eat play sleep repeat

We established an important form of communication today. He woke up from his nap and cried. I went in and picked him up from the crib and put him down. He walked into the kitchen and cried. He patted his high chair. I asked him if he wanted a snack. He cried. I asked him if he wanted some milk. Nothing. I asked him if he wanted to eat, and he grinned hugely and replied "EAT! EAT!". So I fed him. He then asked for juice ("jooooos"). We were both happy that I was able to understand and comply with his requests. He knows "up" for when he wants to be picked up, and "on" and "off" for the lights, "out" for going outside. He's still saying "Nye nye" when he wants to go to bed (night night). I can ask him where his ball is, and he'll go and get it and bring it to me. He says "diaper" when he sees one, and sometimes just when he wants his diaper changed. Occasionally he says "Eh-mo" when he sees a diaper because Pampers have Elmo on them. He also says this whenever he sees Elmo or Cookie Monster, whether his stuffed animals or on the front of his pacifiers.

There's a big mystery tonight. We don't know where the cows have gone. Farmer Jed and the horses, chicken, pig, sheep, rabbit, duck, goose, and turkey are all safe on the farm (on his play table), and the tractor has somehow parked itself upside down inside the top of the silo, but there are no cows. Perhaps they have jumped over the moon. We asked Dennis, and he made a show of looking for them, but they are nowhere to be found. I suppose this means we are waiting for the cows to come home, ha ha. Strange.

He seems to feel better than yesterday and even better than the day before, but still not totally himself. So many naps. I haven't minded so much, because I am SICK SICK SICK myself, and I am convinced that if I get up again, I will cough my lung out onto the floor, where Dennis would probably stick his fingers in it and make a mess. We have enjoyed brief periods of play between the naps and meals, and he's still pretty snuggly. The amount of time he'll spend in a lap has diminished as the week has progressed, but he's still clingy. And sweet. And as much as I hate to see him feeling bad, I will miss the snuggles when he's running through the house independently again, hiding from me while he finds all the toxic things we thought were stashed safely away. Babyproofing is a process that is never quite finished!