Happy New Year, Noah

The following was submitted by The View staff reporter Jerry LaVaute:

I was on the floor the other day, playing with my grandson Noah. I was entertaining him with a toy, and he was making me happy, as he always does.

It's a treat just to watch him react to things new and old with curiosity, intensity and a consistently good nature.

As I lay on the floor, the passage of time and the slick way that it slips away suddenly struck me - this kid wasn't going to be little for long, so I had better appreciate what I've got with him, in the here and now.

I was reminded of this a few days earlier when Noah's mom and dad gave us for Christmas a bound book with photos and comments, chronicling his first few months among us.

The book harked back to his birth on May 14, an amorphous little guy lacking clear shape and definition, yet beautiful to behold.

And the book clearly showed his steady growth for the his first seven months, reminding me that change is inexorable, reminding me that these days will pass, much too soon.

The recent New Year was another reminder of the passage of time and its impact on him, as we got to ring in the New Year with Noah, who was comfortably, quietly and safely asleep in the next room at midnight. For a new grandparent, it doesn't get much better.

It occurred to me that Noah had had a bunch of "firsts" last year, and that, technically, these first experiences would end this May.

First summer. First trip to the ocean. First football game between the universities of Michigan and Notre Dame. First Halloween. First trip to the apple orchard.

There were a couple special outings with grandma Jan and me, one designed as a photo opportunity among the pumpkins, another to affix his handprint on a variety of Christmas gifts - coffee mugs and plates.

Getting a clear, unsmudged handprint was tricky. At his age, he's inclined to put his small hand into a fist, so I held him on my lap in a chair in the store, as grandma held before him the object to be imprinted.

By the time the paint was applied to his hand, stretching the hand to the coffee mug resulted in the fist closing, and another attempt, another approach, was required.

There was one point when a young girl, probably four years old, walked by us in the store, on her way to get something. As often happens with children, they fascinate each other.

The little girl mesmerized Noah as he watched her passing by. She was oblivious to him, but he was distracted for a couple moments, the fist opened, and we completed about half the task in those few moments. The rest required a little patience. The gifts were a big hit with the recipients - mom and dad, grandparents and aunts.

A few days ago, Noah had his first Christmas. My wife Jan, ever thoughtful, had noticed that cell phones and TV remote controls fascinate him.

It's not surprising, when you think about it - they're objects used frequently by adults, and they're often lying around.

Noah learned to crawl a couple weeks ago, so he's now able to move to these objects. We're forever having to move them to safety, out of his reach - with that much handling, they've got to be too dirty to safely place in his mouth - and that's where most everything goes these days, after he briefly examines it.

So, for Christmas, Jan bought him his own cell phone and TV remote control.

The story of the cell phone purchase was a real hoot.

Jan went to an electronics store and requested an inexpensive cell phone. We knew that he'd have to be carefully monitored with the phone, given the small parts inside it.

The clerk went to the back room and returned with a brand new cell phone, in a clear plastic sleeve.

Jan asked the price, and initially thought he said that it was $3.99. But she wasn't clear that that was what he said, and she asked him to repeat it.

Whereupon he clarified: it was "Free 99," in fact, it was free. It was a display model that was not being displayed, so the clerk had no use for it.

It was among the first gifts that Noah opened in our home on Christmas morning. His mom held him in her lap as Noah opened his gifts or, more accurately, gifts that were opened for him by others.

He's too young for the motor skills required to unwrap presents, and even if he were, he was too much busy with the cell phone.

He loved it. He examined it, he chewed on it, as others opened his presents. He was oblivious to everything but the cell phone. Grandma had correctly assessed the situation, and scored a big hit with Noah, on his first Christmas.