J.J., James Sue, Jimmy Tom John and Me

I seem to be the only person who calls James "James".  Jeanne calls him J.J., Juliet calls him James Sue, or Jamesue (I'm not sure which), and Matthew calls him Jimmy Tom John (he is officially James Thomas Jean; the middle names are the grandfathers' names).  I love the name James; I think it suits him now and it will suit him when he's 70.  Not ridiculous for a 5-month-old nor a grown man.  A strong, solid name with character and gravitas, yet a name that doesn't take itself too seriously.  James Madison, James Monroe, James Dean, James Brown, James Earl Jones...well, you get the idea.  I don't want to go too far lest I run into a James I don't like.

I am getting to know the little guy, and starting to know the difference between a grunt that means "I'm sleepy and I'm cranky" and a grunt that means "I just made poops".  He grunts a lot when he is frustrated, hungry, sleepy or, frankly, when he's just pooped.  He also has a light-up-the-room smile with which he's generous.  He is basically a very happy baby, and a very good baby.

Noemi and Juliet are coming to our apartment this week after school; I don't know what I'll do for entertainment next week when they're at Noemi's apartment.  Today it was lovely outside so Colleen and her mother, who is visiting from Australia, and I took the girls and James to the park.  It feels like spring here, and with the sunshine today people were shedding their winter coats and just breathing in the fresh air.  I wish I could send some of this weather home to the midwest, where our winter has been long, cold and snowy.

Noemi and Juliet ran and jumped and climbed while James watched.  He was really more interested in the pigeons, though.  As were several children who were actually able to run at the pigeons and chase them away.  I always think of French children as being so polite and refined.  When you see them in a social situation or in a restaurant, they are marvelously well-mannered, but today on the playground they were vigorously attacking both the pigeons and the playground equipment, their faces set in grim determination, with big scowls and knitted eyebrows.  Perhaps it was the sheer number of them, for there had to be several hundred children there, some chatting away, some shrieking, some quietly and fiercely going about the business of riding one particular piece of equipment so hard that it would disconnect from its moorings and sail off into the crowd.  I have to say that I didn't hear any arguments or see any fights, just noticed some ferocity, some velocity (on in-line skates and scooters) some intensity I don't usually see.  Maybe they were just letting off steam after a tough day at school, or maybe, like the grown-ups, they are ready for an end to winter.  Today made me believe that spring just may be a possibility.