As of today, Griffin has six, count ’em SIX, teeth. Understandably, they are very interesting to him. He often is feeling them with his fingers or running objects over them (I try to avoid those objects being my fingers…ouch!). I think the sensation of teeth on his lips is what led to the Mick Jagger look. And oh yes, he has also been grinding them and the sound sends me straight up the wall.
Well, last night the teeth-in-the-mouth-exploration led to him repeatedly opening and closing his mouth like a guppy. It is absolutely hilarious. The line from the Pictionary scene in When Harry Met Sally jumped into my head as I watched him stare off into space and act exactly like a “baby fish mouth! baby fish mouth!” I will try to catch it on video.
I have to take a moment of what will soon be the end of the longest nap Griffin has ever taken to say how great it is to be able to have two hours in the middle of the day to do things like laundry, dishes, tidying up, and writing blog entries. Let’s hope this turns into a trend!
Grummy is in town for a visit, so the whole Stocco-Palmer-Roy family (minus Andrew, who was working hard getting his classroom ready for students on Monday) went out to the Eat Real Festival at Jack London Square on Oakland’s waterfront.
Grummy and Griffin ready for fun!
Cousin Max is a practicing walker and keeps Uncle Dave moving.
Cousins Raven and Max dipped their toes in a fountain while Aunt Nancy and her mom, Mary-Helen, watched.
Cousin Raven
Cousin Max
It was so much fun, Griffin just had to take a nap!
Our bedtime routine for the past couple of weeks developed from the discovery that Griffin really likes to play on his changing table without anything on. The first night I was ready to put on his diaper after only a couple of minutes but was met with so much protest, it was obvious he didn’t want the fun to stop. We played for longer and after he’d had his fill, he was ready to move on to diaper and pj’s and settle in for the night. He has clearly been delighting in naked time, squealing and laughing as I tickle him, pretend to eat his toes, and kiss him on his neck, tummy, and armpits (his favorite). This has turned into a 30 minute affair that we both really enjoy! It’s so different interacting with him now that he has stronger likes and dislikes.
Today is already turning into a warm one, so I decided to let him have naked time in the middle of the day while I folded diapers. He rolled around his quilt, babbling at me and playing with his toys. It seems inevitable that he will soon be asking me why naked time isn’t all the time!
Over the past few weeks Griffin has been getting better and better at front-to-back rolls. He sometimes goes the other way, but never quite makes it. There’s always an arm or an elbow preventing him from completely rolling onto his front. Tonight, inspired by a visit from his friend Rosie, he managed an effortless roll onto his tummy! (Rosie is two months older and is an Olympic class roller.) Pretty soon Griffin will be rolling clear across the room.
Griffin’s third tooth broke through on Wednesday, and it has been a tough couple of days for him. (Oddly enough, it was his right lower lateral incisor, which doesn’t “typically” arrive for another eight months.) This evening the pain was obviously excruciating, leading to his worst meltdown in a very long time. I took this picture a few minutes before he really lost it.
As you know if you’ve been paying attention, Griffin’s first roll was on July 27. Since then he hasn’t repeated the trick… until today. During a long period of “tummy time”, Griffin repeatedly rolled from front to back. (Never the reverse, yet.) It’s certainly not easy, but he’s got the basic motions down. Sarah managed to catch one of them on film (or digital tape anyway):
Griffin is four months old, and he is continuing to amaze me. I know as his mother that’s what is supposed to happen, but it’s not just an admiration of him; it’s amazement at human beings in general. All of a sudden, the world seems so much more delicate, people so much more precious. That we all started this way is something of a miracle to me, and I hope to do right by him as his mom. I cannot wait to see what impact the world has on him, and what impact he has on the world. Most of all, I hope to remember to always be amazed by the little things, as awed as I am by the recognition in his eyes and the smile that breaks out on his face when he wakes in the morning to see that we’re all still here and life is wonderful.
