Jakey’s nails are dangerous. His dad likes to call them his “clavos” or “nails” in Spanish. Not the soft pearly nails that protect your delicate fingers. Nails like the sharp steel daggers people use to hold wood together. One day Teacher Linda C. showed me bloody scratches on her neck. I file them almost every day with this little baby emory board which is no match for the clavos. We’ve upgraded to 40 grit industrial adult emory boards for his man manis.
So earlier this week Jake said his first “accidental” words. I was holding him in his room and he grabs the back of my neck like a dog picks up a puppy. We’re talking a fistful of skin with all five nails. And as he does this he yells, “Caaaaalaaaaaaw!” Yes, CLAW. I was like a helpless field mouse in the talon’s of the swooping hawk.
Then a few minutes later we were playing on the couch.
Jaimie: “Hi Baby Jacob.”
Jakey: “Hiiii.”
Jaimie: WTF?! (Of course I didn’t say this as we now live in a G-rated house.) But still. “What’d you say?!”
Jake’s eyes get so big and he looks at me like, “Whoa, what did I just say?!” Followed by the most knowing, bashful smile. For one brief instant, we both spoke English. Then he went back to Jacobish: FFFFfffffvvvvvvvvv, goo goo. I think maybe he also said Bbbbbb this week. Although we can’t forget that he’s been yelling “Hey!” since he was just a wee lad.
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