1 month: Turns head towards the vast unknown.

2 months: Reaches for objects despite knowing they will only end up possessing him in return.

3 months: Recognizes familiar people who will die one day, as we all will—a reminder that we are all alone in this cold, indifferent universe.

4 months: Babbles and coos in first of several futile attempts to truly communicate with others.

5 months: Rolls from tummy to back to tummy, over and over again, seemingly forever.

6 months: Begins to crawl slowly towards the inevitable grave.

7 months: Looks in the mirror and can hardly recognize the baby he’s become.

8 months: Shakes head “No” in a defiant but ultimately useless attempt at free will.

9 months: Waves “Bye Bye” in recognition that we could each be plucked from the Earth at any moment.

10 months: Acknowledges pivotal absurdist movements like “Dada.”

11 months: Laughs at his own cosmic insignificance.

12 months: Plays “peek-a-boo” with a healthy appreciation for the fleeting nature of things—that we are all impermanent, and that the marks we leave on this world may be equally insignificant.