Lost in the Jungle

The crawling thing wasn't a fluke. I kept wondering if Alex would do it once and then forget for a few weeks before he picked it up again. But no, he's been motoring all over today. His new favorite trick is to crawl under the Christmas tree. He likes to gently stroke the bottom limbs and then grab the light strand and tug with all of his might.

We now have a new game: I Understand Exactly What You're Saying, But I Choose Not to Acknowledge Your Requests

Alex crawls under the tree. He reaches up for the lights. I say, "Alex! No, No, please."

Alex turns with his hand perched in mid-air directly below the light strand. He looks at me, makes eye contact, and smiles. Then he turns directly around, grabs the lights and tugs. This continues for many minutes. All the while, I try desperately to disguise my laughter behind stern looks. Funny that "No" is one of the first words that kids learn and one of the first words that they learn to ignore.

While playing in his room today, Alex pulled his Raggedy Andy doll out of the rocking chair in the corner. He spent many minutes exploring the little rag doll face and running his fingers through the loops of red yarn hair. Raggedy Andy looked very soothed and content. When I moved the cordless phone so that Alex could see it, I could see a huge moral dilemma unfolding in my little man's head. He looked from Raggedy Andy to me to the phone several times. He tried desperately to grab RA and Frankenstein crawl to the phone with his new friend. Finally he looked at me, his eyes saying,

"You see my compatriot here. As tempting as those digital beeps might be, I just can't leave a man when he's down."

Once the decision had been made, Alex returned to stroking RA's hair. At least we've confirmed that if you're ever trapped in the jungle, my son won't leave you to die like a rag doll. Instead he'll stick by you and stroke your red yarn hair until someone bigger comes along to help.