The world at Jolyon's fingertips (or, nom nom nom)

All three of us are now recovered from the swine flu. Jenny got it bad, while Stephanie had a more mild case and Jolyon's was milder still, much to our relief. The most obvious sign of illness in Jolyon was increased crankiness and wanting to eat constantly (as in, every hour rather than every 2-3 hours during the day). Nighttime sleeping has increased in length - last week he set the record at 10 hours, probably flu-related. 7-8 hours is becoming more common - then after eating he goes back to sleep for another couple of hours.

Jolyon has his own room in the new house, which took some getting used to - for me, anyway. He slept great the first night in the house, but I couldn't sleep because I kept wanting to check on him. Now I am used to having the baby monitor alert me when he wakes up. Although at first I missed having him nearby, I think we both sleep better now since I'm not waking up and getting him up to nurse after brief nighttime stirrings. And it's not like he's far away - his room is next door to ours and the house is not very sound-insulated, which will be annoying in future but is reassuring for now.

The most noted development of late has been Jolyon's increased interest in grabbing everything. He grabs our plates when he's sitting in our laps during mealtimes, and more than one has succeeded in spilling food all over himself and Jenny.

Last week I had him in the bathroom playing the always popular "baby in the mirror" game, and I held up a plastic headband that was sitting on the counter. Jolyon reached for it, grabbed it, and attempted to put it in his mouth. Since then we have tried his rattle, a wooden spoon, a stuffed lamb, and anything else baby-safe that happens to be nearby. The funniest is when he leans forward and tries to gnaw on the edge of the table.