"Capoccione!" Noggin uses his head and goes Italian
(What with all of Oliver’s inspiring new activity, Chad and I have been quite prolific over the past few weeks. So if you’re just tuning in, you may want to scan down a piece.)
Oliver had a very rough weekend due to the appearance of yet another lower incisor (that makes 6 teeth!). Heretofore, he's been pretty unphased by teething, but with 2 pushing through at once, it's simply too much to bear. Despite his crankiness, we did have some amazing family moments, the first of which occurred on Friday.
I happened to be feeding Oliver his lunch, when I tossed Bella a few Cheerios. Oliver leaned over his high chair to watch just as Bella caught one midair. He laughed at her and then turned to look at me as if to share the joke. I did it again. Again he laughed while looking down at her and then turned to me. “Isn't she a riot, Mom?”
Later that day, Oliver and I met Chad for dinner at the Boat House in Central Park. Oliver was backlit with a golden glow from the setting sun, complementing his orange outfit and making him look like a little angel. And he behaved like one too, happily (and quietly) playing with spoons throughout the meal. Towards the end of dinner though, he did begin to unwind. At which point Chad grabbed O’s Mario Batali spoon and placed O’s rubber duck on one end of it. He then hit the other end, launching the duck into the air and Oliver into a fit of laughter. We all laughed again and again as the duck bounced around the table. I hope we didn’t give the expecting couple at the next table, who looked on adoringly, a false impression of familial bliss. But it was one of those moments that blow all others right out of the water and leave you with no doubt as to why you became parents.
Another great moment, occurred on Sunday while taking in some sun on our roof deck. Oliver absorbs things like a sponge now. You only have to show him something once or twice before he’s doing it himself. For example, by Saturday Oliver himself was dropping food off his tray for Bella. In another example, on Friday I showed Oliver how to kick a ball and by Sunday he was kicking Bella’s ball to her on the deck. It took immense concentration but he managed to do it over and over. And more importantly he seem to understand what I meant when I asked him to kick the ball. - Oh, and he "throws" the ball now, too. Bella is starting to see the benefits of having Oliver around (he was formerly known by her, we conjecture, as The Usurper).
Another new favorite game of Oliver’s involves the mirror in the front hall that is covered by a curtain. Oliver marches up to the edge of the curtain and waits. I query, “Where’s Oliver?” and he whips it aside to reveal himself, triumphant, in the mirror.
Oh, and by the way, the head banging, I read in my baby book this weekend, is something that many babies do. It’s a way of experimenting with rhythm. He had his first music class today, so perhaps he can expand this training.
Oliver is also doing very well experimenting with spacial relationships and is able to put his blocks into cups to make a rattle. Apparently, this is a big advancement.
Finally, (for now) Noggin has earned a new nickname that is very apropos. We had a nice dinner at our local Italian restaurant, Celeste, with Bella (his baby girlfriend) and her parents last night. The waiters were admiring Oliver while he was admiring the pizza-making operation. They all kept referring to him as “capoccione.” Finally, one explained that technically this means “big head,” but they assured me that in Rome it’s a term of endearment reserved for only the cutest of babies.
Oliver had a very rough weekend due to the appearance of yet another lower incisor (that makes 6 teeth!). Heretofore, he's been pretty unphased by teething, but with 2 pushing through at once, it's simply too much to bear. Despite his crankiness, we did have some amazing family moments, the first of which occurred on Friday.
I happened to be feeding Oliver his lunch, when I tossed Bella a few Cheerios. Oliver leaned over his high chair to watch just as Bella caught one midair. He laughed at her and then turned to look at me as if to share the joke. I did it again. Again he laughed while looking down at her and then turned to me. “Isn't she a riot, Mom?”
Later that day, Oliver and I met Chad for dinner at the Boat House in Central Park. Oliver was backlit with a golden glow from the setting sun, complementing his orange outfit and making him look like a little angel. And he behaved like one too, happily (and quietly) playing with spoons throughout the meal. Towards the end of dinner though, he did begin to unwind. At which point Chad grabbed O’s Mario Batali spoon and placed O’s rubber duck on one end of it. He then hit the other end, launching the duck into the air and Oliver into a fit of laughter. We all laughed again and again as the duck bounced around the table. I hope we didn’t give the expecting couple at the next table, who looked on adoringly, a false impression of familial bliss. But it was one of those moments that blow all others right out of the water and leave you with no doubt as to why you became parents.
Another great moment, occurred on Sunday while taking in some sun on our roof deck. Oliver absorbs things like a sponge now. You only have to show him something once or twice before he’s doing it himself. For example, by Saturday Oliver himself was dropping food off his tray for Bella. In another example, on Friday I showed Oliver how to kick a ball and by Sunday he was kicking Bella’s ball to her on the deck. It took immense concentration but he managed to do it over and over. And more importantly he seem to understand what I meant when I asked him to kick the ball. - Oh, and he "throws" the ball now, too. Bella is starting to see the benefits of having Oliver around (he was formerly known by her, we conjecture, as The Usurper).
Another new favorite game of Oliver’s involves the mirror in the front hall that is covered by a curtain. Oliver marches up to the edge of the curtain and waits. I query, “Where’s Oliver?” and he whips it aside to reveal himself, triumphant, in the mirror.
Oh, and by the way, the head banging, I read in my baby book this weekend, is something that many babies do. It’s a way of experimenting with rhythm. He had his first music class today, so perhaps he can expand this training.
Oliver is also doing very well experimenting with spacial relationships and is able to put his blocks into cups to make a rattle. Apparently, this is a big advancement.
Finally, (for now) Noggin has earned a new nickname that is very apropos. We had a nice dinner at our local Italian restaurant, Celeste, with Bella (his baby girlfriend) and her parents last night. The waiters were admiring Oliver while he was admiring the pizza-making operation. They all kept referring to him as “capoccione.” Finally, one explained that technically this means “big head,” but they assured me that in Rome it’s a term of endearment reserved for only the cutest of babies.
posted by Justine at
9:30 PM
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