Month 10

Weighs: 23.5 lbs.
Length: 31 in.
Status: Curious Toddler

Firsts:
Cooper can easily walk wherever he wants! He got really confident about 2 weeks ago and prefers walking over crawling now.
Has four teeth on top and four on bottom
Shakes his head "no" to everything.
Can sign the words "eat" and "more"
He is starting to mimic simple hand gestures and noises
He recognizes his name and knows and responds to the words, "Daddy's home", outside, "come on" and no. He probably understands more but doesn't respond if he does.
Can get himself to sleep at night without a bottle.
Can hold his own bottle/sippy cup and drink the whole thing by himself.
Cooper can entertain himself for a good half hour splashing in puddles, eating wood chips, flowers, grass rocks and dirt. To say the least we have to watch him carefully outside. : )
Due to Cooper's new found mobility he has his first scraped up nose. : (
Cooper is starting to point at things

Favorites:
Chasing the vacuum, broom, balls, other toddlers, the lawn mower and mom and dad.
Loves to help hold the hose while washing the cars
Socializing- when we go to play groups he likes to make eye contact with other kids and babble at them. Of course he likes to take their toys too.
Picnics in the park
Going down the slide by himself
Swinging
Being outside
Eating rocks, dirt, grass, garbage, wood chips and flowers
He likes to share what he puts in his mouth.
Pushing his stroller or anything with wheels
Babbling really loud when he's not getting enough attention
Not taking naps. He only sleeps about 1-2 hours a day now
Anything electronic-iphones, cameras, remote controls,PS3 controllers, or laptops.
Going on walks
Books-especially his Tractor and Tail books
Being tossed in the air by daddy
Loves shopping and riding in the cart
Sleeping on his belly
Paper or anything that crinkles.

Memorable Moments:
Now that Cooper has a habit of shaking his head "no" we like to tease him. We ask him if he likes spinach, if he wants to go to bed, if mom looks pretty today, and if he wants to go outside and he shakes his head no every time. We think it's so funny. All he knows is he's being cute.

Mike was home from lunch and it was time for him to go back to work. Brianne was holding him and said, "Say goodbye to daddy". Cooper shook his head no and reached for Mike to hold him. Mike took him and Cooper turned to Brianne and waved goodbye.

Now that Cooper is more mobile we have been putting up more baby latches on cupboards and gates on stairs. Cooper is so smart and knows we are trying to keep him out of something cool. We think he will be persistent because he wanted to get into one of the cupboards so bad that he cracked the cupboard door from tugging on it.

One day we were at the park and there was a little boy about 2 years old named Kyden. Kyden latched right on to Cooper and followed him around everywhere. If Cooper went to the swings Kyden wanted to go too and if we were going down the slide Kyden was right there with us. Cooper kept looking for him and smiling at him and we could tell he enjoyed having a friend around.


Things that Make Cooper Cry:

Being put in his crib to take a nap or go to sleep for the night.
When we take something he wants away
Being sick
Getting teeth
When he wants something he can't have
If we leave the room and he wants to come with us
When he's hungry
If he is having fun and the fun stops
If we stop his feeding before he is full
When he needs a change of scenery


Things that Make Cooper Smile and Laugh:
Swings
Hiding and popping out at people
If we hide and pop out at him quickly
Being tossed in the air
If we playfully tug on something he is holding
Dancing to music
When we chase him
Getting tickled
Bath Time
Getting startled or surprised
He will smile at anyone who will give him attention.