Eek

Dr. Kornfeld has examined Jack closely, and this is NOT his problem:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070506/ap_on_fe_st/odd_spider_boy;_ylt=As_xRwpWamIL_KO0VBBqbXXMWM0F

Out of the mouths of babes

Jack is definitely getting a bit more talkative. We're pretty sure that he says "cat" when Floyd makes an appearance, and his "da-da-da's" seem more directed at yours truly. He also likes to say "vroom" when he pushes his toy car across the floor. Webster's doesn't list "vroom" as a word, but what do they know? Hacks.

In addition, Jack is developing sentence structure in his language. Just this morning he said, "Daddy, please tell mommy that holly berries are somewhat poisonous to young children and that the trees themselves are unsightly; we should remove them from the premises forthwith." Kids say the darnedest things ...

yard sale weekend

saw big doings in the neighborhood -- the first annual "attic in the street" sale where a number of houses all had yard sales.

we sold some stuff (about $80 worth) and some stuff went to charity or the dumpster. we tried to sell jack, but no one would buy him -- even when he was priced to sell.

just kidding, of course. jack was a huge help attracting customers. and we had all kinds, including a minivan full of brazilian women and a couple of cuban diplomats. truth is stranger than fiction.

daddy and jack missed the beginning of the yard sale because they had to go to the doctor for a check on jack's infected ears. the good news is that the right ear is doing a little better. the bad news is that the left ear is doing worse. that means jack had to start amoxicillin. it's the gentlest of the antibiotics on the tummy, so hopefully it won't wreck the improvement that's been made to his gi tract. and we're continuing probiotics, so that should help too. jack is tugging more on that ear and hitting that side of his head when he drinks his bottles, but other than that, you'd never really know the kid is sick. what a tough guy!

mommy is at work sunday, and so the boys are doing their "boy things." but mommy's hoping they can come up to nbc for lunch if she's not too busy and they're not too busy!

amber waves of jack

well ... not amber ... but new.

jack has *finally* figured out how to wave!

he had been doing a small finger roll that sometimes looked like a wave and sometimes looked like the sign for "bottle" or "milk." frankly, knowing jack, it was probably the latter.

but two days ago i thought i saw a real full-armed wave. we were out in front of the house imagining a new paint scheme when a little girl and her mother walked by on their way to the elementary school at the end of our block. they waved and mommy waved, while encouraging jack to join in. he did flap his little arm and i wondered -- was that it? was that a wave?

well, today all doubts have been quelled. jack was waving like crazy at daddy this morning (sorry no pix!). he even waved to mommy when she came downstairs after her shower, but only briefly. he's been very clingy with mommy so after the wave came the reach -- "hold me mommy!"

now that's an offer you can't refuse!

hot pursuit, part 3

welcome to this week's episode of the critically acclaimed* dramedy hot pursuit, starring john j. mershon, and featuring dr. sgt. floyd boyd pepper jennings mershon.

in this episode, our hero, "jack" chases the villian, "pretty boy floyd" all the way to hawaii. somehow the dastardly obsidian feline escapes.

will our hero ever catch the villain? tune in next thursday to find out -- same jack-time, same jack-channel.

if you have trouble watching hot pursuit as it's embedded in this blog, you can click on this link instead to watch it on youtube.

*critics are jack's grandmothers and have not been paid for their endorsement of hot pursuit. they may, however, be compensated with jack snuggles.

diy feeding, part three

jack continues to try to master the art of the spoon. here's the latest attempt:

and here's the aftermath:

a perfect 10 from mommy! but the russian judge took points off ... boo!

another first ...

we've had a lot of firsts lately ... first steps ... first pseudo-words ... and now ...

first ear infection

a sick visit to the doctor today (another first) confirms what we suspected: jack's middle ear is infected on both sides. poor baby. that's what's been causing his prolonged low-grade fever.

jack had his ears cleaned out and looked in by doctor dana while mommy held his head still. he did not like that at all.



but, contrary to common practice, jack will not be starting antibiotics. because of his "toddlers' diarrhea," which is just starting to come under control, his ped is worried about undoing all the progress that's been made with his tummy and making him miserable with a new round of diaper rash. since the infection seems to not be bothering jack terribly, we're going to try letting his body fight it and see if it gets better on its own.

in the meantime, we're swapping our saturday swimming lesson for a follow-up appointment at the pediatric care center. jack is not amused.