So this might be a completely normal developmental thing – I’ve been cautious to not let myself make a big deal out of milestones and such that Cooper reaches, because I’m quite sure that every baby hits these at varying times, and there’s very few things that are truly exceptional. But this one kind of wowed me, especially at ten months old.

Chris was playing with Cooper in the nursery this morning, where he of course has all of his favorite books, most often scattered on the floor around the rocking chair. Sometimes, he will bring a book to us to read, and turn around and sit in our lap, which is adorable. But today she found a new wrinkle.

She asked him to bring her a book, and then started reciting the beginning lines of “Are You My Mother?” which is one of his favorites (and yes, we have the books memorized – Chris a little more accurately than I). He looked at her and then promptly walked over, picked that book up from the floor, and brought it over to her. She couldn’t quite believe it, and after she read the book, she tested him a couple more times and he did the same thing.

After telling me about it, we were back in the nursery later that day and I tried it myself; I started saying the beginning of “Is Your Mama a LLama?” and sure enough, he found the book and brought it to me. He did it again with his favorite peekaboo book – really just from the line “Where’s the elephant with big floppy ears?” and then again by reciting “Where Is The Green Sheep?” That one was a bit more impressive as the book was up on the shelf and not just lying in plain sight on the floor. And there’s no uncertainty on his part; he hears the words and goes to grab that specific book immediately.

I really don’t know what to make of this except that I’m pretty impressed. Clearly he’s making clear associations between the words we read and the actual books (and probably a ton of other things), but to see it play out so blatantly was pretty amazing.

Now where IS that green sheep?