I think Alex has recently worked through some mental milestone. There’s nothing really specific I can point to that tells me what it is, as it is just a small change in the way he reacts to the world. It’s almost as if he’s more aware of things around him. I’ve seen it mostly in what he finds amusing. Take for example earlier tonight. I picked up a toy chicken like thing (yes, that is indeed its technical name) and made it squeak. He burst out laughing! I have no idea why! It’s not like he hasn’t seen the chicken before, or that it did something different. It’s a toy he’s had since before he was born, actually. The way he reacted to it tonight though was…well, was more sophisticated. I don’t know how to explain it better than that. The laugh was different, and how quickly he reacted was different. It was like the chicken told him the funniest joke he had ever heard.
It’s strange to see milestones like this happen, because they’re not quite tangible like walking or crawling. It’s obvious something has changed, but it’s hard to put a finger on what exactly has happened. I can’t mark it down in a book or calendar like, “Today Alex did this!” The best I can do is write a non-specific blog post about it.
