What could be sweeter?
Birthday pictures will come soon. There is so much going on with the holidays in a few days so for now….
The daycare brought in Hara Beth Photography to take the kids photos. I debating on whether to get them or not but in the end, we did and these are some of the results:
His fake smile:
The real smile:
This is a look we see often, personally, it makes me laugh every time.
Cooper turns 2 today. It amazes me how much this kid has grown. He started the “Why” phase yesterday. The joyful conversations “Whys” will bring. Its actually pretty cute right now, I’m sure I’ll mention it again in a month or so without the same excitement. Tonight we’ve got cake with Aunt Lori and Uncle Fred. Saturday is Cooper’s party and also one for another friend of his born this same day. Sunday will be our sugar free day.
We not only have the “Why” stage but also “What [insert name] doing?” and “What’s that?”
I’ll expand this entry when we have time, gotta pick up a small kiddo soon.
Cooper is very interested in tractors, he’ll be delighted when we visit the Durland grandparents in December. Grandpa Durland collects tractors (real big ones).
Avery was sick this day so there are only pictures of Cooper and Tyler.
Cooper, Nathan and Benjamin got pumpkins:
Nathan thought it was funny to throw his to the ground:
Benjamin followed suit but then they realized they were left without pumpkins, Cooper refused to share his:
And we visited goats. 
*Pictures courtesy of Jason Ewing Photography.
I’m proud to say he’s a friend and a great photographer!
Waiting for the wedding to start:
Cooper and Ronan as “leaf boys”:
All my boys with Sarah and Diana, love this picture…Cooper is in the middle of saying cheese, heh.
*All Photos by Sledd Photography
Wow, I haven’t updated much the last few weeks. Can’t believe Cooper will be 2 years old in 10 days. Life has been hectic, but in a good way. No pictures as of now, but hopefully soon. I also need to start taking notes. I feel like Cooper is learning new things daily and I keep thinking “Oh, I need to remember to write something about this.” Now that I sit down, I can’t remember half of whats happened.
The old daycare had their Fall Fest. Cooper carried around his costume like it was a security blanket, refusing to wear it. He did try to trade it for Ronan’s sword (he was a pirate). Ronan didn’t think it was a decent trade so that was the end of that. It was great to run into parents we hadn’t seen in awhile. Fall Fest at SLICC is always fun.
Halloween came and went. Cooper was an Easter Peep. He got rave reviews although he refused to put the costume on until a neighbor told him he could ride in his child’s electric hummer. Cooper came running with hands above his head so we could slip on the costume. Unfortunately he only got to sit in the hummer rather than drive it since his costume made him too big to control it properly. Cooper was excited to trick or treat although he kept stepping into people’s homes. He also wanted to eat the candy as soon as he got it. We did allow him to eat candy when all was said and done, he had his first sugar high. Needless to say, he was a bit insane, using Scott’s ears to play “Row, Row, Row your boat” among other antics.
This past Saturday Cooper was a leaf boy (alternative to a flower girl) with Ronan in Sarah and Diana’s wedding. He did really well, luckily they didn’t expect him to stay in one place. He wandered off when needed and came back when he wanted. He also refused to part with the leaves in his bucket and proceeded to add rocks, flowers and even trash to it. It was a very special day for all involved. Looking forward to seeing pictures. Sarah was absolutely beautiful. They are both very lucky to have one another.
One huge thing that Cooper has learned this week, instead of saying yep or yeah, he says YES! And says it was such enthusiasm. Its pretty cool.
Next up…birthday parties, lots of them, including Coopers…
Cooper turned 23 months yesterday. I can’t believe that in another month he’ll be 2! Party’s already planned, now just waiting on the invites which the woman said she’d send me 2 weeks ago. I think I’ll need to make another phone call.
Cooper has started pretending on a pretty regular basis. He’ll pretend to eat food from stories books or as he plays kitchen he’ll pretend to eat what he makes, not just pretend to pour things together although he still does that often. He likes to tease a lot too, he’ll pretend he’s about to bite, thankfully its pretend but it gets scary at times. He loves playing in his room. He jumps on his bed, pulls out all his toys, lays on the floor putting puzzles together but still won’t sleep in there yet.
Right now Cooper loves to read “My Dad” by Charles Fuge. We also read other books but ”My Dad” gets read several times before bed each night. If I even suggest reading ”My Dad” at any other time of the day, Cooper thinks its time for bed and he tells me ”No Dad book.” May be you’ve noticed but if not, sentences are flowing more and more. Along with the N word (No, not the other N word). The “doing” question is hear often also, “Sasha doing?”; ”Daddy doing?”, “Avery doing?”, etc. I’m waiting for the why stage.
Cooper uses his potty when he feels like it. We’re still not pushing it but I’d like him to be out of diapers before the age of 3 which I don’t think is too much to ask for. He wakes in the morning with a dry diaper at times and usually wakes dry after naptime but we’ll see how things progress.
Since the daycare started the weekly music class Cooper’s been singing new songs quite often. It sometimes takes us a few days to figure out what song’s being sung but lately its been Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or Row, Row, Row Your Boat (“Row, Row” has been a favorite for months). There is also a marching song which is popular but have yet to remember to look up the words since Cooper gets upset when I don’t sing along. I’m surprised he even wants me to sing since I can’t keep a tune!
Cooper started taking off his own clothes last month, it started with shoes and socks, which evolved into taking off his shirt when he’s home. He can also put on his shorts but shows no interest in taking them off. Maybe we’ll actually have a child whose a bit modest. One can hope.
And lastly, Cooper has started saying “Luv Mommy” which is so nice to hear. I think he had some prodding from his father to start saying love. Still nice to hear.
Saturday we met up with some of Cooper’s friends and their parents at Sweet Berry Farms. Aunt Lori and Uncle Fred came also. Grandma Jeanie and her friend showed up shortly before we were about to head home but its always good to see her no matter how long the visit. Everyone seemed to have a great time. There was so much to do, pumpkin painting, hayrides, flower picking, corn maze, petting zoo…and tons of other things we didn’t even get to do before Cooper became too tired to function.
Thanks to Aunt Lori who uploads her pictures quickly, we have one photo so far:
*Sidenote: Cooper and I learned about the Durland Family Pumpkin Rule: You can have the one that you can carry*
Last Sunday was the Walk for Autism. It was pouring rain, which Cooper was thrilled with since it meant he got to wear his rain boots. Our team was only $40 short of our goal but that doesn’t matter, we were there to support Samantha and we reached that goal!
It literally POURED rain. We arrived late but our team members were nice enough to wait for us.
Some pictures from the walk:
Our Team:
Cooper pictures:
Pictures from last year:
Our Team when its not pouring rain:
Friday Cooper and I played hookie from work to visit Thomas the Train in Burnet, Texas with our friends, Charlotte (2), William (5) and their mom, Sarah. We had a great time even though the high was 68 and it didn’t get that high while we were there, but at least the rain had stopped.
Cooper really didn’t know who Thomas was until this day. I just knew trains were exciting and it was an opportunity to see one up close and take a ride. Charlotte was just along for the ride but her brother, William, was very excited. We got on the train, it was a long wait before we actually left the station. Cooper was quite fussy until we started moving. Then he was very happy to watch the trees go by. Eventually he wanted to share William and Charlotte’s seat with them even though it was a tight squeeze.
Conversation:
William: Cooper stop touching me!
William: Cooper move over!
Sarah: William, Cooper is little, he doesn’t mean to annoy you on purpose.
*Cooper gives Sarah a mean look*
Sarah: Cooper are you a big boy?
*Cooper smiles and shakes his head yes*
Once the train ride was over we went to the Lego tent, tons of Thomas trains on tracks. Cooper loved running the trains along the track, although some were run on batteries he still helped them along. He got a Thomas the Train tattoo which he proudly showed off. There was a petting zoo. He definitely entertained the people with the animals with his constant chatter. We tried the huge blow up slide but Cooper was too small to climb it but was content with jumping on the bottom of it. We learned he could care less for Thomas’s music but other than that, we had a lot of fun.
He was sleep before we hit the highway to go home. On the way home we passed a man stopped on the side of the road, kicking a dead porcupine. Not sure if he was determining its dinner worthiness or wanted to compost it for the skull. My vote was dinner, ick.
Thomas the Train day must have been awesome for him since on the way home, I look back, his eyes open wide, he says “Choo, choo…Choo, choo” and goes right back to sleep. To me, that signals a good adventure.
Saturday we met up with Charlotte, William and their mom again at Jungle Java. It was our first time and we might wait to go again until a weekday or first thing in the morning before tons of kids arrive. It was a pretty cool netted jungle gym but it amazed me that at the age of 3 or 4, some kids can be really mean. Yelling “get out of our treehouse” to other small children and 2 little girls kept passing Cooper telling him “We don’t like you” or “We’re not your friend.” Thankfully he doesn’t want to be their friend, okay, really, at his age, he could care less. A woman, not either of their mother, asks “Are you being mean?” They laughed and said “Yes” as if it was okay. The theme at Jungle Java is to get together with friends while your kids play safely in the netted gym. I was surprised at how many parents sat, drinking coffee and let their kids run wild without even searching for them every once in while. I guess being supervised by nets is completely acceptable to some. I did talk with a few parents as I climbed through the maze of tiger tails and such. It was nice to learn I wasn’t the only parent with the same sentiment.
Now some completely unrelated photos:
Cooper with his friends:
Sunday brunch, Cooper and Camille.
