Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 0 No. 82

2005-05-31 22:54 (Kristen) Jamie suprised us all and slept through the night last night, all the way from 11:00 until just after sunrise without waking up. Woot! I was thrilled. He woke up after I took him into bed around 8:30, and he was very happy to see Mio when she arrived at 9:00. He's really attached to Mio, which makes me both happy and sad, as I worry about when she leaves Canada, but I'm so glad that she's spending time with him now.

The morning was spent on our trip back to see Dr. Chiodo with the results of the ultrasound. Jamie seems to have a persistent infection of the parotid gland, as his lymph nodes are swollen around it. We're being referred to an expert at Sick Kids, who specializes in lumpy things in kids, just to make sure. Then we'll see what needs to be done.

Jamie only slept for an hour and fifteen minutes on his walk with Ken, who says that Jamie woke up when he went into the Second Cup for a drink. The candy sprinkles in Jamie's stroller indicate that Ken seems to buy a donut for Jamie when they're out, and perhaps that Jamie is somewhat conditioned to wake up for Ken in order to get a donut. We'll see.

I had my hair cut this afternoon so I didn't meet Jamie when he came home, but John took Ross and Jamie to Timothy's for a drink and a bite to eat, and I met them there. Then we went home, and Jamie played with the neighbourhood kids. He was surprised and scared by an overly-friendly puppy, but I kept him with me at the puppy's level and talked to him about it: that the puppy didn't mean to scare him, that it was just a baby, etc., and I pet the dog myself. He seemed OK, and hope won't remember the incident. He was cheerfully pointing out dogs later in the day, so it doesn't seem to have coloured his opinion of dogs at all. He also played in the back with Sam, Ben, and Alexandria, and was scandalized when the kids were running about playing with waterguns in bare feet. Jamie feels that shoes should be worn at all times outside, and will make sure that John and I put ours on if we "forget."

In all the excitement Jamie didn't get his usual afternoon snack, and he was a pretty tired camper when we went out for dinner with Jane. We went to an organic food/fresh foods restaurant in the Annex, which Jamie found interesting for a few minutes. Then it was either me or John running around with him outside while the other ate and socialized. He was about as wriggly and hypermanic as I have ever seen him, and the true test of that was that he did not fall asleep in the car, despite being almost mindless with fatigue. He kept himself awake by vocalizing at the top of his lungs in the car, so that my right ear was ringing by the time we got back home. As I said to John later, his behaviour tonight threw into stark relief how good and well-behaved a kid he is usually, as he seemed hell-bent on doing everything that he was not supposed to do! He finally fell asleep in the bath, in John's lap, and we managed to get him out of the bath, onto a pile of towels, and into his pajamas without waking him. Then we picked up the towels at each end, and ported him into bed with a minimum of movement on his part, like a stretcher. I'm pretty exhausted myself, now.

2005-06-01 23:29 (Kristen) I forgot to mention that Jamie impressed us all last night by reading all the letters on a Mr. Sub sign while we were in the car driving to the restaurant. We were stopped at a traffic light, and the (very large) sign was to Jamie's left. He cheerfully and quickly called off the letters in order of preference (Mmmm!Rrrr! Ssss!), including the often-tricky "u." It impressed the heck out of us. He's been very alphabet-positive, but he's becoming alphabet-obsessed. He loves the Scrabble board and the tiles especially, and asked to play "Scbabble." The 'Sc' often drops off and becomes "babble," but there you go.

He's a very helpful boy. He made sure, yesterday, that I had a book to read before he started nursing in the doctor's office. He sweeps and dusts, and will try to clean off his high chair tray if he has a cloth or a piece of paper towel. He tries to rub his dad's back if he has access while I work on John. He wants to be involved in whatever is going on, and helping is a good way to be so. He also loves babies, and is fascinated by younger children. He feeds his doll and lets it share nursing privileges (we should find a name for it other than 'Jamie's baby'), and the rubber duck will share a nurse if we're in the bathtub. It's awfully sweet.

He didn't repeat his amazing "all through the night" trick last night, but he did very well. He came into bed with me sometime in the middle of the night, but I woke up this morning without him beside me. I looked over the side of the bed, and he was asleep on his stomach on the mattress he usually sleeps on beside our bed. I think that I was awakened by the soft surprised sound that he made in his sleep as he rolled out of our bed, down along a pillow kept at the side for this possibility, and onto the mattress. He did not wake up, which is the funny part.

It was a busy day for Jamie. First he played all morning with Mio, then had a big lunch before heading out with me on his afternoon walk. We enjoyed the warm weather from under the large shady trees in the neighbourhood before he finally drifted off. He slept for two and a half hours before walking up somewhat disoriented and thirsty. A nurse later, all was well with the world, and that nurse held him for the rest of the day. He played with me as I did some gardening (water hoses hold much fascination), and then helped Betsey with her garden. He was very interested in five-month-old Luke, at one point squatting down to take a longer, more studied look at him. Then it was off to John's parents' place for dinner, and off to the Scrabble club.

Jamie wasn't thrilled by the car trip, which reminds me that he hates driving in hot weather. He enjoyed running around the community centre as usual, and particularly enjoyed the free pizza the workers were giving away as part of a "Walk in the Park" event. John had too much work to do in preparation for the upcoming Canadian National Scrabble Championships next week, and so we left much earlier than usual. This didn't stop us from following Jamie to the playground at the park, and letting him run through a red tube and go up and down a slide a few times. Then we visited Lisa Deift to pick up tournament supplies, and to visit for a few minutes before getting ice cream at Dutch Dreams on the way home. Jamie liked the mango, but preferred the black cherry, I think. He played with Gary, and even wore a baseball cap for a few minutes in happy imitation. I sense the approach of detente in the hat wars if I play my cards right... Then it was bath time, and time for bed. He fell asleep very quickly, with his feet draped over Leon.

2005-06-02 22:50 (John) Today was my birthday, and although it was a workday, I resolved to spend it in as low-key way as possible and to spend as much time as I could with Jamie. I think I did okay at both.

Jamie woke up earlyish, and was not especially interested in food for the first part of the day. At lunchtime, we discovered the problem. Something, I suspect last night's ice cream, was not sitting well in his tummy, but he was mostly back to normal by dinner time.

He went out for his usual long walk with Ken, and came back with a marked deepening of the tan on his legs and arms. We're so glad he tans like me, rather than burning and freckling like Kristen. I think we should start taking his sandals off on walks though, as his sandal tan lines are even starker than mine.

While he was out walking, Kristen and I went to Schilling's (the local konditorei*) to celebrate quietly, and as usual ended up spending an hour talking shop. Then before I knew it the afternoon was over, and drove down to Nami (Japanese restaurant) with my parents to meet my aunts for dinner.

Jamie dined well on edamame*, california roll, kasuzuke*, misoshiru*, but the things he seemed to enjoy most were soy sauce (repeatedly using his sushi as a sponge to pick it up to suck out) and salad dressing (doing same with a tomato). Kristen, Nobuko and Tomoko and I each took turns taking Jamie out to burn off his most recent calories and go look for streetcars ("densha!"), and as a result I got to spend a good deal more time than usual sitting at the table enjoying my loot: a boxed set of the Merck Manual (current edition and facsimile of the original) from my dad, the Sledge Hammer second season DVD set and the Rubbadubbers Finbar the Mighty Movie Star DVD from Kristen, and assorted IOUs for much-needed new clothing from everyone.

Back at Pearls, my mom made me my standard birthday cake. I took a break while they were lighting the candles, and when I lay down on the couch, Jamie was right there to rub my back. What a thoughtful boy.

Having been to several parties recently, Jamie knew what to expect when the cake came in, and was suitably excited. The chocolate wafer and whipped cream cake was covered in seasonal fruit (cherries, raspberries and blueberries), which interested Jamie much more than the cake itself. He made the second pun of his life (I was so proud), putting blueberries ("Bee!") in his spoon, then backing it up making truck backup noises ("Bee! Bee!"). Faithful readers will recall the first pun was when he met his cousin Mimi, whose name means "ear" in Japanese.

Thank you to all the people who wished me a happy birthday by phone, e-mail, instant message or in person, including Agnes, Alison, Debbie, John T, Justin, Mark, Rod, Ted and all our local clan.

2005-06-03 09:15 (John) It was warm in the bedroom this morning, as summer seems to be approaching, and we have to remember to dress Jamie more lightly at night. He and I were both up early, and passed the time watching my new Rubbadubbers DVD in a tiny window in one corner of my screen while I worked intermittently in other windows. Then Jamie asked to see our Yucatan holiday pictures again (which he thinks of as the "oh" or ocean pictures), and while pointing at the various things that he knew in the photos, he for the first time identified himself as a "baby". I find this interesting, and at first thought that he was contrasting his current toddler state with his younger baby self, but later on the change table, he pointed to himself and said "baby", so maybe he still thinks he's a baby. I'll keep a close eye on this situation.

2005-06-03 23:15 (John) I'm not sure if I should be the one writing this, as I was on the go for most of the day running birthday errands (for Daniel's birthday) and getting ready for the CNSC next week. At one point, as I was heading off on my bike for an emergency dental consultation (it turned out to be nothing to worry about), Jamie started to melt down and cry because I wasn't taking him with me, and then as soon as I said "But Jamie can stay here with Mio and ride on his own tricycle." he put on a brave face and waved goodbye at me. Surprising fortitude for an 18-month-old boy.

He appears to understand and use the Japanese words "nani" (what) and "mou!" (interjection of exasperation). He used "nani" today to clearly ask me what something he was pointing at was called, and yelled "mou!" at Gary for not being in his apartment when he wanted to play.

We continued to explore Jamie's like of things sour, when he ate a whole piece of the lemon tart that Michelle bought for my birthday, then swiped a finger-ful as we walked an extra piece home through the alley.

He's got a bit of heat rash on the back of my neck, and I don't know if that was from his walk in the sun or from last night's sleeping. We're keeping any eye on it. He was also a little crabby today, but we're undecided as to whether his teeth or his tummy are bothering him, or what.

2005-06-04 23:19 (Kristen) Jamie was up very early this morning, and restless last night, sending me down onto his little mattress so that he'd settle and stop nursing constantly. It worked, more or less, but I was exhausted. We were up around 8:00, which was the designated time for the start of our neighbourhood garage sale. John had been up quite late the night before, and so we didn't end up getting all our garage sale goodies onto the lawn until 9:30 or so. It had rained in the night, however, and there were many competing garage sales in the neighbourhood, so business was slow.

It meant that it was a slow and tiring day, but quite social as all our neighbours checked out everyone else's stuff. John and I bought a good space heater for the basement from one neighbour, and men's skates for John (for when Jamie starts to skate) from another. We broke even, which is about all I was willing to hope for, and we have a great deal more room in our garage. Woot.

Jamie spent most of the day outside, either with me, John, or with Gary. He played with the toys at other people's sales, with other children, or with his chalk. He napped between noon and two, falling asleep on the trip over to John's mom's place to deliver a grocery list as we weren t going to the market today. After the cleanup, I took over primary Jamie duty, and we played outside and had lunch and a nurse inside.

John was working with Jane, so I took Jamie for a walk around 5:30 in the hope that he might nap again. He didn't but he enjoyed the walk and we ended up at Mocha Mocha for dinner around 7:00. Jamie shared my quesadilla and salad while we waited for John, and sat very well in his booster seat (no high chair!) with no bib. I was so pleased with him--he charmed staff, ate his dinner, and was very well behaved. When he was finished the first round, we walked around the restaurant until John arrived, then sat down for the second course. We headed back home, and got there just in time to be invited out for a walk to the Dairy Queen with Gary, Tom, Michelle, Ross, and Daniel. Jamie enjoyed eating ice cream from all available donors, and an onion ring or two. He walked on the parking barriers on the way back, which is a favourite occupation and Gary told me that Jamie had dragged him to that spot before to walk along them. Michelle was amused that Jamie has reached the stage where he will actually stamp his little feet in fury/frustration if one of his subjects is not performing up to par, which is indeed new and bemusing. In this case, I think it was because Tom had put Jamie down when Jamie preferred to be carried. Sigh.

He had almost fallen asleep in the car on the way back from Mocha Mocha, but we kept him awake. He stayed awake until we put him to bed, when he was very wired and happy, and took a long time to calm down enough to sleep. I wonder how well he'll sleep tonight?

2005-06-05 22:16 (Kristen) Jamie was very restless last night again, and woke up around sunrise. He slept only shallowly after that, and we got up around 8:30 again, tired, to say goodbye to Jane, who left to go to her cottage. It's been really nice to have her here for the last week or two, and we'll miss her. I think that Jamie really enjoyed having her here too. He would go into her room to visit, especially once she started singing little songs to him. Once you do that with Jamie, you're friends for life, and will be singing for him for life, as he signs "more, more!" everytime you finish a round.

We were reinforcing the sign for "chodai*" or a combination of "please" and "give me" today, and he really got into it tonight. He signed "nurse, chodai*" on his own, and I think that he'll be using that one a lot. I'm trying to teach him "thank you" as well. He has always been very good at saying "please"--it was one of his earliest words (it came out as "glee", but we knew what he meant), especially since we use it all the time with him. He hasn't picked up on "thank you" in the same way, partly because there are so many words or signs that can be used instead of 'thank you' to convey a similar meaning. "Gochisousama," for example, could mean thank you in some contexts, but it is only used at the table. I think that he'll learn that one pretty quickly too.

In the morning, Jamie and I went for a walk before it got too hot, and played at the park for an hour. He was pretty tired by the time we came back for lunch, and had a quick meltdown or two when I asked him to stop doing what he was doing and go with me a different way, or go home. However, he will listen to me if I speak to him quietly and logically about what is going on and why I'm doing what I'm doing. He calms down very quickly, and we do what it is that we need to do. The objections are coming faster and more quickly, however, and so I'm going to have to be clearer earlier before we do things.

He was a very tired boy after getting up early and playing, and fell asleep almost instantly on his afternoon walk. We met up with John after he finished his errands, and Jamie stayed asleep until a little later in the afternoon. John had picked up a little pair of swimming trunks for Jamie while he was out, and tried to talk Jamie into going in to the sprinkler with him. Jamie was having none of it, but enjoyed playing with the water outside the range of the sprinkler. He stayed outside playing for a couple of hours, then came inside and played with Gary for a while.

Our neighbour Betsy Harney had her book launch tonight at the home of a family friend, and so John and I went without Jamie (a very unusual occurrence). Mio came over to babysit, and John and I were wondering how Jamie would take it. He was fine when we left, and was very casual when we walked in a couple of hours later as he sat eating and watching TV with Mio. She said that they had only just come in, and had played most of the time we were away. Jamie was in a good mood, and was quite ready to go into the bath a half an hour later, at 9:00. My mom called as we were getting ready, and so we put her on speaker phone as we rescheduled for after Jamie's bath. John put her photo on his computer, and Jamie very clearly said "mammie," meaning Grammie. We were all surprised, and happy, that he did. He enjoyed his bath, played with his new potty (he will only sit on it fully clothed, but it's a start), and went to bed around 10:00. Tomorrow morning: up and at them again.

2005-06-06 24:03 (Kristen) Jamie was up early again today, fussing and nursing around sunrise and causing me to kick him out of bed and onto his mattress. He went for an hour or two, but we were up at 8:00 and our show was on the road. I'm starting to remember what sleep deprivation feels like (you know, that deep 'what's my name again?' kind), which can't be good.

We were all ready for Mio when she arrived today, which was the upside of early consciousness, and I was able to get some work done this morning. Jamie did grab me around 11:30, however, and insisted on nursing. It became quite clear that he wanted to nurse himself to sleep, as he had been somewhat owly all morning, but I cut that off at the pass by suggesting that he go over to Browning early to find Daniel before lunch. Zip, off he went, and he seemed happy about staying awake. He ate lunch (mostly watermelon, but some cheese and other things too), and had a walk with Ken. He would have been asleep when he got home but there was a collision between a car and a streetcar on the road Ken was walking beside, and the frantic dinging of the streetcar bell woke Jamie up. No one was hurt, but he was conscious and that was that.

We played outside for a while, and Jamie expressed his reservations about the potential fun in a sprinkler. We were sitting on rocks and discussing their merits as seats when Paul came home and Jamie followed him into his house. It seems that Jamie was looking for five-month-old Luke, and kept talking about the "baby." He is fascinated by Luke, and enjoys talking to him and looking at him. He likes babies a great deal. Then we went in and ate a snack, played a little, and went out again to play with Sam, Ben, and Alexandria. They were playing with a sprinkler toy, and the guys were doing their best to show Jamie that what they were doing was fun. He let me hold him in my arms and be within the range of the spray for a minute, before ordering me back with a soft 'oh nawhouw.' That was pretty impressive, given his dislike of sprinklers, and we'll try him again tomorrow.

Then it was off to Browning for dinner, and Jamie ran about grabbing the fingers of various diners and dragging them off. He ate well but faster than the rest of us, and it took some work to convince him that we had a right to finish our meals. He was very intent on building track and pushing trains about, and was surprisingly good at getting the track pieces to fit together. He has no clue about appropriate track pieces, however, and would often use a curved up and down piece when there was no support for it. Much yelling would ensue until a passing adult would fix it for him. And then it would happen all over again.

He fell asleep in the bath tonight as he nursed on me (I was the bather tonight) and as John tried to trim his hair while it was wet. It stretches a surprising amount down his back when it is wet, and it's getting very hot for him since it is so thick. However, those sausage curls are very cute, and I think that Jamie's fan club would kill us if they disappeared. So John cut a very conservative amount off, and we'll see how it looks tomorrow before we proceed any further.

(John) I'd just like to add that the major event of the day for our family was a letter from a long-lost relation in Japan, which has left us all elated. Feel free to ask us about it in person sometime.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

Back to Vol. 0 No. 81, or up to Jamie Chew's Web Log Archive. or forward to Vol. 0 No. 83.