Eureka!

Jack has recently taken to saying, "Good idea!" whenever I suggest something. He is a verbally encouraging child. He loves to provide positive feedback as I help him with day-to-day tasks--often after wiping him after a poop he will twist around to tell me, "Good job Mommy!" I have to say that I do appreciate his unflagging (so far) enthusiasm for all of my hard work. Now if he would only have a talk with his Dad...

We are heading to Colorado this week for a much needed family vacation and a long-awaited visit with some of our favorite friends, AND some skiing. I am alternately excited (for me, I am a great skier) and nervous (for Dan, he is a beginner), and seriously worried (for Jack, who will be taking his first lessons EVER). It should be a great trip, and probably will provide some great fodder for this blog. Jack will be visiting his first and best friend, Gary, who is older by one month. I am eagerly awaiting their interaction (they haven't seen each other in 9 months, which is like 15 years in toddler-time). I will be sure to take lots of pictures, and hopefully our family will return to North Carolina rested, happy and in one piece (and not sick).

On a Roll

Tonight for dinner Jack insisted on eating a plain hot dog roll. Now, I am quite snobby about rolls and strongly prefer potato rolls. These are also Jack's favorites. I was going to make him a sandwich on the roll, but he insisted, "just plain." While he chewed a large bite, he was idly rolling the bun back and forth on his plate. "Hey!!" he exclaimed, "it works!" I thought that it was so funny that he assumed that the name was indicative of the purpose of the object.

Hits From Your Mom

I'm sure that you have seen the mop commercials on TV where a woman ditches her old sponge mop for a newfangled, cleaner-squirting one. The old sponge mop invariably shows up sneaking behind a delivery man or peeking stalkerishly in a window and they play that Hall & Oats song. You know the one. Jack loooooves this commercial. He loves to sing "Baby come back!" and does it at every appropriate moment. If the dog hops down off of the couch, Jack will yell it. If his shoe falls off while he's running, he will yell it. Sometimes he just sings it over and over while he runs around in circles.

This brings back fond memories of my first favorite song, "Gloria" by Laura Branigan. My Mom would blast the radio for me everytime it came on. I never knew all (or even many) of the lyrics, but yelling "Gloria!" over and over was so much fun...and that awesome synthesizer! One line is "I think they've got the alias that you've been livin' under" and I thought that it was (this was during the height of E.T.'s popularity) "I think they got to Elliot! Can you hear the thunder?!"

Perhaps the reason that kids latch on to particular songs is because they recognize something famliar sounding in the lyrics. They're learning so much and trying so hard to be good listeners, they really do make terrific music critics. I mean, who hasn't continued to sing, "BABY COME BACK!" even after that commercial is over?

Doctor J

I woke up with a cold this morning. Again. I have a terminally sick nose. After watching me use 4 tissues in a row, Jack looked at me with an assessing gaze. "You need a doctor," he proclaimed.

[Aside: Jack turned 3 last week and had his 3-year exam at the doctor's. Since then he has been very clinical.]

He retrieved his doctor's case from the playroom and trotted out to the couch where I was sitting. He dug through his various tools and finally selected the ones he needed. He listened to my ears and asked me to spit in a cup (no joke--and no, I didn't do it). After tapping my knees, giving me a peremptory shot, and making a quick phone call on his pager, he packed his stethoscope and thermometer away. "Well?" I asked him.

"You sick," he told me.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Foot Stench," he announced and left the room. I guess I am too stinky, even for him.

Red Lobster

Driving Dan to the airport early this morning, we passed the Red Lobster by the highway exit. Jack really likes the sign, as he is very into sea creatures. I didn't realize that he even knew that it was a restaurant (although he is becoming very savvy about any place to get french fries, so perhaps I am not giving him enough credit).

"We need to go there!" he shouted at us. I explained that it was a seafood restaurant---that he would be served clams and shrimp and fish. "Oh yes," he said, rubbing his hands together with shining eyes, "and it will be soooo tasty!!" This was both adorable and misleading as he is undoubtedly the most picky eater on the planet and still won't even touch buttered noodles. Perhaps we should try it, although the last time that I ate at a Red Lobster (under much duress) I was sick for days. That also could have been because I was newly pregnant, but I'm not giving Dan the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Hallelujah!

Today, after we FINALLY got out of our house after a random North Carolina blizzard (6 inches), we decided to go harass my mother. To make up for our obnoxious visit, we took her to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. This is Jack's favorite restaurant. (He has a lot of favorites these days.) On the way home from dinner, I remarked that Jack was finally going to be back in school tomorrow, and I added a little hallelujah (the drama in our house is contagious). Jack loved the sound of this word. He tried his hardest to repeat me, but mostly sounded Hawaiian---"Hanehuyah." My Mom (who is notorious for singing random songs in an opera voice) started, of course, singing and Jack followed with his best falsetto. I almost drove off of the road laughing. Sometimes I think that my life needs permanent video surveillance.

Jack has also expressed a preference for music lately, which I find extremely interesting. I'm very eager to see what kind of taste he has. I've been playing The Killers latest album a lot lately and there is a song called "A Dustland Fairytale" that Jack loves. He's very into lyrics (I admire this in a man) and I suspect he loves particular song so much because he recognizes some of the words the line "I saw Cinderella in a party dress..." It's a pretty awesome song if you'd like to give it a listen.

Life in Mayberry

Since we moved down here, I have wondered if my son will grow up to be a southerner, and how early I will be able to determine this. Well, as of today I have my answer...approximately age 3. Jack and I have been arguing lately about how to describe the act of interrupting the power supply to a light source. I call it turning the lights OFF, and he prefers to say turning the lights DOWN. Well, I was talking to my neighbor this morning (who is a legitimate Southern Belle) and she was talking about her daughter's bedtime habits and she used the phrase, "turn the lights down." I am sure that my jaw dropped as I came to the realization that Jack had not been incorrect with his phrasing--he is just assimilated!!!