Balancing Act

Dominic is so coordinated in his physical movements. His balance is amazing, his hand-eye coordination, spot on. He's mastered the art of holding onto something high with one hand and bending over to pick something up with the other. You can see his mind working through all the little challenges and typically he figures out how to accomplish his goal.

Some of the things he did today:

There was a large plastic glass on the floor. He could grip the top side, almost palm the glass, but the bottom was too hard to hold on to. It was a pretty heavy glass, too, so if he didn't get it just right, he'd drop it. He dropped it once, due to not having a good grip. Then he picked up the bottom and couldn't get it. He tried to palm it, couldn't get it. Then he realized he could only grab one side of the glass, which he did and put it back on the ottoman.

He started reaching with one hand. He stood up against the kitchen door window (i.e. a flat surface, not a grip) and reached out for me. He hasn't yet got the guts to let go, but he's getting there.

He took a few steps holding only one of my hands. I think he gets frustrated with that method, because he is such a fast crawler. But he's definitely closing in on walking.

Amara has these magnetic letters that you put the letter in the base and it sings the letter sound. You have to have the letter turned just right or it won't go in the slot. I don't think he's ever watched Amara play with it, but today he figured out that the letter goes in the base. He didn't get it turned the right way, but the fact that he tried pleasantly surprised me.