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Friday, May 22, 2009

And in the blue corner, weighing in at 33 pounds . . .

My second choice for the title of this blog was: Amy and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night.

Long time away from the blog. Lots has happened, lots of developments. I'll catch up soon, but last night was an experience that just can't go unwritten. Cooper has made some major developments lately, mostly physically in terms of growth and coordination. This is all great, and I am very excited about all of his new abilities. The only problem at the moment is that his physical capabilities surpass his comprehension of his surroundings which results in some pretty dangerous situations.

The first came with learning to quietly creep down the stairs and open the door. I found him once on the street after realizing that the house was just too quiet. Last week, he went to visit the neighbors without shoes or pants. Earlier this week, the same neighbors called to let me know that he ventured over there again unbeknownst (I swear that is a word, but it sure looks strange) to me. So, now our doors are all locked and keys are out of reach. Problem solved.

The next discoveries took place in the kitchen. Rather than ask for something to drink, Cooper would simply go down to the kitchen, pull over a chair to the fridge, open it, and look for a sippy cup. Then he might open the cabinet and grab a cookie or waffle, possibly even some gummy bears. After having a snack, he has been known to open and close the oven door or move his chair over a little so that he can climb up onto the counter and sit on the stove top tossing down everything within reach. A little harder to solve. Currently I am using the scream and move child method. (I tried popping his hand - it is a little hard to get a good spanking through a diaper - but he popped mine right back, so clearly he missed that message.)

The biggest concern for me at the moment is the new knowledge of how to open and close the windows. And seeing as many of them are extremely high up off the ground (in particular that in Cooper's room), a fall would be deadly or at least serious enough to sufficiently mangle up a curious little boy.

Given all of this, you can imagine my concerns last night when at the convenient hour of 3:12 AM(apparently the perfect time of day to try new tricks), Cooper learned that he can also now climb out of his bed. Actually, I awoke at this absurd wee hour of the morning to Cooper crying, and then a few short minutes later surprising total silence, and then a few seconds later his bedroom door opening.

Thus began the match up between mother and son. Bring it on little boy, cry all you want, scream to your heart's content, and climb out if you dare. An angry and sleepy mom is there just waiting (praying for divine intervention actually) for you to tucker out. I kept telling myself that my will is stronger than his. I know what's best for him. I can get through this. This too shall pass. At 5:00 AM, I was begging the Lord to send this child into a holy slumber. Finally, after more than 2 hours, Cooper was laying peacefully in a light sleep.

I go down into my bedroom, ready to crawl into the comfort of my own bed knowing that I would be out as soon as my head hit that pillow.

And that was when I knew that I had been defeated.

The real winner was Kayla. Who during this whole event became freaked out by a noise coming from the brick factory around the corner (mind you this noise really isn't very loud) and when I approached the bed, I noticed that a very scared dog had peed in my bed.

Ding, ding, ding. Match over. Kayla is now sporting the title of Champion, however I kind of wish that she were sporting a sore behind instead.

Honestly, if babies and dogs weren't so cute and lovable sometimes, I have a feeling they would be extinct.

So, since many of the people who read this blog are some of the most amazing moms I need your help and suggestions. Any tips or advice to how to keep this little guy safe? How do I discipline him when he doesn't seem to be able to connect the yelling, spanking, hand pop with the action that he was just doing? And how do I keep him in bed? PLEASE, help a tired mama out with your tips. Just leave a comment so that I may benefit from your wisdom.