February 8, 2001 - Thursday
I get the feeling it's starting to snowball. Harry's words are coming faster now and there's going to be no stopping them. There's apple (usually "app"), grapes ("grop," though often "bop"), shoe and sock, chair, bird, the letter "B," snow (more like "no" for Harry's emerging vocal skills, but definitely the right stuff), and even solid attempts at "mama." Yet, even more than words, Harry is becoming more familiar with his place in the world, including about cause and effect, and that will make it that much harder to stay a step ahead of the boy.

I taught Harry about snow and snowballs last week and now he's a snow baby. Again, this evening as his mother was carrying him back to the house from the mailbox, he insisted on being put down. And, as soon as his mother obliged, Harry took a right turn straight for the now much larger snow bank (we had another foot-plus of snow while I was out of town on Monday and Tuesday). She tried to pick him up after a few moments, but he'd have none of it. Eventually, I went out to keep tabs on him while she brought her things inside and Harry and I had a couple minutes of fun in the snow. But his hands were getting cold (though I don't know whether he noticed or cared), so I tried to pick him up. I got the same limp body, put-me-down reaction, but eventually insisted and we went inside. He complained, but stopped once we were in.

I thought he was resigned, or distracted, and that the snow for him had passed. But it's getting less easy to distract Harry now and it was not the case. Harry spotted his snowsuit, sat down with it, and tried to put on his mittens. He's not worn the thing more than a couple times in the snow, but he clearly understood it's purpose and saw it as a route to getting back outside. His mother thought it was cute and put on his mittens without the the rest, but Harry wanted more than that and when the entire suit and going outside did not follow, he picked it up and carried it about the kitchen, openly lamenting his predicament away from the snow.

It's amazing, really. It used to be that we could watch and see something new come along, one new skill at a time. But, Harry's an individual, who's understanding and personality is started to emerge. He's putting the pieces of life together and becoming his own person. There's no standing still, neither literally or figuratively.


Comments, opinions?