New Trick

The baby has learned to roll from his back on to his tummy. He loves rolling, but absolutely detests being on his belly. From the moment he wakes in the morning and I lay him on his blanket, he grunts and struggles to get onto his tummy. Once successful, he howls furiously until someone comes to flip him over like a flapjack. Roll, howl, flip, repeat. The kids find this mesmerizing, especially my son, E. who crouches down to watch and yells encouragements like, "That's terrible!" (his new favorite phrase. He obviously doesn't grasp the meaning, though he says it with his hand pressed to his forehead for dramatic effect.) I am all too aware that this is just the beginning. Soon he'll be crawling. Then walking. Then destroying everything in his path. That's terrible indeed!