Little Voices

Tubbyiah

I have an exploding baby.
At Tobiah's 2 month checkup he weighed 15 lbs, 1 oz., and was 25" long. His 0-3 month clothes are history and his 3-6 month outfits look like they won't last long. Amazing. He just turned 2 months!

I remember sitting in the waiting room for a doctor's visit when Tobiah was six days old. He was fussing, squalling now and then, fiercely sucking on Brent's finger. (He won't take a pacifier.) Across the room a mom came in with a baby carrier, sat down, pulled her baby out of the carrier and onto her lap. It was an enormous baby girl. At least she seemed absolutely huge to me. The baby sat calmly on her mother's lap and gazed around the room with large eyes. Another grandmotherly-type lady who was also sitting in the waiting area asked how old the baby was. "Two months," replied the mother, "we are here to get her shots." Two months. Would Tobiah soon be that big?
Now on this side of 2 months, I can say yes. He is probably bigger than that baby girl was.
Would he ever sit calmly on my lap in the doctor's office?
Not so far.



A face..

I love how T seems to have an expressive face. In those first weeks I loved how when he heard Brent's voice after a long day of hearing only Katya's and my voice, his tiny head would bobble around as he tried to focus on Brent's face. He would have a look of intense concentration--squinted eyes, mouth open as he worked to locate the source of that great booming voice. It totally reminded me of Smike from Nicholas Nickleby-- "Who calls so loud?"

I love his little smiles. I saw his first smile at about 3 weeks. I was holding him on the couch, talking and playing with him. He looked up at me and there was a quick look of recognition "Oh, you're my mother!" and the briefest flash of a smile.
At 5 1/2 weeks Tobiah started smiling consistently. I love how his smiles kind of erupt from one side of his mouth and instantly spread over his face. They've been tough to capture with the camera so far, though.

When he's fast asleep, T's face makes me think of a little Buddha. Makes the thought cross my mind that maybe the completely peaceful expression of a sleeping infant was one of the inspirations for Buddhism.


Big Sis

After watching me care for a baby day in, day out for the last several weeks, Katya's maternal instincts have suddenly kicked in. She has two Cabbage Patch dolls that now receive the tenderest attention. They are fed, (un)dressed, put to bed, and rarely left alone for long.
The other day she sat on the couch next to me with both in her lap. It was time for them to eat. At the same time. One she fed with a bottle, the other she held to her chest.

Two months old!