Mabel is finally getting a little bit of control over her hands. Now when she knocks the bottle out of my hand while I’m trying to feed her, odds are about 50% that it was intentional. She has taken to holding things very early, within hours after birth as noted photographically with a series of props (see the Mabel page), but she hasn’t really figured out how to harness that ability for any kind of productive use. Until now.

Last week, Mabel was in the car and getting grumpy on the way home from Rockville. I was able to fumble for her pacifier and shove it in the side of her mouth while driving. Unhappy with the current situation or possibly just testing out her newly discovered talent, she took the pacifier out of her mouth with her hand rather than spitting it into the dark void of the backseat. She’s grabbed the pacifier with her hand before, but that’s usually where the excitement ends.

While stopped at a red light, I watched in the rearview mirror, unsure of whether or not I was about to witness a marquee moment in my baby’s development. She stared at the passy, opened her mouth wide, and shoved it right into her eye.

It was the most hilarious thing I’ve seen her do yet. I had to pull over and call Mommy to tell her how proud I was that our baby is getting into slapstick comedy. She didn’t even cry about poking herself in the eye. She just grunted in disappointment and with her one good eye, stared at the passy trying to figure out what went wrong.

Look out, Buster Keaton. There’s a new act in town.