EAT cookie!!!

This post ought to be sponsored by the people at Oreo. He likes them so much that he learned to say cookie today when asking for another one. Perhaps we have erred in that his first introduction to the Oreo cookie was a Double Stuff one, so he'll have high expectations of them now. He actually said "eat cookie" today when he spied the package on top of the counter, trying to convince me to let him at it. Do you know how hard it is to clean Oreo residue off a one year old? It mixes with the drool and gets everywhere, and Dennis, thinking it was falling out of his mouth and he might miss some, shoved his hands in his mouth to make sure he got all the cookie. Picture blackened hands with Oreo creme on them, and a black ring around his mouth, with a few drops of black on the collar of his shirt. Now, picture his big toe with Oreo creme on it from where he grabbed his foot in a fit of cookie ecstasy while he was eating one. It takes a lot of wiping to clean up after an Oreo. But it's totally worth it.

The day passed quickly in a whirlwind of Dennis chasing, trying to keep him from climbing up and falling off all the furniture. He escaped from his pea pod when I put him down for his first nap. I heard his feet stomping around and ran in to check, and his pod still appeared zipped at first glance. I wondered if he channeled Star Trek and beamed out of it, but then I saw that he'd escaped from the side zipper. He didn't have a morning nap, but took a pretty long one midday. To stave off afternoon boredom, I thought it might be nice for us to take a swim. I bundled him in a life jacket and donned one myself and we hit the water. He was happy with it for about 15 minutes before he stuck his face in the water and got upset enough to want out. Oh, well. Back upstairs and off with the swim diaper and swim trunks and life jacket and wet sandals... So much prep for a quarter of an hour of water play.

He enjoyed another spaghetti dinner tonight. He didn't say a word at dinner, just kept on steadfastly stuffing his mouth with noodle after noodle. His whole face was orange afterward, so more wiping was required. And then we took him to the playground, just as it was getting dark. There were several other children there, all a little older, and after swinging and sliding on his own, he went over to play with them. They helped him get up on the big play structure and then all slid down the slide with him. He was in the middle of a kid chain going down the slide. They were screaming, as kids do, and it must have put him over his comfort threshold, because when his feet touched the ground, he ran for the playground exit! One girl asked him if he wanted to slide again, or to swing, but he didn't even pause and just kept heading toward his stroller. He had fun, though, and we thanked the kids for helping him. He must have decided it was bedtime! We couldn't get him into the car fast enough! Now he's in the backseat chanting "eat" and "Pop" while we head for home. I'll bet he sleeps hard tonight.