Camping: Take One

We took our first family camping trip of 2012 this past weekend.  It wasn't what we would call "relaxing," however, it was memorable :)   I'll start with the highlights:

Cooper loved the waterpark, even though the water was FREEZING!  He was shrieking and screaming with excitement even before his feet hit the water.

Cooper loved that he could just walk around and explore!!

Whee!!

Although he looks a little scared, he was begging to go down again

Mom!  Just let me go play!  I'm warm enough!!

We also went to a petting zoo.  Weird that our campground had a petting zoo, but it was really kind of cool.  Cooper even got to feed a goat.

At the petting zoo

Belly shot :)

We headed out on the bike path with the kid trailer.  Jeremy and I both love biking, so we were hoping Cooper would follow suit.  He didn't really appreciate the cool helmet we picked out for him, but he did love the ride, especially once we ditched the helmet.  It just looked so uncomfortable for his little neck.  Since we are sticking to trails only for now, I think we can safely do without the helmet (don't tell our pediatrician!!).  Our maiden biking voyage ended after only a few miles, since the rain moved in.  What better to do when it's raining?  Go shopping!!  I found some good deals on little girl clothes, and a couple good steals for Cooper, too!

He kind of liked the helmet for a while...

Old Navy and Carter's had some good deals for little girls :)

Playing in the camper turned out to be a blast.  Cooper loved playing up on the beds with his toys.  Nap time and bedtime in the camper were interesting for Mr. Routine, but turned out to be my favorite part... we decided the easiest way to get Cooper to sleep without annoying the whole campground with his crying would be to lay down with him until he fell asleep.  Jeremy and I both ended up falling asleep with him until well after dark that first night, and then we were able to catch some quiet time for ourselves out by the fire.  It was only then that we could just relax...

Cooper and Mommy messing around in the camper

"Ere go?"  (Translated: Where'd daddy go?)

I think we decided we're going to hold off on more family-only camping trips until kids are big enough to remember the fun... maybe for now, if we have friends or relatives to tag along with, it will make things a little easier.  We knew heading into the weekend that it would be a lot of work with Cooper, and we were right.  It seemed like I spent most of our down time chasing Cooper, and helping him learn what life at a campground is like.  Okay, let's be honest... helping him learn all the things he CAN'T do at a campground...  Jeremy spent most of our down time setting up or taking down our camping stuff, cooking meals, washing dishes, and cleaning up the camper.

Perfect chair for the Coopster

Who knew a hose could be so much fun?!

Walking off into the sunset, just Cooper and his hose...

Helping daddy take down the pop-up

In the end, it was a memorable adventure.  We had no real expectations, and no schedule, so it was the perfect way to go.  Camping: Take Two will happen this weekend in Lanesboro... we'll see if anything we learned helps us through THREE nights away from home :)

It's a....

Girl!!!

Friday brought the exciting and amazing news that Baby Kalal #2 is going to be a girl!  We would have been thrilled either way, but it is really exciting to think about preparing for a little girl!!!!!!  I am now officially just past the halfway point, and I'm loving this stage of pregnancy... I feel great, I actually look pregnant now and not just like I ate too much, and I can feel my little girl wiggling around in there all the time.

10 tiny toes...

A full view of our little peanut

Face and fists

"Hi mom and dad!  Don't worry about me--I'm doing great in here!"

Cooper is excited, too... he just doesn't know it yet :)  It's funny how in just the last couple weeks he's starting to seem more grown up.  For not saying many words himself, he understands an AMAZING amount of what we're saying.  He is going to be a good helper to his little sister!!

I can't wait to have a sister!!

He got to share the surprise of the baby's sex with grandmas and grandpas on Saturday by holding a pink balloon.  One of these days, he's going to learn how to pose and smile for the camera!!




And because we've been BUSY with life, here is a photo update of the little monster from the last few weeks...

Cooper loves crawling up in the glider and reading his books

Cooper and Mommy - June 2012

The first trip through the sprinkler was a success!  SO much fun!

Getting braver...

How does this thing work?!?

Bucket Head.  Honestly, what makes a kid want to walk around with a bucket on his head?

YUMMY corn on the cob... still learning how to eat it from the sides...

Thanks for the help, dad!

A huge pool and a hot day... and he just cares about figuring out the mister.  Weirdo!

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo...

Happy Memorial Day to all!  We enjoyed the extra day off at the MN Zoo!  Cooper had an absolute blast!  This was the second time we took him (we went about a month ago, too), but this time was more fun because he knew where we were, and he knew what the place was all about.  Although we didn't get to see his favorites, the penguins, he was in love with the fish.  His squeals were priceless.  He also called pretty much every four-legged animal a puppy... I think we have to work on our animal names a little more before our next trip :)  Here are a few pics from our awesome day:

Fishies!

Discovery Bay was Cooper's favorite stop today!

One of many places for little people to specially view the exhibits.

My favorite part of this photo is Jeremy crouched down following behind the little kids!!

The Tropics Trail

Big Fish!

Playing in the bones and sand...

The "Bee Hive" is a special little QUIET room for little kids to rest and play away from the big kids...

Cooper didn't exactly keep it 'quiet' in there...

Cooper was working on building a little beehive of his own.

Saturday, we went to the Tigers' playoff game vs. Norwood.  Sadly, their season came to an end, losing 4-0 in the second round.  I still think it was a great season for them all, especially the nine seniors on the team!  They will be hard to replace!  Jeremy is coaching 16U softball this summer, so softball doesn't really come to an end until late July for the Kalal family.

Sunday, we ran a bunch of errands and made some important purchases, including a much-needed grill (thanks, Home Depot for the great sale!) and a new garden 'toy' for Jeremy.  He can't wait until it dries up a little and he can use his new tiller.  A boy and his toys!  His garden is looking awesome--even with all the rain we've gotten lately.  Farmer J pulled in his first pick of strawberries tonight, and they were delicious!  This summer, thanks to his hard work, we'll have strawberries, green beans, peas, potatoes (red, yellow, and white--oh wait, he's making me type: Red Norlands, Yukon Golds, and Kanabecs.  Seriously.  He's really into this gardening thing), carrots, radishes, raspberries, onions (three colors of these bad boys, too), cucumbers, watermelons, lettuce, spinach, and dill. 

Only another week and a half of school and another year is in the books!  We're down to single digits!  AND... only 11 days until we find out if baby is a girl or a boy!!).

Busy, Busy May

It's been a long time since I've updated!  We have been super busy going to ball games, heading out for nearly-nightly walks and trips to the park, and enjoying the beautiful weather.  Cooper absolutely loves being outside and getting dirty.  He is all boy.  I cannot believe how little we've done to promote his 'boyhood' and how quickly and obviously he gravitates to 'boy' things, especially digging and getting dirty.

When we go to softball games, he pretty much whines the whole time until the game is over and he can get out on the field to rake and dig.  Grandma Lori even bought him his own little plastic rake!

He LOVES the big girls... and they love him just as much :) 

A few weeks ago, Cooper and I tagged along to the Becker tournament, where we watched some ball games (before getting rained out) and spent the night at the same hotel as the team.  No big surprise to us that Cooper loved being in the pool...

Add caption

Maddie G. giving Cooper a mohawk.  He rocked it!

Let's see what the girls in the hot tub are doing...

Last week, Cooper and daddy got to spend some quality time at home together.  Our daycare was closed, sadly due to a death in the family.  Cooper was hamming it up for the camera:

I think Cooper LOVED getting some boy time with dad. 

And in a pregnancy update, baby is about 5 inches long.  I can regularly feel him or her moving around in there, usually most often in the evenings when I'm winding down from the day.  I think by this point most strangers can easily tell I'm expecting.  It's fun to start looking pregnant instead of just chubbier :)  We have just a few weeks to go until our ultrasound... at which time we'll hopefully find out if we'll be seeing pink or more blue!

And, in other news: our parenting is being tested these days... our once easygoing, easy-to-please little Cooper is testing his limits along with our patience.  His tantrums are getting just a tad on the ridiculous side, and it seems like he will flip out at the drop of a hat.  I keep thinking if he can learn some more words, the whining and tantrum-throwing will subside.  I've been told otherwise.

Baby Kalal #2

We are thrilled to officially share the news with the world!  We will welcome Baby Kalal #2 into the world sometime around October 25, 2012.  I am now into the second trimester, and everything about baby looks and sounds healthy! 
After Cooper turned one, Jeremy and I decided we were ready to stop preventing the possibility of a baby.  Since things took so long to get pregnant with Cooper, we accepted that it could take a while again.  So although it wasn't a complete shock to find out after just one month that we were expecting, it was certainly a thrilling surprise.  I had a couple gut feelings before taking a pregnancy test, but I just pushed them out of my mind, thinking I didn't want to take yet another negative pregnancy test again in my life... but I finally took one.  Lucky for us--it was positive!  I waited until our sixth anniversary to tell Jeremy, which meant I had to hold in the news for two days.  It was torture, but also kind of fun :) 
I wrapped the positive test inside a baby bib that said, "Baby's First Halloween," and gave it to Jeremy that evening.  We just sat for a few minutes and laughed.  Laughed about how easy it happened this time; laughed about how completely surprised we were; laughed about how Cooper will adjust to not being an only child anymore; laughed about what our parents would say; laughed about how different life will be.  Needless to say, we were walking on Cloud Nine for the rest of the night and the rest of the weekend... and the weeks that followed.

9 weeks, 4 days - Our Little Peanut!

At the first doctor's appointment, we got to see baby and hear his or her little heartbeat, which was beating at a strong 168 bpm.  We could even see the little arms and legs moving.  The actual size of baby in this ultrasound photo is about one inch long.  So far, so good... everything at this point is looking just fine!

Our family is about to grow, and we're just hanging on--enjoying the ride :)

Easter and First Twins Game!

This Easter was a lot more eventful chasing Cooper around... and he loved the Easter egg hunting!  His grandmas filled his eggs with money, but he actually seemed to prefer little goldfish crackers.  I guess they didn't realize they could get by so much cheaper for this year :)

Easter morning, Cooper found a trail of eggs from his room to his Easter basket.  He thought the first two eggs were cool, but apparently the bunny's trail didn't impress him.  Once he saw his basket, though, he got pretty excited :)  After playing for a while, we headed off to church, brunch at Grandma Dawn's, back home for nap time, then off to supper at Jeremy's aunt Karen's house.

What's this?!?

Cool!  I can put stuff in here!

Family Photo-Easter 2012

The Easter Egg Hunt at Karen's house was pretty fun.  She had the big kids hide tons of eggs for the little ones to find.  Cooper didn't really 'get' the concept of collecting eggs in his basket, but he still had fun!

Look what I found!

Forget about the eggs!  I found the rocks!

This weekend we headed to the Twins vs. Rangers game.  Although the Twins didn't look very impressive, it was a perfectly beautiful day for a baseball game.  We joined a bunch of other fourth grade families for "Oak Crest's Fourth grade day at Target Field."  Cooper followed our plan perfectly for once, sleeping for a solid hour on the way up to the game!  He loved seeing all the people, hearing the cheering, and walking in between the seats.  He also worked his flirting muscles--he spotted a girl a couple rows behind us who made lots of funny faces at him.  He loved peeking around our shoulders, then 'hiding,' and then laughing like crazy at her.  I should have taken their picture together.  It might well have been his first love :)
Cooper got a "First Twins Game" certificate, got to sit in the Golden Glove, AND he only picked up one new bruise all day!

Go Twins!! He didn't exactly watch much of the game...

Cooper's First Twins Game - April 14, 2012 - Twins vs. Rangers

We have a busy week ahead!  Garage sale Monday night, softball game Tuesday night (Go Tigers!!), fun Weds. and Thurs. nights hanging out with daddy two nights in a row (yah!!), and Cooper's first date Friday night.  He'll be escorting Olivia and Abby Endres to the Eden Prairie Mall for a nice stroller ride and a classy dinner in the Food Court.  He is currently busy choosing his outfit and practicing his manners.

15 Month Update

Weight: 24 lbs. 1 oz. (45th percentile)

Height: 31 inches (50th percentile)

Head: Still Big-95th percentile... must be all those brains!!

Wearing: Size 3 diapers, size 4 shoes, size 18 mo. clothes

Teeth: 12 teeth!  His two bottom 1 yr molars are completely through, and the top two have just a little skin left on them.

Words: Mommy, Daddy, Puppy - all consistently.  He also can say baby, cookie, and he is SO close to saying Jackie.  Auntie Jackie is so proud!

Sleeping: 10-12 hours per night.  One good nap between 2-3 hours.  Knows to leave his Nuk in his crib when he wakes up... that Nuk will probably disappear this summer!

Eating:  Pretty good eater, in general.  His loves are broccoli, peas, cheese, rice, almost all fruits, and hot dogs.  He is also learning to 'dip' foods.  He loves ketchup :)  Loves to use a spoon or fork, and is getting pretty good if we can load it up for him.  Drinks whole milk, loves cold water--especially if it has a splash of apple juice in it. 

Books, Books, and more Books:  His favorite is The Animals of Farmer Jones.  It is literally an obsession.  We have to hide the book sometimes!  He also loves I Love You, Daddy; 10 Little Ladybugs; Five Little Monkeys;  Peanut Butter Rhino; and Brown Bear, Brown Bear. We pretty much read him the same 8 or 9 books over and over and over and over again!  He is starting to grab for his First 100 Words book more and more--he loves when we find the puppies :)

Likes:  Reading books. Pushing around the popper, the toy lawn mower, and the CAT truck.  Pulling magnets off the fridge. Banging things on the windows.  Getting the neighbor puppies to bark.  Watching the KARE 11 forecast--Belinda Jensen in particular.  Bubbles.  Emptying the entire toy basket only to crawl away to something new. Putting shoes on his hands.  Being in his diaper only.  Going for stroller rides.  Watching kids play at the park.  Playing in the grass and rocks.  Bopping and bouncing to music.  Climbing up the stairs.

Dislikes:  The vacuum cleaner.  Being separated from mommy (we're to the scream-your-head-off freak-out phase).  Doing any one activity for 'too long' (and by that I mean five minutes!).

Other News: Cooper's personality is still pretty cautious, although he's starting to get more brave as his walking improves.  He likes to kind of check things out before he gets in on any action.  All in all, he's very smiley and just plain goofy.  He gives open-mouth kisses-and a lot of them!  He's now also into grabbing our face or ears (for handles) and bonking foreheads.  He loves chasing around the house and playing peek-a-boo.  His forehead is rarely bruise-free these days.  He's taken some pretty good tumbles!

Lately:  We've been going to softball games... Cooper loves being at the fields, seeing the girls, and hearing the cheering.  He loves hanging on to the fence and screaming at or chatting with the outfielders.  He also loves watching for puppies there.

Next big things for Cooper: Getting a bike helmet for riding behind in the bike trailer.  Learning to stand up from a sitting position (weird, right?!).  Learning some new words so he can stop calling everything 'mommy.'  Learning to smile on cue... we need to start getting some family pics will everyone smiling!! 

Wee!!  The slide is fun!!

Pushing around my popper!!

Future senior picture pose :)

Walking around like he owns the place!

Big smiles on the lawn mower ride

Not so sure about riding on Grandpa Randy's scooter...