The lights are on and someone's home!

More about Zeke. What can I say, I just really love this stage of baby development. (Okay, I love most stages. Except 2-year-olds, sometimes.)

About a month ago I was commenting to Deanne that Tate has crossed that threshold of understanding--the one where he's figured out he's in this great big world and there's stuff to learn and do. It felt like Zeke would never get there (because 2 1/2 months is like being years older in babydom).

And now, Zeke has arrived!

It's not that there's one moment when it clicked and he went from infant to older baby. He's been sitting up, crawling, even cruising for awhile, and gradually understanding more. But today, he was turning pages in a book--he understood that that's just what you do with a book. He was pointing at things (with one pudgy little finger--such a grown-up gesture!) and imitating my sounds. "Tat tat tat" he kept saying; he was fascinated by the cat picture. He gets that there are words, and that they relate to things. Language, yeah, I guess it's no surprise that that's part of the whole understanding thing.

But that's not all. Zeke has never been a cuddly child. He likes to be held, but not hugged. Yet recently, he's started giving hugs. He leans in, and he understands it's a nice thing to do to someone. (He pulls away if I try to hold him too long. There are still limits.) He's showing affection! And instead of just having this general reaction of, "Mom's there, she'd better hold me," he seems to get the nuances of being held. As we were looking at the picture book, we were kind of snuggling. He seemed happy. But then he pulled himself to standing, stepped closer to me, and sat right on my lap. He wanted to be on my lap, not just next to me!

Sorry if that seems very minor to you, but it really warms this mother's heart.

Anyway, I guess what it all boils down to is that Zeke is now consciously exploring his little world. He's no longer just reacting to a bunch of random experiences that happen in his life; now he's putting them all together and starting to assign some order and meaning to things. He's learning, he's taking the initiative to act and find things out. He's communicating what he wants instead of just crying because he's generally unhappy, and he's understanding that we communicate to him as well. I love being his mom and being there for all these little steps he's making in his life's journey; I know there are many more ahead (and that they will be vastly different than these baby steps). What a miracle that we are programmed to figure so much out in such a short time. I feel the hand of God in my life more through my children than any other way, and I am so grateful.