The Strange Likes of Cooper Beach

One day at a friend's house, my friend asked me to make Cooper laugh so she could hear it. I thought about the things that had made him laugh the last couple days, me exclaiming at the doctor's office "yay Cooper has two testicles!" or me shimmying at him while saying "shimmy shimmy shimmy." Not wishing to repeat any of that in public, I declined the offer. Cooper doesn't often enjoy normal baby things like having someone blow raspberries on your tummy or playing a mild mannered game of peekaboo. But he does enjoy some other, stranger things, like-

• Being hit over the head repeatedly with a straw

• Watching a stranger eat pizza at Costco. I kept having to apologize to this poor man as Cooper would shriek with delight with each bite he took.

• Hearing daddy say "giiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrllllll you so crazy!"

• Watching movie credits. Never the actual movie, but the credits sure are exciting, the longer the better. He balls his hands into tight fists and trembles with excitement from head to toe.

• Staring at the microwave. Whether there's anything in it or not.

• Having air blown on his bare bummy

• Having daddy jump out when you least expect it and shout BOO in his loudest, deepest, most terrifying voice

• Chewing on a plastic ziploc bag that has a peep in it. This is absolutely his favorite toy. A bag with a peep in it let me go grocery shopping and to the bank in absolute peace one day.

• Eating half of a recipe card when mommy looked away for one nano second

Cooper is obviously a boy of great intelligence, a sophisticated sense of humor, and some strong preferences.