Some recent observations from Jonathan

Jonathan's expressive language is growing in leaps and bounds. He's able to communicate novel ideas. It's just so much fun to start to see how that little mind is working.

1) We all know what "gapes" are, right? They're part of Jonathan's favorite food group, they come in red, purple and green varieties, and Mommy has to cut each and every blessed one in half before Jonathan can eat them. Anyway, we shared a bowl of gapes for dessert tonight. I prefer to cut them crossways. Jonathan noticed that some of the gapes had smooth surfaces, while others were dimpled. He took a close look at the dimple, then handed his specimen to me to show me the "gape's belly button."

2) We are having some fun with the wonderful playsilks sent by the Abdelaty family. Since Jonathan insists on "two blankies" before going to sleep, the playsilks have necessarily become blankies for a whole range of toys. Tonight, we tucked in the bunny, his fire truck, the Hot Wheels van, the big purple ball, and the penguin. When we first started playing with these, I had spead out the orange silk on the floor. Jonathan enjoyed standing on it in his bare feet. So tonight, after we used up the other five silks as blankies, he came to me with the orange silk. He fussed until I remembered, and was only happy once it was back on the floor. Then he pointed out where one corner was rucked up, so I could fix it. Then he stood on it again.

3) Jonathan gets three bedtime books, no more and no less. "Petsels," or "Pretzel," is back in rotation again after a brief hiatus. Jonathan is currently fascinated by the page where the dog Greta gets stuck in a hole. He points to it again and again saying "Sca(r)ed. Scaed. Crying." Last night after our books he was struck by the beam of light coming through a crack in the door. He pointed to it, said "scaed" and turned to grab me around the neck. He didn't let go for ten minutes, and it wasn't until I got up and turned out the hall light that he would consent to go in his crib. Tonight, I turned off the hall light before bedtime, hoping to eliminate that fear. He looked up at me and told me again he was scared. I asked him "What are you scared of? There's no light out there." He looked around vaguely and said, tentatively, "Wall?"

4) After a trial at out-of-highchair dining, we are back to buckling him in for meals. Last night we had one of his favorites, Indian chicken curry with rice and peas. He worked pretty hard with a spoon but in the end it was easier to push the food into the spoon using his hands. Once he was done he ran his curry-laden hands through his hair, then looked at us hopefully and said "Bath!"