Baby Games

Every time my babies enter a new phase of babyhood, I declare that stage to be my favorite. With that disclaimer..... the ages of 6-12 months are absolutely my FAVORITE! At this age, babies are still little and cuddly and dependent but they are so very curious about their world and finding great pleasure in their new-found abilities.

Ryan is such a joy right now. He is so curious and mobile, yet he is very chill and easy going. He loves to watch his brother. There is no mistaking the pure joy and happiness that Ryan feels whenever his brother gives him attention. Jacob "whooshes" into the room and suddenly, Ryan is spastically kicking his legs and giggling uncontrollably. Seeing the love that these brothers have for each other is a joy that I could never have even imagined.

I may be partial, but I feel that Ryan also has a very special love that he saves just for me. Now that Ryan crawls, he has discovered that he can chase me around the house. The second I put him down and walk into another room, I hear the "smack-smack" of Ryan's belly flopping around on the floor like a seal across an iceberg as he moves around the house to find me. Sometimes he'll get up on his knees but he prefer to arm crawl. It's absolutely hysterical to see him flopping and floundering around the room like a fish out of water. But he makes it work and gets where he means to get.

Lately, when I'm rushing from room to room tidying things up or putting away stacks of laundry, Ryan crawls around right after me. Poor little guy, by the time he gets to me, I am already walking out the door and on to the next room. So, I walk into Jacob's room to put his legos on his bookshelf. I hear Ryan's belly and hands "smack-smacking" against the floor as he scoots my way. I stop and wait until he rounds the corner. The second he sees me, his face turns from pure concentration to hysterical joy. He face light up and he giggles hysterically. It makes me feel so loved. He acts like I'm the absolute best thing in the entire world.

So, I move onto the next room and hear Ryan flopping around after me. I enter the room and wait once more. Ryan rounds the corner, pokes his head in and, once again, has a spastic attack of joy when he sees me. Then it's onto the next room. This game never gets old, for me or Ryan. You would think that day after day of playing this game it would suddenly hit him, "Yeah, my mommy's in there. No big deal." But no, he continues to act totally surprised and freakishly over-joyed every time.

It's the equivalent of me walking into my room to discover John Hamm laying across my bed, wearing nothing but a mankini, covered in chocolate sauce, and scandalously licking a strawberry. Yes, I'd be very shocked (also very excited) to find such a sight. John Hamm covered in chocolate licking a strawberry is to me how I am to Ryan (ok, that sounds weird, but you get it, right?).