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!"