The Look

Roan gives me some of the most serious and penetrating looks while he is drinking from his sippy cup. I tried to capture it on camera, but it was really hard because every time I pulled the camera out he gave me this look instead:

which reminds me of some kind of self made business tycoon having a hearty laugh at the expense of all us little people.

Not the look I was going for.

The look I want is the opposite of this. It's so sweet and trusting and there's a real sense of vulnerability, like all of a sudden he realizes that he's a baby and totally at my mercy and the sippy cup is there because I gave it to him and he's grateful for that. The look says, "thanks mom, you really know how to take care of me. You are so selfless and organized." But there's a hint of pride there too, like "yeah, I know how to get the water out of this thing now."

Here's the photo that comes closest:

Is it possible I'm reading too much into this look?

Dinner with Children

The other night Jay and I went out to dinner with the Robot. We went to a fancyish Mexican place and sat out back, in an outdoor patio. As soon as we got the Robot situated in his highchair, he started up his usual routine of banging on the table. This table was cheap aluminum, and made a very loud CLANGing noise that thrilled the Robot. He started laughing like a maniac and banging the table faster and faster. He was pretty much hyperventillating with joy, and since we couldn't stop him we tried muting the noise by laying cloth napkins on the table. It didn't help.

There was one other couple on the patio, young and well rested and well dressed, drinking something out of a delicate martini glasses, blissfully childless. They smiled at us and told the server they'd be moving inside.

Alone on the patio, the Robot's incessant banging was cute and funny instead of really embarrassing. Out came three gay men who sat down next to us. They were friendly and tolerant. Then out came a couple with a two year old boy. When they strapped their son into the highchair, he started screaming like he was being electrocuted. The gay men could only take so much. They moved inside.

The couple was embarrassed and frazzled and the mom looked over at us and said, "you aren't going to leave too?" We laughed no, and told her about the couple we chased off earlier. She kept trying to calm her son down and even suggested he emulate the Robot by saying things like, "look how well behaved that baby is..." Ah, relativity. The Robot banged on, oblivious to the good example he was setting.

Out came an Indian couple with a two-and-a-half year old boy. Out came three-year-old Camille and her dad, who we know from the local bar. After that I lost track. The patio was full of obnoxious children. I saw people without children scan the patio, and opt to stay inside. Maybe they thought this was some kind of dinner hour daycare program. One childless couple did eventually join the melee. They didn't leave. Probably she was pregnant. Or probably all the inside seats were taken.

It's nice to be in Brooklyn, where you are surrounded by other parents and there is always a baby who's crazier than yours. And the restaurants never run out of highchairs.

Ro v. Bagel

Round 1: Ro starts strong, attempting to shove the entire Bagel into his mouth. No hesitation. No thought. Just pure animal instinct. He's going for the win.

Round 2: Despite best efforts, the Bagel doesn't fit. He tries a gnawing technique. (I try taking photos with the flash on).

Round 3: Ro has a the same overwhelmed look that you see when you watch the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest. The Bagel is denser than he thought. He is possibly getting full.

Round 4: Taking a new tact, Ro rips smaller, less intimidating pieces from the Bagel, and focuses on eating those.

Round 5: Close to tears, Ro admits defeat. He refuses, however, to relinquish the Bagel. (I turn off the flash in sympathy).
The Bagel wins this battle. But they will meet again. And when they do, Ro will have more than two teeth.

Baby Attack

First haircut

Yesterday we took Roan to get his first haircut. I've been fighting this haircut for months, and I hate to admit it, but Jay was right. Roan's haircut looks very boyish. It seems to have taken him another step away from babyhood and toward being a little kid.

Here's a closeup of the haircut, focusing on the contested hair that hung over his ears, or his "payos" as Grandpa Lyons called them.


Because Roan screamed and squirmed through the entire haircut, desperate to escape, we didn't waste any time cleaning him up. He was covered with hair, and the only solution was to put him in the pool.

The haircut took place at Lulu's in Park Slope, which is a hair salon / toy store. It's a brilliant combination, because after you've subjected your baby to the trauma of a haircut, (which involves holding his head immobile against your chest for five harrowing minutes while he screams bloody murder), you really feel like you owe him one. Luckily Grandma Lyons was there to buy him this really cool wooden toy where you hammer in pegs. Roan doesn't quite have the coordination to use it correctly, but soon he will be hammering everything non-stop. Soon, he will have his revenge.

In the meantime, he'll focus on commanding the remote control.


I include the photo below as part of his Part Time Baby Model portfolio. Doesn't he look like the Vanna White of remote controls?

Grandpa Lyons took a "Before" photo at Lulu's, which I will post for compare/contrast once I have it. For now, here's a "Before" photo that was taken a couple of days before the haircut. It's not the best comparable, since Roan is wearing a hat, but in the tradition of Rogaine and Proactive commercials, where the "Before" photo looks like a different person entirely, this works perfectly:


Roan looks so sweaty and sad under the weight of his old hair; you can see a greasy strand peeking out from under his hat. He is so distraught that he can't even concentrate on removing his shoe, a favorite activity. Also, as Jay pointed out, he looks like a girl. Contrast this photo with the previous photos, where he practically glows with confidence and pride and masculinity.

The haircut was a good call.

Stand Up Guy

Robot Returns

It's been so long since my last post because my camera broke and I didn't get a new one until today, when Roan and I went to Costco. Going to Costco alone is a serious undertaking, so just the thought of bringing Roan into that crowded mess of oversized shopping carts was daunting. But I really needed a camera. And we were out of toilet paper. Only one store has them both.

There is a dark spot on Roan's photo history. At each stage there are hundreds of photos, and from 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 months - nothing. I feel horrible, so I started taking photos with the new camera right away. Here he is, standing there all on his own, so proud of himself.

Ro had his 9-month checkup last week: he weighs 20 pounds 6 ounces and is 29.5 inches long. Since birth his weight has almost tripled, and he's grown 10 inches. And he has two teeth. He also has fuzzy soft leg hair, and even a little fuzz on his toes. He loves to grip my fingers in his sweaty little palms and walk in circles around the house, or chase the dogs at the park. If his hand slips off my finger, or if I manage to get my finger free, he looks up at me patiently and expectantly until I give it back.