Great Summer Weekend!

This weekend our old friends Paul and Marcia came down for a visit.  We hadn't seen them in a long time, so it was great to catch up!  Of course they brought their little boy Hunter, who is only 2 weeks older than Cooper.  The boys had a great time playing together!  They had fun swimming, playing with toys, and going to the beach.  Shame on me, I didn't take enough pictures!  But here are a few:

David, Paul, Marcia, Hunter, and Cooper (and some random guy walking by):

Boys playing with toys:

Cooper in a rare moment of sitting in one place:

Cooper: The Lost Files

Ok, so I love technology as much as the next person, but I don't LOVE technology like many of my counterparts seem to. Therefore, I am not the techno-savviest. I have had tons of pictures of Cooper on my phone for months but didn't know how to get them onto my computer so that I could post them. Luckily, Cooper has at least one techno-savvy parent who recently swooped in and saved the day. Dad downloaded (or uploaded?) all 118 pictures from my phone on to my computer so that I could finally share them! Thought I should, since very soon this blog won't just be about Cooper.

Being silly at the Becker Reunion (Grandma's side) back in September:

"Helping" Mom at the Office (not 100% sure when):

Early morning walk (hence the pjs) at the lake in November:

With Dad

Playing at the fountain at Pico de Gallo's in San Antonio, after Mom's half marathon, in November:

Kirk men on the prowl, right after Christmas in Houston:

Our Little Jumping Bunny!

Cooper and I are involved in a program this summer called Jumping Bunnies. Mostly it consists of Cooper getting to run around and play on all the gymnastics equipment at the athletic club. He loves going, and I love the 3 hour nap that usually follows! Some of Cooper's friends from school and the music class we took last fall come also, which adds to the fun. Here are some video clips of him trying out all equipment.

Summer is Here!

Welcome Summer!!!

We love this time of year anyway, but this year we are even more excited for the onset of the FUN season.  We started the season by moving.  Our little house, while sweet, was just too small for our growing family.  We have relocated across the Harbor Bridge to a bigger house.  Our new house is complete with a spectacular view of Nueces Bay, a sun room, and a pool!  Just in time for the hot weather!  Cooper loves the water, and is already showing that he is a natural swimmer.

Life is still hectic, as we try to get settled into the new house AND get ready for our baby girl due in early September.  I have made the transition to stay-at-home-mom status and I love it!   I am on the cusp of the 3rd trimester, so my energy levels are starting to wane just a bit.  With the energy I do have, I am taking on various home projects because I know I won't have the time once the baby comes.  In between unpacking boxes, painting 2 bedrooms and a bathroom, and figuring out what we still need for the baby, Cooper and I are enjoying various summer activities.

Cooper is still having a blast at Mother's Day Out twice a week, which gives me a chance to run errands without him.  On Wednesdays we meet our old neighbors (and friends) for a play date, and we have just started an activity called Jumping Bunnies for our Fridays.  Jumping Bunnies is where we can go to the CC Athletic Club so Cooper can jump around and play on all the gymnastics equipment.  He LOVES it!  We also plan on squeezing in a two-week session of swimming lessons sometime this summer as well.

Cheese!

Day in the Sun

On Sunday we took a break from all the home renovation, house buying plans, packing, etc. to enjoy a day out. We attended the International Boat Show at the marina with our friends Bill and Libby.  The sun was strong but the humidity was low, making it for a gorgeous day!  We pushed Cooper around in the stroller as we looked at boats, motor homes and boat stuff.  I have always boycotted going to the boat show because I am not that interested in looking at things we can't buy, but we had a great time!  Dad demoed a kayak and I found a swinging chair that will be perfect for our new house.  Some friends picked us up in their boat while the Coast Guard bore down on us, making us move for the speed boat races.  We anchored on the other side of the breakwater on the jetty, giving us a good view of the races, and a place for Cooper to play.  Cooper did great on the boat!  He loved the races and the boat ride.  He didn't love wearing a life jacket, but that is just something he will have to get used to!  He even slept for an hour on the boat while the guys shopped the boat show a little more.  It was fun to be on the water for most of the day, and no one got sunburned!  A few pics:

Coop at the Boat Show

Dad and Coop playing in the water, waiting for the speed boat races:

I've got yucky stuff on my hands!

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!