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!
