A pinch for Pavlov

One of the fascinating things about interacting with Sean every day and seeing both small and large changes is the way he connects certain ideas and memories. In recent months, we've noticed that he will, when tired, get sort of grabby around our faces, which inspires admonitions ("No grab, Sean." and "No pinch, Sean." and "Gentle, Sean. That hurts (Daddy/Mommy)."). Sometimes, though, the first reaction on our part is a simple, "Ow!" - such as when he pinches either of us around the face or neck (to say nothing of the occasional bite, which inspires sterner recriminations).

I'd sort of forgotten about this, in fact, when we started reading a Winnie-the-Pooh story a couple nights ago; what I was expecting was Sean's now-standard "more, more" gesture at the end of a book. So, as we were reading the truncated story of Pooh's first meeting with Tigger (not exactly bowdlerized, but there is a detail-for-brevity trade-off that I'll admit does make this version easier to read to a seventeen-month-old than the text-heavy thirteen-page original), I found myself timing Sean's bounces (oof!) in my lap (appropriate for reading about Tigger, I know):

Chris: "Tigger (oof!) takes a large mouthful (oof!) [of thistles]. There is a very loud crunch (oof!). 'Ow!' says Tigger."

Sean: (turns around, serious expression on face, makes eye contact, and pinches Chris in the neck)

Chris: "Ow!"

Sean: (still deadpan)

Chris: (stifles laugh) (poorly)

Chris: "No pinch, Sean."

Sean: (returns to bouncing)

Chris: (finishes reading story to Sean)

Sean: (gives "more, more" gesture)

Chris: "Okay, we'll read the book more." (starts reading book again)

Sean: (bounces in the middle of every other sentence or so, until we get back to...)

Chris: "Tigger takes (oof!) a large mouthful [of thistles]. There (oof!) is a very loud crunch. 'Ow!' says Tigger."

Sean: (turns around, serious expression on face, and pinches Chris in the neck)

Chris: "Ow!"

Sean: (expression that now seems to say, "Yeah, I remember that part of the story, but remind me what happens next?")

Chris: "No-(snort)... No pinch, Sean." (tries to keep a straight face)

Sean: (returns to bouncing)

Chris: (finishes reading story to Sean)

Sean: (gives "more, more" gesture)

Chris: "Okay, we'll read the book again." (starts reading book again)

Sean: (bounces in the middle of every other sentence or so, until we get back to...)

Chris: "Tigger takes (oof!) a large mouthful [of thistles]. There (oof!) is a very loud crunch. 'Ow!' says Tigger."

Sean: (turns around, serious expression on face, and reaches for Chris's neck)

Chris: (catches Sean's hand before he can pinch) (tries not to laugh) "Sean, let's keep reading the story."

Sean: (returns to bouncing)

So, apparently, we - or at least I - have managed to instill in Sean a connection between the exclamation "Ow!" and his pinching my neck.

I should add that I conducted the same experiment the next night, reading the same story with him, though this time, I caught his hand the first time we reached the famous scene in the book, and by the third time, he just looked at my neck rather somberly.

I felt a twinge of disappointment.