Babies (The Documentary)

On Friday night a couple of girlfriends and I headed to Tacoma to watch the documentary "Babies." I haven't stopped talking about it to Joe since. The documentary shows four babies from their birth to their one year birthday -or about the time they stand up and walk. They're from Namibia, Mongolia, Japan, and the US. The first scene is in Namibia and 2 toddlers fight for a toy. One of them leans toward the other... and bites him! This is such a universal tendency it seems. I was almost expecting to hear the bitten baby scream "Charlie bit me!" The whole documentary was just fascinating. It's so fun to watch baby discover their feet, eat everything they find, play with pets, throw tantrums, smile, dance, play, imitate each other, and relate to their parents. All 4 babies, obviously regardless of their country and of the way they were raised, hit milestones at about the same age and in the same way (ah, that proud smile when they stand up alone!). After watching the babies from Namibia and Mongolia, the classes and books parents read in the US and Japan seem pretty un-necessary. I know, I know. I'll probably gorge on books when I am pregnant and a new mom. But I'll keep in mind the documentary and the organic way some children in the world are raised.

If you haven't seen this documentary, go. It's worth it!

And speaking of movies... Joe and I are going to see 10 movies at the Seattle International Firlm Festival. We have been in Seattle for four years and have never been there. So this year I bought a pass to force us to go. We watched The Hedgehog today, a French movie about life seen through a smart 11-year old's eyes. The movie was really good. As an added bonus, it was really good to watch a French movie and see actresses I know and enjoy. 1 down. 9 to go.