The No-Blow

Max is really starting to feel bad about Cooper's constant, loud, demanding, finger-wagging, "NO!'s"

Last night after dinner and a seven course meal of No's, Max says in a sad voice. "Cooper keeps saying no to all the beautiful things I am doing!"

Awww, Man! Talk about break your heart!

There is a good part about this. At least Cooper has begun to use his word(s) instead of resorting to hitting/biting immediately. Of course he only uses No, and if we can't read his mind as to what the No is about, it is quickly followed by a bite. We just need to work on the words a little more.

Last night when the boys were going down for bed, Max and I were talking about how many heartprints Cooper gave Mommy before bed. Max was sad that he didn't get any from Cooper. I told him to ask Cooper for a kiss, and Cooper kissed him, then followed with a hug. Max then talked about, as he has been lately, how he still loves Cooper even when he does naughty things and says no all the time. It was sweet. We all snuggled for a bit. Will he still do this when he's 10? Don't worry, I already know the answer to that!

What I like about you. . .

Cooper

I like the way you give me kisses and hugs before bed. I love the way you rub or just place each hand on either side of my face. It's really sweet. As much as it drives me crazy sometimes, I love the pitter-patter sound of your feet on the hardwood floors as you come into our room during the night, and I know there will come a time when I miss hearing that sound. I love our nighttime conversations. Mostly you talk about being home, Mommy being home, Isaac being home or asleep, Max being asleep, we also talk about whispering, or any animal/being you have brought into bed for the night. Last night when you came in, I scooped you up next to me in bed. I know that the only way to get you to stay in your bed is if I stop allowing you to snuggle next to us at night. So, we had a mid-night conversation with many close-ended questions from me, and a lot of whispered no's and yeah's from you. (have I mentioned how adorable your yeah's are?) You finally agreed to go back to your room so you could have a drink of water. I laid there with you for a while kissing your cheeks and your little nose. You whisper-giggled. It was sweet and gave me lots of heartprints. I need to remember the good reasons for being tired in the morning, and this just did it!

Pictured above: Cooper wearing one of his favorite hats that belong to Max.

Max-isms

On the way out of school last week, "I have a baby in my tummy, and when it comes out, I'm going to be the boss of it."

Max can write his name consistently now. He verbally reminds himself how to draw the letters, up-down-up-down(M). Sunday night he was drawing on the easel and we asked him to write his name. "Up to heaven. Down to Florida."

The theme for Sunday School the past couple of weeks has been the Our Father. On Sunday, while having dinner with a friend, Max says to Peg, "Mommy, will you share some of your daily bread with me?"

Max has been enduring a lot of negativity from his younger brother. Cooper is stuck in a rut wagging his little finger and calling out "No!" to Max. All. The. Time. Max can take it for a little bit, but after a while, we can tell his feelings are getting hurt. During breakfast this morning, Max was singing a song about his banana. Cooper kept adding his percussive, "No!", "No!" Max finally said, "MaMa, Cooper keeps saying no to my beautiful banana singing!"

What's in: Puzzles, Drums, any baby--animal or human, Singing, Penguins/leopard seals, birthdays(wonder why!)

What's out: (dare I say it?) Peter Pan

AHHHH

The (Democratic)primary in Wisconsin actually means something this time around!

4 words

Thank goodness for Sabbaticals.

Gunman kills 6 at university
A former student opened fire in a lecture hall Thursday at Northern Illinois University, shooting 21 people before fatally shooting himself. Seven people died, including the gunman.

My Aunt is an Economics Professor at this University. She is on sabbatical this semester. My Uncle, who also teaches at this school, has all of his classes in a different building.

Happy Valentine's Day

Boys,

Happy Valentine's Day 2008!

Max, you are less than one month from turning 4! In fact, when people ask you how old you are, you are already replying, "4!".

This year you were very interested in making Valentines for all your friends, Mommy and Aunt Susan. You would definetly like to continue to make them.

I was talking to Aunt Susan last night, telling her that you are really doing well--as opposed to being challenging. She stated it best by saying you are "comfortable in your skin." That seems just about right. There are still moments that cause breakdowns, but they are few and normally due to tiredness, hunger, or any other physiological problem that affects your coping/communication skills.

Our biggest challenge with you is having you use your words first to resolve a situation rather than first resorting to physical resolutions. This has been difficult to remember.

Having said that, you have shown us huge growth in unselfishness. Your sharing and generosity are genuine and really sweet. We talk about giving each other "heartprints" often.

You enjoy many activities. It seems you live in an appropriate region as you like to play in the snow, you like to shovel and you LOVE to go sledding--you go down face first unaccompanied and squeal with excitement. This especially thrills Mommy as she was known to ride down a hill on a metal shovel back in the day.

You love books. We love that. We hope this continues for your whole lifetime.

You really like to pretend. When people say your name, you will correct them and let them know "who" you are. Even when we say our prayer before our meal, you will say, "God bless Peter Pan, Tinky, John in the pink pjs, and Indian(Wendy)."

You are finally starting to enjoy Sunday School. You especially like Ava, Jacob and Sofi.

This past month you have really insisted on talking on the phone, primarily chatting with Mommy, Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Susan.

You have been drawing/painting more and writing your name. It's pretty cute.

You like to help and participate.

You look forward to "family days" (weekends).

You LOVE music.

You like to be in control or in charge or have the last say, even if it means just repeating what we just said.

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Cooper, I just recently documented where you're at, but after that post, we spent a great weekend and realized there were so many things I missed.

You love your brother so much. You are always wanting to know where "Mack" is. If Max has done something you don't agree with, you will respond with one of the following, "mow"(your version of no), or you will hit, kick or bite. We're working on this!

You can blow your own nose. Adorable.

You sing! You will open any book that resembles a hymnal and will break out in song. Ususally nice and loud during church. You also know Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy spider and we hear you attempt ABC's.

You like to drink out of an open cup. Just like Max.

You can say some new words(in your own dialect) Peek-a-boo, whisper, beep

This morning when I was in the kitchen preparing to make you and Max waffles for breakfast you were trying to tell me some thing, "deh-dah". You repeated it over and over. Normally the way we work through the translation process is I try to decipher and will repeat the word back as it sounds to most English speaking people, when this doesn't work, I ask you to show me what it is. After many dog and duck guesses, I asked you to show me. You didn't. I finally got it. I said, "Ketchup?" You responded with your emphatic, "Yeah!" Apparently you use ketchup as a general term for sauce/syrup/etc. I think we avoided syrup with Max until he was 2+. It's a little harder to do with you since you have someone else to watch. Luckily, I can get by giving you the S.plenda sweetened stuff!

Speaking of sauces, you love to dip and lick. We have to remind you to actually eat the food.

You are really good at picking up your toys, we're hoping Max learns by your example.

You like to climb up and down the stairs.

You like to play the piano.

You really don't like to have pants put on or your coat.

When I come to pick you up a school, you usually walk over to a classmate and hit them. Your teachers will tell me you haven't done this all day, but like clockwork, you will do it when you see me. Hmm.

You like to read books.

You like to kick balls.

You would like to use the computer.

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Two weekends ago, we put up the two twin beds we bought for you a while ago. We pushed them together and you essentially share a king size bed. We are still adjusting. Some nights it's pretty exciting, other nights you are both too tired to be silly, and will fall asleep without a production. Last Saturday, Feb 9th, it was naptime. You both were very challenging, as you often are when it is naptime on the weekend(unless of course we break down and drive you around--then you're asleep in a matter of minutes). We ended up having to seperate you into separate bedrooms. We eventually had to put Cooper back into his crib. Cooper, you were not a happy camper. Mommy and I were in our room trying to settle Max down when we heard a splat/crash followed by loud crying. Cooper, at 19 months, you made it out of your crib unassisted. You will not be returning. Let's hope naptime goes a little better this weekend.

Today is your Uncle Paul's birthday. He is the reason for your middle name Cooper. He died when he was 5 years old. Uncle Paul was very special to Mommy, and therefore, is very special to our family. As you get older she will share silly stories about Paul(not now because Paul didn't always make good choices!), and how much she misses him and wonders what he would be like if he were alive today. I think as Mommy watches you grow, she is reminded of her precious time with Paul.

We love you both so much,

MaMa

pictured above Max and Cooper Fall 2007

Max-isms

Character list for ONE DAY. Roles may be repeated many times.

Baby Rudolph

Big Rudolph

Michael (character from Zen Shorts)

Peter Pan

chipmunk

zookeeper

prince

New favorite book:

Tidbits:

Last week I witnessed Max eating dried up marshmallows off someones artwork hanging on the wall at his school.

Yesterday we were on our way out of school. We saw one of his classmates, Brynn's mom, get out of her car and start walking in. Max stopped her. "Your kid, your kid is in dance class."

Lastly, look at this picture:

Max said to me, while looking at this book, "Hmm, there's a kangaroo jumping in the grass."

I looked at the top and bottom pictures, didn't see what he was suggesting, and asked further, "Where do you see the kangaroo Max?"

"MaMa, look at his hand. The thumb is the joey and the rest of his fingers are the kangaroo!"

Super Cooper

As promised, some updated pictures of Cooper.

This one I title: An Eye for an Eye

Care for any black beans?He's bordering on Elvis lips here. . .

I love these apple pictures.

The boy who cried Poop

Finally, a story about Cooper!! Poor guy doesn't get any press.

He is a silly kid. Already he likes to make others laugh, especially his brother and friends at school.

He is nineteen months and is doing really well.

Physical
He's tall and lean, although is beefing up a little bit. At his last appointment, he was 22 lbs and 33.5". He has big feet. He can jump with both feet.

Language/cognitive development
His vocabulary list is growing. He is also putting 2-3 words together. Last night it was, more cheese please. Sometimes, he will actually spit out full sentences. He knows to accompany "please" with his requests. You can pass over this, but I want to, for the record, put down a list of his words.

Yes, no, please, thank you, more, all done, on, off, up, down, out, sit, MaMa, Max, Mommy, me, mine, home, bye bye, hello, kick, lap, nigh-nigh, baby, pretty, bubble, (all beverages) waa-waa, bowl, spoon, (banana) na-na, cheese, yogurt, dip, eat, this, that, book, ball, poop, dog, duck, bear, (camel)mamel,(giraffe) raff, brrr(cold), hot, ouch, belly button, nose, eyes, hair, hat, mittens, socks, shoe, tissue, animal sounds: dog bark and pant, quack, meow, oink, neigh, baa, hiss, woo-woo, cheep, elephant trumpet sound, roar, growl, moo, Elmo and probably some others I am forgetting. I might add them if I remember.

He also attempts to sing abc's very liberally. This past Sunday at church, he sings along to any music going on.

He recognizes colors, numerous animals and objects in books and in life. He can also locate most body parts, including elbows and knees.

Food
Eats just about anything. Especially anything he see's Max eating. Drinks whole milk and water. Insists on doing things himself. Wants to drink from an open cup. Still has some issues with textures, and ability to chew up foods (only has pieces of molars protruding and his eight front teeth), so occasionally he will spit stuff back out. Lovely. Favorites: bananas, smoothies, toast, cheese, frozen blueberries, Clifford cereal with milk, applesauce, yogurt, DIP-- hummus, veggie, spinach--any kind of dip.

Personality.
Funny. He will often break out into laughter if he hears anyone else laughing. He likes to be silly, especially with Max. They will jump around the living room doing their "tricks."

Attatched. He still enjoys being cuddled, snuggled, held, and welcomes affection. Occasionally, his timing is not real condusive to everyday life--for instance last weekend I was attempting to make a sweet-yeast dough with him on my hip. End result: happy toddler, dough that didn't rise. Not sure if the two are related.

Adventuresome. Seems like a contradiction to the above, but he really is. We were at a local kids store and in it was a probably 6 year old zooming around the store on a three-wheeled fancy scooter. The moment he got off, Cooper climbed up on it and said, "Go please!" followed by giggling and "more!" Maybe this isn't extremely adventuresomem, it's just a change for us versus Max.

Not a pushover. He knows how to use his voice (mainly through crying) and his body (mainly hitting and attempting to bite) to voice his dissent with any of the following: an answer he is not happy with or being the victim of toy-loss from big brother. Basically, if he doesn't like something, we're all going to know it.

We just love this little guy.
He likes to tell us that he wants us to read a book by physically trying to push our bodies to a chair or the floor, getting a book, sitting himself in our laps, putting our hands on the book, all the while chanting "book please," until we oblige.

He loves climbing up and down the steps.

He requests a tissue after every sneeze and will blow his nose and take the tissue to the garbage.
Loves ducks, dogs, bears, balls, telephones, bikes, books, playing the piano, drawing, painting, playing with our Schleich animals and is frequently enamoured with whatever Max has(the feeling can be mutual).

Oh, and the title of this post, he is, I guess, expressing interest in the potty. He will, frequently, exclaim, POOP! and we go into the bathroom and disrobe. The moment he is place on the potty, he says, "all done." We get diapered and dressed and resume activity. This activity is repeated a lot, and we have yet to have any elimination end up in the potty. Mostly it's really cute. Especially when he annouces "poop" and I repeat to confirm, he will respond with "yah" complete with the head nod. It's so cute.

I'll post some pics of him tomorrow.