the more we get together the happier we'll be

i played raffi for cohen for the first time yesterday afternoon and it was great. it was great because i remembered the words to every song as soon as they started despite not having heard them for more than twenty years, and it was great the way it brought me back to five years old running up the block, alive with anticipation, to my friend scott workman's house where i knew we would listen to his records and dance with abandonment all afternoon, but mostly it was great because as soon as the song began cohen got it, without prompting he gently started to rock to the beat and a smile as big as a baby beluga beamed from his face. through the green speckled frogs and down to the peanut butter and jam sandwich, he loved it and i loved it, both then and now. it was such an unexpected moment and so far one of the best ones we have had. delightful indeed.

this evening i decided to try him out with some finger foods for the first time. i searched around for recommendations, more than a little nervous at the prospect of choking, and the answer was almost unanimous, baby mum mums (which made me laugh because they remind me much too much of birdy num nums). i was a nervous wreck when i gave them to him. he hesitantly put it in his mouth and then quickly chomped off a large bit. i winced my eyes shut and held my breath and prayed silently as he gummed the thing. then i opened my eyes and saw him perfectly content, the piece swallowed and him swooping in for another bite. i winced through the next four bites and then i started to let go a little. by the end of the package i had come to the realization that choking on these "instantly dissolve in your mouth" snacks might be a tough feat. still, i think i will wince for awhile yet. it has always been in my nature to worry. i have tried, through the years, to break down the worry, to look it in the face, but there is nothing quite like raising a child to make the worry return full throttle. i am keeping it in check. i can do this, right?

cohen started making this clicking sound with his tongue today so i thought i would tape it as we haven't had any new videos in awhile, what i got was something even better. here he is proving that the it is true, babies his age put everything in their mouths.