Ian's new toys...

Ian really likes his swing, and promptly falls asleep when he goes in it...however, when he is wide awake, he doesn't want to be very far from the action. He will start his angry crying and swinging his arms around, grunting, and very much looking like he is trying to get out! So, I decided to get him a little bouncy seat. (The seat is also a lot more portable than the swing!)

The picture above was taken the first time I put Ian in the seat yesterday. No joke, he stared INTENTLY at that little lion in the middle for about 5 minutes straight...with the most serious look on his face! He really loves it! For about 45 minutes while I was cooking his dinner, he stared at the little toys, and bounced around. He seemed highly amused at the fact that when he moved his arms, the seat moves too. It is too cute the way he waves his arms around clumsily, and I find myself just waiting for him to start giggling with glee. He may not always use his face to express emotion, but body language definitely tells a story! In this case, I just managed to catch the hints of a smile he was making on camera...I know it wasn't gas, the smiles happened too predictably with his activity!
He is finally getting old enough to really start taking interest in some of the "tummy time" toys. You can tell he still prefers to look at people's faces, however. "Tummy time" is recommended for infants to start gaining muscle control needed for crawling. They can build strength in their arms from pushing up, legs from kicking, and neck from holding it up. We are still working on this activity. He doesn't like to be on his stomach very much, and will start fussing almost immediately. I'll get down at his level and talk or sing to him, which increases the amount of time he will tolerate tummy time. Earlier today when he was on one of the mats, he actually seemed to take more interest in looking at the designs and toys! Hooray!

The other toy of mention is the "Exer-saucer" from Grandma Gayler. It is SO cool! Eventually, when he gains enough neck control, he will be able to sit in it, and spin himself around to check out all the toys on the edges. It can also be converted to an activity table when he is too big to sit in the center anymore. As cool as this toy is, I can see how kids end up playing with the boxes instead of the toy. It took mommy a good little amount of time to get it put together! I can only imagine what will happen when he starts crawling around, and impatience takes effect. Here's mommy, studiously trying to assemble the gadgets, and little Ian crawling around in the box behind her, LOL! I can't wait!