Week 46 - Learning By Touch

Since she was a just few months old, Elise, like all babies, gathered up information about the world by putting objects into her mouth. You could always tell what she was “learning” by noticing what item was covered in a slobbery pool of drool. In recent weeks, she has stopped putting things into her mouth (Unless she thinks its food. She will eat any food that you give her whether or not she likes it. When you feed her something that she doesn’t like, she will cry as she is chewing and swallowing the offending food, and then ask for more. The kid just really likes eating.) she is now exploring the world through touch.

And she wants to touch absolutely everything. When she is being held, pushed in the stroller, or in the grocery cart (as I alarmingly found out this weekend) she sticks her little arm out grasping at everything she passes. We are embracing and encouraging this newfound curiosity, but this of course entails a lot more baby proofing and staying in the center of the aisle at the grocery store (she has a surprisingly long reach!) And though she tends to be generally rough with most things (she is always throwing, slapping and banging things with such force it makes her grunt) she is very gentle and deliberate with her exploratory touch. She gently strokes flower pedals, (has not even attempted to pull one off yet), tree bark, leaves, or any other exciting outdoor sensation.
Elise and her cousin Abby (4 years old)
She has also recently developed a love for putting things IN – a clean freak in the making? – though it doesn’t actually matter what the object is or what she’s putting it into. She puts everything she picks up into measuring cups, boxes, bags…whatever is available. In fact, yesterday Marty noticed one of our cd’s in the trashcan and asked why I was throwing it away. I didn’t throw it away; obviously Ellie was just helping us cut back on clutter. We obviously need to get a lid for our trashcan. And now that I am thinking about it, we should also get one of those snap guards for the toilet seat too, because I can see this “IN” phase turning into an expensive and/or messy disaster very quickly.

One last note from Marty. While neither Meredith nor I are betting people, there is one thing that you can be assured of and that is Elise will end up playing a sport that involves a ball. Basketball, softball, baseball, street hockey, field hockey, water polo, tennis, volleyball, golf, racquetball, dodge ball, kickball, handball, soccer, bowling, wiffle ball, tee-ball, and maybe even tetherball are all potentially in her future. We noticed at the playground that her favorite toy was a big (for her) green ball. So we went out and bought her a little soccer ball that is soft and bounces. She loves it. She can already throw – ON PURPOSE – and on the count of three (sometimes). Some people say that she is walking early, but c’mon, I’ve got the female Steve Carlton here. By the way, I am also secretly hoping she is a lefty.