First Tooth

After months of heavy drooling, Roan's first tooth finally broke through on Tuesday. I've spent the last three days trying to capture it on camera, but I've now given up. The tooth is so small, and there are too many obstacles in his mouth: his lip, his tongue, my finger, his fingers, random toys.

I like to feel the tooth a couple times a day - it feels thin and craggy and so delicate I worry he'll break it when he chomps down on all the hard household items he considers toys: the rockers on our rocking chair, metal drawer handles, his stroller.

Thank god Willa was there when it broke through - she's got something like 8 teeth and tons of experience. In fact, I think she sensed the new tooth as soon as it surfaced. Earlier that day she kept offering Roan her food, stuff like chick peas and lettuce and chicken cubes - all totally inappropriate for the toothless. I thought she was just flirting, but now I see she was trying to tell us about the tooth. She was forshadowing the foods he will chew with it.

Willa tells everyone to remain calm while Roan adjusts to the tooth

Willa phones the dentist to discuss proper dental care of the tooth.

She is so organized.

Hard To Get

When Roan and Willa play, they don't play together. Apart from Willa intermittedly swooping in to hoard Roan's toys, they play happily and separately, as if they are alone. It's not easy to get them in the same photo together.

They have totally different agendas.  While Roan auditions for the baby version of Breakin',
Willa ferociously eats a saw.

This playdate is a lot different than Roan's playdate with Mia. The difference is that Willa can crawl.  It doesn't bode well that when the lady babies are capable of movement, they move away from Roan.  Perhaps she is playing hard-to-get?  But I doubt it: it's near impossible to play hard-to-get with a baby who can only move backwards.

Maternal Sorrow

We just saw this tragic video about Willa, Roan's soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. We had no idea she had slipped so far behind in her studies.  Sadly, we must encourage our son to sever ties, and find a more suitable girlfriend, one with a better grasp of La Langue Francaise.


"Maternal Sorrow" from Melinda Wade on Vimeo.

Signs of Intelligence

1. On Monday we got a foot of snow. I decided to walk to the grocery store with Ro in his stroller. I spent the trip there and back cursing in frustration / basking in the imaginary fortune I'd make from the invention of snap-n-go snow tires.

2. On Tuesday Melinda and her 9-month-old daughter Willa stopped by. They live in our building, and I've asked Melinda for advice many times, and sought refuge in her apartment when the apartment directly above us gutted their bathroom, one tile at a time. She said: when a baby puts their foot in their mouth, that's a sign of intelligence. This is exciting news for us, since Roan has been attempting to eat his own feet for days now. Striving for intelligence, clearly.

Roan and Willa: Intelligentsia / Part Time Baby Models