Cooper's Little Sister!

This morning we found out that we are expecting a girl!  Here she is!!

18 Months Old on Easter!

Happy Easter!

This year we celebrated Easter by having brunch, a late afternoon shrimp boil, and an egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's.  We were joined by Uncle Clint, who came down from San Antonio, and our friend Dana.  Everyone enjoyed the brunch cooked by Grandma.  Cooper ate a huge meal of scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage and fruit.  After brunch Cooper ran into the living room and discovered what the Easter Bunny left him.  He exclaimed, "OH WOW!"  when he saw the mini wagon, bubble gun, Thomas the Train toy, and hot wheels cars.

Next we all trooped outside so Cooper could hunt eggs.  He got mad at first b/c we were trying to steer him into a part of the yard (where the eggs were hidden) that he didn't want to be.  He got into the hunt pretty quickly though when he found out how fun it was to find an egg and place it in the basket.  Every time he found another egg he would  exclaim, "OH!!"  He also quickly discovered how much easier it was to put the eggs in the basket instead of trying to carry 4 or 5 eggs in his hands.

Sunday also marked Cooper turning 18 months old.  At his well-baby appointment this morning, he weighed in at 25 lbs, 4 oz, and was 33' long.  That puts him in the 75th percentile for length and 50th percentile for weight...He is a steady Eddy as far as his growth goes.  I suppose the biggest development for Cooper right now is language.  He seems to pick up a new word at least every other day and is in the beginnings of stringing words into phrases.  It is hard to remember every last word he knows but a few of our favorites are:

Daddy, Mama, Ralph (our dog), Le-le (next door neighbor Layla), Pa-Pa (Grandpa), Nana (banana), ball, buppo (hippo), fruck (truck), gar-gar (car), bebes (baby), bubbos (bubbles), ook (look), off, yeow (what the kitty says), gog-gog (what the duck says), and choo-choo (what the train says)

His phrases include "all gone", "all done", " oh wow!", "uh-oh", "oh no!" and "ew gross!" and "bye-bye" but he says it with a southern twang and follows it with a "mmmmuh!" while blowing a kiss.

Cooper also likes to brush his hair when Mom brushes hers, and grab anything somewhat flat with buttons (like the remote control) put to his ear and say with zeal, "Ello!"  He can also give you five, eat with his fork (even though he doesn't like to), color, and he loves to flip through his books all by himself.  He has developed somewhat of an obsession with Thomas the Train and we made the mistake of letting him watch the one Thomas dvd we have.  Now he runs to our room, turns on the dvd player, and if the remote is in reach, turns on the tv, snuggles up against our pillows, and watches it.  Then he pitches a huge fit when I turn it off or try to get him to do something else.  Last night we closed the door to our room so he couldn't even go in there and he flopped himself down on the floor by the door and screamed for 15 minutes!  I can't believe I am already having to put my foot down when it comes to tv watching!

That is Cooper in full-swing toddler mode in a nutshell!  Next I suppose is the terrible twos, which I think have already started!

I Scream, You Scream, Cooper Screams for Ice Cream!

February in a Nutshell

Well since March is half over, I'll post our goings-on in February!

We traveled to Houston for a convention for Mom and Dad's work.  Cooper had fun hanging out with Grandma and ordering room service with Mom at the hotel.

Cooper took swimming lessons...until he got his first ear infection!

Poor baby had his first sick day home from school!

We took Cooper to a park in Portland on Corpus Christi Bay on the very first warm day of the year

We celebrated David's 31st birthday!

We started a major home renovation...turning our back den into a master bedroom so our house goes from a 2 bedroom, 1 and a half bath to a 3 bedroom, 2 bath!

And finally, we found out that we are expecting!  Cooper will be a big brother come early September!

15 months old

This week Cooper turned 15 months old! We went in for his well baby appointment and unfortunately, more shots! Cooper is now 32 inches long (er, tall) and weighs 25 lbs. He is where he always is in percentile: 50th for weight, and 75th for length. The doctor was pleased at how active both physically and cognitively he is, and how healthy he is! Our tall and lean little dude has yet to ever run a fever! Over the holidays, Cooper also cut his two upper incisors, leaving only two teeth to go until his 2 year molars! Whew! 

We can't wait for teething to be done...it disrupts everyone's sleep! We adore having a toddler! He jibber-jabbers all day long, with an occasional intelligible word. While we can't always understand what Cooper is saying, he gets his point across! He knows how to point to objects he wants but can't reach, bring us books or toys he wants us to read or play with, and unfortunately, pitch a fit when he doesn't get his way. He can also tell us that the monkey goes "ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo", show us his belly when asked, and make the "brush your teeth" soundthat goes along with the "brush your teeth" song we sing. Just last week he started helping me put up toys when I asked him to! He prefers to use his fork over his hands to eat, even if he isn't always successful, and he loves to be outside. Some of his favorite activities include swinging, patting the dog, and pushing and pulling and riding in his wagon.

Cooper has also figured out the slide he got for Christmas...then he took it to the next level at our friend's house. They have a big-kid fort complete with a ladder and slide, which are a good 4 to 5 feet off the ground. Cooper ran over to it, and immediately scrambled up the ladder and went down the slide as if he had been doing it for years! David was ecstatic and I had to take a few deep breaths.

Happy Holidays!!

Merry Christmas!!!  We  had a great Christmas and hope all of our friends and family did as well!  December is one HECTIC month, especially with a toddler running around.  I feel like the fact that I can even blog is a miracle in itself.  In the petroleum industry, and especially in Corpus Christi, everybody sort of gets into a vacation-y frame of mind.  It is next to impossible to carry on any business! David and I attended several industry Christmas parties this year, just as we always do, but with just a little twist.  Cooper got to attend two of them with us, though we only stayed an hour (or so).  Aunt Libby kept Cooper while we attended our favorite party on the 9th, and Grandma kept him while we attended David's company party on the 14th.  Then, on the 19th, we attended a graduation party where Cooper spent the night with Grandma!  This was our first time to spend the night apart, and we all did fine!  Cooper woke up a few times, but he does that to me all the time, and there were no major meltdowns or issues! It went so well, according to Grandma, that we are already planning a weekend getaway for "just us".

After all the holiday party hoopla, the week of Christmas came roaring in.  I had tried desperately all month to do all the shopping and running around beforehand, so we wouldn't be in such a crazy state the week of Christmas...FAIL!!!  Oh well, tis the season!  On the Eve of Christmas Eve, three of my cousins, Uncle Clint, and Aunt Christie and Uncle James came over for a shrimp boil.  The next night we hosted Christmas Eve for my family, and our long ago adopted family the Morgans.  We stayed true to the south Texas tradition of eating tamales on Christmas Eve, along with a big pot of chili, and OUR tradition, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme.  Cooper miraculously stayed on his schedule, even if we pushed it back a little late.  After his bath, showing us his new "brush your teeth" dance, he hit the sack and slept relatively well all night.  On Christmas morning, Cooper immediately pointed at the now full stockings, so that is what we did first.  After Mom and Dad had coffee and Cooper had some milk, we attacked the mound of presents left by Santa.  Cooper got TONS of toys and books.  After breakfast and some hurried pie baking, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for more presents and Christmas dinner.  Again, Cooper made a haul!  Grandma and Grandpa couldn't agree on what his big present should be...a ride-on BMW or a rocking horse...so he got both!  ONLY GRANDPARENTS!!!

The next day, we got up early, and hit the road to visit the Kirks in Houston.  We were greeted with 3 very excited cousins and MORE PRESENTS!  Cooper's big gift was a DVD player that you can watch in the car...thank you Nonnie and Papa Kirk!!  We stayed two nights, playing Wii with our nephew, taking Cooper to the park, and of course, eating WAY too much.  It was almost a relief to drive home...knowing that all the holiday indulgence was almost over.  At any rate, we had a beautiful and blessed holiday and are just "full" of the season.  Happy New Year!!

Thanksgiving

This year we traveled to Houston to be with the Kirks for Thanksgiving. We had a very pleasant holiday, even if getting there wasn't so wonderful. While we were driving on the beltway in Houston, something (we think a golf or baseball) flew up and shattered Cooper's window! It scared us half to death! Cooper was completely fine. In fact, he didn't so much as even cry! (Mom did, however, when she realized how bad that could have been!) Even though we grumbled about having to deal with a smashed window over the holiday, we

were reminded that we have so much to be thankful for! Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, though Cooper slept through it. (Dinner just happened to be ready during his usual nap time.) When he woke up, Cooper happily ate turkey, bread, broccoli with cheese, and a bite of apple pie. When we weren't eating, Cooper had a blast playing with his cousins Brayden, Brianna, and Brycen. He thought he was a big kid! He loved sitting at the kids' table,(...so much that when we got home we ordered him one!) and playing at the playground across the street.

The Kids' table:  Brianna, Brycen, Brayden and Cooper

Cooper and Brianna.  I think she was his favorite.

Brayden pushing Coop on the swing.

Dad and Cooper at the top of the slide...

I want to go down again!

Make it go!

Cooper's Day Out

In lieu of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I am taking the entire week off from work. That gave us the opportunity to take Cooper to the Texas State Aquarium for the first time. Grandma recently finished up a fundraising project for the aquarium so she had a free pass. Cooper liked looking at the fish, birds and dolphins, though his favorite exhibit were some orange construction cones near the bird theater. (Oh, well.) He really loved that we didn't make him sit in the stroller and he got to roam around. (Usually in public places he has to sit or hold my hand.) After walking around outside for a bit, we went to the underwater viewing area for the dolphins. Cooper liked watching the dolphins swim by, until he noticed the other little kids around. Then he was happy to be right in the middle of the other kids. Afterward, we trooped back up to watch the dolphin show. Grandma and Mom enjoyed the show, Cooper relaxed in his stroller and had a snack. We were encroaching on nap time, so we made the 10 minute drive home. (There ARE benefits to living in a small town!)

Cooper's favorite "exhibit"

"Reading" the exhibit information

Fish at the Gulf of Mexico exhibit

Cooper and the dolphins.

Trick or Treat!

This October 31st marked Cooper's second Halloween. Last year Coop was only a month old, so all we got to do was dress him up in an orange pumpkin onesie (which he didn't like), and take pictures. We started the day by oversleeping...(Lately Cooper has been sleeping past 6 a.m....THANK THE LORD!) We had a garage sale with friends in the morning, then everyone came over to our house for lunch (Thanks Libby!) and a little football (Gig 'Em Aggies!!!) while Cooper took a nice long nap.

That evening, Uncle James and Aunt Christie, and Uncle Clint came over to help celebrate Halloween. We suited Cooper up in his dinosaur outfit, then drove to Grandma's and some friends' houses so Cooper could trick-or-treat for the first time. Afterward, we ended up back at our house for football, buffalo wings, beer and of course handing out candy. At first, Cooper wasn't too sure about all the kids in costume coming to our door, but after watching me give them candy a few times, he decided it was okay. Every time there was a knock on the door, Cooper would head towards the door and "help" me hand out the candy.

It was a relaxing evening...we ran out of candy and had to switch the porch light off by 7:30 and Cooper only stayed up mildly late. He even seemed to enjoy being in costume all evening. Here are some pics:

What is this?  Can I really eat it?

Dad, Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, and Cooper

Uncle Clint, Coop, and Christie

Trick-or-Treating with Grandma.

What we have been up to...

I know I haven't posted since the momentous occasion of Cooper's first birthday...we have been busy! We are still officially in what I call our "birthday season." We have been in one long continuous birthday celebration since September 30 (my dad's birthday). After Cooper's birthday (and Clint's) we had David's mom, and my mom...and countless other relatives and friends. All we have left of the season is for me to hit the big 3-0 on the 24th and then we can start getting ready for the holidays! I just love fall! Birthdays, holidays, cool weather, and college football! I am getting off track! (Though I am enjoying the cool, crisp air as I type.)

In the last two weeks, we have been celebrating birthdays and we enjoyed a visit from Nonnie and Papa. David is hitting work hard as usual, fixing things in and around our house (as usual) and working on selling our jeep. He is enjoying his new (to us) Hummer H3 truck, and has even had a chance to hunt AND fish some this fall. (I know what you are thinking about the truck...it actually gets pretty good gas mileage!)

I am busy working part-time and loving getting to be with Cooper during a lot of my week. I am in training for the San Antonio half marathon, and am taking a cake decorating class.

My cake, after one week of class.

Cooper gets to hang out with Grandma twice a week, go to Mother's Day Out once a week, and he and I are taking a music for toddler's class. We have a lot of fun dancing, singing, and playing instruments with the other moms and toddlers. Otherwise he is just one busy, happy, and spirited toddler!

Driving his friends around the house.

First attempt at mac and cheese...with a spoon!

I guess that sums us up pretty well...Happy Fall everyone!!