Fetch, Fetch!

Ben came home in the funniest mood today. He was bursting with energy (more so than usual) and was being so contagiously silly. Where he gets the energy for this sort of thing in the second half of the day, I have no idea. It must be that getting-out-of-school freedom feeling. I remember it from my school days, but I also remember falling asleep in the car on the way home quite a bit too...

Anyways, like I said, he was being quite silly. So silly, in fact, that he decided he was going to be a dog the rest of the day and we were required to call him Fetch. Can you guess what Fetch's favorite game is? Fetch! Mitchell kept throwing a large stick for him, while I threw the frisbee. Ben would pick it up and come bounding back, drop it at our feet, and whine or bark for more with his tounge hanging out. Even Jack got in on the game by chasing him around yelling, "Fetch! Come, Fetch! Come here, doggy!" and petting him with "nice pets."

So when Matt asks what I did today, I can tell him I literally played fetch with my son, I mean, dog, Fetch!

He Knows What's Important

My Jack is taking his time, choosing his first words carefully. I can tell he is really putting some thought into it and mentally weighing his options here - what he chooses will forever be remembered, right? I am please to announce that he officially has a "vocabulary" now. I bet you are dying to hear what it consists of, am I right? Get ready. His deliberation and thought has clearly paid off and he has chosen wisely:

Daddy

Doggy (or more precisely, Gog gog)

Bibi (his little blankie)

Shoe (pronounced "shooooo")

NO!

While he occasionally busts out with a new word here and there, these are the only four consistent ones. The rest of his communication is accomplished through a complex system of grunts, pointing, head nodding or shaking, and various levels and pitches of whiney noises.

I just have to say though, that his "no" should count for a few words. This kid clearly understands the meaning of the word. He has a firm "NO!" when Mitchell tries to take a toy from him. He has a whiney, drawn-out "noooooo" for when I try to feed him an undesirabl

e item. He has a playful "no no no!" when I snatch his "bibi" from him and hide it. He has a desperate "I don't have the words to tell you how frustrated and tired I am right now NO!" when I am just not doing what he wants me to do or can't figure out what in the world he wants.

Anyways, he's quite a tough little cookie who loves his dad, loves any and every dog perhaps even more, can't do without his precious blankie, is constantly putting on everyone's shoes, and somehow hasn't realized he even has a mommy yet.