Sonny boy

James's dear friend Peter the Neighbor has taken to calling him "Sonny." James is all for this. "My given name is James," he confided to me, "but folks call me Sonny."

Sonny makes a change from Ted, the junior partner in "Big Dog, Little Dog." Ted was James's alter ego for a week or two, until he became Sonny.

Thomas, meanwhile, has been talking more and more. We didn't know he could identify meatballs until last night, when the issue became material for him. He finished his and started pointing into Dave's plate. "Meatbawll? Meetbawll?"