Lately

A crappy couple weeks of sick swept through our house again... but I think we are all healthy again... yeah!!!  Cooper had his very first ear infection and RSV, but thank goodness it didn't turn into anything even close to those RSV horror stories.  After what we think was about a 1 1/2 - 2 weeks of not feeling like himself, he's now back to his crazy, goofy self.  And of course, our ever-moody Cooper had to cut his first molar through it all :)  But, no worries--we all survived and are happy to have our little boy back. 

Pudding was one of the few foods he would eat while sick and teething :(

Such a mess for such a little area!

This week I have parent-teacher conferences, which I usually enjoy.  This year, I have a few tough conversations to have with parents, but all-in-all I am lucky to have the great class that I do.  They are just genuinely nice kids, they all like coming to school, and most of them are hard workers :)  Lucky me, too, to have six Girl Scouts in my class, a few former Girl Scouts who like to visit, and a couple girls in the neighborhood all selling those delicious boxes of cookies... So far in three days of sales, we've bought three boxes; one box from anyone who asks... that's our limit (both for our budget AND our waistlines!).

We finally got our 13 1/2-month-old's one year photos taken... we were waiting, waiting, and waiting for snow to take our winter baby's photos in, but Mother Nature didn't want to cooperate.  Thank you Nicole of My Friends Photography for your beautiful work on a frosty morning.  I was worried that we would not have great pictures because Cooper was pretty cranky and impatient.  But I should know by now not to doubt Nicole's eye and expertise.  She caught his personality and some pretty cute little grins.  Thanks again, you are amazing!  Here are a few of my favs:

The little stinker is getting closer to walking!! He doesn't go from sitting to standing on his own just yet, but he does let go when he's standing next to an object.  He takes a step or two toward Jeremy or me and then sort of 'falls' into us.  But with our crazy and excited reaction and clapping makes him realize he's doing something pretty cool.  You should see the smile on his face!  We're getting closer! 
He is also really into putting a phone up his ear and saying "Aho?"  He also uses the remote control, blocks, his hand, or pretty much anything rectangular-shaped as a 'phone.'  It's pretty cute. 

"See ya later, guys!"

Just Practicing

Cooper has just started thinking maybe this 'walking' thing is kind of cool.  Up until now, he's been cruising around the edges of furniture and pulling up all over the place.  But now, he loves touring the house with his walking toys.  He has let go for a couple of seconds and stood on his own, but nothing longer... soon enough!

"Look at me!  Look at me!!"

Going so fast, he lost his pants...

"Look out, world! Here I come!"

Another one of Cooper's favorite things these days is putting things in and dumping them out again--in any container: bucket, basket, drawer, bag, tub.  He also loves pushing toys down the stairs and hiding them under the couches.  It's pretty cute seeing him crouch down to see his handiwork :)


Coop is loving his ECFE class called Movers and Shakers.  Every Monday night, we join about 10 other tots and their moms and/or dads for some play time.  There are all sorts of climbing and walking toys, as well as lots of balls and riding toys.  One of Cooper's favorites this last week was a big plastic pool with some toys he could take out and put back in.  He also loves this little boat he can ride on and rock back and forth.  You should see that stinkin smile when he really gets it rocking!!  It's pretty fun to see the other kids (who are all between 1 and 2) and where they are all at developmentally, too.  Most of the kids in the class are walking or running.  We've started learning that Cooper is pretty easy-going as far as interacting with other kids.  He hasn't gotten upset when a kid takes a toy he's playing with, and he doesn't mind taking the occasional tumble, bump, or push.  We've also started seeing the determination in his personality.  He doesn't give up on things right away--he seems to really want to figure things out.  He also doesn't get frustrated when things don't work out for him the first time.  He keeps trying.  It's a cute part of his personality I wouldn't have expected to see already at 13 months :)