June 18, 2000 - Sunday
I made it home. Harry and his mother met me at the airport at 6:30am and I was home for Father's day. But, the trouble with redeyes is that they wipe you out, at least now that I'm a little older. I headed straight for the bed when we got home in hopes of recovering enough to enjoy at least part of the day. I slept for most of the morning - from about 7:30 until after 11:00 - and then another couple of hours in the afternoon. Nonetheless, I spent the time in between happily lying on the the floor with Harry playing with some juggling balls I got as a giveaway at the trade show and some other of his toys.

I almost goes without saying, I suppose, but Harry has changed since I've been away. In just four days I noticed a dramatic change in movement. He's not mobile yet in the sense that he doesn't crawl, but his body is noticeably more pliable. When he's lying on his stomach on the floor he now pivots on his belly and gradually turns his body clockwise with his arms and legs like the hands on a clock. In the course of just a couple of minutes he can go all the way around, though little spurts go even quicker. I'd bet he turned 180 degrees in 15 or 20 seconds. He also stretches his arms to reach toys and other objects in front of him and in doing so inches forward slightly, but for the most part his only other dramatic movement around the room is by rolling. For better or worse, he's started to do 360s in that way as well.

He also moves more on the changing table, squirming wildly at times and grabbing anything within reach. His mother admits to arming him with toys during changings while I was away to distract him from commandeering the extra diapers, the wipes, the powder, and the wipe box. Alas, he no longer helpfully holds his feet out of the way so we can do the business quickly.

Finally, Harry has started to close his mouth during spoon feedings. At first I thought this was an early refusal of food, and maybe it's that too, but now I think he may just be asking for more time to swallow what I've given him already or to take a little break. Since I started feeding him I've always been a little puzzled about how much to put on each spoon and how fast to go. Perhaps, he's letting me know. Or, maybe he's starting to play games. Fortunately, he's awfully cute doing it.

Harry's mother emailed me the top two pictures to the right yesterday (the bottom one was an outtake), but unfortunately I'd already checked my email for the last time before leaving the trade show. Maybe it's best: seeing the new pictures might have made the anxious moments of last night's ordeal all the more potent.


Comments, opinions?