Merry Christmas to all! Celebrating Christmas for the first time as a real family was awesome. We had a flurry of traveling over the weekend, but it was all close by--and no snow on the roads to compete with made it a piece of cake!
Christmas Eve day was celebrated at Grandpa Randy and Grandma Chris's. Cooper loved ripping off the wrap and crawling like a crazy man through the paper pile in the middle of the living room. He got spoiled with some exciting gifts, all of which he'll love even more in the coming months as he gets a tad older. The evening was great... heading off to church and then home with just the three of us to celebrate our own family Christmas.
Cool-a big box I can stand up by!
Back and forth, back and forth through the paper...
4 generations
Cooper and Great Grandma Betty
Christmas Morning: If we thought there was any chance Cooper might sleep in for such a special day as Christmas, we were sorely mistaken. He was up an raring to go at his usual 6:15 am. He must have known what was waiting for him downstairs! Santa was good to Cooper, bringing him some pretty cool gifts. As he gets older, his toys are becoming more and more BOY. As a girl who grew up with only girls, it's taking me some time and some deep breaths to realize that Cooper may not think so highly of the toys I thought were so cool as a kid. But 'my boys' are teaching me quickly.
Then it was off to church, followed by brunch at Grandma Dawn's. More presents!
Our Family - 2011
So sleepy!
Up from a nap and ready to go!
On our 'recovery' day after the busy weekend, we started going through Cooper's toys to decide which ones could be put away and marked as 'baby toys.' After gathering up all the toys from various rooms in the house and emptying diaper bags, we barely felt like we made a dent in the toy collection. I think Cooper knew something was up, because as I was sorting through things, he kept thinking he needed to dump out the box and play with the toys he hasn't cared about in months. We also decided to take advantage of the warm weather and no snow by trying out Cooper's Power Wheel in the backyard. He's not too sure about it quite yet, but I bet we'll have a track warn in the yard come summer.
"What do you think you're doing with my toys, mom?!"
Evil Knievel will be ready to ride solo this summer!
What a wonderful weekend... it began on Friday night when we got together for our annual "Sister Christmas." Dana, Amanda & Dan, Missy & Phil, and Jeremy & I went out to SkyZone in Plymouth. It's a giant trampoline warehouse--AKA playground for adults on a Friday night!! It was so much fun. My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so much while we were there. Competing in the foam pit, playing Butt Wars, and jumping (or in my case, biffing) off the trampoline wall was just the warm up. Dodgeball was absolutely brutal. I got annihilated by some psycho high school kid in full Spandex and sweatbands. I decided to sit out for a while so I didn't lose a limb. But it was still super fun watching full grown adults acting like big, crazy kids. Once the game was over, Jeremy assured me he got Mr. Spandex back really good for me. Like-in his face-really good :)
After we were all jumped out, we went to Old Chicago for drinks and our little gift exchange. We sat around and laughed and visited for a couple of hours and headed home for a good night's rest before the busy Christmas weekend was upon us.
And no, Jeremy and I did not plan to match. Cheesy, I know.
Check out Mr. Spandex in the back!
The Crew. Dana insisted we wear the Christmas socks.
As I write this post, we're lounging on the couch in pj's while Coop takes a long morning nap. Ahhhh... Christmas break, how I love you! Although we have not a single gift wrapped or even one of the three 'dishes' prepared for the weekend, we are soaking up this hour of relaxation. And, hey, it's even snowing outside... but we know it won't last :(
We cannot wait for Cooper's first Christmas!! He's already attempted unwrapping a couple of gifts, and he loves the paper more than the present-naturally. He also loves the Christmas tree. Well, he loves the ornaments and especially the ribbon I so stupidly wrapped around the branches. At one point, he had the tree spinning in its base by pulling and pulling the ribbon.
Here are a few pre-Christmas photos to share. We wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and blessed Christmas.
His newest fascination is anything on our head-a block, a rattle, a hat, and in this case, Christmas lights.
Let's unwrap the tree! And he got himself tangled in it--no help from us!
What?
Merry Christmas 2011
We probably won't be winning any parents-of-the-year contests for letting him play with a string of lights, but he was having fun, there was no harm done, and he looked pretty darn cute :)
Finally!!! A new camera!!! I am so excited to start getting some quality pictures. I really didn't realize how crappy our old camera was until I started missing or messing up so many shots of the little man. Cyber Monday was good to me, as I snagged a new Nikon for about $100 off and free shipping. So far, I've only been using the auto settings, playing around here and there with the occasional special setting. I am anxious to read up on how to use this new beast to its fullest! Below are a few shots from the couple of weeks.
We are very, very slowly getting ready for Christmas... our holiday shopping list has only two recipients crossed off it, so this weekend is going to be a bear. I am most excited to look for some presents for Cooper for both Christmas and his big 1st birthday. I still feel a little sad for him that the two biggest celebrations of the year are three days apart for him :( I really want to make sure we always keep them separate for him!
Our house is now decorated, and Cooper has been excitedly rearranging the bottom branches' ornaments. Jeremy and I thought we were so smart when we decorated the basement tree with only plastic balls. But tonight Cooper's sharp chompers scraped paint off them!! So yes, our son has eaten paint chips and he has not even reached the ripe old age of one. Sign us up for parents of the year.
I am dying to get Cooper to sit on Santa's lap... sort of. I am positive he will freak out, as he doesn't like strangers much. But I can't think of having a Christmas without a Santa picture! We'll see what the weekend brings...
Enjoy the rest of your week and the rest of your holiday preparations. Don't forget the true REASON for the season :)
Enjoying the Christmas tree
Using those chompers
Teeth! 5 full teeth and 11.5 months old... where are the rest of them!?
Let's go play outside!
Goofy Boy!
Big Boy Lunch! Grilled cheese, peas, and peaches-yum!
The little penguin's first trip to play in the snow
Our little monster is becoming more and more of a little 'boy' every day. Here is the big excitement from the crazy past month:
Pulling himself up to standing next to furniture. He wasn't even interested in being on his feet a month ago, and now he makes it look like this is second nature! Just last night he took his hands off and stood alone for a second... Jeremy and I both clapped and cheered and Cooper looked at us like we were nuts. Then after he did it a couple more times, he clapped for himself!
He loves climbing... he prefers one of his parents as his jungle gym
Drinks bathwater from a real cup (and thinks he's pretty cool doing it, too)
Says the occasional Mama and Dada. Mama actually came out for the first time around 9 months a couple times, but then we didn't hear it again for weeks.
Sprouted three top teeth and another bottom tooth (two at the very same time is NOT fun)
Eats lots of finger foods and is getting better with a spoon
Is showing off his sense of independence more and more--temper tantrums, sometimes refusing to be fed, being really difficult for diaper changes... oh the fun has just begun...
Talks like a babbling babboon... He has lots of sounds, so words are on the way!
Claps
Gives kisses
Is very cranky that Jeremy put latches on the drawers and doors that he used to have free reign over
Drinks soley from a sippy cup at daycare--we're getting close to having only a morning and bedtime bottle
Loves reading books more than ever. Turning the pages is second nature to him and he's doing more 'reading along' as we read to him now.
Loves to goof around and be silly
Takes a while to warm up to new places and new people
Is BUSY... not sure if that's the toddler or the 'boy' coming out in him... maybe a little of both ;)
Only one month to go until that BIG BIRTHDAY!!
This monthly picture-taking is getting more challenging every time!
11 months old
Look what I found, mom! I love playing in drawers!
It's been a couple weeks of SICK in our house, as I had pneumonia and pink eye, Jeremy had a bad 'something' that was diagnosed as a virus (and now he has self-diagnosed himself with pink eye, too), and Cooper started cutting more teeth. So with all of that craziness, I've been sluffing off on updating.
With so much time spent laying around the house the past couple of weeks, we had lots of time to play with our adorable little man :) He's pulling himself up now, and loves climbing around on the couch, piled blankets, his parents, and his toys. These past couple of weeks I found myself listening to Jeremy and Cooper's 'conversations' and just smiling to myself about how cute it is to see and hear a dad playing with his baby.
Laundry Basket Fun!
I see you!
Cooper has been obsessed with his books lately. It seems as though we can't even walk in his room without taking a break to read to him. He grabs a book, and when you say "Should we read it?" he looks at you and smiles. He has a new favorite book. It's called "I Love Daddy," and it's a big colorful board book that Cooper gave Jeremy for his first Father's Day. I was able to capture the cuteness the other day while Jeremy was reading to Cooper. Notice how our super-smart boy loves to turn the pages and read along ;)
Thanksgiving Day wasn't quite what we had pictured, but it was still a wonderful holiday week to be spending time with family. I took a long morning nap with Cooper on Thanksgiving day--which I NEVER do--while Jeremy went to set up tree stands for this weekend's muzzle-load hunt. Cooper was quite cranky, so that made things a little extra stressful. We had a string of celebrations, as usual; we celebrated with Mom and Kevin, as well as his family last week, we hosted Jeremy's family for ribs on Thanksgiving Eve (yes, Adam, we're counting that as a holiday), we stopped in to see Dad and Chris and Chris's family for Thanksgiving afternoon, and headed to Prior Lake for a big turkey dinner with Jeremy's extended family. I weirdly didn't get many photos of our little turkey, but lately I've been getting some grief about taking too many (maybe it's the 350 summer and fall prints I have waiting to be placed into albums!!). I did, however, get a couple of Cooper devouring his turkey cookie from Grandma Lori.
Gobble Gobble!!
When Cooper goes back to daycare on Monday, Kris isn't going to know what hit her :) Cooper will have sprouted three teeth in five days!! Although it's been pretty rough on the little guy, maybe three at one time is the way to go. It's been a few days and nights of misery, but he'll have TWICE the amount of teeth he had last week! Maybe it's better than spreading each tooth out to its own week?! Two have poked through the skin now, and the third probably will at some point in the next day or two. Ibuprofen, cold washcloths, Baby Oragel, teething tablets, and teething rings are our new best friends.
Lately we've been calling Cooper the Little Polar Bear because he likes to sleep with his butt up in the air. I was able to catch a quick snapshot of him the other afternoon :)
The Little Polar Bear
And would anyone like to put bets on the first sport Cooper is going to learn how to play? In this picture he's helping unwrap a new shipment of softball bats. Although he needs to work on his grip, I think he's well on his way!!
Cooper Kalal - Little Slugger
Tonight Cooper and I met some friends and their kids at Pizza Ranch in LeSueur. It seemed like a great idea, until we got there. The place was packed, and the only three high chairs were being used by other families. (We did eventually get our hands on two of them.) To top it off, each time I tried to sneak up to the buffet line, Cooper started screaming his head off. It's times like those I remember he's still my 'baby.' Anyway, between the four adults and five kids under age three, not much conversation was enjoyed... We were all trying to keep our own children content. I'll bet the rest of the restaurant was just waiting for us to leave! I suppose, though, it's good to get out and about every now and then, even if it seems to be more work than it's worth. As Amy said, "This is why God created husbands."
I thank God for so many things... but tonight, I thank Him that I am not a single mom :)
Our little Lion had a great first Halloween! The fun started over the weekend when we tried carving a pumpkin... Cooper was interested at first, but he did not want to touch the pumpkin guts like I thought he would. He actually had more fun crinkling the newspaper we put down on the floor than he did watching or 'participating' in the carving action... After about five minutes, he decided to crawl away.
The plan: a two-toothed Jack'o'lantern, just like Cooper!
What's in there?!?
Happy Halloween!
Grandma Dawn made an adorable costume for Cooper--and by the fifth time he had it on he was starting to get used to it. He didn't really like having the 'mane' on, but he learned to tolerate it for his admirers. Cooper definitely got spoiled for Halloween--surprise, surprise! Cheetos, money for his piggy bank, pudding, some new clothes, balloons, and more! Thanks to his thoughtful grandparents and aunties for surprising him with treats and gifts he can actually have as a baby :)
The costume was complete with a tail!
Cooper's First Halloween - October 31, 2011 - 10 mo. old
Our Little Lion
Have a wonderful week coming down from your sugar buzz!
Cooper continues to change us, surprise us, and amaze us with each passing day. Ten months has gone by in the blink of an eye.
Here's what Month 10 brought for Cooper:
More crawling!! He loves his new independence and is now opening drawers and doors all over the house (we are still behind on baby proofing... eek!)
He pulls up onto his knees, and loves to bounce and rock on them, but still doesn't show interest in pulling up to his feet or 'walking' with our fingers... soon enough, right?!?
He is obsessed with two picture books: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." He will actually cry until we read them to him at night before bed. He still loves all his other books, just has a crazy love for those two.
He is the little bulldozer, turning our house into an endless mess. I am slowly accepting that our house will never be clean for more than five minutes for the rest of my life. Maybe five minutes is even an exaggeration!
Since returning from the waterpark last weekend, bath time has taken on a whole new meaning... splashing in the tub now consists of needing a new shirt for myself once he's out and dry.
He continues to eat like a champ. For every new food he tries, he looks at first like he hates it, and then his hesitant second bite comes, and then he gobbles it down like he's been eating it forever. We do have to hide the finger foods now until he's done with his main meals of mushy stuff :) He eats three solid meals a day, along with plenty of milk throughout the day.
Baby jibberish is the new language at our place. Cooper is totally exploring all the different sounds he can make. I know once those first words come, they are going to keep pouring out!
Two lonely teeth. We think he's showing signs of a couple more coming in, but who knows how long that could take!
He's wearing nearly all 12-month clothing now, and is starting to tolerate wearing shoes more regularly, too! It'll be interesting to see how he likes being bundled up like a marshmallow this winter!
10 months old!
Having fun with Grandpa Gary!
And, we had a GREAT Halloween, even though Cooper took a while to warm up to his costume. I'll update with Halloween pics this week ;)
