Cooper's 2nd Birthday

This past Saturday, Cooper turned 2!  I still can't believe I have a 2 year old.  He is getting more and more fun each day and says new words all the time.  I really am loving this age.   For Cooper's 1st birthday, we had a big family birthday party and it was really fun, but also a lot of work.  We decided awhile back that we weren't going to have a big party this year since he really had no idea it was his birthday and we wanted things to be as stress free as possible with Justin finishing grad school and a baby on the way.  Of course, we still spent the day celebrating and it was such a great day!

We started out going to breakfast at our favorite little place by our house for some yummy pumpkin pecan pancakes, which is Cooper's favorite.

We actually went to the same place for Cooper's 1st Birthday too.

He really has grown up so much in a year.  After breakfast we came home and gave him one of his gifts, which was a toy lawn mower.  Cooper is always fascinated whenever Justin mows the lawn and just watches him the whole time.  He LOVED his mower and played with it all morning it seemed. 

Then after his nap, we went to my parents house for a small birthday celebration with my parents, brother and nephew.  Cooper LOVES going to my parents and playing with Peyton.  My mom was so sweet and decorated the table for Cooper and made him a cake.  We decided to do a train theme, since that is his favorite things right now.  What little boy doesn't love trains??

Cooper had a blast playing with Peyton and also got to open up a few birthday gifts from everyone.  He got more trains, balls, a truck, and a tool set!

Cooper loves football!  He will throw the ball to Justin and then tackle him on the floor.  

We then had pizza for dinner which is one of Cooper's favorite foods right now.

We then sang Happy birthday and had some yummy Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake that my mom made. It was such a cute cake and tasted SO good!

Choo Choo Cooper is 2

It was so cute how he blew out the candle himself.  He still really didn't know what was going on, but it was a very fun day celebrating Cooper!  I love this sweet boy so much and am incredibly thankful to be his Mommy.

Happy 2nd Birthday Coop!

Mini Vacay and first week of "school"

I have gotten really behind on blogging lately, so I decided to do a catch up blog post.  This is what has been going on with us lately….

First of all, Justin completed his summer semester of grad school and had the entire month of August off school.  Hallelujah!  We wanted to take full advantage of the free time since he would be back in Grad school, working part time and then we will have a newborn!  We were so thankful to be able to go on a short mini vacay together!  It was originally supposed to be a family vacation, but Cooper caught a stomach bug the night before we were supposed to leave.  We were so bummed, but were able to go the following week since Justin still had time off school.  My parents graciously were able to watch Cooper for us so we could getaway by ourselves.  We went to the Marriott resort in San Antonio.  We had such a great time together and it was so nice and relaxing!

It's not a road trip without a stop at Bucee's!

View of the pool from our hotel

Our favorite spot by the pool

Chillin by the pool with book and drink in hand 

Playing some checkers in the evening after a wonderful dinner together

It was the first time we left Cooper overnight, but he did great!  He loves going to Granna and Ga's house!  We definitely did miss him though and it was good to be back together again.

A few weeks after that, Cooper started a Mother's Day Out program 2 days a week.  I was really nervous about it because Cooper can be very shy and I have never left him that long (5 hours) before with the exception of my parents who he knows very well.  I just didn't know what he would think about me leaving him with strangers for that long!  We talked to him about "school" a lot and we met his teachers and classroom the week before and I loved it.  We started the morning off with some blueberry muffins...

Then we tried to take some traditional first day of school pictures, but Cooper wasn't too thrilled at first...

Then Daddy held him and made him smile of course

I was surprised how hard it was for me to take him and how nervous I was.  I know my pregnancy hormones weren't helping since I'm crazy emotional right now, but I was crying on the way there the first day!  Thankfully, Justin came with me to drop him off so that helped and I got my emotions all out before we got there.  I'm sure they would think I am super crazy mom if they saw me cry for just a 5 hour program!  Thankfully, he didn't cry at all when we dropped him off which helped so much.  The 5 hours flew by as I tried to get way too much done in my free time.  I was excited to pick him up and happy to hear that he had a great day!  He played, ate all his lunch and even took a nap.  They say he is so good and very easy going.  Easy going?  Hmm, I'm sure glad they think that!!  :-)

After we picked him up, we decided to do something fun with him and went to get some frozen yogurt.  It was a fun family time together since Justin was off that day.

Cooper's first artwork at school….sweet handprint

He's been in Mother's Day Out for 3 weeks now, just 2 days a week and it's going so well!  I LOVE his teachers and love all the fun things he gets to do there, while making new friends.  I know it is good for him and it is great for me to have some down time before Baby #2 comes…only 3 months away!

Cooper is 22 months!

Cooper turned 22 months old this week!  Only 2 more months and I'll have a 2 year old.  Wasn't I just pregnant with him?!?!  He will also be starting up at Mother's Day Out next month for the first time.  I have mixed emotions about it but I think it will be so good for him.  He really is turning into a little boy!

My brother had his son and Cooper take some pictures together last week.  Cooper was very shy and didn't want to take pictures at first, but then after we brought the football out, his whole demeanor changed.  The boy LOVES balls.  Any kind of ball, he will find it and throw it.  I know I'm his Mama, but he seriously has an incredible arm on him.  He can throw any type of ball extremely well and hard.  We think he will be a great baseball player…maybe even a pitcher like his Daddy and Uncle, but we will see :)

Cooper also really loves our dog, Bella and to be outside.  I say that his 3 favorite things are to be outside, throwing balls, and playing with the dog.  That is pretty much all he needs!  There are at least 4 times a day he will go to the back door and say "side, side"  over and over again for outside.  We do go outside everyday and he loves to play with the water table and chase Bella around.  I still try to take him on walks and go to the park even though it is crazy hot out.  It actually hasn't been too hot of a summer for Houston, but it can still be hot.  We both like getting out of the house and a little sweat and sun won't kill us :)

He is still a great sleeper and not much has changed there.  He has been going to bed a little later in the summer since it is so nice to be outside in the evening and doesn't get dark until late.  He wakes up around 8am and then he will take a 2-3 hour nap.  His naps have been mostly 3 hours lately since he has been going to bed a little later, but it has been working well for us and I get a nice break in the afternoon to get stuff done.

His vocabulary has really taken off the past couple of months.  He can pretty much repeat almost anything you say.  When he says please and thank you, it just melts my heart.  He can also say I love you, which is soooo sweet!  He doesn't talk much around other people because he is shy but he talks non stop at home.  It is so fun to see him connect the dots and learn new words everyday.

Cooper still has a shy personality and is very cautious around strangers.  When he is in a new environment, it will take him awhile to warm up to it and he will stay right by mom or dad until he gets comfortable.  He used to be very scared of the pool, but we have had a great break through this summer and he is getting better at going in the pool!  We have a baby pool in our backyard that he loves, so that has helped a lot.  He is still a very sweet and affectionate little boy.  He gives such great hugs and kisses and loves to cuddle, most of the time :)

He really does get more and more fun each day.  I love that he can play by himself and I don't feel like I have to watch him as closely as I used to.  He LOVES his books and will go in his room multiple times a day to "read" and look at his books.  They are always spread out all over his room.  I used to pick them up and put them in the book basket, but he will immediately take them all out to look and read them.  I gave up on that and want to encourage him to read, so I don't mind the mess in his room.  He also loves to "help"  Mommy make the bed.  Every morning, I say "lets go make the bed" and he runs in our room and then lays in the middle of the floor so I can throw pillows on top of him.  He does this every.single.day.  It is so cute!

Here he is ready for the pillows!  Notice he is sucking his fingers in both pictures

Then, here comes the pillows!  I always throw all the pillows off the bed so I can make it first.  He loves it when I throw them on top of him.

After he plays with the pillows on the floor he will help me by putting the pillows back on the bed.  Usually he does the smaller throw pillows, but he is still a good helper!  He also loves to feed the dog and will help fill her bowl with food, and also help unload the silverware in the dish washer.  We are still working on him helping cleaning up his toys though :)

Poor Cooper also got his very first stomach bug this week.  It was awful!  He randomly started throwing up Monday evening, the night before we were supposed to leave for our family mini vacation.  It came out of no where and he wasn't acting sick one bit, so at first I thought it was just random and maybe he was okay.  Well, 20 minutes later he was throwing up pretty much non stop for 2-3 hours.  It was terrible to watch him be so miserable.  I didn't know when it would end.  He finally fell asleep on us and thankfully was able to sleep through the night.  I thought maybe he would be okay the next morning but once he ate again, he started throwing up again!  Poor Justin got the brunt of it. It was ironic that every time he would throw up unexpectedly, Justin was holding him and it ended up ALL over Justin.  Thanks goodness I'm married to a nurse!  We then took him to the Doctor, where he threw up again in the waiting room (yuck) and they gave him some medicine which helped tremendously!  He slept the rest of the day and then woke up the next morning back to normal.  Thankfully it was just a 24 hour bug!  Cooper is still a very happy boy for being sick…he has always been tough.

I know the "terrible twos" are coming, but I'm really looking forward to 2!  I know he will learn so much and his vocabulary will explode.  I think it will be a really fun age, though I am sad my baby is growing up.  Thankfully, we will have a new baby coming soon!!

Cooper is 20 Months Old!

Today Cooper is 20 months old!  It's hard to believe that he is getting so close to being a 2 year old.  He  is so much fun and is learning new things everyday.  (I didn't take any pictures so I'm just putting up random iPhone pictures over the past month)

Playing in the mud

Cooper "talks" and babbles non stop at home.  I love when he comes up to me and is speaking in his own language and is genuinely trying to tell me something but I have no idea what he is saying.  He is more shy around other people so he won't "talk" as much unless he is more comfortable.  He seems to learn new words everyday.  His main words that he says all the time are:  mama, dada, dog, bella (belba), all done, amen, elmo, baby, bye bye, night night, and thank you.  He says a lot of other words too, but these are his main ones.  He just started saying thank you a few weeks ago and it is the cutest sound in the world.  He says it when we give him something and he will also say it when he gives us something.  When he plays outside with Bella, he will give her tennis balls (when he is feeling generous) and then he will say "thank you" to her over and over.  I think he doesn't understand why she doesn't tell him thank you for giving her the balls.  He will look at me and say "thank you, thank you" like I should do something about her not telling him thank you.  So cute.

Cooper and "belba"

Granna with her grandsons

The biggest issue we are having right now is he is an incredibly picky eater.  I really don't know how he is in the 65%ile in weight, because the kid doesn't eat.  I remember before I had kids I thought "my kid will not be a picky eater, I will make them eat everything."  hahaha never say what your kid will or will not do before having children.  It always comes back to bite you.  After he turned one and could eat regular food, he ate everything!  I was pretty proud (like I had something to do with it…) that he would pretty much eat anything we gave him.  I even said how glad I was he wasn't picky.  Then a few months later he decided he didn't like food in general.  Okay not really, but it can be frustrating when he won't even try something that I cooked.  His favorite foods right now are grapes (though he has been refusing them lately), yogurt, applesauce, smoothies, cheerios, pancakes, peanut butter, chicken, guacamole and tuna.  He also likes cheese,bananas and zucchini, but it depends on his mood because other times he will refuse to eat it.   He loves tuna and eats it everyday for lunch which is odd since I don't like it.  

Summertime by the pool

Cooper's sleeping schedule hasn't changed much.  He goes to bed around 8pm now and usually sleeps until 7:30 or 8.  He takes an afternoon nap after lunch around 12:30 or 1 and will sleep for 2-3 hours which is awesome.  Sometimes he will only sleep 1 hour but will usually make up for it the next day by napping 3 hours.  It's hard when I have plans in the afternoon and am not sure when he will wake up.  It is a nice break for me in the afternoon though.  I am thankful that Cooper has always been a great sleeper!

picking blackberries with friends!

He loved eating them more than picking them

Look at that face!

Cooper is still a very shy little guy.  I can't tell you how many times he has glared at a stranger who is trying to talk to him or make him smile and I have to tell them "He is shy and is like that to everyone" so not to offend them!  But once he gets warmed up to you, he will love you and give you the sweetest hugs ever.  At least I won't have to worry too much about stranger danger with him :-)  He also gets nervous around new environments but then can get warmed up pretty quick once he feels comfortable.

Cousin Fun

One of the sweetest things about Cooper is that he is extremely lovable and affectionate and melts my heart everyday.  He gives the best hugs and kisses and will give them to Justin and I freely without us even asking.  He also blows kisses to me before he goes to bed or if I leave for whatever reason.  And when I pick him up from the church or gym nursery, he can act like I've been gone all day as he is so happy to see us.  He of course gives daddy the best greeting ever when he comes home from work.  He is just the sweetest little boy and I am so thankful to the Lord for choosing me to be his Mommy!

Cooper "praying" for his rice crispy treat on his own

Cooper is 18 Months old!

Cooper is 18 months old!  A year and a half.  He is now getting closer to 2 than he is to 1.  It's hard to believe I'll have a 2 year old soon!  He really is getting cuter everyday.  Of course I'm his Mommy so all I see is total cuteness :)

We went to the doctor on Friday for his 18 month check up and Cooper was not having it.  He didn't even get shots but he was acting like he was being tortured.  He didn't like being forced to lay down to be measured or weighed or get his ears, mouth and everything else checked out.  The doctor said everything looked great and he was on track.  He weighs about 25 pounds, though it's hard to get an exact weight since he wouldn't sit still.  He is in about the 60%ile in weight and 15%ile in height.  Poor little guy is short now, but there is still hope that he will have a growth spurt later in life like his Daddy.  

Eating/Drinking: The good news is that Cooper is finally drinking from a straw and kind of a sippy cup.  I say kind of because he can do it and does it sometimes, but prefers drinking from a regular straw.  Ya'll, this boy is very stubborn and knows what he wants.   I have to be more strict with him since he is a set in his ways type child.  I'm so glad he is drinking from a straw, but it is still frustrating that he doesn't care for the typical sippy cup or straw cup.  He loves smoothies, yogurt, chicken, and bananas.  He also has a newfound love for guacamole.   

Sleeping:  Not much has changed with sleeping.  He still goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 and sleeps until 8am everyday which is awesome.  I put him down for his nap between 12-1pm and he usually sleeps 2 hours..sometimes less and sometimes more.  Every now and then he will take a 3 hour nap but it's hard to know when that day will be.  He has been a great sleeper!

Likes:  He LOVES to go outside and play. He goes from the front door to the back door throughout the day to ask to go out.  He loves to climb and go down the slide.  He also loves his little car that we take him on often.  He runs everywhere now which is the cutest thing ever.  He has a pretty good arm on him and loves throwing balls.  He also loves taking baths.  When we tell him it's bath time he runs and squeals to the bathroom.

Though he can be very stubborn sometimes, he is such a sweet boy.  He LOVES hugs and kisses and pretty much hugs any kid that he is comfortable with.  He will just go up and hug them with no prompting.  His huge smile and laugh brightens up my day.  He is a joy!