Tons of new skills

Cooper has been learning to do things so quickly lately, it makes my head hurt. He's recently learned the meanings of dozens of words, so each thing he learns is multiplied by his new words and quickly becomes impressive. For instance, he knows how to "pet" things, so you can ask him to pet the dog, pet daddy's hairy toes, or pet his favorite stuffed animals.

He's also learning his body parts. He knows head, belly, nose, and feet and will point to them when asked. When pointing to his belly, he also bends over to look at it, which is very charming. We are currently working on some other basics such as toes, knees, eyes, and ears. These seem to be a little bit harder, probably because they are not talked about as often. He also knows the meaning of shoes and socks, and will get his shoes (if he is in the right mood, and can quickly find them) if you ask him to get them.

Cooper has also determined a few ways to quickly get what he wants. Attempting to crawl into the stroller has become his way of requesting to go for a walk. Getting into his high chair is immediately met with a snack. Standing under the sink while pointing to the faucet gets him water. And standing by the back door while pounding on it does in fact lead to him being let out to play in the yard.

Unfortunately, very little of this has had any meaningful effect on his spoken language. He articulates the same number of words (about 5) as he did at 10 months old. It is clear he is understanding an amazing amount, and he makes a wide range of funny and charming imaginary words when you ask him to say something, but his ability to actually say anything isn't improving much. I'm not quite concerned yet, but it is something we've started to think about.

With that said, he occasionally does surprise me. Matt has been trying to teach him the names of his farm animal toys (horse, chicken, goat, etc) and yesterday, I asked him what this animal's (the goat) name is. Instead of the usual response (doggie!), Cooper clearly said "dote," a word I've never heard him say before, and one that is an obvious try at goat. And then he's never said "dote" since, despite my multiple tries to get him to say it again. But it makes me wonder- how much could he say if he wanted to? Does he just not feel like he needs to? It isn't clear.

Packing

We are packing for our mega trip to the East, and Matt and I are the blind leading the blind. No, that implies that one of us might THINK we know what to wear... we are both the blind, sadly agreeing that neither of us knows which way to go.

Me: "Which shirt?"
Matt: "Uh... the one you like better."

Matt: "Which tie?"
Me: "That one is striped. I like stripes. Do that one."

Me, staring at my shoes. The options are- black strappy, black flats, black chunky heels, black flip flops and black sandal-ish heels.
Me: "They are all the same color."
Matt: "Pick the most comfortable ones?"
Me: "They are all uncomfortable."

Matt: "Are these shoes going to be OK?"
Me: "I sure hope so, because they are the only ones you own."

We'll look great. Fish out of water, for sure, but great. I have 6 separate events to dress for- for which I am planning one dress, two nice shirts, and two nice pairs of pants. Over, and over, and over again.

New nap schedule

Cooper's new nap schedule is awesome, but it is also killing me. He is firmly in the one nap realm now, and he naps for about 3 hours. This is GREAT. But here's the catch- he naps from 10:30 to 1:30. During lunch time! Because of the way that our house is oriented, I'm not able to make myself any sort of good lunch that requires the making of any noise whatsoever. He's most prone to waking up in the second half of his nap, so if it is... say... 12:45 and I am starving to death, I have to tiptoe down there, grab cheese and crackers, and retreat back upstairs to nibble. Upstairs I could sing opera if I wanted, but in the kitchen the noise travels. To make matters worse, we are having some painting done so the rugs are all up- which creates really loud echoes from our wood floors.

I shouldn't complain. It is a great schedule. I just need to remember to make more dinner leftovers that are good when unheated (the microwave's remarkably loud door spring freaks me out). And once he wakes up, I make me a post-lunch and him a regular lunch, so it ends up fine, but god I am so freaking hungry right now!

Fuzzy and cute?

Cooper is just a little guy, and I know it will take a while for him to learn certain lessons. However, I do wish he would hurry up and learn this one; just because bees are fuzzy, brightly colored, and make an interesting buzzing noise it doesn't mean you should try to pick one up.

He's gotten stung twice now. Both times on the tip of his fingers. Both times far enough away from me- perhaps 15 feet or so- that I have to re-create the incident from evidence at hand. Both times started with child sitting happily in the grass near some flowers. Then, child shrieking and rubbing hand frantically on pants. After some careful observation, tiny throbbing stinger removed from pad of chubby little finger. Lots of whimpering and tears, and a swollen finger.

Poor fellow. I hope he learns soon. And also- poor bees. They do not like this either!