It's so exciting to see how quickly Teo is growing. Every day, he figures out something new. Today, we were in the post office, and an awesome pre-teen girl (I know, it's almost an oxymoron, but she was super cool) was loving on him in a big way. Waving and coo-cooing and all that. And out of nowhere, he let out a semi-laugh and reached out to her, putting his hand in her palm. She loved it, and so did I.
He has figured out how to hit things with his fist, and is slowly but surely opening his hands more and more out of their perma-clenched state. While lying on his stomach, he is now lifting his head -- but he seems pretty far from rolling over just yet. Still, at this time last week, he was still desperately smushing his face further and further into the activity mat whenever given tummy time, and this new raising-the-head thing has made him enjoy being on his stomach a whole helluva lot more.
Yesterday, he had just eaten and was sitting in his chair (which he once hated and now loves, go figure) sort of spacing out. I was playing with his dinosaur that J&G brought him, sort of dangling it in his face. Ordinarily, he swats at it and investigates it, but yesterday he was just too milk-drunk to bother. So I sat it on his stomach and turned around to change the volume on the radio. When I turned back to look at him, this is what I saw:
Dino to mouth! Dino to mouth! Must cram leg into mouth!
Seriously though, it was sort of a big moment. He more or less grabbed the dinosaur and pulled it up to him. AMAZING. I think he's going to be a famous scientist or something.
It's crazy how much better I feel I know him than, say, a week ago. I'm getting to know his cries better, and I can tell when he's just fussy because he's tired or because they're actually something wrong. And he's changing to, in that when he cries and I do something that he likes, he'll calm himself down and take interest in it. I very much enjoy watching him both start smiling and stop crying at the same time, alternating between the two. It's entertaining.
At any rate, I can tell exciting times are ahead. He's so much more interactive than he was just a short while ago, and he's just going to be more and more so every day.
I can't wait.
You know what else is funny? I have gotten to know the moms in my neighborhood. How weird is that? There are a few that I have had conversations with and then I saw them agin, and they stopped to talk. This is so un-Parisian that I am still having a hard time getting over the shock of it.
You know, it's funny...when I saw that I picture I wondered if he got that toy from J&G because they got Will a similar one (but it was a horse) when he was T's age...and it was a huge hit.
He is so handsome! I remember reading an expat book (words in a french life - kristen epinasse) and about her struggles to adjust in France. She said have a baby changed everything. Motherhood is a special club, Parisian or not it seems. You clearly love being a momma. It's so cool to see (well, read about).
Yes, I agree with Nicole: it's obvious that you love being a mommy! And you seem to be doing such a great job. He is beautiful, just a doll. And he's growing and changing, evolving so fast! Enjoy every moment.