Giggle practice

After Grandma got Rye going on Christmas, Daddy works the giggle aspect. Daddy was making veggie omelets, so he's saying "ChoppaChoppaChoppaChop."

In other news, Rye transferred the bell toy from one hand to the other yesterday. Dexterity!

Holiday Highlights *

Rye was very excited by the shiny cup with his initials on it, from Grandpop and Sitti in Michigan. He tried to eat it right away.

Rye really loves a wee book from Nana and Granddad, The Great Dog Wash. He made quite a fuss when we put it away, so we had to read it a few times. He wanted to touch the pages and look at the pictures of the dogs, and see the kitty in the tree.

The book was so popular, Grandpa had to offer a reading as well.

The bathtub is a little smaller at Grandma and Grandpa's.

One of the year's favorite gifts: the tissue paper from the box.

Rye really went to town on some mylar paper, completely overstimulating himself until we had to take it away. Breathtaking video here.

Merry Christmas!

His eyes are changing

Rye's eyes have gradually been changing from the navy blue

he was born with, are and getting lighter. We're hoping they

end up a little hazel, but we'll see what he gets.

Baby in motion

While I was in the shower this morning, Rye rolled over by himself while Greg was playing with him! I missed it, and he won't repeat it!

I have the last laugh though—literally. Rye giggled while Greg was at work a few weeks ago, and he hasn't done it since.

Stay tuned for more breathless moments in our continuing story....

Gravity experimentation, initial phase

Rye wants so badly to sit up and hold onto things, and reach for things and be tall. In this initial stage, gravity is getting the upper hand, however.

Exhibit one: "Sitting Up"

Exhibit two: "Staying Up"

Shake-a, Shake-a

Rye works on gripping and shaking a rattle,

while fighting the gravity he does not understand.

Breathtaking video here and here.

First rainbow!

Oh, I wish we had pictures....Rye saw his first rainbow today, a big fat one in the north sky, between storms. And two days ago he followed Admiral Peary squirrel with his eyes as he dashed from tree to rooftop to powerline to tall tree to taller tree.

Today we did some Christmas shopping, and Rye spent the first part of the drive staring out the window, discovering the world speeding by. In the past he's looked at himself in his little mirror, or played with the pacifier leash or his hands...or slept. Well, today he slept, too. But first he watched the cars and gas stations and powerlines go by along Beverly Blvd.

He's getting big, too...last week he weighed 17lbs with clothes on! So he's doubled his birth weight, just about. Healthy boy!

Early language

Babies can understand and communicate quite a bit when they are little; they just can't do it with spoken language. Rye's cousin Alana used sign language, taught by her parents, and it was impressive. The ASL helped her express her needs calmly, without pitching a fit. And, man, I can not bear whining, so hopefully this will help in the long run (especially since my approach with 4th-6th grade whiners—writing your multiplication tables two times—doesn't seem like it will be effective here for quite some while).

We're all working on learning signs. Rye seems to understand some, even though he can't produce them. He has been trying to make the signs for "milk,""more," "Nuk" and "change," as in change diaper. We're also working on "ride" (ride in the sling), "bath," "help (me)," and "finished." In the meantime, Rye is working on his Urdu. Or some other alien language that he's using to practice while we all catch up with him.

This morning, he did a good job understanding the question of whether he was ready to eat, and reproducing a fair approximation of the sign "milk." Video here. (Notice that his other hand is still, so in this case he wasn't just moving his hands around. I swear!)(My kid's a genius, I swear!) Most babies don't produce their first signs until about 6-8 months old, so it's nice that he's clueing in so early.

It's true that often you can get a positive response doing pretty much anything with your hands—Rye thinks all that motion is hilarious. So sometimes it's hard to tell what's a sign or understanding, and what's him just thinking you're a total card. We try to lean toward the positive, though.

Sorry, I tried to embed the video on the blog, but after four hours of upload time, I gave up. Youtube was easier, taking only about three minutes.

Sleepy time

Rye sports his nightcap by mommy, and shows off his escape artistry....no matter what mittens we use, one finger always wiggles through.

Pulling an Uncle Fester impersonation. Look at how he's grown!

Baby accoutrements

Rye tests out the new bib mommy knitted for him,

while jingling a rattle mommy had when she was a baby.

He is starting to grab on well, now!