Sunday, October 14 -- Lotsa Fun

So, Charlie is almost five months old now and getting more and more fun (he's over his lung infection, by the way, and has a clean bill of health). 

Few things in my life have given me as much joy as coming home to Charlie. When he sees me, or Jessica (or Annis, our nanny) after not having seen us for a while, he breaks into a gigantic smile and wiggles his entire body. It's just fantastic. Here he is below (with our dear friend Patrick) seeing Jessica. That's the look you get from Charlie every time he sees you.

While Patrick was here, we had a giggle contest, to see who could make Charlie giggle the most. When you have a giggle content with Charlie, everyone wins.

Patrick even took a picture of us, so here is a rare picture of the entire Putnam Peskay family. Charlie looks a little worried. I think this picture is appropos of us. We're a little too intense and Charlie's worried about it. Also note how he's managed to rip my glasses off my face. Las Vegas currently has the odds of my glasses surviving to Charlie's 1st birthday at 11-1. I think that's probably low.

Monday, October 8 -- The Nebulizer and the Bumpo

Updates for this week:

• Charlie's feeling great and his mood is as great as ever, but he's got a mild lung infection that's making him wheezy.
• So we're using a "nebulizer" to help him clear out his lungs. He alternately loves it or hates it depending on his mood. 
• Our friends Rachel, Hal & Bertram were driven from their home last week and came to stay with us. It was a bit cramped with six of us living in our one-bedroom apartment, but we actually had a good time. They found a new place on Friday and moved out. We miss them, but we're sure they're happy to have a space to call their own that isn't our living room.  
• Sleep - let's not talk about this. We're still alive, that's the main thing.  
• We went on a long October walk yesterday (in 85 degree weather here in NYC) to pick up a used Bumpo seat. We weren't sure whether Charlie would like it or not, but the early results are very positive. Note that although Charlie takes after his mom in almost every way, he does seem to have inherited his dad's giant feet and monkey toes.
  

Tuesday, October 2 -- Quick hello

Just a quick post and a couple of pics. Lots going on (mostly good), will try and update this weekend. 

Grandpa Joel drove down to NYC and picked up JPP x 2 + Charlie for a weekend in Connecticut. While he was hanging out, Joel and Charlie snuck in a nap.

 And a little close-up of Charlie hanging out in his Bjorn sitter.

Tuesday, September 25 -- On the mend

Just a quick post today to say Charlie and daddy are both on the mend. Still got some sniffles, but getting much better.

And what the heck, an artsy photo to boot. I never realized my head was so rectangular...

Sunday, September 23 -- First illness

Charlie had his second round of vaccinations on Thursday, and this time he had a worse reaction. He got very stuffy on Friday, and this lasted through Saturday and into this morning (although he seems to be doing better now). Having a stuffy, runny nose doesn't seem so bad, but for a baby, it makes eating nearly impossible, because he can't breath and eat at the same time so he gets very frustrated and sad. It led to some loooooong nights the past couple of days.

On the upside, when he's not hungry, Charlie seems totally unfazed by his runny nose. He's still a delight and is still doing new things all the time. He's learned to gaze now, meaning he can control his head and see well enough to fix his gaze on an object or person and study it for minutes at a time. It's really wonderful watching him study something. Second, he's learned to dance.

Our nanny taught us a trick where you lay Charlie on his back, let him grab your hands then pull him up to a sitting position and then he'll stand up almost on his own from there. Then you dance. 

Anyway, wish us well, I think we all may be coming down with the sniffles. Time for some matzoh ball soup. 

Monday, September 17 - Charlie from Queens

So, both Jessica and I have realized that we're raising a child in Queens. This means that someday, somewhere, Charlie is going to say to someone, "I'm Charlie, from Queens." For two suburbanites from Minnesota, this is a strange thought. 

Which leads us to this photo. This is a Queens baby photo in so many ways. First of all, Charlie obviously needs a bigger bathtub. Second, his bathtub is a bucket. Third, he's in the sink. Fourth, he's surrounded by empty Thai-food take-out containers. And the capper is how Charlie is taking this all in stride, as if to say, "Yo, I'm Charlie, from Queens."

Sunday, September 16 - Charlie the Nerd

After a diaper change the other day, I thought I'd give Charlie a chance to see the world through daddy's glasses. The result, Charlie the Nerd. It's probably just a short step from here to putting him in cute outfits and tying bows to his ears just for funny photos, but maybe I'll be stronger than that. But probably not.  

Although we did get one decent night of sleep, Charlie's sleepless nights more or less continue, so the parents are still a bit sleepy. Charlie, of course, is doing great.

New things he's doing lately: laughing (just a couple of times, but INCREDIBLY funny when he does it). He can remain sitting up on his own for quite a while (as shown with the basketball above). He's eating every two hours day and night. He makes new noises all the time. In the past few weeks, he's started going through stretches where he makes noise just to make noise. He's not unhappy, it's not a precursor to crying, he's just cooing and whooping and shrieking  just for the fun of it. And it is fun, although not as much so at five in the morning as at other times.