From Wit’s End

Jack was restless and fussy this evening after dinner, and both Rachel and I were on our way to being cranky because of this. We hadn’t yet turned on the heat for the year, so I did that just in case Jack was cold. Then I had a brain wave: we should go to Target. In general Jack likes being out of the house better than being in the house, so Rachel agreed.

We got Jack some footie pajamas, one of those beads-on-a-wire-maze thingies, and some toy trucks. Jack held on to his wire-bead-maze all the way home.

Rachel unpacked Jacks trucks, much to his delight. He parked his new trucks next to the wire maze, and said “Wow.” I put on some Palestrina, and she accused me of trtying to put her in a Christmas mood. Everybody feels better now.

I just found the Speech Recognition settings on the Mac. I’ve been using it for about the last hour. It’s totally rocks!

He slept through the night without a pacifier for the first time ever!

He’s been going to bed without one for the most for the last few weeks, with the help of a book or two in his crib, and chamomile teething pills, a.k.a. “pacifier methadone”.

Keep up the good work Jack!

While reading “The Little Engine that Could”, Jack showed that he’s been paying attention by showing us his version of the sign for “train”: swiping one pointer finger across the other. We showed him that a couple weeks ago, but hadn’t realized that he had picked it up until today.

We were almost home from Beka’s wedding, and Jack was getting restless in his car seat. So Rachel and I started talking to him and asking his regular questions: “What does a dog say?” “What does a lion say?” etc.

Somewhere along the line, I heard him say “Weee – gulll”. “Jack said ‘Wiggle’!” I told Rachel. We reinforced it all the way home, and he seemed quite pleased with himself, saying it over and over again: “Wiggle, wiggle, waigle, waygle, wig-giggle, wig-gaggle…”

Ever since Jack was born, he did things in his sleep before he ever could do them when he was awake. He smiled and laughed in his sleep before he did these things consciously. He first did the “fan” sign while cuddling in his Mama’s arms after his milk and before he went to bed.

And tonight, as his Mama was carrying him off to bed, he said his name for the first time. Rachel said, “Jack-Jack,” and then he said “Zhaa-Zhaa” (that’s as close as I can spell it anyway). Overhearing this, I had to try it too, and he said it a few more times in both of our hearing. And then he clapped his hands. He seems to have figured out how to say his own name — at least in the semi-delirium of pre-sleep, anyway.

• Delirious singing heard from the nursery in the middle of the night.
• With a 102F fever at 3:00 this morning, he still mimicked the beep from the electronic thermometer as it was taking his temperature. He’s the son of a geek, all right.
• Getting to take a one-hour nap this afternoon on the couch with him sleeping on my chest. When he woke up, he just laid there. We imitated each other’s breathing patterns and chuckled at each other for a while.

His fever broke this afternoon, and he seems to be more or less back to normal this evening.