Baby makes three...

February has been a big month for us. Peter has developed so much personality and more sophisticated wants and desires. He will fuss when a toy is taken away now, whereas before it was very much out of sight, out of mind. He is fascinated by the "things" that we use in our lives. Few things bring him greater joy than chewing on the portable phone, or on a set of keys. (Mmmm...)

He absolutely loves his Dad and Grandma and gets very excited he sees them, giving them lots of smiles. If he is feeding, he will keep looking up to make sure they are still nearby. It makes for a rather prolonged feeding session! He reaches out to people and tries to touch them and grab their face or hair. He even reaches out to his own reflection. "Hmmm..." he must be thinking, "why is that baby so cold and hard?" When he wakes up from a nap fussy and at odds with the world, he will pause when he catches a glimpse of himself and he'll smile at his friend in the mirror. He also reaches out for the cat. Unfortunately "gentle" is not a concept he has mastered yet, so he likes to grab her fur and bring it towards his mouth.

He keeps me in view at all times - if I go out of sight for too long, he kicks up quite a fuss unless there is someone else around to entertain him. He is not one to play contentedly on his mat for very long. But part of that (I think) is because he is still not very good at being able to get what he wants on his own. He has been rolling for two months now, but he is still not a roll-y baby. He will go a week or more without rolling before he does it again. He does not really move around very much on his own and hasn't quite figured out that he could actually get closer to a toy if he just rolled a bit.

It's funny because he will roll on his change mat, reaching for the spray bottle or other items nearby. I have to strap him in now. Ah yes - roll when you're four feet off the floor, but not when lying on a padded surface designed for that very purpose. Who knows - maybe that big heavy diaper weighs him down.

Another big milestone is that he has started to sit unsupported. He has done it before for a second here or there, but today he did it for a prolonged time. He is certainly still at high risk for toppling, but I think that in another week or two he will be able to sit up nicely. I am hoping that once he gets the hang of sitting he will be more content as he will be able to reach for things that are nearby. I live in hope!

One of the best things that he does is laugh when you're laughing. He is not fooled by fake laughter either - I know, I've tried. But if someone is laughing, he will laugh as well - even looking at the same thing. He totally pretends that he gets the joke! It's so cute.

One area where we are still struggling is sleep. Peter naps quite well now, but he just cannot seem to stay down for a good stretch at night. All I can say is that I am thankful that I live in a country where I have time off - I can nap during the day. I cannot imagine trying to function in a full-time job given my current sleep schedule, which rarely involves more than a two or three hour stretch. Ouch. But I guess a little sleep deprivation is a small price to pay.