That's How We Roll

When we were in the hospital after Adler's birth, we were told repeatedly by the nurses that preterm babies often grow into scrappy, strong kids.  And even though my baby can't yet hold his head up reliably or even smile back at me, he's mastered rolling.

During a tummy time session last week, Adler flung his big ol' head to the side and flipped his whole body onto his back.  After repeating the movement, I grabbed my camera because it became clear that his acrobatics weren't a fluke, and my seven-week baby was really rolling over.



I had to go back into the video vault and see how old Cael and Graham were when they hit the same milestone.  But what shocked me, other than how much younger Adler is (especially when adjusting for his age because of his premature birth) was how my level of documentation and unbridled enthusiasm has quieted with each child.

Everything that Cael did was miraculous.  I couldn't believe that I'd created this tiny person who was growing and changing all on his own.  Joel and I still laugh about how we high-fived when Cael laughed for the first time.

Baby Cael

Graham's accomplishments were also quite exciting, but with him the focus was more on his abundant sweetness.  He rarely cried and smiled every time we'd glace at him, something he continues to do today.

Baby Graham

So it shouldn't have been any surprise to me that Adler would find a way to be different and capture my attention with renewed excitement.  Maybe this will be his modus operandi-- exceeding my expectations and finding new ways to surprise me.


Here's hoping those ways begin with more sleep.