"S" is for sitting

When we got to Sweden early last week, I knew sitting was on the horizon. I'd been sitting Alexander between my feet and propping him up with my knees while he ate the animals on his baby gym, and I'd even asked the baby sitter to spend some time helping him practice sitting.

For the previous sandbox post, I'd dug out a little pit in the sand for his bottom so he could "sit". He only lasted a few seconds before he toppled over, but it was another indication that sitting would come soon.

We did some more practising when we got to Sweden, and I quickly realized that he was progressing fast, and we'd better take some video of his wobbly attempts at sitting before he got all good at it. So, here is a video from that day, in the backyard in Sweden. Again, Blogger doesn't like one of my video clips, so you'll have to click through to youtube if you want to be able to compare.

Within a few days, he got even better and if he was sitting on a soft surface, I could put him down and walk away for a few moments. By the end of our trip, he was able to sit straight up, bend down to retrieve a toy and then sit up again. Here he is, with much improved balance, about four days after the first video.

He's so much easier to entertain and interact with when he can sit on his own. I'm not sure if it's the sitting, or if there has been some additional leap in mental development, but all of a sudden he seems so much more there. Like he understands what goes on around him, and has distinct preferences for certain toys (he threw a fit in the car, because we'd taken Spaniel's passport away from him, and he cried until we gave it back). He watches people and reaches for things he wants, and this makes him seem so much less like a babyblob and more like a child.

He is also laughing a lot more, and anticipating our actions with giggles when we make the "I'm going to swoop down on you and blow on your toes" sound. He turned five months old this past Saturday, so I suppose this is all par for the course for anyone who has been through it before, but it's pretty cool for us to watch it happen for the first time!