Raspberries

Because of his low birth weight, M is being monitored by the school system. Once a month a representative stops in to check on his developments. They track the major milestones:

• Tracking moving objects
• Spotting Mom from across the room
• Rolling over
• Doing raspberries

Yes, the latest observed real milestone in his life is the raspberry (sometimes erroneously referred to as a ZRBTT or a Zerbert. The ZRBTT, labeled by Bill Cosby, is a more involved maneuver). It is unclear why children of that age do raspberries. But they predictably come between transferring a toy from one hand to another and sitting without support.

Here is the layman's guide to the raspberry:

1. Close your mouth
2. Press your upper and lower lips together making them pout
3. Blow air out of your mouth causing a somewhat bubbling sound. If you don't produce at least a mild spray of saliva, you're doing it wrong. Wet your lips and blow harder.
4. Laugh and repeat

Extra points if you have milk in your mouth when you do it!