Day 232: Collaboration sprinkled with anticipation

Atom actually helped his Mom during one of his feedings this week. Powerful synapse fired in his brain setting off multiple thought processes, muscle contractions and super human determination ending with a grand result...a wide open mouth at the appropriate time. Sublime.

Now you may be thinking "Big deal. I open and close my mouth everyday." This may not be a big deal to you Mr. Big Shot but for Atom it was monumental.

Even though Atom is becoming smarter everyday he doesn't always used his new found brilliance for good. In fact he seems to be channeling it into creative endeavors and in-animate object impressions. Even though we encourage him and want his imagination to blossom, there is a time and place for everything.

Say, we might think it is a good idea for him to get into his car seat so we can go somewhere, well, he has decided his car seat is the perfect stage to work on his impression of a stiff board. Say, we think it would be a good idea to change his dirty stinky diaper, well, he usually decides laying like a board on his stomach is much more interesting.  Say, we think his high chair would be a good spot to eat, well, again Atom has decided that his chair is the perfect spot for practicing aforementioned board impression. (I have to admit he really does do a good board. Make sure to check out his show next time your in town.)

Every day it is board here, board there, board upside down. So you can imagine our delight when, after a long performance of board sticking out of a high chair, he quietly ate with his mommy. Opening and closing his mouth without coaxing and at the appropriate times.

Maybe he was just giving us a false sense of security before his next performance of crying board sticking out of a stroller but for that brief moment it sure did feel like we might have tamed this strange creature that is Atom.

Day 223: Remote competition

clearly this is going to be a problem...

Day 216: Unbridled Joy

The last few weeks have been action packed with Atom. If he is tired and hungry, he cries. If his mom reads his favorite book, he laughs. Sounds so simple, right? If you are happy you should laugh about it. But at some point most people start to censor themselves and no longer do they throw their heads back and cackle at a funny face or a fart noise. Adults learn to guard their emotions. They learn the power of emotions. They learn to master, some of us better than others, their emotions. And this is necessary to have a community or society. I get that. But it is hard to believe that the pure optimistic melody created by Atom's riotous roars someday might be bridled.

The story of Peter Pan never really resonated with me growing up. I liked the pirate aspect I guess but I could just as easily have been entertained by an episode of Hong Kong Phooey.  As I got older I intellectually understood the idea of needing to keep that sense of wonder in the world to be happy but emotionally it still seemed like an odd story to me. You have the jerky guy in green tights, a suspicious little fairy, children without adult supervision, all on one side, and then these funny looking Pirates on the other. Just weird.

But as I sit back and let Atom's laughs naturally resonate throughout my numbed grey matter it makes me think maybe there really was something to that Pan fellow. It is hard not to smile or laugh when Atom falls into one of his belly busting laughing fits. I wonder if all babies are capable spreading this sound? And if so why haven't I heard it before? Why does laughter suddenly sound so different? I have heard perhaps thousands of people laugh. Even some at incredibly inappropriate times. I can even tell the difference between fake and real laughs…but this…his laugh, it is something that I was completely unprepared for.

Day 210: One of the guys