cuteness

Ethan's been figuring out how to roll in order to get something. He won't roll lots, but he'll do a roll and a half at least, all in succession. Funny thing is, he'll only go one direction! So when he runs out of room, we flip him the other way :) It's very cute. But of course, everything he does is cute...

progress!

So our little lazybones is finally making a bit of progress on the movement front. Today he apparently pulled himself almost to standing in the bathtub (under extreme supervision by daddy :). Apparently, he was quite proud of himself! After his bath, we usually give him some naked tummy time, and he was trying quite often to get onto all fours.

He's so funny when he's on his tummy. Sometimes I leave a trail of cheerios in front of him and he can't figure out to reach them. But if I put them in a circle around him, he'll spin himself quite easily, pulling himself with his hand. Isn't that the same muscles? oh well, he'll figure it out. In the meantime, I'm going to count my blessings ... I can turn my back and he won't really move!

my little goofball

Recently, Ethan has picked up a silly new trick. While we're feeding him with a spoon, he clamps the spoon between his teeth, closes his mouth, and starts laughing. As his mouth is closed, it sounds more like snorting from his nose! Sometimes he does it without the spoon too - just purses his lips and starts breathing hard and chuckling. I really need to try to get a video of it! It's so cute because he looks right at me and his eyes just sparkle with laughter. What a goofy kid!

Baby envy

I always thought it was really stupid to compare your kid with someone else's kid. There will always be someone else better than your kid at anything, and someone else worse than your kid at anything, right? I would read articles about "child envy" or "child comparison" and think that could never be me. I mean, really, how shallow is that?

But it is gratifying to hear the doctor say he was so strong, to hear people say he's so friendly, or so cute. It's secretly soothing to hear that other babies can't eat as well as him, or pick up small objects like he can.

But a baby 2 days older than Ethan is practically crawling, and he is just finally rolling over consistently. (He's been able to roll over for months, he just hasn't bothered -- ah, see how I try to make it sound better?) And a baby 7 weeks older than Ethan has been saying words for a couple months now, and all Ethan does is say "aaaahhhh" and the occasional consonant. I KNOW there's nothing wrong with him and that he's just developing at his own pace, but it's still hard to let go of my pride and realize that my kid isn't going to be the first, or the best, or the strongest, or the smartest.

I guess it's a good lesson to learn now. I suppose it's better to learn to let him be himself NOW, rather than learning that lesson when he's a teenager, rebelling against my expectations.

Is it just me though, or is this something you never think could affect you...until you have kids? I was talking to a childless friend of mine the other day, who reminded me that yes, it is stupid to compare your child with other children. But I realized I wasn't doing it on purpose - it almost comes as naturally as comparing my hair or body to someone else's! It feels like a dirty little secret, comparing my baby against other babies, feeling oddly gratified or jealous, as the case may be.

Obviously I need to let it go. As we've been teaching the kids in Sunday School, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, PEACE, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Good thing God has plenty of peace and patience in his storehouse, because I'm going to need a truckload of it...both for Ethan and myself!