coopers come down with another string of hand foot & mouth.  since he got it shortly after he first started at this daycare, he's got another string that has only attacked his mouth.  even though it's isolated to his mouth this time, i feel like it's been even more fierce.  this time, he's lost his voice and REFUSES to eat...anything!  i've even resorted to puree'ing food and he still won't have anything to do with it.  he looks like he wants to eat, but everytime he puts something in his mouth, he spits it out and screams out in pain.  at this point, we've just been trying to keep him hydrated (with alot of effort and very little results).  saliva has been pouring out of his mouth since he keeps his mouth open, refusing to swallow.  you think he was a big drooler before, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

  

cooper is sooo silly!  he's such a goofball....always cracking us up!  one night, we were watching tv and he grabbed a pair of swim goggles that he got from a birthday party. chew put them on him and he LOOOVED it!!  maybe he loved it because we were laughing so hard (he loves when he makes people laugh).  he just walked around with the goggles on, even though most of the time they were on crooked and he probably couldn't even see!  it was HILARIOUS!  we couldn't stop laughing!

"mine" ..."mine"...."mine" is what we're hearing around our household now.  the first time i heard it, i had put him into his carseat and he grabbed his blanket that he holds while in the car and said "MINE!"  i looked at him...shocked...miffed...stunned.  i knew he learned this in school, but i didn't really like that the whole "mine" thing has started.  a few days later, i talked to his teacher and it was revealed that in an effort to keep the kids from fighting over toys, they are encouraged to use their words instead of hands, feet (teeth, in cooper's case) and they either say "i have it" or "mine".  most of the toddlers can't say "i have it" so they say "mine".  it made me feel a little bit better knowing that he wasn't using it to be selfish, but instead, as a way to notify you that he's using it.  but now a days, everything is "mine".  he even held onto his dad's finger and wouldn't let go, yelling "MINE" the whole time he was pulling on it.  *sigh*

at his 18 month appointment earlier this month, his ped suggested that i cut cooper off of the pacifier.  *sigh* i told her, in all honesty, that chew and i had talked about it at great lengths recently and it's in our plan....eventually.  i started thinking back to when he actually grew dependent on it and it was when he got that awful allergic reaction to amoxicillin the first time around. when he was just completely miserable.  we allowed him to have his jiu-jiu all the time back then because i felt like i would do whatever it took to make him feel better.  after he recovered, his jiu-jiu became just another appendage.  that's when it all started.  but after that dr's appointment, i knew that i wasn't ready to take him off of it completely and i don't think we're being completely absurd since he's only 18 months, but i wanted to make a conscious effort to at least wean him off of it.  plus, she pulled the "developmental" card on me.  *sigh*  she said that she just didn't want him to develop speech problems.  makes sense-- if he has something constantly plugging up his mouth, how is he going to talk, right?  so i grew paranoid.  i started writing down all the words that he says and honestly, i feel comfortable saying that i don't think cooper has limited vocabulary.  but who knows *shrug*

we started mommy & me swim classes a few weeks ago.  we were invited by our friend to join their private class, which consists of cooper and 2 other babies.  i think the primary focus is to get him used to being in the pool and submerged in water.   other than putting our feet in a pool, he's never been inside a swimming pool.  the most he's been submerged in water is in the bath tub.  since he loves his baths and he absolutely loves water, i was surprised to see him so terrified of being in the pool.  the 1st class, he had a death grip on my hair and my neck practically the whole time.  but by the time we left, he seemed slightly more comfortable and even got a couple of giggles out of him.  the 2nd time around, cooper seemed to be alot more comfortable.  by the end, he was jumping into the water, submerging his whole head!  i was sooo proud of him!  every time i yanked him up out of the water, he would wipe off his face...and was ready to jump in once again!  definitely got a bunch of giggles from him the 2nd week!  the 3rd week, the weather was colder, thus the water felt really cold.  he wasn't having a pleasant time.  i could see his teeth chattering, the goose pimples and then the whining and wanting to get out, plus that was chew's first time being in the water with him.  but he definitely made progress. still didn't get the whole blowing "bubbles" thing, but he held onto the kick board instead of pushing it away and he was flying  through the water with big smiles on his face!  this last weekend, our 4th class...was a complete surprise.  from the moment we got into the pool...giggles..smiles...saying "jump"....flying through the water...trying to blow "bubbles"....holding onto the kickboard...kicking his legs while we swooshed through the pool! WOW!!  what fun!!!!!


*blush* i bought a time-out mat.  however, after i received it in the mail, i haven't had to use it.  *knock on wood*  i talked to cooper's teacher yesterday and she said that whatever we're doing at home is working because this whole week, he hasn't even made an attempt to bite! WOW!!  i was so anxious to try out the time-out mat too! *wink* however, it's always a give and take, right?  instead of biting, he's been stomping on things.  he learned how to stomp on bugs outside after our backyard was completed.  and now, at school, he's been trying to stomp on...anything..and anyone.  yes, anyONE.  it's one of those phases...he's finally figured out what his feet can do and he's taking them out for a test drive.   his teacher said he woke up from his nap and was hanging out with her while the other kids napped.  he went over to his friend and tried to stomp on his head! GASP!!!!  but it's just one of the phases that he'll grow out and start another new phase.... *sigh*

but he really is a good boy-- besides the onset of the terrible two tantrums.