Just Exploring

I find myself constantly surprised by the new ways Jackson finds to explore his limited indoor environment. As an adult I walk into a new room, look around once, and am ready to move on to the next room. So I often wonder how Jack can possibly enjoy playing in the same living room that he's played in every morning for the past year. How can he not be bored? Nevertheless there seems to always be something he surprisingly discovers. For example, yesterday out of the blue he pulled the lever and made the recliner foot pop out. His expression was that of a philosopher having just discovered the meaning of life. This morning Jack was playing in the living room while I was unloading the dishwasher in the kitchen. Morning is his most mischievous time so I did my best to not be out of the room for more than a few minutes. Still, when I got back into the living room, there he was holding up his offering--a candle he'd plundered from the coffee table. That candle had been sitting there for a year and he'd never even shown interest in it before. "Thank you" and I took it from him, but I noticed his cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk and his little face was twisted into a rather sour expression. I held out my hand and said, "give me what you've got," but after he fished it out of his mouth and deposited it into my hand I was left standing there trying to analyze what it was. Could it be.... wax? I quickly turned over the candle and sure enough, there were the little teeth marks and a dime size chunk of my candle gone. I guess if Jackson ever says "That tastes like wax," we'll know he means it.