just like dada

For those of you who don't know, Cooper's dada can do everything. He has extensive hobbies, reads, writes, plays anything with strings, rides his bike, and is currently training for his first half marathon in March. Very impressive. Cooper appreciates all the things his dada does, but what he likes most af all is his guitar. He will sneak back into the room where Lee keeps his acoustic guitar and all of a sudden I will hear him singing and strumming- I love my musical family, I guess I will have to dust off my old triangle!

The New Addition to Our Family

Mimi bought Cooper a puppy! He is so cute. He is 10 weeks old, half cocker and half springer spaniel. We named him Britches (its a long story, when I have time, I will enlighten all of you!)
Cooper loves him, but he really likes his Crate. He will go in the back bedroom, let Britches out and then climb in the crate! Sometimes they get in the crate together. They are fast on their way to becoming best friends.

Coop's first haircut

I had to do it. I didn't want to do it, but I had to! Coop's hair was out of control. It was long in some places, sticking up in others- He looked like a rag muffin. Luckily, Coop's Aunt Amanda, who we like to call Aunt Panda is a fabulous hair stylist at Bob Steele in Kennesaw. So we took Cooper up there. We got there a little early so we went to the book store and in the kid's section was- CLIFFORD!! Coop had his picture made with Clifford but he was much more interested in the books, just like his dada.
Then we met Grandmommy and Papaw for lunch at The Atlanta Bread Company. COoper and Papaw were so cute with their matching canes!
We finally got the salon and Cooper did pretty good. I was a little sad, but his hair looks great!

lEE'S BIIRTHDAY!

Lee's birthday was Saturday the 19th and we had all these big plans. Cooper was going to spend the night at Grandmommy's house and we were going to meet all of our friends for a fun night out of dinner and the Improv club. But, Mother Nature had other plans for us. It snowed, poured down snow. I think we got like 3 inches! Cooper had a ball playing. Dada taught him how to make a snowman, throw a snowball and catch snowflakes on his tongue. At first we were disapointed that we weren't going to get to celebrate like we had planned but we ended up having a much better time!! I stayed warm on the front porch taking pictures!!

eatin' with dada

Cooper will not eat dinner. Period. With me. Every night I cook and every night I make him a plate. He will not eat in his high chair, or in a booster seat or at the table. He won't even sit with me on the couch and eat. So tonight I cooked Fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, rolls and green beans. I made Cooper a plate, we sat at that table and he didn't eat. The closest he came was dipping his pacifier in the mashed potatoes and leaving it on the table. Cooper's Mimi came in with an ice cream bar and of course Coop wanted that. We said no because he hadn't eaten any dinner. He cried and cried like his heart was broken. Lee fixed himself a plate and sat down in the big blue chair and the next thing I know, Cooper crawled up in the chair with dada and ate a whole piece of chicken! I don't know if it was the promise of ice cream or just eating with dada that did the trick, and I don't really care... as long as he eats !!

Snow Day!

It snowed yesterday! I mean really snowed. And iced. And sleeted. Cooper had a ball, he had never seen snow before. I let him go play for alittle while but it was really too cold for him to be out there for too long. He had a blast though!

Cooper and Ava

Cooper is really starting to talk alot now! I taught him that a sheep says "baaa" so now when I ask him what sound any animal says, whether its a pig, a dog or a cat, he says "BAAAA"! Today he was watching Little Bear on Noggin and he said "cat" several times.

Yesterday, Cooper's best friend Ava, who is two and a half came over to show us her new haircut. She looks so beautiful! Cooper and Ava were outside playing and driving the big John Deere Gator. Ava usually drives and Coop rides because he is just a little too short to reach the petal. So after they had been riding for a little while, Ava switches seats with Coop and says, "my turn sit, your turn drive" to Cooper. Cooper climbs down off the Gator, looks up at Ava's daddy and says, plain as day, "uh-uh." We got hysterical. They have so much fun together! We are so lucky to have Ava and her mommy and daddy!

Today we are going to get Coop a new slide because he has finally outgrown his old one!

Another funny thing that Cooper and Dada do is play Superman. Ever since Coop was little, Lee would pick him up and say, "He stands for truth, justice and the American way. He is Super Cooper!" and Lee would lift him over his head like he was flying. Cooper loved it. Now that he is older, he loves it even more. As soon as Lee starts to say the words, Coop will look at me and just smile the biggest smile. It is their sweet, special thing! See third pic!

New Years

I want to make a list of all the things that Cooper learned how to do this year... So here is Coop's 2007 in a nutshell:
- Coop learned how to roll over, sit up, pull up, stand, crawl, walk, run, climb, play chase and get down off the bed by himself.
- Coop learned how to eat real food, use a fork and a spoon, feed himself, take a bite, drink out of a cup and share his goldfish with Ava.
- Coop got 12 teeth this year
- Coop learned how to hug, kiss, blow kisses, wave bye bye, clap, laugh and dance
- Coop learned how to slide down a slide, throw a ball and turn the pages in a book
- Coop learned where his eyes are, his nose is and his mouth is
- Cooper learned how to pitch a fit, including walking backwards, throwing his self down and then gently lowering his head so that he won't hit it too hard on the hardwood floors
- Cooper took his first airplane ride to Marco Island. He saw his first alligator, his first dolphin and ate his first sea shell.
- He learned that a cow goes Moo and a pig snorts
- He learned how to take his shoes and socks off
- Coop learned how to say mama, dada, open, and Thank you.
I am sure there is more-
but, right now here is a list of his favorite things right now-
favorite snack food- goldfish and apple cinnamon cereal bars
favorite real food- sausage and whatever his dada's eating
favorite toy- grocery cart, cane and doorbell on his play house
favorite show- The Backyardigans
favorite book- Counting Kisses and Gary Snyder poetry
favorite game- chase or Where's Cooper?
Favorite friend- Ava

I can't wait to see what 2008 has in store!

Christmas 2007

We had a really nice Christmas- Cooper got a really cool Diego 4 wheeler, but its either been raining or freezing so he hasn't had a chance to really use it. His favorite thing right now that he got is his grocery cart. He loves to push it around the house. He also loves his tickle me Ernie, but he can't quite figure out how to make him work!
Lee, my mom and I are so lame, we were more excited than he was on Christmas morning, so we actually woke him up- He wasn't too happy at first, but once he saw what Santa had brought, he forgot all about being sleepy!
I made a very simple breakfast, just some Sausage and Havarti muffins that were delicious.
Lee's parents and his sister Amanda and her boyfriend Clay came over for lunch and I cooked a spread- turkey and all the trimmings, including a 4 layer chocolate cake with caramel and cream cheese frosting- to die for! Its really cute, Lee's dad had a stroke a couple of years ago and although he has made great recovery, he uses a cane. From the time that Cooper could walk, as soon as he would see Papaw, he would still his cane and carry it all over the house. So, this year Papaw made Cooper his very own cane. It looks just like Papaws, only it is exactly Cooper's size. He hasn't hardly put it down!
Later that afternoon, my brother, my sis in law and my niece and nephew drove in from Marco island. We flew down there for Thanksgiving and had a blast spending Thanksgiving in our bathing suits, collecting seashells with Cooper! My niece Sierra adores Cooper and he thinks she is the best- He never really leaves her side. She is so talented, she is 14 and not only is she an outstanding athlete, she is also an amazing artist and she sketched a gorgeous pic of Coop-
We absolutely missed my father this Christmas, but we survived and we made sure Cooper enjoyed every second of it!