Tobin's vocabulary so far has been developed, at least in part, by our encouragements. "Gentle," "Daddy," "Hannah," and others have become parts of his repertoire after repeated prompting from Mom and Dad. The drill usually goes like this:
Parent: Say "Mama."
Tobin: Drutch?
Parent: Say "Mama."
Tobin: Drutch!
Parent: Tobin, say "Ma-ma."
Tobin: Bom-ma
Parent: He said it! Woohoo! Say it again.
Tobin: Dretch?
Today was a different story, though. I took Tobin outside with me to allow Hannah her, ahem, business time. As Hannah completed said business, I praised her for it and Tobin said "Poop."
I said "Did you say 'Poop?'"
"Poop," said Tobin, at which I laughed so hard I almost forgot to scoop Hannah's. We went inside and called Allison (who was visiting Danielle, Mattison, and Riley at the time). On command, Tobin said his newest word into the phone. Mom laughed. Shortly after, we called my mom. Tobin obliged again with "Poop!"
I don't know if Tobin's dad or his Grandma was laughing harder, but a couple of things are certain: 1) T clearly has a sense of the giggle-inducing power of his new word and 2) Any word spoken near Tobin is fair game for his interpretation and repetition.
Apparently, Tobin would be just fine with us dropping him off at the local Petco during the work week instead of us spending all this money and effort on finding the perfect daycare. Saturday evening, we went out to eat and then Matt suggested that we take Tobin by the Petco in the same shopping center because it was really funny to watch Tobin's reaction to the rats at the store.Not that I'm one to quibble about precision in language (What, do you think ALL lawyers are like that?), but Matt's statement was a bit inaccurate. First, it was the rabbits, not the rats, that really excited T. Second, um, I think that when Matt said "funny" he meant "HILARIOUS." I almost cried.So we walk into the pet store and Matt walks Tobin up to this huge hexagonal glass cage with about six rabbits. He points them out to Tobin, who then begins squealing with laughter and pointing and RUNNING AROUND the cage while still giggling. We all stand there laughing for a while and then Matt picks him up and shows him the nearby rats, mice, and gerbils, who were also very amusing. But then T starts squirming to get out of Matt's arms and runs back over to the rabbits. And there was more of the same: running and laughing and squealing and pointing. So we stay for a while, all very entertained, and then Matt and I suggest we go see the fish and birds. Tobin is polite and sweet and giggles a little and makes his fishy face, but then again runs AWAY FROM US back to the rabbits.And seriously, when Matt and I decided that we probably should go because we weren't planning to buy anything in the store and maybe not everyone was amused by our very adorable and entertaining son, I think that the two of us could have walked out without T even batting an eye. He wanted to stay with the rabbits. Forever. And this is the same little boy who cries sometimes when Mama has to, you know, close the bathroom door. Or who clings to my legs when we walk into any new surrounding. But the pet store . . . apparently that's where he'd be just fine hanging out without us.
Tobin has a cold. On Thursday afternoon, we got a call from his preschool reporting a low-grade fever. That isn't quite the cause for panic it used to be, but I hurried to pick him up and take him home. His activity level was normal, he never registered another fever, and the only sign of illness was a steady stream from his runny nose. Still, the rule at school is 24 hours without fever before returning. I called in sick myself and spent the day with Tobin Friday. We had a nice day.We had such a nice day that I'm a little suspicious of his fever. Truth told, I feel like we played hooky. It was a nice day outside, so we spent a good part of the morning on our deck. Part of that is in the video below. Tobin has taken a few good naps this weekend and is tearing around the place like normal, so I think -- barring a Ferris Bueller-like turn by Tobin -- we'll both have to go back to our respective schools Monday.Just to warn you: the video below is a little gratuitous. It clocks in a little over 8 minutes. I didn't cut it down much because it's a good indication of a regular stretch of activity at our house and T shows off his myriad verbal and motor skills. If you want to skip parts in the middle, you won't hurt my feelings, but be sure to watch the last 30-35 seconds when T blows kisses and waves goodbye.
If you'd like to download copies of this video to keep on your computer, here are links: iPod format and Windows Media format.
Tobin went to the doctor today for a weight check, an interim follow-up appointment scheduled after his less-than-stellar weigh-in at his 15-month check-up. He weighed in at 25 pounds, 10 ounces & is back on normal curve according to the growth charts.Whew. Matt & I were quite happy & relieved. Feeding T remains somewhat of a challenge, because both his appetite for & interest in certain foods seem inconsistent. And we've both worked really hard to get those calories in him--without fighting him to do it.In a way, all this worry seems rather funny, considering what a plump little boy he is. But it's definitely nice that the doctor is no longer "concerned."