In Which Connor Plays Ball!

Jeremy's pretty tired tonight and he wants to be fresh when we videotape, so I'm afraid y'all will just have to wait to see his progress another day.  Here's a picture of Connor and him studying the television remote control as a condolence.  I promise I'll stop leading you on and get a video tape of him one of these days.

My sister-in-law flew up here on a business trip and was able to get away and spend a little time with us today, which was great!  She hasn't been up here since shortly after Jeremy came home in August, so of course we had to show off what Connor has learned since then.  Since the little guy's mattress is currently on the ground, it's just about the perfect height for him to sit up on with his feet on the floor (convenient for him but not so much for me, as he's not exactly getting any lighter and picking him up repeatedly from seven inches off the floor is getting progressively harder). 

At any rate, he's got this little ball that's extremely lightweight and easy for him to grip.  We can actually play ball with him now-- if you hold up the ball to him he'll grab it and begin winding up to "throw" it.  Basically he holds his arm straight out from his body and then swings it from side to side faster and faster until he's got some good momentum going.  Then he lets go of the ball.  Most of the time he manages to let go out while is arm is out front, so he actually throws the ball a little ways towards you, but sometimes he lets go too early and the ball goes careening off in a random direction, making you scramble after it.  You also have to watch where you're sitting-- he gets a little overenthusiastic with the windup sometimes and narrowly misses braining whoever's nearest to him.

I absolutely love this game because it's one of the first truly interactive games he's ever been able to play-- it really shows how far he's come in his responses to the world around him.  This is a huge difference from the kid of two years ago who used to be unable to make eye contact for more than a couple of seconds at a time.

The problem before tonight was that no one else (besides Jer) had actually ever seen him play this game.  My mother-in-law had attempted it a time or two, but Connor seems to be convinced that Grandmas are for snuggling and not for playing, and so he blatantly refuses not only to play ball for her, but also to even sit up, instead flopping back like a limp noodle on the bed until she gives in and picked him up for more snuggling, which is what he wants.  Grandmas have superior snuggling technique.

But aunts apparently are on the "okay to play" list, because Connor really put on a show for her-- giggling and slinging the ball around wildly for a good five minutes before he decided he was done.  He even let her hold the ball out to him instead of only letting me do it!  So it was great to have somebody else see the progress he's making; he doesn't really show any of it at school because he's so overwhelmed and distracted by everything else that's going on there.  Sometimes I feel like I'm in that cartoon involving the frog who sings and dances for only one guy and refuses to do anything when anyone else is around.

Since Jer is home a lot these days, I'm hoping that between the two of us we'll be able to get a videotape of Connor playing his new game.  After the one of Jer walking, of course.  I'll add it to the list.

~Jess