February 25, 2001 - Sunday
It's been more than a couple of months since Harry started to have an interest in balls. And, it's been at least a month since he's been able to say "ball" (well, it's more like "ba" for now) and since he's been attempting to throw balls. Being an All-American kind of boy and liking ball sports myself, I find this particularly thrilling to watch, though I suspect there's nothing usual about a baby picking up a round, hand-sized object and try to throw it to the ground. Now, Harry's interest in balls seems to be growing in intensity, as he regularly points them out at every opportunity. Just this past Friday, Harry and I were at a hardware store passing the time before going off to daycare (hardware stores are one of the few establishments that are open that early and we've been to this one a few times). Harry made a beeline for the plumbing and toilet parts aisle as soon as he saw the toilet floats. Declaring them to be balls, he picked up a big brass colored float and threw it down the aisle. The black rubber ones don't make as much noise, but that did not seem to enter Harry's equation. Fortunately, the store wasn't really that crowded at 8:30 in the morning.

Today was a special day, though. For all this time that Harry's been holding and throwing balls, I've been trying to get him to roll them back to me. I'd give him a ball, then back up to a position a few feet away, maybe sit down, and encourage him to roll or throw it to me. Until now, our gracious boy has invariably gotten up and brought the ball to me, generously handing it over like we were sharing. It's hard to not praise that behavior, but it wasn't always what I was hoping for. Yet, today, Harry was sitting and throwing balls randomly about the living room. So, I sat down in front of him, gathered them in as he threw them, and rolled them back. Much to my delight, Harry found this very funny. I can't say it lasted too long, but maybe we rolled or threw a dozen balls between us before the next distraction came around. And, Harry got more excited with each one. So did I.


Comments, opinions?