There has been a minor setback in our attempt to have a contentedly happy and willingly obedient child. Simon's seventeenth tooth - the first of his set of second molars (bottom left) finally broke through on Saturday. We've been waiting for a new tooth to appear for months and we're pleased that the teething pain is finally coming to an end (the other teeth will soon follow). He hasn't napped in three days, his nose is runny, he drools, and he isn't very interested in food and not at all interested in vegetables or fruit. What he is interested in is running, dancing, jumping, and becoming increasingly dangerously active. The less sleep he gets, the more interested he is in climbing the walls, sliding down the stairs, jumping off the couch while demonstrating new twirling techniques.

Fortunately for us, our friends Mike and Cindi are visiting from San Francisco for the weekend. Simon loves visitors and is particularly thrilled when Cindi and Mike enter the room. Simon actually walked from the parking garage through Navy Pier yesterday while holding their hands, Cindi on one side and Mike on the other (he will not hold our hands and walk contentedly for more than a few seconds). When Mike leaves the room Simon is determined to follow yelling "MIIIIKE?" all the while. Mike isn't supposed to spend a moment out of Simon's sight. Simon was beside himself when Mike took a shower yesterday and he wasn't allowed to follow. Yesterday, instead of requesting pancakes the moment he woke up (as usual), Simon requested "Mike!"

On a side note, Cindi reports that, after reading the blog, she interpreted Simon's "bad" behavior as something much worse than it is. No, these days Simon doesn't scream or kick or flail about. When Simon is particularly bad (throwing things or hitting) he often smiles and laughs all the while - providing little evidence that he knows what he is doing is wrong. His "bad" side is more mischievous than angry or sad. It is as if he loses control over what is and isn't funny once he is tired or hungry or bored.

We are grateful for the timeout chair and its power to instill remorse.