Hold Your Applause

Big, big moment tonight.

I was able to slip away from work a little early tonight, so I called Jude to see if she needed to work late. She did, so I took the handoff from our nanny, Carley, and settled in to play with John Patrick for a while before dinner. We sat on his blanket in the den and read my favorite children's book (and one of his favorites), "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See," written by Bill Martin, Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle.

I was laying in the floor, on my back, and John Patrick was sitting on my stomach facing me. I've got the book memorized, so I balanced it right side up, on my stomach, and "read" it upside down, while he turned the pages. Of course, I made animal sounds, as well, which he normally gets a kick out of.

When we finished the book and he closed it, I set it down on the floor and started clapping and saying, "yeaaaaaa." John Patrick looked at me, laughed, then clapped his hands three or four times and squealed. I started laughing and clapping louder. It was pretty cool. He's never actually clapped his hands before. Usually, he just stares at me or holds my hands and tries to clap them together, which is kind of cool in and of itself.

Another milestone, I guess.