Turn the Page

Jude and I believe one of the most important gifts you can give a child is a love of reading. We read to him every day. Even on those occasions when he is a little fussy, he almost always calms down immediately if one of us sits him in our lap and places a book in front of him. We really, really love to read to him.

Last weekend, excited, Jude called me into his play area upstairs. She was sitting on the floor, with John Patrick in her lap, reading to him. As she finished reading a page, she lifted it slightly, then he grabbed it and turned it, all by himself. We were amazed! We watched him do it over and over again, laughing .

By today, a week later, he's really got the hang of it. It almost seems like he enjoys turning the pages as much as he enjoys looking at the pages.

Two Part Harmony

Lately, John Patrick has been squealing a lot. I mean, a whole lot. Sunday morning, Jude got up first, fed him, then took him downstairs while she made breakfast. I was awakened by the sound of his squealing, squealing and squealing some more. I was laying in bed, laughing, because his squealing really is the sound of happiness. When I got out of bed and went downstairs, he was sitting in the "exersaucer," smiling and squealing.

The really funny thing he does now, though, is to squeal in harmony with me. I'll sit him in my lap in one of the"man chairs" in the den, facing me. When I make a high pitched, falsetto sound, he'll look at me, then make the same sound himself. It's really pretty cool. If I change the pitch, as long as the note I hit is a high one, he mimics it and harmonizes with me. Jude and I laugh and laugh when he does it.

Friday with Daddy

Today, I stayed home with John Patrick until about 1:30 p.m., when Jude came home from work and took over. I had to go into the office for a meeting late this afternoon.

We had a really nice, relaxing day together. This morning, he was hungry and ate well at breakfast, then chugged his milk like a champ. We played downstairs for a while, mostly hanging out on the blanket on the floor of our den. He took a nap for about an hour and half before lunch, which was nice. It's great because, almost always, he fusses a little bit when I put him down for nap, but then goes right to sleep.

When I woke him up from his morning nap about 10:00 a.m., I have him another bottle, which he hammered. Then, we loaded up and drove over to Wolf Camera on West End Avenue to have some photographs developed. He was awake the entire time we were there and, until the very end, sat patiently in his car seat while I reviewed digital photographs to print. When he got a little fussy, I put him in my lap as I finished up. When I went to pay, I just sat him on the counter.

Next, back home for lunch. He ate great again and Jude arrived home just after lunch.

Worth of note is the fact that as we sat in one of the "man chairs" after breakfast, he babbled away. For the first time, he said, "da-da-da-da-da-da-da." He hasn't made a "d" sound before, so I was pretty excited. He has no idea what it means, nor do I, but one can always dream.

Food Fight!

Most mornings, Jude gets John Patrick up about 7 a.m., feeds him, then gets him dressed for the day. As she leaves, I take him downstairs, select some music to play on the ipod, sit him in his high chair and feed him breakfast. It's the highlight of my day.

Often times, mind you, it's challenging, depending on John Patrick's mood. Fortunately, I've developed some strategies for "encouraging" him to eat, even when he isn't interested in doing so. On a given morning, I may use one strategy or a combination of strategies, depending on how quickly he picks up on what I'm doing. Eight month olds are smarter than you think when it comes to doing what they want to do, as opposed to what you want them to do.

In no particular order, here are some of the strategies I've used.

1. Humor. As I hold the spoon in front of his face, I smile, laugh, sing, etc., until John Patrick opens his mouth to smile, then I shove the spoon in his mouth. Normally, it's my first option.

2. Distraction. I make a noise, say "boo," or otherwise distract John Patrick until he opens his mouth, then in goes a spoonful of food.

3. Bait and Switch. One of my favorites. After he's been eating for a few minutes, sometimes John Patrick starts to get bored and refuses to open his mouth. He'll hum, make noise, all with his lips pursed tightly together. I take a tupperware container or the top of one of his babyfood containers and hold it in front of his mouth. He looks at it, then opens his mouth to chew on it. When that happens, I shove the spoon right in. It works almost every time.

4. Deception. If all else fails, this is my go to strategy. When John Patrick gets tired of eating his rice cereal, which is kind of bland, I feed him a spoonful or two of babyfood fruit (apples, pears, bananas, etc.). Then, I mix in a few spoonfuls of rice cereal, then back to the fruit. He looks at me like he's kind of confused at times, but he eats all of his food.

5. Heavy Equipment Operator. At times, this approach works, as well. Basically, I fill the spoon up with babyfood fruit, babyfood vegetables or rice cereal (whichever is the food of choice), and make a noise like an airplane, a train, a bulldozer, etc., as the spoon approaches John Patrick's mouth. On a good day, he opens his mouth, probably as a puzzled reaction to all the dumb noises his father is making.

6. The Rhythm Method (also known as the Chanting Monk). When John Patrick and are really clicking and in sync, it takes little effort or thought to feed him. I fill up the spoon with babyfood or rice cereal, he opens his mouth and in goes the spoon. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. At times like this, when the whole operation is flowing smoothly, I find myself humming or saying "yum," as I put the spoon into his mouth, almost like a repetitive chant. We're in the zone. It doesn't happen a lot, but man is it nice when it does.

I'm guessing, though, that I'm only going to be able to outsmart John Patrick for a limited time. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Hunting Season!!!

This morning, John Patrick and I got up really, really early, so we could spend some time in the deer stand before I had to go to work. As you can see, he was really excited after he killed his first deer - a 10 point buck - with a cross bow, no less. I've always thought it's good to get children started hunting early.

Like Father, Like Son

John Patrick, sitting in one of daddy's "man chairs," watching a football game, no doubt.

Lately, John Patrick loves to snuggle with Jude and pull her hair.