New Developments

In the last week Jack has started communicating using body language. What makes this odd is it's my body he's using. When we're reading a book he'll grab my hand and make me turn the pages. He also points at things using my finger. The ultimate in body-language cuteness was yesterday after nap when he woke up and we came downstairs to the main level. Usually he plays for a bit and descends into the basement or hunts for snacks. Well this day went for what I thought was a leg-hug until i realized he was pushing so hard on the backs of my legs I stumbled forward to catch my balance, then he pushed me out the front door and reached up. It was as if to say "Time to go play down the street, Mommy."


Also I'm proud to say he's becoming a really good listener. It's important to me that if I say 'no' to something he knows to listen. As far as I'm concerned there are 3 levels of discipline

1: "I wish you wouldn't do that because it's not convenient for me" i.e. taking clothes out of drawers or DVD's off shelves which at most will get an exasperated "Jack....." out of me and maybe I'll try and distract him with something else.

2: "I have told you not to do that because there is mild danger or major inconvenience" i.e. walking too far away from me, playing with plugs or power chords in the middle of the room (no actual outlets in range) this gets a louder "Jack" and usually a command like "come here please."

3: "Oh shit, stop right now you're going to get hurt!" i.e. reaching for outlets, walking towards the street, trying to play with lawnmowers, trying to eat cat/dog food this gets a loud "Jack, NO!" where he always backs away/drops what he's doing and sometimes comes to me for a hug.


Also yesterday Jack reached for his first kid-to-kid holding hands experience yesterday. The little girls in the neighborhood have been doing this for a while and I wasn't sure if it's because they're girls combined with their one to one and a half year age difference. I've been waiting for the hand holding for a while now.... just because I think it's cute. Well, yesterday the mack-daddy himself put the handholding moves on Emma and she was happy to hold his hand. She's been trying to hold Jack's hand for about 2 months now but he kept pulling away. Kids crack me up!