One of the things that I find remarkable about watching babies grow up is how much of what we, as adults, take for granted is actually a learned behavior.  Some of this is obvious, such as learning to toilet, or buttoning a shirt, but what I find fascinating is watching them learn how to eat.  The Boy has this down pretty well (in theory, I suppose, though not really in practice), but teh Girl is just beginning to figure it out.

The first time I tried to give her finger food, she basically swept it off the high chair in a futile attempt to grasp it in her little paws.  Poor thing got so frustrated she started bawling.  She’s better at it now, as you can see. She has this nifty little technique of raking up a bit of food, squeezing through her pudgy little fist until it is precariously balanced on top, and then quickly getting her fist to her mouth.

Raking it up

success!

Not to be outdone by the little upstart, the Boy had to show off that he can put food in his mouth too, so here’s that picture:

Still, the thing I wonder about is how we learn our emotional bearings, how we deal with the world, and how we deal with ourselves, as those are things not so obviously mastered.