by jamyla / the mama

** i am constantly impressed by how BUSY the baby is – always moving, working, exploring. reaching, running, babbling. but he never seems to produce any actual results, so i decided to observe and not intervene with his busy baby routine for five minutes to see if i could figure out his patterns. perhaps harness his baby power for some greater good. solving climate change? powering a karaoke machine? here are my results.**

he picks up an empty plate from the side table, which had been cleared of crackers and cherry tomatoes from an earlier snack. he brings the empty plate over to the bed, carrying it with two hands, and places it carefully down. goes back to the side table, picking up a clean diaper from the stack. he walks back to the bed and puts the diaper on the plate. scrutinizes it for a moment. opens the diaper carefully, spreading it out on the plate. frowns. flings the diaper onto the floor behind him. tells the plate, “NO!” in no uncertain terms. picks up the plate. slowly brings it up to his face, kisses the plate carefully. puts it back onto the bed.

he turns around and approaches the discarded diaper, it’s still clean, still open, still on the floor. he crouches down into that fabulous baby squat we all love, and examines it minutely. gets up and walks away.

walks around the bed. i can’t see exactly what he’s doing but he’s near the mirror on the other side of the bed. i see pointing, and perhaps some mild scolding of the reflection. comes back with his little whisk broom, waving it in the air like a drum major. drops it near the diaper.

goes into the hallway, using the old film festival pass that’s hanging on the doorknob to close the door behind him. it doesn’t catch, and swings open again partially; i can see him crouching in the hallway playing with the pass’ lanyard. he comes back in.

opens the drawer of the side table. takes out half of a cherry tomato he’s apparently had stashed there since his last snack. (!!) takes a nibble. examines it. takes a nibble. puts it back into the drawer. (note to self: once intervention mode is reinstated, MOVE THAT TOMATO!) pulls out a few socks, flinging them onto the floor behind him. finds the one he must have been looking for, turns around and puts it onto the plate that’s still on the bed. turns his back to the plate, finally satisfied. picks up his sippy cup and takes a sip of water. shakes the sippy cup back & forth in one hand, the other hand flapping back and forth too, for balance. he takes another drink, puts the cup back onto the table. turns back toward the bed and removes the sock from the plate. throws it onto the floor.

yeah. so my five minutes are up… i’ll keep searching for the answer to global warming later. right now i have some socks to pick up.