Random

- Tonight before bed Jack got up, went over to his wire jungle gym type toy, and started singing, while drumming on it softly with a book. The song was Oh My Sherman, a Backyardigans take on My Darling Clementine. He did this for a good 5 minutes, singing some lyrics I could understand, and some I couldn't. Big smile on his face, singing and drumming, and as he repeated lines, it was as if they were new each time, as if he was singing one long, 5-minute song, with very little uncertainty or pausing. I was torn between stopping him, seeing as it was bed time, and just fascination with how invested in the whole thing he was.

"Daddy, come here," he said. I went over, sat down near the toy. "No, you, with the book." I started drumming as well, with another book, but since I didn't really know the lyrics, I was a little off, trying to keep off. "No, I show you," he said. And he started up again.

After I finally got him into his bed and left the room, he continued singing it for another 5-10 minutes. Finally, I think, he slept.

- Before his bath tonight, Jack was running around. Wearing only a diaper, I saw him run, full-tilt, from his room into the office. Then the office into our room. Yelling. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Pause. Then back across the hallway into his room. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

- Speaking of music. Jack knows how to use the little CD stereo, which I might add we bought for his room in the first place, when he was a baby, so I guess it's kind of his anyway. He picks out CDs by color of the jacket -- "I want the blue one!" -- which is how he ended up with Moby's 18 in the player yesterday. Moby is kind of techno pop, I guess; not exactly what you'd think of as kid's music. Anyway, the first track on the disc is called "We Are All Made of Stars," but its chorus repeats "People they (may? whichever) come together," and so Jack now says, "Want to hear the come together song!" And so we've heard that Moby song about 10 times in the last two days, not the kind of music I ever figured I'd be listening to with my son. He's also learned random lyrics in the song, which he repeats (big smile) when they come up. "Left in my mind," he grins. And: "Growing in numbers."

- I don't presume to know what Jack's favorite things are, but eating watermelon has to be up there in the top 5. Tonight we told him he got dessert, and he said, "What IS it?" And I said, it's one of your favorites, and he said, "One of my FAVORITES?" And I said, watermelon, and he was practically giddy with joy.

So he sat down at the table and I brought the watermelon over. And we sat, me drinking a beer and Emily drinking her water, watching him eat. And as he finished, or paused, I don't know, he suddenly launched on a lengthy monologue that included watermelon, potatoes, and things about "So I could get..." and "but I couldn't have it" and an old standby, "Because I had a job to do." And his explanation included hand gestures -- putting his hands out palms up, and occasionally pointing, and maybe even a little shoulder shrug. This went on for several minutes with fairly a pause for breath.

It was like he was telling us the best story he'd ever heard or experienced, and he wanted us to appreciate it as much as he did.

Funny.