Water, Water, Water...

Our little man loves the water! He has gotten the opportunity to play and splash and swallow plenty of it this summer. It's always fun watching babies experience new things--their curiosity and wonder with everything is refreshing. But watching Cooper in the water is my new favorite thing.

He's always loved the tub... that's old news. Our bathroom and the bath-giver gradually get more and more wet with every progressive bath time... the splashing is getting a bit obnoxious--but still so stinkin cute, how can I be mad?!

Cooper started out with "touching" the water in his little backyard pool. Grandma Lori got a pretty cute little blow-up pool for camping, and it has quickly grown to be one of Cooper's favorite things. If he's crabby--try the pool! If he's tired and it's only a half hour until bed time--try the pool! If he's bored with mom and dad--try the pool! His hesitant "touching" of the water has quickly changed. He now loves to splash his hands and feet and squeal with excitement. He has been getting a little too brave for his own good as well... he's been practicing his DIVING. Yes, he actually tries to go head-first into the water now. So although he's pretty sturdy while sitting up, we can't go too far, for fear that his big 'noggin will end up in the water. We tried out the little sprinkler on the pool this weekend, too, and he loved touching that and trying to drink from it. Even though it was freezing cold, and his little body was shocked every time the sprinkles got him, he kept going back for more :)

Along with the little pool, he loves the big pool. I had him over at Grandma Dawn's for a quick dip in the big pool last week. He didn't really like the floaty very much--he much preferred to be held so he could kick his little legs and splash with his hands. He splashed so much that I couldn't get even one picture with his eyes open--he kept getting water in them.

And then there's Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America. We weren't sure whether he'd get much out of it since he's so little, but his curiosity got the best of him! We joined our good friends Justin and Nicole and their little girl Hannah for a weekend of fun and relaxation, starting at Underwater Adventures. Cooper loved touching the glass, watching the sharks, and seeing all the lights. He even tried to dive in the starfish and jellyfish pond. No kidding--I was holding him down so he could see the starfish and he lurched forward a couple times... good thing I had a good grip. Being that teachers can get a free membership, I think we'll probably take him there every time we hit the MOA!

And we can't forget we have one last 'water' trick--the good 'ol sippy cup. He loves that thing! In just six short weeks, he's gone from batting the cup around on the high chair tray to grabbing for the handles and shoving the spout into his little lips. I'll say it again--it's amazing how FAST he changes!!!

The Cooper Tree

I saw this idea somewhere, and LOVED it; long before Cooper was even a glimmer in our eye. The idea is to plant a tree in your yard and take your kid's picture by it each year. Well, we have a Cooper Tree now! Jeremy found us a great Red Maple for the backyard... and although the recent rain nearly toppled it over, it's still standing strong! Once Cooper hits school age, I think I'll use it as the first day of school photo spot, and this will certainly be the only picture with me in it :)

When my sisters and I were growing up at our childhood home in Jordan, we had a Maple tree in the center of the backyard. We never realized until we looked back at photos how much that tree grew while we were kids. So the Cooper Tree is partly nostalgic for me, partly new tradition for the Kalal family! Now the only question is: What to do if we ever move? (I guess we'll worry about that someday when our house is worth more than we owe on it!)

Happy Wedding, Missy and Phil!

This past May, we had the chance to travel to Key West, Florida, to watch as Missy and Phil tied the knot. It was a quick trip for our little family of three, as it was in the middle of our softball season. But we wouldn't have missed it for the world. We flew into Miami on Friday, May 6, and Jeremy chauffeured us down to Key West driving the Soccer Mom Van, along with Dan and Amanda as our navigators (good thing there's only one road that leads to Key West). Cooper was our little champ, putting up with leaving the house at 4 am and spending many hours in his carseat.

By mid-afternoon, we were sitting by the pool and catching some rays... it was Cooper's first time in a pool--he wasn't too sure what to think at first.

The next day was Missy's big day :) The weather was nice and hot, complete with the blazing Florida sun. The ceremony was an intimate beach ceremony, with Missy's and Phil's families watching from the sandy beach. Although Missy was quite stressed throughout the morning, by the time the ceremony finally rolled around, she seemed to have relaxed. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Cole!

The next day, we woke up for our first Mother's Day :) Cooper gave me an engraved heart keychain and Jeremy gave me a gorgeous Blue Topaz necklace, which is Cooper's birthstone. We grabbed breakfast and stopped at the Southernmost Point in the US, then trekked back to Miami to hop on a plane back to Minnesota. As there were no empty plane seats for Cooper's carseat... I held him for the entire flight. I LOVE snuggling with my baby, don't get me wrong, but three and a half hours made my arms and back just a tad sore. Jeremy would have happily held our sleeping bundle, but Cooper decided he wanted to be by mommy (probably since it was Mother's Day!!) and cried and kicked the passenger beside him every time we tried the hand off. All in all, though, our first family flights were both relatively uneventful. Cooper did better than we could have ever imagined. This quick trip went fast, but was fun.

Then in June, Missy and Phil had an outdoor reception at Lakefront Park in Prior Lake. Although it was an unseasonably cool day, it looked like the Mr. and Mrs. enjoyed their day!

We learned that Cooper loves cold bottles and cans... let's hope this is not the start of a habit at six months.

Cooper is Six Months Old!

It's a little tricky getting our blog started because I can't decide how much to write about... So I decided I would start with - what else - a Cooper update. Over the next couple posts, I will share about some of the big events of the past few months. In no time, I'll be all caught up from the beginning of 2011.

In Cooper's six short months of life, he's been up to some pretty amazing things! These days, here a few of the tricks he's up to:
-Rolling over from belly to back and back to belly (and no more favoring the left shoulder anymore!)
-Smiling all the time
-Having laugh attacks... the good open-mouth, gummy, chuckles that you can't help but smile at yourself
-Pushing up on his arms during tummy time (although tummy time has a new meaning now that all he wants to do is roll)
-Eating a few solids: rice and oatmeal cereal, applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Carrots are not on the top of his "like" list just yet!
-Learning to drink a little water from a sippy cup
-Wobbly sitting up for a few seconds
-Putting everything in his mouth and CHOMPING on it... I think those teeth are right around the corner
-Sleeping for about ten hours on an average night (and learning fast how to not have mom or dad rock him to sleep)
-Jabbering up a storm!
-Learning how to 'whine' (if you ever thought girls could whine, you should meet Cooper)
-Took his 1st Camping Trip to Lanesboro with the Grandma and Grandpa Kalal, Aunt Jackie, Uncle Adam and his friend Chelsea
-Loving the bike trailer (still inside his infant seat, but it works just the same)
-"Swimming" in a little pool that Grandma Lori bought him... he's getting pretty brave: grabbing for toys and face-planting in the water don't phase him!
-His six-month check-up has him weighting 18 lbs., 2 oz. (70th percentile), and stretching to 27.5 in. tall (80% percentile)

Now that summer is in full swing, Jeremy and I are taking turns spending lots and lots of time with Cooper. I've been working part time at the Fair office once again, and Jeremy is picking up side jobs here and there. The afternoons and evenings when we all get to hang out together are the best--RELAXING has a different meaning in the summer time.
It is pretty amazing how much "easier" (and I use that term loosely) it gets as a baby gets a little older. It wasn't all that long ago when we were taking turns bouncing, swinging, doing laps, and rocking Cooper to sleep, only to have him wake up hungry in fifteen minutes. Now, he's so much more predictable, and we know what those different cries sound like and mean! We often wonder how time goes so fast (even though everyone says it, you really don't 'get' it until you're living it!), and what life was like pre-Cooper. Parenthood is crazy but so much fun, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Here's a peek at The Little Weed's crazy growth over the past six months...



One Day Old

One Week Old

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

It's About Time...

I know, I know, it's about time I start a blog, right? Well I never thought I had 'time' to keep a blog updated--but having a little one has made me realize how much I want to MAKE time to keep a blog updated. I already find myself forgetting when Cooper hit certain milestones, and he's only six months old!! So here's my humble attempt at keeping up with the crazy adventures of our growing family... Thanks for coming along for the ride!