Jacob's poor battered brain

Jacob's ankle seems completely back to normal. We had a few spells when Chris and Jean were here where he tripped and it seemed that he had twisted it all over again, with more limping and crawling. That week, he also began battling a serious bout of sleeplessness, perhaps enchanced by the two top canine teeth he sprouted last week. He's not yet back to his normal waking-up-once-a-night, which is apparently just as painful for him as it is for me since it looks like another tooth is coming in on the bottom.

When he wakes at night, he won't fall back asleep most times unless I bring him in bed with me. This had been working out very well because he sleeps like a log in the big people bed, and because we have no regard for the slumbering health of that silly Dada and send him off packing towards the couch. But then, on Thursday night, Jacob started wrestling in his sleep hard-core. I wake easily when he sleeps with me, but this night I chose to stay up way past my bedtime, and only woke just in time to watch his body roll sidewise off the bed. His noggin looked okay considering and he wasn't too upset about it and fell right back asleep. I didn't worry about it at first. But now, perhaps coincidentally, he seems to be falling more than usual while walking around. I don't really know what to think, and of course I can't know if these things are connected. He finally has his 15-month checkup next week, so I will probably do some impatiently watchful waiting until then.

In the meantime, one way I can be sure he isn't too brain damaged from all the falling, big and small, is that the words keep tumbling out. Here is the most complete list of what he says that I can come up with now:

Mama
Da (for Dada)
Kee (for kitty)
Sheh (for shoe)
Gall (for ball)
Rah (rock)
Uhn-uh (accompanied by head shaking)
Nye-nye (upon seeing someone asleep or finding his blankie)
Der ee is (in peekaboo)
Der y'arrrr (in peekaboo)
Ruff-ruff
Meow
Hoo hoo (as an owl)
Roar (as a lion)
Moo
Ooo oo ooo oo oOOOO (for cock-a-doodle-doo)

He is also, to my surprise, interested in reading the 30-page-long books that Big Brother reads, especially Curious George and anything with Thomas. He will purposefully bring me books like these and flop down on my lap, expecting me to read them. This makes story time infinitely easier -- kill two boys with one book, so to speak -- and for that I am very grateful.

But his climbing, oh, please, lord make it stop. I have to close the bathroom door now because, if it is open, he will head straight for the toilet, climb it unassisted, and lean his belly over the sink to reach the faucets. He can climb into any chair unaided now, and screams and yells at me if I put him in a high chair. He enjoys his Big Boy chair, just like Big Brother, but unlike Isaac, Jacob insists on standing on his chair through most meals, protesting loudly and violently when I make him sit down. I'm thinking time-outs for him are not too far in the future, because he's starting to act like a little wolf-boy. And between him and Mister I-Don't-Like-That, Mama is going out of her stinking mind.