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Magic with Cheerios

Today I got tired of Luke picking up every piece of paper on the floor and eating it (from tiny pieces to newspapers and magazines) so I thought I'd let him try some "Morning O's" (Cheerios without any wheat, so Amanda can eat them). Luke is very advanced physically, but he is still working on this object permanence thing, which causes troubles when you are eating.

I put one cheerio on his high chair tray (I learned to start with one after Eleanor put whole handfuls in her mouth before she was ready for them). Luke started out by reaching for the cheerio with his best pincer grip, but he really couldn't quite get the cheerio between his fingers, despite all his practice with bits of lint on the floor. He'd get the cheerio in his fist, but then he'd lose track of where it was, look around confusedly, wave his arms and drop the cheerio. When he did remember where it was, he would stick his whole fist into his mouth and...drop the cheerio. What finally worked was for me to hold the cheerio with my thumb and forefinger, and he would reach out and put my hand in his mouth.

He doesn't exactly chew the cheerios between his gums, he sort of mashes them against the roof of his mouth. The amusement for me came when he finished the cheerio: no matter how he had gotten it (my hand, picking it up off the tray or from his lap) he would always look curiously at the tray to see if it was there---a classic "A not B error" (check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-not-B_error
We spent hours playing this game with Eleanor and Amanda when they were a bit older). It was truly as though the cheerio was moving around like magic: popping up in unexpected places, disappearing and reappearing, moving faster than the eye could see, and then giving a tasty treat at the end. What an exciting way to eat!

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