Mimicry

One thing everyone told me is that the first couple of months with a new baby is just work. They can’t really interact with you, and aren’t all that interesting, but it does get better. I don’t know if Owen is just special, or I’m just an emotional sap, but it really doesn't feel like that. He's interesting and entertaining and he doesn't feel like work. Most of the time, anyway. 

Owen is figuring out how his body works. You can see him working the problem, day by day. Lately he’s been playing with his tongue; sticking it out, making faces with it. When you hold him, he fixes on your face, and if you mirror what he’s doing, and then add to it, he’ll realize what you’re doing and try to mimic you. I stick my tongue out at him and then pop my tongue out from my lips a few times, and he does it too, and then smiles. One more trick added to his repetoire. 

He's smiling more reliably now. A few days ago he started smiling more or less at random, but now you can get him to do it predictably. 

Sometimes when I put him on his change table, he’ll seem to lose his balance; he throws his arms out to the side with a jerk. He can’t see that he’s up high, though, and anyway, babies don’t have a fear of falling, so I can’t imagine what he’s thinking about. Sometimes he’s a complete mystery. Other times, not so much. 

He’s starting to appreciate hearing our voices. My lovely wife will sing to him. She usually has music on when he’s feeding, country or classical, but he definitely seems to enjoy opera the best right now. I think the vocal range is just in a good spot for his hearing. Since she noticed his approval she’s had Andrew Lloyd Webber on strong rotation. 

I read to him from a book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The book was published in 1945 and was my grandfather’s. I think of the generations of boys in my family who were read to from this particular book, and how Owen is connected back to all of them. I’ve started thinking about books of my own that I’ll write for him, and I wonder if they’ll be handed down the same way, to generations yet unborn. 

But there's plenty of time for that.