what's my copay?

After the second unsuccessful attempt to get Dennis to take a nap (this time he insisted he needed to potty AGAIN), I put my head in my hands. I was desperate to get him to sleep--I have much house cleaning to do before the Big Event on Sunday and I am a few days behind due to the Week of Barf we've experienced. And I had a raging headache from lack of eating, lack of caffeine, and surplus Dennis speak. He asked "what's the matter, Mommy?" and when I told him I had a headache, he asked "want me to kiss it better?". I smiled and told him that yes, that would help. He kissed my forehead and then said "there, you can start feeling better now and I can go back to my office". I told him "thank you, Dr. Dennis" and he gave me a big smile and ran off.

Oh, was he full of talk today, all of it funny, most of it loud... During the first nap attempt, I overheard this conversation he was having with himself: "is that my birthday cake? I love birthday cake. Thank you!" and "okay, I will close my eyes"; "SURPRISE!" ; "is that my birthday cake? It's my favorite!"; "yes, that's Chloe's piece, no, Chloe, don't eat mine, you have your own". I suppose he was rehearsing what might be going down on Sunday. I feel kind of bad for giving him the 'exercise bike' early because that night he said "is my birthday over?" in a kind of sad voice. I have been trying to gear him up for a big celebration. THEN we'll deal with post-birthday letdown (which we will replace with pre-cruise anticipation, I hope).

Tonight in Uncle Denny's hospital room, he put on a headphone/microphone thing (Happy Meal Toy) and became Coach Dennis, urging Gran and Pop and me to run to him and then run and catch the ball. He's a heck of a trainer! He also heavily resisted Pop's efforts to get him to speak quietly in the car, saying "but I want to be loud now". He must have asked us a hundred questions on the way home tonight, and though it forces me to up my mental activity constantly, I must say that I just love his inquisitiveness. What I love most is how he instantly comprehends what we tell him and then turns what he's learned into a useful concept. Great mind. I can't wait to see what all it can do (and am a little bit intimidated by same).