Grabbing
December 2005 (4 months)
When Elliott was younger, it was amazing to watch him figure out that he had control over the appendages that had been whacking him in the face thoughout his life thus far. When he first figured out that he could manuever his arms and hands, it became his obsession. When he would get his diaper changed, he would practice moving his hand to his mouth over and over again with grim determination. The look of concentration on his face was a bit disturbing as he slowly, carefully, raised his tiny fist to his face up to the point just above his nose that made him become cross-eyed. Then suddenly, as if he finally figured it all out, he would move his hand quickly toward his face...and slam it into his eye. Nope not quite there yet. Let's try again. To the cheek, the forehead, the nose, his tiny fist would strike. Occassionally, his charge reached the desired target--his mouth--where he would happily suck away at it for a moment before beginning the process over again...and again..and again
Once Elliott mastered control of his hands, he began trying to control his environment and would grab anything within reach. Once the object was attained, the next logical step would be to insert said object into mouth for a taste test. However, this task is a bit more challenging than one would expect. It requires an understanding of the object in relation to the hand and adjusting the motion to the mouth accordingly. Elliott didn't quite have this figured out when this video was taken.