First sign

Rip has over the last two days started doing the sign for "more" - or a rough approximation thereof in which he bangs his two fists together when the food littering his eating area is devoid of the right sort of food (i.e. what everyone else is eating), in pieces big enough for him to pick up with his nascent pincher grasp. (He also claps when he's particularly delighted, such as by a new food.)

I leave you with the following apt comparison:

Gerber baby used without permission of Gerber.  Rip holiday photo courtesy of Grossmama Maria.

Amazing, eh? I conclude that Rip totally COULD crush the Gerber baby, just like our hepatologist said. (And look, he's been growing into his earlobes a bit more, too! The left one still has a bit more, uh, lift, than the other... but nothing that would distract the eye from exploring the fact that our child totally has JOWLS.)