January 12, 2001 - Friday
Sometimes it's the little things that so remarkably show how much Harry is changing. This morning as his mother and I were eating breakfast and Harry was playing in the living room with his Ball Party, I noticed him get up and go over to an antique baby crib that we have filled with stuffed animals. I didn't pay too much attention, beyond keeping a cautious eye on everything he does, until rather than grabbing a bear or dog to squeeze, he got down on his knees to look under the crib. Then, he reached under and pulled out one of the balls for the Ball Party. On the surface, that's not such an amazing piece of search and rescue, but Harry is only one year old and we've watched his world view go from barely noticing moving object in front of his face to now, apparently, evaluating an entire room, noticing a partially hidden object, and fetching it. It's a big change in just a few months' time.

A minute or two later, now with two Ball Party balls in hand, Harry walked from the living room into the kitchen where his mother and I were still finishing our cereal. He got to me first and immediately handed me one of his two balls. I thanked him for his generosity and he acknowledged that with a smile and a nod (the sharp nod is something Harry often does, seemingly to exude confidence and accomplishment, like as he turns over his Tap 'n' Turn Bench after hammering down the pegs), then stepped away and began to walk around the table. After a mild distraction by some mystery object on the kitchen floor, Harry proceeded to his mother and, with a renewed smile, handed her the other of his two Ball Party balls. What a delightful boy.


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