mother just adores it, and replays the scene a hundred times just to see the same giddy reaction.

He stares at you to seek acknowledgement when he sees something familiar, like the Lizard. He will not stop until you say something to that accord.

I can do this all day, but I have work tomorrow and I need a couple of other things done today. Or maybe just join him and mom who are asleep in bed.

I will surely hate the day when all the fascination with the little crawling creatures stops and all the things he has learned in life will be impossible to track down.