The big boy bed

We've known for a few months that the days in the crib were numbered.  In fact, I ordered a toddler rail sometime in August.  He would lean over the edge and slowly bring his leg up and over the front of the crib.  We were pretty good about watching on the monitor and catching him, but it helped that he was just a little too scared to go all the way.  Fear is a powerful thing.

Then Friday he leaned over in a "Look Ma, no hands!" fashion.  Jason yelped, Cooper freaked and I laid down the law.  The crib was going to have to go.  I wanted to make it a big deal, order him some fun sheets or a new pillowcase.  Yeah, didn't happen.  And if you know where I can find a toddler size flat sheet without buying the whole character bedding set, please let me know.  Instead, I bought a twin size sheet, cut it in half and hemmed it.

Saturday night Cooper did great!  He got out of bed a few times, knocked on the door, and went back to bed. And that was that.  Saturday night, I tucked my baby into his bed...and he was little boy.  Who slept until 7am.  I'll admit that I even cried a little.

Except that wasn't it.  Sunday we had bigger fish to fry.  Nap time.  I knew we were in for a treat, but I didn't expect it to take almost two hours for him to finally cave.

We started by reading a book and walking away.  Then he got out of bed.  Knocked on the door.  Tried to get out.  Opened the closet doors.  Read a few books.  Pulled his sock basket down and took all of the socks out.  Rode Peanut.  Read some more.  Rode Peanut again.  Rocked in the rocking chair.  Rode Peanut some more.

I went in there a few times.  Eventually Peanut was moved to the living room.  But finally I had to call in the big dogs.  Jason went in there, rocked Cooper and put him in the sleeper hold (from the infant days) and he was out.  He even knocked out a 2 1/2 hour nap.

That brings me to the next toddler mystery.  How does he manage to nap daily at school on a cot?  Something he's been doing for months...but I thought I'd need to break out the duct tape to keep him in bed.

A tale of two books

A few weekends ago Cooper and I needed to get out of the house.  I needed a few new doormats, so we went shopping.  Our first stop was Marshall's.  Though I usually don't frequent Marshall's, I do think they are good for certain things.  I've been on the hunt for another Thomas the Train book and thought that might be the place to go.  Because if you haven't looked, Thomas the Train books are a little hard to find! 

Sure enough, I found a few.  I sorted through the stacks looking for a book in decent shape and handed it over to Cooper.  He flipped the pages and read the book while I finished shopping.  Then I spotted it.  In the checkout line, a shelf full of books.  Holding a shiny Thomas the Train book that I knew would play songs.  Cooper spotted it.  He promptly shoved the other book in my chest and pointed.

"Choo choo book."

I looked at the book, knowing it was probably priced around $10.  I have a hard time spending $10 on a book for myself to read.  I'm cheap, ok.

"Baby, you have a choo choo book."  I tried handing back the old book.  He shook his head no.  Reluctantly, I grabbed the new book hoping that since it was Marshall's it wouldn't be overpriced.  Instead, it wasn't priced at all.  I handed it over, thinking maybe I could make a switch at the register, but really working on justifying paying for the book.

I guess I got lucky.  The manager happened to check us out, there were quite a few people in line and he noticed that I had to pry the book out of Cooper's hands to give it to him.  I was shocked when I heard "We'll just give it at the price of the other book.  Gotta keep the kids happy!" 

Marshall's - you have a shopper in me.  I'd already decided to buy the book, because some fights aren't worth it.  But after working in retail for years, I was impressed with the customer service.  I could also tell that the manager must have kids, because he recognized the look Cooper was giving me.  It wasn't a "I want I want I want" look.  More of a look that told me he wanted the book, but if I said no he'd live.

Cooper proudly carried that book to Bed Bath & Beyond.  And quietly read it through the store, playing the Thomas theme song over and over and over again.  Pure toddler happiness. 

21 Months Old

21.  No, not that 21.  Just 21 months.  Except...already 21 months sounds more like it.  A friend of mine, who lives far enough away that I don't get to see her in person, happens to be pregnant.  I chatted with her on the phone last week about her pregnancy and found myself trying to remember how I felt that many weeks along.  This evening, as I grabbed "nacks" for Cooper I felt like it was just yesterday that he was so small young and now...now, he isn't.  He's 21 months of jumping, yelling, running, talking, playing boy.

I hear myself telling people daily that he's "wild" and "all boy."  But I really don't think you understand what that means until you have a boy that is all boy.  I may have said this before, but when I say No, he doesn't hear "no, you can't do that."  He hears "no, you can't do that this way, but try to figure out a different way."  I like the fact that his mind is constantly working, but some days I think that I just can't trust him.  Really.  It sounds bad to say that I can't trust a 21 month old boy, but that's how I feel.  I have baby proofed as much as I think I need to, but deep down I know it is just something to stall him.  That child will figure out how to open the cabinets (yank hard enough) and how to climb on something (find lighter furniture to move), even though I think I've done my part to stop him. 

At this point, I have just learned that I have to check on him every 15 seconds.  Meaning it takes me about 20 times longer to do something than it should.  I also seriously worry if I hear silence.

We're about 110% obsessed with Thomas the Train and Cars.  Thankfully Netflix has supplied us with an almost endless supply of Thomas movies, because it only comes on tv once a week.  And we've seen all of those episodes.  And for the record, that Thomas isn't exactly a role model.  Sure he learns a lesson each time, but if he would remember his lesson he wouldn't screw up so much!  We also have the Cars DVD that gets plenty of use on long car trips.  The grocery store is a walking commentary.  First he spots the Thomas balloon and yells (because there is no low volume with this kid) "Choo-Choo."  Then we see cheese! And oonges! (oranges) Nanas! Qeen! (Lightening McQueen) Go-Gurt!  Everything is said with the same gusto...same volume level.  He does stop to ask for nacks, but we quickly go back to narrating.  Thankfully, it is the grocery store and not the library.  Maybe he's training to be the next Milo Hamilton?  We get the same commentary at church - I'm really trying to explain to him that we can narrate in Kroger, but not church.

Last week I let Cooper help me water the plants.  He knows this means we're going outside and he loves to "help."  Rachel had called right as we went outside, so I started talking to her while he watered the plants.  Then watered the deck.  And then watered himself.  He was having so much fun!  I quickly ran in to grab the camera.  By then, he was soaking wet, but still happy.

Stopping for a drink of water.

Funny thing is, he was in a great mood then.  Little did either of us know, that half an hour later he would have been in time out twice and I would end up using masking tape on his diaper to keep it on.  Because, you know, it is so much fun to rip off your diaper when you are throwing a fit.

Gig 'Em, Aggies!

Last weekend we headed to College Station to kick off Aggie football season!  Since the game was going to be televised, it was moved to Sunday.  We headed out around lunch time thinking Cooper would nap on the way there.  He did.  Until Waller, which is about 25 minutes from home.  Then he was to concerned with our "fench fies" and "ham-bur-ger" to go back to sleep.  (Parenting fail #1: your kid smells fast food and knows what to expect.)

My mom & step-dad had a tailgating spot, so I hoped he would sit down with Nana and rest.  Of course, he did not.  I mean, we only planned on hanging out all afternoon in the heat so why would he have needed to nap?  That would be way too easy...right?  It didn't help that the wind was blowing well over 30 mph, so things were a little crazy.

After I admitted defeat on the nap, we changed Cooper into his Aggie gear and loaded up to head to the stadium.  Some friends of ours have a tailgating spot right behind Kyle Field - perfect for watching the band march by and the players come into the field.  Lindsey made Cooper some overalls and they were a hit.  I did have a shirt to go under them, but it was so hot, I opted to skip the shirt.

We loaded up the wagon and walked to the stadium.

Cooper turned out to be a hot topic on the way there, but he really turned heads when people realized he would be Class of 2032.  Kind of hard to imagine!

We checked out the band, saw the Corp march by and even went to see the Mounted Calvary.  That started all sorts of drama, though, when Cooper wanted to pet the horses.

 Since Dana tagged Cooper as a future Yell Leader, we snapped a quick photo with a few of them.  He wouldn't let Jason go to do it alone, though!

Once it got close to game time, we headed over to the Dixie Chicken to watch the game and grab some dinner.  It wasn't Cooper's first trip to the Chicken, but it was his first trip down Bottle Cap Alley.

We had a quick dinner, but didn't stay long.  I think the heat was a little too much and Cooper ended up getting a little sick running around.

Cooper was worn out from a day of firsts - Aggie tailgating, throwing up at the Chicken and ended up being carried home passed out by his mom.  Oh, the irony.

20 Months Old

Um, so...yeah.  I realized today that Cooper will be 21 months old tomorrow.  Then I wondered if I ever published this post that I started back...a month ago.  When he was 20 months old.  Sure enough, it sat here unpublished.  At least I had it typed up...

The past few months, blogging has been harder and harder.  There is a long list of reasons why, but one is that I've enjoyed spending time with Cooper.  Just taking things in, playing, and having fun.  I sort of regret it now, but I have enjoyed running around and playing more and not stopping to pick up the camera.  Plus, it is freaking hot outside.  So the less I wear & carry, the better.

Earlier this month we decided to put new floors in the house.  Cooper loves to run around, stomping as loud as possible and making as much noise as he can.  I love the fact that when he spills food, it won't stain the carpet.  Plus, all of his toys that drive now go a little further than 6 inches.

He's really starting to talk more and more.  We're working on learning our numbers and ABC's.  I bought a few puzzles earlier this month to work on recognizing the letters and numbers, but for now Cooper is more content to toss the pieces on the ground and see how loud it gets.  He does chime in a bit when we're singing the Alphabet Song, so I know they work on it at school.

He is obsessed with naming things - momma's shoes, daddy's glasses, momma's juice.  I would guess that 75% of the things in the house belong to me.  And I love watching him think about what the object is, who it belongs to, and putting the words together.  It is very slow and deliberate, but he's getting better.  Last night as we played in his room, he was digging through a toy bucked and I heard him say "where the ball go?"  Not quite all of the words needed, but that's the longest sentence I'd heard!  I'm pretty sure he is going to be a talker...although I don't know where he gets that from.

We've worked really hard the past few weeks on not saying "no" to everything.  After the pediatrician and a good friend pointed it out (in a nice way), I realized that we do tell him no to just about everything.  Curious doesn't really begin to describe Cooper.  If I tell him no, he doesn't just go away and move on to something else.  He figures out another way do what he wanted to do.  Meaning, I'm on my toes about 157% of the time.  We have worked harder on redirecting and suggesting other things to do, or just making whatever he wants to do safe.  Within reason, of course.  Some things still get an automatic no.  Like throwing food, touching the tv and screaming.

The screaming may actually be the death of me.  I'm sure he picked it up at school, but good grief it is horrible.  A few weeks ago we went through a stage where he'd bite himself when he was angry.  We ignored it and it went away.  Only for him to figure out that screaming was a much more effective way to express anger.  Plus, it doesn't hurt.  Except for the fact that I considered washing his mouth out with soap this weekend.  Well, not really.  Ok, maybe but I knew it wouldn't help so I wasn't serious.  I just remember the screams that came from my (much older) cousin the first time I witnessed his mom washing his mouth out with soap.  I swore to never back talk her!