Bouncing Felix

Felix is a blur.

He's jumping up and down (mostly contentedly) in the bouncer we dug out of the basement a few weeks ago. He was a bit too short for it when we gave the initial try, but the child is growing RAPIDLY and can now bounce himself quite easily.

Like most things that used to be Owen's, the bouncer was in pretty sorry shape initially. We had to break down every piece and disinfect them, scrubbing out bits of old food, dust, and mold. Once we put all the polyester parts through the laundry Felix made an enormous diaper in the seat, and it all had to be washed again.

But now he's a bouncing pro. His favorite is to bounce himself up and down (at about 108 bounces per minute) while James and Owen run around playing Chase. But he'll tolerate doing his bouncing game while just watching me read and sip coffee.

He coos, grins, and then looks dreadfully worried. He bubbles spit, dribbles some of it onto the already soaked patch on the front of his shirt, and then gives a yawn and resumes making noisy vowels at me.

He has a funny way of smiling just by pursing his lips into a straight line. It's very Jamesish. He grunts, looks quizzical, and the bounce slows down a click or two. He looks about the room, yawns again, and raises his eyebrows. He's trying to get his hands into his mouth--presumably so that he can suck on his fingers--but he's bouncing too hard and his aim isn't very good. So he folds his hands in front of them and rubs them together several times, but he has to stop bouncing in order to do this, so I'm sure it won't last very long.

It's hard to describe his little voice. It's low, and has a throaty quality to it. James' voice is reedy, clarinet-like. Owen is a (sharp) saxophone playing into a microphone that's turned up all the way. Felix might be something more like a bassoon.

I still have no idea what he'll ultimately be like--something entirely his own, I'm sure. But when he stares me down and makes sustained eye contact and begins to make purposeful noises at me, I think that perhaps I'm starting to see behind those already-turning-brown eyes some hints of who he is.

Then again, even though he's unblinking, it's hard to look too closely because of the bouncing.