Water Park!

The Wilderness Resort was good to us this weekend :)  We needed to get out of town, so Jeremy snagged a great Craig's List deal for a weekend in Wisconsin Dells.

Grandma and Grandpa Kalal joined us, as well as Auntie Jackie.  The resort is very family-friendly, and I know we'll be going back there in the future.  We got to experience three different indoor water parks (although we spent about five minutes in the third one before it was shut down because of a little kid running around with no diaper on... I'll bet those parents were embarrassed!)  The highlight of the weekend was watching Cooper squeal and laugh with excitement in the wave pool.  One of us would hold him in a "Superman" hold and let the waves hit him.  He absolutely loved the waves splashing up on him.  He also liked the water shooting up from the floor.  There was so much for him to watch--all the water everywhere and tons and tons of kids.  There's a chance they had to add some water back to the pools after Cooper left... he swallowed plenty of chlorine water in two days.

It was a very memorable weekend.  Relaxing and restful, not so much.  Add a cranky long car ride, an unfamiliar new 'home,' and tons of action, and you get a high-maintenance little boy who doesn't want to sleep.  Hopefully this phase of not sleeping anywhere but his crib doesn't last forever.  We'll be heading to bed early tonight to catch up on the sleep we didn't get on our long weekend off of work!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.  The pictures will make you think I didn't get to play in the water at all... we realize now that we're home we didn't get one single family photo or one single picture with Cooper and me.  Oh well, I'm glad we got the cute pictures that we did.

"YAH!  I love this big bathtub!"

Taking a little snooze with Grandma... funny, he'll sleep at the waterpark, but not back in our room...

Too bad you can't see his little legs going like crazy under the water, too!

Finally Healthy and Happy Once Again

It's been a while since the last update... but our house was in a bit of chaos mode dealing with Cooper's first REAL sickness... a fever that lasted six days :(  The doctor decided it was his body's reaction to the flu shot.  He was not himself in any way--sleeping terribly, eating poorly, and very moody.  And of course, the fever that just wouldn't go away.  Being the rookie parents that we are, of course we worried like crazy about how serious this illness could be.  We took turns staying home from work for a few days to snuggle with the little guy.  We realized how thankful we are to be out of the colicky phase with Cooper--a whole day of whining gets pretty frustrating.  It made us wonder how we went three months with a cranky baby! 

Thank goodness we have our happy Cooper back!  He is 100% back to himself, and our house couldn't be happier!  Jeremy's thrilled to have Cooper playing along with the 'pillow fight' again...

Happy Ed MN break to all you educators out there... our first long break of the school year couldn't have come at a better time :) 

Cooper's eating more and more table foods these days... including his first Tootsie Pop!  What have we done?!?!?

 

 

 

Apple Orchard

This past weekend, we visited the local apple orchard.  It was a gorgeous day, and we just HAD to take advantage of it. 

Waiting for the tractor

Those two little teeth sure helped Cooper dive into his first whole apple!

Jeremy showing Cooper how to pick the perfect apple.

He's a quick learner!!!

"Don't even THINK about taking away my apple!"

Auntie Amanda joined us at the Orchard.

Cooper loved playing with the long grass... never mind those big shiny apples all over.

The Kalal Family

We had a great time getting out and about... maybe this weekend will be the pumpkin patch :)

9 Month Update

Although it makes me a little sad to see the 'baby-ness' of Cooper slowly fading away, it is pretty exciting watching him grow and change and learn... He is now nine months old and surprising us every day.

Is it okay for a mom to think there was never a cuter baby ever born?

Here are a few of the cool things that this past month has brought:
-Two teeth!  Cooper has both of his bottom middle teeth now.
-Crawling!  He has explored just about every inch of the upper level of our house now.  He hasn't tried to open any drawers or doors yet... but soon those baby-proofing latches are going to come out of their boxes!
 -Drinking from a straw-and boy, is he proud of this.
-Eating more finger foods like pieces of banana, french toast, pancakes, watermelon, potatoes, even some apple pie!  He still likes pretty much everything he tries.
-He's just starting to wave bye-bye in the last couple of days.
-Still taking three short naps per day, except on the weekends when we think his body tries to catch up on sleep... then he usually takes two 2-hour naps!
-His favorite toys these days are plastic plates, bowls, and a rubber-handled cooking spoon.  His toys are old news--he loves boxes, magazine pages, books, mail, bottles, and shoelaces.  Who knew there was no need to invest in toys!?!?
-He has figured out that we're not gone when we leave the room... sometimes he crawls after us into another room.
-Still lots of jabbering, but no real words yet.
-He's grown or growing out of most of his 9-month clothing.
-He loves being a streaker... during diaper changes or after his bath, he loves airing it out a little bit!
-He survived his first cold.  We only had a Booger Boy for about five days, and then he cleared up!

Enjoy a couple of pictures from the past month...

Streaking!

 

 

 

Cooper's current favorite toys

Yummy watermelon

9 months old!

Walk for Thought

Yesterday, we participated in the Brain Injury Association of MN "Walk for Thought" in honor of my dad's ongoing progress and stroke recovery. The event was held at Como Park in St. Paul.  Last year, over two thousand people participated, and although it's hard to estimate, I'll bet the number was close to the same for this year! The BIA of MN is a nonprofit that works with individuals (and their families) who are living life after a brain injury. It was a chilly morning, but it warmed up quick. I was sad dad didn't come... he decided it was too cold. Hopefully next year he'll be a trooper and bundle up :)

Our Team

A new toy!!

A new view!!

In other news, I have slowly come to the realization that our house will never look the same.  We just removed the glass-top coffee table from the living room.  It was an injury waiting to happen.  Our former living room is now a full-time playroom, with toys strewn everywhere.  Other full-time playrooms in our house: the kitchen, the dining room, our bedroom, the hallway, and Cooper's bedroom.  Hmm... I guess that's the whole house.  Imagine that.  Our little nearly-nine-month-old has declared his kingdom.

Cruising!

Cruising: We recently got to see my dad drive in the Heimatfest Car Cruise. It has been nearly two years since his strokes and brain surgeries, and he continues to make progress. He got his driving ability back this past August, and he is pretty proud to show off his new driver's license. Driving the Chrysler in a couple of car cruises this summer/fall has been an absolute blast for him. It has given him back some independence... which is soooo important to him. I am glad that he will have some other options for this winter besides sitting around the house.

Dad and Chris stopped at our house a couple weeks ago... who do you think drove?!?!?


Cruising: Cooper is cruising around the house! He has gone from hesitantly crawling a few feet at a time to crawling from room to room! It has opened up a whole new world to him, and it is fun to see him discover how he can get around now. His head will probably never look the same... at the moment he has matching bruises on the right and left side of his forehead-very closely resembling little horns :) It was quite the week for him--his first tooth also came in. The little jagged edges are poking through the skin, and the tooth beside it looks like it's going to pop soon, too! Here's a recent video clip:

Our little cruiser!!

Cruising: Jeremy and I cruised out of town for a night away with some good friends. Cooper got to have a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Kalal's while Jeremy and I went camping for the night. It was a much needed break to laugh, catch up, banter, and enjoy some adult time. Even though life changes at break-neck speed, it's nice to know friends will always be around to enjoy the journey with you.

Muscle Man!!

We have a Crawler!

So the Little Stinker is finally taking his bottle like a champ again... thank goodness! It seems as though he has calmed down enough at daycare to resume his insatiable appetite. I so wish I could read his little mind :)

School is back in session, and the kids are starting to get back into the swing of things. Now if the teachers could just get back into the swing of things!! I have a pretty nice class... they are a typical bunch-some outgoing, some very shy, others jumping out of their seats, and a few major teacher-pleasers. We're starting to gel, and it feels good to be getting to know them all a little better. Jeremy has a major schedule change to deal with; he's been adjusting to seeing all his students every day, rather than every other day for longer blocks. Soccer continues to go well for his girls. I believe before tonight's game they are 4-1-1... so he is still the "Winningest Coach" in New Prague soccer history.

Cooper is having much better days at daycare. He will drink his bottles now, but he still doesn't sleep much. He's not too crabby, though; it would just be nice to give Kris, his provider, a little break! At home, he takes two solid naps a day, and at daycare, he rarely sleeps more than a half hour at a time. I shouldn't be surprised... he never wants to miss out on anything! When I picked him up last week and today, his eyes were so red, and he was full of yawns... after getting home and eating, he's taken an evening nap every night. It kind of stinks, because all I want to do is PLAY with him. But I know he needs his sleep to grow, and I know I should relish these quiet hours because they won't last forever!!

And last but NOT LEAST... We have a CRAWLER!! Cooper's been working on crawling for weeks now. He was so hesitant at first, and now he'll cruise for 5 feet if there is some really exciting toy or reward waiting for him. The two items most likely to motivate him: his Nuk or the newspaper. Now, it's time to take a serious look around our house and get baby-proofing!! In no time, he's going to be getting into everything :)

Here are a few pics of the Little Stinker 'discovering' some fun. Have a great week!


"Who needs toys when you have a tupperware cupboard?!"

"I didn't do it."