Thanksgiving 2010

We have had a fun time at Nana's house for Thanksgiving and Cooper has forsaken me completely for his favorite person Nana (aka Daphne to his Scooby-Doo). She let him sled all the way down the hill and she said he squealed like a little girl. I missed it since I was napping. I have been pretty out of it for a few days with a horrible cold and killer sore throat. I hate to be sick on the holidays.

Scooby-Doo Where are You?

Cooper decided he wanted to be Scooby-Doo for Halloween. This was after an overnight trip to Nana’s house (his first!) when I had to go to St. Anthony for work. Apparently he watched a lot of Scooby-Doo and has a new fascination for him.

We had so many activities planned for Halloween. The Thursday before Halloween, Cooper picked out a pirate pattern for his pumpkin and I spent the next three and a half hours carving it for him while he kept trying to help and grab my sharp knives. He tried to help by cleaning out the pumpkin, but it grossed him out too much. For someone who likes to touch his own poo, the kid is meticulous about having his hands clean (poo excluded!).

We went to my work and trick-or-treated on Friday and then Saturday we did the Boo at the Zoo (us and 5,000 of our closest friends) and Brandon and I dressed up as Shaggy and Velma to accessorize Cooper. Later we went to the Philharmonster concert put on by the Boise Philharmonic. It was fun, but Cooper got scared from the scary music and we had to leave early. He was the only kid out of a 100 to freak out over the music, but I think it is a sign of his immense intelligence that he recognized it as scary music.

Cooper also got a Happy Meal in between all of our Saturday Halloween events and when I ask him later what the highlight of his day was, the Happy Meal was it. I guess we don’t really have to try that hard to entertain him.

Nana came up on Halloween and by then we were all too wore out to go trick-or-treating, so we handed out candy instead. Cooper dressed up as a dragon and roared at all the kids that came to visit. Then he would throw himself on the floor and cry when they left (he wanted them all to stay and play).

My hunka hunka boys
Velma and Scooby and the pretty fall colors
The Philharmonsters play room before the concert
And I just had to throw this in to see how much Cooper has grown from last year!

Pumpkin Patch

Cooper's first pony ride!
~Cooper's big chair~
The Corn Box was a big hit!
My sweet baby boy!
Here is another fun fall activity, we went to the Farmstead pumpkin patch and Cooper had a blast. We had to go super early to avoid the crowds, but it was worth it.

Cooper Drives A TOO TOO TAIN

Here is the train video. Cooper loves to watch himself driving the train:

Hagerman Fossil Days!

These were also over Memorial Weekend (we were kinda busy, or just camera happy. I don't know which). Here is Cooper's first carousel ride, he loved it but he had to keep switching rides to try them all out.

Cooper LOVED the train ride. We were a little nervous he would freak out, but he loved it.

Here he is signing 'More, More!!' as soon as it stopped.

Alligators?! Ummm, maybe.

We went to Miracle Hot Springs to see the alligators over Memorial Weekend. They really weren't very exciting. There is two in the picture if you can see them (kind of like Where's Waldo). I am not sure if Cooper saw them at all, but he loves to talk about the monkeys sitting in the tree and the alligator that came a long and.... (cue Cooper screeching SNAP! and snapping his arms as an alligator jaw.)

This weekend we have been so bored becasue it won't stop RAINING! Where is our summer? Cooper says the funniest things though. Yesterday we were doing our letter flash cards and we got to the C one that has a Cat on it and I asked, "What does a cat start with?" Cooper gave me a funny look and said, "A kitten." Well duh....

Then we were driving and when we went past a McDonalds Cooper asked me, "What's that?" When I told him, he started to sign, "E-I-E-I-O!"

Memorial Day and ROCKS!

Cooper got to go to Almo and he helped decorate graves. I use 'help' loosely unless by helping you mean stealing flowers, throwing rocks (sometimes off graves), and pile-driving Morgan's new puppy. If that is helpful, then yes, Cooper helped a ton:)

Myrna, Bob and Gloria. We had a mini-fam reunion at the cemetery. It was fun to see everyone and Tony Silva was great to try and catch Cooper a lizard (no luck, those speedy little devils).

Here is me and my little terror. I don't know how he held still this long for a picture. Since he has been in the sun a couple of days his hair is super light. I think I will have a tough time ever keeping him in this summer (maybe my house will stay cleaner??)

After the cemetery we picnicked at the City of Rocks. Cooper loved the BIG, BIG, BIG ROCKS and had so much fun feeding his sandwich to the chipmunks (aka 'Munks!') and running all over the rocks. No fear that kid. Not like his ole' ma.

I remember when I was a kid and Gloria would tell us the story of the Twin Sisters and the two Indian sisters fighting over the same handsome Indian brave until they tore him limb from limb and they cried and cried until they turned themselves into stone and he turned into a tree below the rocks. I remember Mistie and I would get so sad (or maybe it was just me because I was always a wimp). My mom also liked the game (insert super scary voice here): "I'm not your mom I am a witch." And she also liked to tell us to look for the lost Indian 'Rock' whenever we saw the road signs that say: 'Watch for Rock.' I can't remember if Rock was going to get us if we were bad, but probably.

*SIGH* You really can tell kids anything... ohh, I can't wait for that!!!! It reminds me of the Great Jack Handey's Deep Thoughts (here are some of my favorite of the kid tormenting variety):

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh no," I said, "Disneyland burned down."He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

And another of my favorites:

If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is, "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is, "Probably because of something you did."

P.S. Mommy, I love your stories. And you can scare me anytime and I will love it. And you can tell me anything and I will believe it (still!) because you are my beautiful, wonderful mama.

Toni Rocks! Happy Graduation!

Tetherball Toughies

Cooper and Holden got to hang out a couple of weeks ago at his Grandma Cindy's house. Cooper was much nicer to his little cousin this time (less hitting and pushing). The talked animals and balls and played some tetherball. It was super cute.

Feeding the Giraffe

Cooper went to the zoo today with his friend Robbie. They got to feed the giraffe which freaked Cooper out just a bit. But he was still really excited about it. He has been coaxing all week to go see all the animals.

He was funny at the zoo, he had to wave to all the animals and tell them hi and bye and try to hug and kiss them. We were outside the other day and when I told him it was time to come in he had to say bye to the trees and then give them a long distance hug and kiss. Kid loves nature, what can I say.

He also knows all his animals, I got him some bathtub paint and the other day I asked him what he wanted me to draw, "A bear!" So after I drew it I asked him if he liked the bear, "It's a bison," he said. Yeah, I guess it did look more like a bison.

An oldie

So I just found this video, I think it was around last Oct/Nov. so Cooper would have aroun 14-15 months. He was so smart! And don't mind my messy house, I moved. ha ha...Now I have a new messy house.

Cold Camping

We went camping with Jamie and Ryan and Jerica and Justin last Saturday thinking that we would be ok to sleep in the Jeep. WRONGO! It was freezing cold and my teeth are still chattering. Here is how Emma, Cooper and Rylee like to camp anyway (watching Madagascar). Umm, yeah. So glad we drive up to the mountains so Coop can experience nature at its finest. And yes, that is a bottle. Cooper plans on having it until he is three. I hope you don't have a problem with that.

On another note, I know what Cooper dreams of...monkeys. He kicked around the other morning and shouted out, "Monkeys!" in his sleep. I tell you the kid likes him some monkeys. And since you are wondering, how on earth did she hear that? That is because Cooper still sleeps with us and plans to until he is at least four. Or maybe we can time that move with the bottle elimination. ha ha.

Cooper Spies his Easter Basket

Easter was Here

Cooper had such a fun Easter and his Nana and Papa came to visit. He loved this Donald Duck in a bunny suit-he screams when you pick him up by the ears.

Here is his first moment of excitement when he spied the fabulous play center Nana bought him.
And here he is exploring it.
And here is Papa looking grumpy and telling us how he will fall off his playset and get hurt and how he really shouldn't be playing outside anyway (it is way too cold he said).

Ode to Cooper at 20 Months

Your awesomeness knows no bounds. Even as you dig in my plant (and deposit dirt on my floor), or throw yourself down and spin and kick (when I tell you no, or even just try to help you do something), or even when you are really mad and take a run and bite my thigh leaving a nasty red mark that will last a week. No, you are still beyond awesome. Your laugh is infectious. My ability to recognize what you are doing before you do it (by the giggle of your laugh and the gait of your step-you will be throwing something down the stairs...soon) is uncanny. I love your ability to name animals. Not just a few. You know lions, tigers, bears, elephants, hippos, penguins, lizards, etc. etc. whales (specifically orcas, they are the best whale...), dolphins, jellyfish (thank you spongebob), toucans, parrots (yes, you know the difference), monkeys and gorillas, and of course all the regular everyday ones plus all the various sounds that they make. I love that your favorite toy is a book, and I try to keep you well supplied, even as you rip apart the pages. And ROCKS. I love it when you categorize them by size (big and little). I love that you LOVE Madagascar. Even though I, like you, can recite most of that movie by heart. I am even starting to love Dora. It makes me feel just a little smarter when I know the answers (yes, they are easy, but everyone loves to be right sometimes). I love it when you hiss like a cat (we have been practicing that practical skill) and I love it when I ask you how old you are and you say six. Even though we have talked about this (several times) and you aren't even two. I love it when you screetch 'Brandon', just like I do. Basically, I love you. You are amazing and you are my best friend. Thank you for being you little guy. You Rock.