Jan.
20, 2000 - Thursday
Harry is a happy boy. His mother says that he's been this way for a few days
now, but this morning I witnessed Harry smiling and cooing for much
longer than could be for anything other than amusement. He's noticeably
starting to find interest in certain items and faces, though he's been particularly
taken by a new gift we received a few days ago. The picture above from a couple
nights ago shows Harry staring at a collection of black and white images and
patterns. Each of the four cards sits in a plastic pocket with other pictures
behind it, so we can vary Harry's program on a regular basis. As we understand,
babies see high contrast images earliest with very little awareness of color.
These shapes seem to be giving Harry something to focus on - aside from just
the large, dark brown fan against our white living room ceiling - and he's visibly
intrigued. He sat for several minutes this morning moving between a smile and
an inquisitive furrowed brow. Our boy is a genius
and we're enthralled.
That Harry's been doing this for a couple days highlights that fact I've been
back in the office now for a couple weeks. I go home for lunch every day and
that's a distinct advantage over the normal roles for most families in this
situation, though it begs the question about missing important steps in Harry's
development. On the other hand, I know from his mother that Harry, as charming
as he is, may not yet offer the highest adult intellectual inspiration. A full
day of keeping Harry interested has its own challenges. Once her maternity leave
is over, Harry's mother and I plan to each work part days at home, thus avoiding
day care and keeping ourselves rapt in our glory days of parenthood. We'll see
if we get anything done.
