And finally: Charlie!

Today's the day I've been anticipating for the past 4 months: I got to meet my nephew Charles! Look at this kid! He's gorgeous! (My sister sent me that picture on graduation day).

He smiles, he talks (well, not really, but he does make sounds, and that still amazes me!) and most of all, he has a look like he's figuring things out.

Seriously, I never know what to expect from babies, because I never know what they're supposed to do and at what age they're supposed to do it. I can sympathize now more than ever with a character from a book I read a while ago ("The Best a Man Can Get" by John O'Farrell), in which the main character bluntly admits that his newborn son, Alfie, bears little interest for him because he doesn't interact. I'd always thought that was a brave thing to admit, because, let's face it, there is a bit of a baby fetish in our society, and everything a baby does is supposed to be of the utmost interest.

And while I agree that this isn't necessarily the case, I have to admit that Charles charmed me from the very first moment. Then again, I did only meet him at four and a half months of age. Maybe that's when they start being "interesting" ...

In any case, he has now heard my voice. I just have to make sure he hears it often enough to remember!

Nic