Does no already mean no?

We've seen Zachary start performing three new behaviors in the last few days; while all are of course cute, I'm hoping the last one doesn't hint too much of tough times a-comin'.

First, Zachary now shakes his head "no". Granted, it's primarily when he's on his back getting a diaper change, and generally in response to prompting from mommy shaking her own head (he doesn't really do it for me yet). So it's mainly just imitation at the moment, but still very cute, and continues to demonstrate that nifty head control and his improving small-motor coordination.

Second, he's started to give kisses! It was hard to tell at first, but he'll occasionally wrap his hands around your face (or, with his always improving grabbing abilities, occasionally hook your mouth/cheek, grab an eye or eyebrow, or once even two fistfuls of mommy hair), pull you close, and plant a wet open-mouth on your face while smiling. It's much cuter than it sounds; will have to try to grab a kiss on the camera the next time he's feeling affectionate.

And perhaps slightly more worryingly, we had the first possibly hints of tantrum early this week. Meh and Zachary met me for lunch on Monday before the traditional Monday afternoon Zachary hand-off. He sat in the high chair while we ate lunch, and, after munching on the corner of a menu for a few minutes, he spied and started playing with one of those cardboard coasters for drinks. Yup, a few minutes later, it too went in the mouth, and eventually started to dissolve. When Meh took it away while it was still moderately recognizable as a coaster, Zachary let out a big whine of displeasure. It was over very quickly, but I think we can say with some certainty that he's starting to get the concept of object permanence. And possession. Or perhaps a little bit of both? Uh-oh.