Baby Book - Pulling Up
Grayson sat at the gate between the rooms. Mama and baba were on the other side and they were not paying any attention to him at all. He could hear them, but he couldn't see them. They were in the room with the bed. Baba had come back from wherever he had been and had picked him up and cuddled him and then set him back on this side of the gate and picked mama up and carried her into that other room. Grayson didn't know what they were doing, but it sounded interesting. They had left the door open and he could hear mama making lots of noises. Baba was growling at her, that sounded like fun. Grayson didn't know what game they were playing, but he wanted to play, too.
He grabbed hold of the gate and pulled at it, but it didn't budge. He tried to put his hands underneath it, but the gap was too small to let even one of his fingers through. He stuck his arms through the holes in the framework of the gate, but once he was up to his shoulders, he could go no further. He was getting frustrated. He grabbed hold of the bar across the top of the gate, his arms extended up over his head, and pulled, hoping the gate would fall over. Instead, his bottom rose up off the floor. Surprised, he let go and plopped back down to the floor.
He sat there for a minute, trying to figure out what had happened. Then he grabbed the bar again and pulled once more. Again his bottom rose off the floor, and he was hanging there, all his weight on his arms. What did he do now? He bent his knees and pushed, like he did when mama held him up so he could bounce around and dance with her. Suddenly, he was standing there, balanced on his feet, holding to the bar, looking into the other room. He crowed happily. This was fun. He bounced up and down, all on his own, no one holding him. Oh, he liked this. He laughed and babbled, hanging on tightly.
Eventually, his arms gave out and he plopped back down on his bottom. He was sitting there, wondering what he would do next, when mama cried out something in that other language, the one she and baba spoke to each other. No one else who came in ever spoke that one. He could tell the difference. Then baba said something to her in that same language, his voice so very low and rough that it didn't really sound like baba at all. Then it was very quiet in that other room. He could just hear them breathing, very fast.
Grayson grabbed the top bar again and pulled hard again, drawing himself up, balancing again. "mama baba up up."
Nothing happened for a minute and then baba came out of the other room, wearing only his loose pants. He stopped when he saw Grayson and called to mama. Nyota, that was mama. Mama came out of the other room, wearing baba's shirt, and exclaimed when she saw him. Grayson babbled happily, having the attention of both parents again, bending his knees and bouncing happily.