The clapping boy

One of the most endearing things about Owen of late is his newfound ability to clap. He claps here and there throughout the day, and he's learned that if he claps on the changing table it will remind me to start a pat-a-cake game with him. During the pat-a-cake he does some random clapping and then when I’ve finished the ditty, he claps for an encore.

One of the most frustrating things about Owen of late is his newfound inability to go right back to sleep after a night waking. This is a combination of cold congestion and teething (two teeth busted through a few days ago and another one’s on the verge of breaking the surface) and perhaps his own growing awareness that we can’t help responding to his cries. (I’ll let him go a couple minutes but never much more than that with all these maladies he’s suffering through all at once.)

So a couple nights ago, Owen put both of these new developments to work. He cried for a few minutes after I laid him down for the night, but the second I opened the door to the room he shares with Will, the crying stopped. By the time I was looking down at my sweet little manipulator (by the dim light of a corner nightlight) he stopped the crying, looked up at me with a big grin and began to clap.