My Kids Are Cute!

I kept Owen home from the babysitters today. He's better, no more fever, and seems to be mostly back to himself, but you never know. (Okay, what kind of fever just comes on at bedtime? It was a horrible night, Owen was restless, Jake was restless, therefore Mommy was restless. I'm so tired. Why am I not in bed??)


We did, however, go to the grocery store. We needed milk, and a few other odds and ends. I was very pleased with Owen. Often, when a stranger starts talking to him, he'll play shy, or yell "NO!" at them. But he had a lovely conversation with the checkout girl. To wit:


Check Out Girl: And how are you today?


Owen: (smiles shyly) Good. (pause.) We ran out of SYRUP!


COG: Oh! Well, that's not good.


O: We had to buy some more at the store.


COG: What sorts of things do you like to put syrup on? (Uh oh, I'm thinking, a question. Yelling is sure to follow...)


O: French toast! It's delicious!


COG: (obviously smitten with my son at this point) How old are you?


O: Two.


COG: Is that your little brother or sister in there? (Jake was in the bucket, facing away from her).


O: My baby brother. He's Baby Jakey!


COG: Do you help take care of him?


O: Yes. I love my baby brother! (At this point, I'm wondering just how high the fever was last night, because this charming little gent is NOT the usual public facade of my son!)


COG: You have a good day now, okay?


O: Okay! Thank you! Bye!


Seriously, that is the first Owen conversation with a stranger that did not degerate into Owen just yelling "NO TALKING ME!" at them. It was a milestone, and Mommy made much of Owen and how nice he was to the nice girl, and how proud mommy was of his nice conversation all the way home. (There may also have been M&Ms involved. Nothing like a little positive re-inforcement!)


Jake is also very cute these days. He claps his hands. He waves, but in his own v-e-r-y subtle way. He holds up a hand, fingers splayed, and only waves the thumb. It took me a while to figure out that's what he was doing. Finally, I've actually been doing a small bit of sign language with Jake. One of the signs we do is for "nurse". (A presenter recommended teaching this sign instead of "milk"* when breastfeeding, so that baby doesn't get frustrated when they ask for "milk" once they are weaned and they no longer get the breast, but actual milk.)


The sign I learned for "nurse" is to brush your hand down your chest just above your breast (fingers held together, palm in towards you - picture it like brushing the milk down to your breast... um, from your shoulder, I suppose.) Anyway, Jake has started signing when he wants to nurse! Except, again, it took me a little bit to figure it out, because he doesn't brush so much as tap, and he doesn't do it to himself, he does it to me! He'll reach out and tap my chest, just where I do it when I'm signing. Clever monkey! And now even Steve knows that when he's holding Jake, and Jake starts pounding on his chest, it's time to hand him off to Mommy for something to eat. :)


* Squeezing your fist, reminscient of milking a cow. Another reason I'm not too keen on this sign for nursing! :)