Hard Headed

Luckily it seems James has a tough skull because the boy's been having some tough times. Of course there are the everyday glances from doors, walls, doorjambs, tables, and chairs as he races through the house.

But then there are the big hits-- yesterday at church he decided it was good fun to lean back when Daddy was holding him. He'd do these "hanging crunches" over and over. Then on one trip down he whacked his head against the pew in front of us. Everyone around us looked over wincing. James, oddly, was unfazed.

Then last night at dinner he decided, as he often does, that he wasn't very interested in actually eating. Ok, fine. Our new thing is that if he doesn't want to eat he doesn't have to, but he does need to sit nicely while we eat. Sometimes he then pushes his feet against the table, and we grab his chair and say, "No." Well, last night Grandpa and Grandma were here, and we were at the dining room table. Anyway, when he pushed off he succeeded in completely tipping backwards. Frightening! He was scared, but had no bumps or bruises, and recovered quickly. Crazy.

Interestingly, not long after the tip, Dan noticed something dark in the corner of James's eye. He was quite fearful that it was blood (from the fall), but no, thankfully it was not. So, what was it? It appeared to be a large bit of spice. Like oregano. From pasta sauce. No wonder he was screaming in pain! (As Dan said, forget the two pricey prescriptions-- he just needed a good whack to the head. Kidding, of course.)

In other news, James and I attended his buddy Isabella's birthday party on Saturday morning. Like James's party, it was a lovely playdate affair at her house. James remembered right where the playroom was with all the toys. And had a great time using the doll house as a parking garage. I heard such gems as, "The tractor is going up the stairs," and "The blue car is stuck by the window."

Of course, the kids were very cute sitting at the table in big chairs to

eat. Not surprisingly, James would not stay in his seat, so

Isabella's parents graciously leant Isabella's booster chair so that James would be strapped in. Then he didn't want the pizza. Cake, however, was another story. He went after his cupcake and sat quite nicely in the seat with no straps needed!