It’s been a busy two weeks for little EC. Today, she rolled over for the first time unaided. She’s been rolling over for a couple weeks now with some assist, either from me or from gravity; but today, she did it all on her own. And then again. And again. It would seem that once she does something once, she wants to keep it up until she has it down. Laying down for naps has been difficult, because she wants to roll over…and then she can’t get back to her back for the sleeping part.

She also really began reaching for things. Just before we traveled, EGm (that’s Empirical Grandma) tied a bunch of ribbons to the handle of the carseat, so that EC would have something to look at. She now not only looks at them, but reliably reaches out to grab them (and they’re becoming so worn it’s about time to replace them with something else…) She will spot one that she likes; reach and grab; hold for a second; release; and then do it again. And again. And again.

Most fun, she is doing the same with her bottles. She no longer is content to have the bottle given to her; she must reach for it and bring it in (even if she doesn’t realize that she’s not doing much except signaling to me…). Then she can sometimes support it with her own hands by herself for a little bit. But now she wants to practice…so she brings it in; sucks a few times; pushes it away; and then repeats. Again. And again. Feeding her takes twice as long as it used to. But it’s now twice as fun for everyone!

Oh, and she does the same thing with my face. Grab nose. Swipe down to chin, pausing at mouth. Repeat.

Repetition is the hallmark of learning. It’s said that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill to world-class level. Given how much little EC sleeps, she is probably practicing all these gross motor skills something like 10 hours a day. If she kept that pace up, it would be 2 years, 8 months to the time that she has truly mastered them. Which sounds about right. Most three-year-olds that I know have got the basic motor skills of life down pretty well. As she gets older and sleeps less, she’ll practice for more time each day, but she’ll have more things to practice—fine motor skills, intellectual skills—so it’s pretty clear she’ll be kept busy.