“Wow!  Look at the size of her milk bags!  They’re bigger than mommy’s.   I could eat all day.”

“This old lady smells funny.   I wonder if I could spit up on her and make her go away?”

“Maybe if I pull just a little bit harder, I can get that shiny thing hanging from her ear.  It’s just so pretty.”

“Oh, Lord, mommy’s having another meltdown and now she’s crying.  Do I laugh to cheer her up or cry to express my empathy?”

I can’t help but wonder about the thoughts that swirl through my son’s head as he takes in his surroundings daily.   I wonder if he sees the same things I do.  Does his brain comprehend emotions like an adult’s?   Is his view distorted or perhaps more acute?   Every day it’s something new that he sees, something that you and I take for granted.   At times, he seems intrigued and almost oblivious to everything else as if he were looking through a peephole at a parade.  Instead of getting the big picture, he only sees the one item that initially attracted him.

I could spend the better part of my days watching my son as he explores.   I’m simply amazed at his curiosity and intuitiveness at 6 months of age (well we have one more week for that).   I want to ask him what he’s thinking or what he sees. In most cases I do, I just wish he could communicate it to me.

This past weekend we went to a horse stable for a friend’s birthday.   Davey was able to interact with so many other kids, but also had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the animals.  Until Saturday, the only animal interaction he’d had was with our dog.   I watched as he was enthralled with chickens, at one point seeming to bob his head as they clucked along almost as if he were mimicking their moves.   I was amazed at how quickly he reached out to the horse, his hand open, and stroked the side of its face, softer than I ever imagined possible.   And all I could think was how I would love to see this animal through my son’s eyes.

This week, I’ve begun work on some home landscaping projects and I take Davey out in the front yard with me.  He sits nestled on his blanket, his red bucket hat perched on his head.  Initially, I brought him out a few toys, but they weren’t as entertaining as the exterminator across the street, or the next door neighbor watering her flowers, or the bicyclists riding down the road, or the family of three jogging with their dog, or the construction equipment going into the new section of the neighborhood.   At one point, he even rolled over onto his stomach from his seated position (have I told you my son’s an overachiever?) and watched the neighbor across the street sweep off her front porch.  He laid there and never once allowed his eyes to deviate from her.   And again, what did he see?

I found myself lying down on the blanket alongside him today.   I felt like such a little girl all over again.  My chin was resting on my hands which were held up by my elbows as I lay propped up on the blanket.   My knees were bent and feet kicked up in the air, swaying back and forth in a scissor type motion.   I looked over at my son and he smiled and cooed at me with an additional few “gahs” thrown in for good measure as he pointed at something far off that I couldn’t see.

“What do you see, baby?”

“Gah!” he yelled loudly and then started to laugh.