Forgot to mention

Forgot to mention that we have discovered that Cooper really likes Little Debbie cakes and cheese puffs. I know, I know, mother of the year....

Snow, snow, well...Ice

It's so pretty looking out my window right now. White all around. Looks like snow, but oh wait not so much. It's ice. Just imagine stepping out your front door on a sheet of ice. Lovely. But of course we had to take Coop out to experience it. The last time it "snowed" I was still at home with him on maternity leave. So he probably doesn't remember (or he might - he's pretty smart.) So we bundled him up and took him out. He was so confused. I mean he was out there yesterday with green grass, now all was white. He wasn't a big fan. It was COLD! His little nose got red immediately. He walked around a bit and when we (really I mean me) couldn't feel our fingers anymore, I decided it was time to go in. And so, our adventures in the snow lasted a whopping 5 minutes (maybe). I did get some cute pics though. Don't you agree?

Another rambling post...

I know, I haven't posted pictures in awhile. I will. Soon...

Let's just start by saying we think Cooper is awesome. He really is an amazing little man. His teachers at school tell us how smart he is. They keep telling us that he is talking all the time and is just very smart. Well, we haven't experienced that just yet. Until tonight. I was making dinner and Cooper was playing. He has a little farm set he got for Christmas. I told him "Cooper can you bring me the cow?" And wouldn't you know, he searched around picked up the cow and brought it to me. Then I said, Cooper what sound does a cow make and he responds "Mooooooo"

I have said it before, but here it is again... Genius baby.

Thinking back...

Tonight Cooper wanted to be held. He wanted to be held while I made his dinner, while I set the table, while I went and got him some toys to play with. He just wanted to be held. In order to do all the things listed above, I needed both my hands and I had to set him down. And that is when the screaming would start. I would look down at him and a pitiful sad face stared back at me with arms lifting up to me. It made me think back when I had to hold him all the time because he couldn't just sit up, or stand, or crawl, or walk. It made me sad. The baby stage is over. And I am sad. And so I held him...

How did I not know?

How did I not know that my little baby was getting two molars on the top? Seriously, I have been working alot, but TWO MOLARS? You may be thinking 1) wow she is not very attentive or 2) how did she find them now? Cooper hates getting his teeth brushed. He screams (you know that deafening scream) like I am physically hurting him - umm NO its called brushing teeth Cooper. Anyways, I have learned to sing and try and make it as fun as possible. Lately, he has been buying in to this fun game. Tonight I was brushing away, while singing the Barney brush your teeth song and there I see it...a shiny white molar. Oh wait, not one but one on the right and one on the left. TWO! Oh Coop - such a big boy now!

Catch Up

Well, work has been crazy. But I have a big following (aka J) that has been wondering where my updates have been. Here is what Cooper has been up to...

He is talking so much more now. He can say Yes and shake his head (see post below in the video - adorable). He also can wave and blow kisses real well. Also, his teach claims he can say "One, two" as he counts the steps at school. Got to be honest, I have yet to hear it...make your own call. However, I will say he is trying to use his words alot more now than before. Also, we had to get our second haircut because this boy's hair was out of control. I will have to get E to update you on what he has been up to the past few weeks because he has been primary care giver lately.

OHHH almost forgot to mention. On MLK day, Papa Bruce and Reid came up to watch Cooper because we had to both work. Cooper had a blast. He can't wait to see you guys again soon!

This is for you J!

Look at his new haircut....isn't he handsome?

Cooper and Lauri

We went to visit Ms. Lauri the week of New Year's.  Cooper had a great time and oh my goodness did he get into EVERYTHING!  Every 5 seconds he was off getting into something he shouldn't be.  We did have a great time visiting!  Take a look at how cute they are!

It's been a rough week

It has been a rough week and it is only Tuesday. Poor Cooper has not been a fan of going back to school. We got a report yesterday that he was whiny all day and he just wanted to be held all day long. Today he was a little better, despite his little incident (read previous post).

I really can't blame him. I have been pretty whiny going back to work, how about you?

Pictures I promised...

Cooper - You are in trouble Mister

This is to document that today, January 5, 2010 Cooper has gotten his first bad note home from school. For what you ask - BITING! Yes, the little man got caughting biting a friend in his class. (As Eddie read this he says, "guess it wasn't really a friend" - spoken like a dad) With a special little note at the bottom saying, "UNPROVOKED". I am pretty sure that isn't good.

So my dear baby - please don't bite anymore.

Pictures

I will add some pictures tomorrow night of this week. Aren't you excited?!?!

Headed back to the cold

We had a wonderful Christmas and a great visit with everyone in Florida. On Sunday it came time to head back to Charlotte where it was WAY too cold. As soon as we got Cooper out of the car he went straight to look for his playhouse and play he did. Unfortunately, it was way too cold to let him stay out there too long. Little did we know it was going to get even colder and he wouldn't be able to play out there the rest of the week. Poor thing!

OH completely forgot to tell you one little bit - Cooper started to get sick on Christmas. Sure enough we get back to Charlotte and Cooper has 102 degree temperature and is coughing. We took him to the doctor and of course just another virus we just have to work through.

Don't you love when the doctor says that - "we just need to work through it". Well, really you mean us right? Because I am pretty sure when the little man wakes up all night because he is coughing so bad, I don't remember you being there. My other favorite is let's treat this with Motrin or Tylenol. HAHA. I should tell them, "hey doc - i treat the little man to motrin every night before bed, are you sure that is all we need here?"

The rest of the week we just hung out and relaxed. It was great. Don't you just love vacation time?

Merry Christmas 2009

No words could explain the day, so there are the pictures.

Christmas Week Continued....

Do you agree? Those pictures - are they not the cutest?

So Wednesday we headed down to Vero in the car. Cooper was great! He slept, watched DVDs, played, ate....Let's expand on the DVD situation. Cooper loves to watch movies in the car. Not just any movie, Barney. Yes, you read that right. We listened to his favorite Barney video for probably 4 hours on that car ride. But hey, Barney vs. crying baby - Barney wins everytime.

And I know you are all curious - yes Eddie and I both know every single word to every Barney song (and the dance moves to match). I know you are laughing right now because you are picturing the three of us in the car singing and dancing to Barney.

Christmas Eve Eddie, Cooper, PopPop and I went to the early service at church. Cooper had a great time. This is because he ran up and down the hallway the entire time. I probably should have first told you the church was so packed we couldn't sit in the church we had to sit in extra seating outside the chapel. He had a blast. I did make him come and sing Silent Night with us. He loved the candles. Then we went back to MomMom and PopPop's for Christmas Eve dinner - and then bed to get ready for Santa!

Here we are before church - I know doesn't Coop look thrilled?!

Christmas Week

Ok so where was I....Last time I left you we were celebrating the holiday in Ware Shoals. After that we came back to Charlotte for a little work and to prepare for our trip back down to Vero for Christmas. We still had lots of Christmas shopping to do - must get better at this for next year. I now understand why my sister got up so early the day after Thanksgiving - shopping the week of Christmas is NOT fun. (and I love to shop - sigh)

We were set to drive down to Vero starting really early Wednesday morning. But Santa must have gotten my letter because he visited our home in Charlotte early! Cooper is now the proud owner of his first house. Take a look...

He loved everything about this playhouse - the door, the slide, the phone, the seats on the inside - EVERYTHING! His face says it all don't you think?

Now I must say I was NOT in the Christmas spirit before, but when I saw him light up it all came to me. Although this was not his 1st Christmas, it was his first Christmas that he could actually PLAY with his toys. Oh Cooper - you make it all worth it.

I have more to post, but I think these pictures serve as enough for this one...I will post more later. Look at that face! So in love...

Santa - We need to talk...

Santa,

Cooper has been a great little boy this year. We have a favor to ask of you - can you please come to two different houses in two different cities for Cooper - 1)Charlotte 2)Vero Beach?

Cooper has a present that will not travel well so we are going to need you to drop that off in Charlotte. Is that ok?

Love,
Cooper's Mom

Christmas with the Hollands

The weekend before Christmas we headed down to Ware Shoals to spend some time with the Hollands and Cathcarts for the holiday. We had dinner with Nana and Cooper LOVED the macaroni and ham. He was just scooping it up and couldn't get enough of it! We then headed to Poppa Bruce's house to stay the night. I should have known when Cooper wouldn't sleep that something was up with him. But I just thought oh different place - I am sure that's all it is. He did have a great day playing with all the kids and getting to see all the people. He really did great - and I would love to show you pictures of how much fun he had except that we completely forgot to bring it. (note for 2010 - get better at remembering your camera and actually taking pictures with it)

And sweet Cooper gave a little foreshadowing for the week to come by coughing.....

Cooper's Christmas Party

Cooper has not been attending school very much lately. With all the holidays and the week for training, Cooper has gotten completely out of his school routine. So the week we came back to Charlotte, Cooper wasn't too thrilled to have to go to school. However, he did have some fun events that week - Santa coming to visit and his class was having a Christmas party. With that being said, he was only going to be there that week and then would probably be out the rest of December for the holidays.

Poor Santa - don't you all feel bad for him. His teachers said before he even walked into their classroom the babies started crying. And it just got worse when he walked in the room. The picture they gave me of Cooper on Santa's lap is hilarious. Cooper is trying to push Santa away while struggling to get down. Too funny.

Then on Friday they had their Christmas party. I have finally figured out what "party" means for a 1 year old. It means snack time. Either way, his teachers said he had a great time. They also warned me - please make sure Cooper doesn't get too spoiled with his grandparents. HAHAHA fat chance.

Ok, now this has nothing to do with the post above but it was so cute I had to share!

Playing Catch Up

Wow - the last time I posted was Dec. 4th. Pretty sad really. I set this blog up so that I could track what Cooper was up to and to keep family and friends updated. December had so much going on that I could have probably had two posts a day to keep up with everything. Unfortunately those posts never happened. So here I go trying to play catch up. To make myself feel better I am going to do multiple smaller posts to keep the timeline right. Here it goes.

Let's go back to the week of December 6th. This was the week Eddie and I were due to go to Orlando for a work training week. The little man was going to stay with MomMom, PopPop, and Meems while we were there. In addition, this was Cooper's FIRST ever flight. To add even a little more flavor to the story, it was going to be a flight with just me! Talk about scary. I had nightmares about this. I didn't sleep at all the night before our early morning flight. Luckily we got bumped up to first class. (seriously just picture me with a carryon, Cooper, stroller, and another bag with treats and toys for Coop - you would be scared too) Eddie took us into the the airport and we said our goodbyes at the gate. He would be down a few days later after he took care of some meetings for work. Cooper was being very cooperative - even during the security line ordeal whereby I am having to take off my shoes, sweater, get my laptop out and take off Coop's sweater, shoes, etc. - you get the picture. Can I please tell you the security people are not helpful. I was obviously struggling and there were not that many people in line (it was like 630am) and they did nothing to help. Anyways, moving on, Cooper and I get on the plane and he was being a little angel. All the people in first class gave me a look like "oh great a baby". I just looked at the guy next to me and said - look I am really sorry, I think he will be good, but who knows. And good he was. He fell asleep right after we took off and woke up after we landed. What a good baby. He knew I was nervous and was on his best behavior. I know you are probably laughing at that comment, but it made me feel good! Here is a picture of Cooper and I after we met up with MomMom and PopPop at the airport. Such a good boy.

Once we got to Vero, I was there for one night with him and then I headed over to Orlando for training. I left after he woke up on Monday morning and wasn't set to see him again until Wednesday night. Doesn't sound like long, but this would be the first time I had ever been away from him longer than maybe 12 hours. I was sad. I knew he would have so much fun and he would be fine, it was me that I was worried about. Eddie flew in to Orlando Monday night and I went and picked him up. It was weird to just be the two of us driving. Cooper is always with us. We both kept saying how strange it was to look in the backseat and him not be there. As sad as it was, I got some good sleep! We headed back to Vero on Wednesday night. The look on Cooper's face when he saw us for the first time - oh I wish I had a camera at that very moment to capture it. Pure excitement on both our parts. Words can't describe the facial expression. What on earth did I do without him?

We stayed in Vero for the rest of the week to attend my Dad's side of the family Christmas party. We also finally took our picture for our Christmas card. Take a look - it's real cute.

So we flew back to Charlotte, all three of us, on Sunday morning fairly early. I was feeling pretty confident about taking Cooper on the plane. He did so awesome on the flight down.....I should have known. We all were bumped up to first class again, however, Cooper and "angel" did not go together this day. He wanted to run around on the plane. Again please envision people in first class giving me the look. (you know the one) When we finally had to make him sit in our laps he was not happy. Honestly, his little breakdown was probably 5-10 minutes, but it felt like hours. You never want to be that person with a crying baby on a plane, but we were. Finally we got him calmed down and he fell asleep until after we landed.

It was a long week filled with firsts for us, but it was a great visit!