The Number Field

Roman is everywhere, or at least that's how it seems. Yesterday when I was on the phone with Jenny, she had to interrupt our conversation to ask "Elena, did you drag him over here? No? Well, he got over here awfully quickly." Every day his peak speed increases, and we have to be cognizant of that changing capability.

There's another factor in Roman's seeming omnipresence: like a cat under foot, he always knows where to be. He pays close attention to our patterns of behavior, to the things we like, and goes after those things. For example, he loves to play with Elena's toys, especially the ones that she likes the most. But he loves electronics even more. He makes a beeline for my laptop whenever he sees it lying on the floor. It's always a race to see if I can make it over there first to move it out of his reach, and someday soon he'll probably win a round. When I hold him in one arm and am surfing the web on my phone with my free hand, he waits until I drop my guard and my hand strays just a little bit closer to him, then executes a precision lunge and grab for it. Maybe he wants to write an email to his new cousin about everything he's learned in his first six months?

Roman still crawls army-style, but he's already showing signs that he might be an early walker. He wants to crawl the normal way so he gets up on his hands and knees, but so far all he can do is rock back and forth--it will still be a while before he figures out how to lift and move one hand or leg at a time. Until he reaches that milestone, there are other things he can do instead, including the "downward dog" yoga position with impressive form. That's what causes us to think he could be on his feet soon--the good balance and the desire to get his feet under him.

There's one very nice thing about all of Roman's movement and exploration--he plays well on his own for long stretches of time. When one toy no longer interests him, he just scoots over to the next thing that catches his eye. Perhaps most interesting is what happens when he starts to fuss, as he occasionally does. One of us will pick him up and soothe him for a few minutes, but often he'll start squirming after being held for just a few minutes because he's ready to start playing on his own again. It's off to the races just as soon as his hands and feet touch the floor.