Dad's turn in the studio

Cooper simply adores these little over-priced paint sets from the book store. There are two little figurines, 6 little pots of paint and a plastic paint brush in the box, that’s it, but for Cooper it is the bee’s knees... So last weekend we went to the ‘train store’ (book store, they have a train table in the children’s section) and almost immediately Cooper zoned in on one of these little paint sets...It quickly became clear that we weren't leaving the store without it. He held this treasure in his lap and inspected the contents through the cellophane window all the way home. It’s interesting to me, when he paints something 3D it’s a completely different scene. He’s so very deliberate and so careful but in the past, with me, there’s always been the same proclivity to put his hands in the tiny pots of paint as well. Last weekend when get got home from the bookstore I had to return a phone call so Grant took him up to the studio to get started. When I got up there I was really surprised by what I found. In a very painterly fashion Cooper was meticulously and cautiously painting his dinosaur, he was using the brush so delicately, very serious about it and when he was ready to change colors he would look at Grant and request the color he wanted (one color at a time, this was the rule that Grant had quickly established). There was no manic color mixing or constant requesting for different colors. He stayed completely focused and calm; there was no temptation to put his “poin-tah” in the paint, no requests to do so, no sleight of hand to distract us while he quickly gets his paint-on-skin fix. I think the difference this time actually had less to do with the 3D figure he was painting and a lot more to do with knowing his limitations with dad. It was a pretty neat experience for all of us i think.