STOP!

I know I know, I was so determined to catch up on posting but it didn't happen. I had good intentions so that has to count for something. As I sit here typing, Brooks has gotten into the dog drawer and is pulling out every leash, bag of dog treats, shock collar, more treats, another shock collar. He is unstoppable. Oh and yes, now he is chewing on the shock collar (yes it is turned off and no he won't get shocked). The reason for my post title comes from two evenings ago. I kind of did something bad, I accidentally taught Brooks how to say stop. I was short on patience by the end of the day and he was being especially difficult aka naughty. He had thrown his food all over the kitchen and thought it was so stinkin' funny. I kept saying, "Stop that" and "Brooks stop" you know I was trying to avoid "NO". I am trying very hard to avoid the word NO as long as possible for fear that I will be hearing "NO" back. Well what do you know, after a few minutes Brooks says to me "No" then a few minutes later "Stop that". Yesterday I was playing the piano because Brooks loves to sing along, well he had apparently moved on to better things by that point and came up to me, started banging on the piano bench and exclaimed "Stop". UGH, what have I done? Luckily, Brooks picks up a word, says it for a few days, then quickly forgets. I will be on my best behavior and will not be using that word anytime soon. He is such a smart little guy, last night in the bathtub he did the coolest thing. He has a red plastic ring from a stacking toy that he plays with in the bathtub, he noticed that the ring had a hole and that his blowfish was round. So he put the blowfish in the ring (like an innertube) and floated the blowfish around the tub. Pretty cool huh! I'm still in the process of teaching him how to go down the stairs. If I get him started he can do it, but it's the initial scooting to the edge backwards that he is hesitant with. Yup, he is still playing with the shock collar right now AND talking to the dog. Multitasking baby! Just in case anyone was wondering, I'm not a crazy parent that let's her child play with EVERYTHING. Okay, maybe a little... but I do have boundaries. Not many, but some. I don't know how I ended up this way, I'm not sure how I feel about it really. All I know is that with a baby who screamed for the first few months of life, you don't ever want to rain on their parade. Also, Brooks is extremely extremely active and inquisitive which morphs into naughtiness! I did my best for a long time to stop him from getting into everything but the kid is like the Hulk I tell ya, I can't win! It was either my sanity or his and he won. I often tell people that unless it's a health or safety concern I'm not too concerned. I have a feeling this is going to come back and bite me you know where someday. Yup, now he is playing with the dog comb (which has never been used so yes it's clean) and his pants are falling down ha.

Well I know this isn't the most interesting post but it's a mere glimpse of my day.

Curious... are most one year olds suppose to be able to do hand over hand fine motor skills because guess what, my Brooks does!!!

Quick funny story: There's a girl in one of my classes, she is from Vermont. She raised her hand and asked, "So do you teach different literature and use different textbooks in Utah because of the Mormons?"
UH... HHHEEELLLOOO. No we don't teach differently because of mormons in Utah. Just an interesting fact, did anyone know that Utah has a larger Catholic population than LDS. I could die, I just can't believe she asked such a question. Laugh a little at it with me, will you?! Have a great day :)