21 Months Old

21 Month Facts:

• You've started talking in third person, anytime you want to hold something or do something you so "Pooper" (that's how you say your name, seriously, it's the cutest) or if you are feeling extra independent you will say "nooo pooper do".
• You peed for the first time standing up. The kid care at the gym has a mini toilet that's just your size, I didn't want you sitting on the dirty thing and your potty seat is too big to fit on it so I stood right behind you and told you you could pee, you looked up at me for the "okay" which I gave again and then you peed and then said "coooool!!!!" it was sooo funny, I really hope I won't be kicking myself later for letting you do that.
• You have started saying two and three word sentences and are becoming more verbal than every.
• It has started warming up a bit and you want to live "siiide" outside. You're favorite words lately are, walk, park, outside, cluhlor (color), paint, you keep me very busy my child.
• You love dirt, everything about it, throwing it, digging in it, squishing it, yes, and sometimes eating it, gross. Your Daddy is going to build you a sandbox shortly which i'm sure you will live in all summer long.
• You have been playing with your language a lot and have started adding extra syllables to words. For example, shoe is shuueeey, go is go-eeee, play is play-eee, I have no clue where you learn these things or what possesses you to do them, but I love them and they make me laugh.
• You had a few very sad nights this month where you woke up with bad growing pains. You would hold your feet and legs and say "foot oweey, leg hurt" it was the saddest thing and I hope that you won't have to endure to many more spurts like those, hopefully you'll grow slow enough that you will start sleeping through them because it kills me when I can't do anything but cuddle you to help.
• You are so amazing little man, your Daddy and I are constantly in awe of the things you are learning and how fast you are growing, we love you to the moon and back Coop!

Beginning of April

I think we are all a little eager for summer weather and we try to take full advantage of the days that are warmer. We eat lunch in the backyard, blow bubbles, and play chase with Nana.

I'm also eager for less layers and summer clothes, i've ordered most of Coop's summer clothes and when these came and I was showing him he saw these neon orange shorts and wouldn't take them off!!

I was reading to Cooper one rainy afternoon and he fell asleep on me. I know that these moments are probably numbered now that he has become so independent so I have been trying to be better at savoring moments like these instead of hurrying to lay him down because I have a list of things that need checked off.

We went to Home Depot one Saturday to get the rest of the wood we needed to build Cooper's sandbox and they were doing a kids workshop so while Ry got the stuff we needed I took Coop over to the workshop. Coop wanted to build the bird house but the lady said they didn't have the kits yet so I talked Coop into making a mini tool box instead, he helped me nail it together and put the stickers on all by himself, he was so proud and was showing everyone as we left the store.

I always love conference weekend, something about not feeling guilty about wearing sweats all day and watching conference with cinnamon rolls and popcorn just makes me so happy. Coop was pretty good at watching the morning sessions with me and was asleep for most of the afternoon ones.

Coop finally hit the thirty pound mark and we turned his seat around, he loves it!!! He looks around non stop and comments on every detail of our drives.

Here are some self portraits Coop took of himself while he was on the potty...

 

Since we have had some yucky, cold days we have had to be creative about getting out of the house. One of many adventures included meeting our friends at the library. Coop and Kolt are so good at playing together, (when they were a bit younger they just played side by side and didn't really interact,) they played with the animals and dinosaurs, colored together, and of course had snacks together. Part way through our time at the library Coop told me "away" (go away momma) and had "Lolo" (Lauren) color with him while, so I went and sat by Kolt who put his feet up on me and loved me rubbing them "again Meggy" it was so cute.

 

We finally finished Coop's sandbox (i'm not sure why I didn't take pictures of it yet) and his chalkboard wall which he absolutely loves. When he wants to play in the sand his says "dirt" and when he wants to color is "cluhlor" in a pained sounding voice, it's hilarious, he's started using different tones for different words, Ry and I are constantly laughing at this.

I'm sure we will spend hours outside this summer so I'm glad we have a few things to do without having to leave the house.

 

My baby is growing way too fast!

 

St. Patrick's Day!!!

I pretty much love every holiday and i'm glad that Coop is getting old enough I can start traditions with him that maybe he will remember. This St. Patty's day I made green smoothies and green leprechaun pancakes. He picked off all the marshmallows and then at the pancakes that didn't have whipped cream touching it.

For lunch we went to my parents for a traditional St. Patrick's of corned beef and cabbage. After we hung out out there for a while we went to Ry's parents' for dinner of a taco ring for dinner.

Reading bedtime stories to my little leprechaun!

March so far...

We've had a pretty good March so far, we have a few nice days where we have been able to go to the park and play outside. Coop has felt great all month, fingers crossed he doesn't get sick for the rest of the year. Coop has always loved baths but lately he thinks he needs more than one a day, I try redirecting him most of the time but sometimes I cave and he gets multiple bathies.

He eats the bubbles and when he eats too many gets a little rash around his mouth so I've tried to do bubble baths only once a week. Ryan started playing City league basketball with his old team again, he joined at the end of the season because one of the guys bailed and obviously his basketball itch will never be scratched. I swear he'll be one of those sixty to seventy year olds trying to creakily hustle up and down the court. But he has been super happy doing it and despite the late hour of the games I have really enjoyed watching him. Their team made it to the playoffs and took second or third, I really should try to pay more attention to these things, but like I say his games would start super late and all I could think about was the back of my eye lids.

Ry had another shut down job in Soda so he had about a week and a half where he left around 3:00-3:30AM. The only upside to that was that he was sometimes home a bit earlier, and with the weather warm we all played outside together which has got me wanting summer more than I think I ever have.

He will literally play in his bath for over an hour...

Loving his bath beard...

My little water baby has another water activity fascination, he loves helping me wash the dishes, except when the dishes are all done he wants to continue sitting up there playing in the water pretending to scrub things. I'm sure this month our water bill is going to reflect all the time this child keeps the water running but it's 100% worth it.

 

Coop latest climbing adventures are usually in the bay window to watch for the garbage truck, cars in general, firetrucks, ambulance, or "schurls" (squirrels). He has also been jumping to us or saying "fall" and then literally free falling into our hands, he has no fear and puts a lot of trust in us.

I made some homemade play dough which he has been playing with for a couple weeks now and loves. The first time he wasn't sure he liked the texture and feeling but after a while he loved it, that is, until he tasted it.

I ran some errands one night and came home to Ry reading to Cooper, he ran to his room to get another book and said "Momma" in his deep, concerned voice, I went in and this is what I found. I guess while he was laying on Ry he ate a granola bar and pieces of the chocolate melted in his neck, and Ry didn't notice?

Coop has been loving anything electronic lately, and Neenee lets him play with her iTouch and he has a couple games and books on our kindles that he gests to play with once in a while. It blows me away how fast he catches on to stuff, he's talking non-stop and saying new words all the time, he's even starting to say two to three word sentences. I wish he would stop growing up so fast on me!

20 Months Old

20 Month Old Facts:

• You are still doing great with your potty training!!!
• You have started kissing everything; if you see a bug you start kissing at it, or if you see something scary you start kissing at it, if your food is hot you kiss it from a far, you kiss your books and your toys, it's so cute!
• You have started saying "law loo" for love you, it's sooo cute.
• You also whisper "hi" when we come in your room late and night or early in the morning.
• You are obsessed with reading on Momma and Daddy's bed, that's the first thing you do when you wake up, grab your books and go straight to our room and say "beh" (bed).
• You've started yelling "heelp" even when you don't need it, it's in a deep belly voice too, you do it when you're reading, doing puzzles, it's really the funniest thing, and we have no idea where you picked it up from.
• Your current favorite books are a dinosaur book that Randi gave you and a Disney book with Monsters Inc., Nemo, Toy Story and A Bug's Life, we read them each at least three times a day.
• You love dive bombing the pillow on our bed and you tell us to do it too and then you land on us.
• You are becoming more wild or I guess just more "boy" you LOVE being outside and I'm counting the days until it's warm enough for us to always go outside, because I know you love it! You call it "siiide" with a very long "i" in the middle.
• You had your first attempt at nursery in church, it was not a stellar experience to say the least.
• I feel like you are on turbo-grow, you have started to chunk out a little and I am amazed how tall you are getting, love you baby boy!!!

February

MY LITTLE ARTIST

February flew by even fast than January, I guess it didn't help that there were only 28 days. One of Coop's new favorite activities is coloring, usually on paper and in his coloring books, but apparently he thought the wall would be a could place to do some artwork. I was in the kitchen doing the breakfast dishes and came back into him just quietly enjoying his snack as he admired his masterpiece. Since then (and since I explained the wall is not for coloring) he'll touch the wall where he colored and say "cluhlor wall" and I say "yes, you're right Coop, no coloring on the wall" luckily I haven't had anymore wall coloring incidents.

Ry has some very busy months for work coming up and he has been in Utah quite a bit this month so when he's home he hangs out lots with his little buddy. Coop loves sitting on the potty, for a little while he would tell me he had to pee just to sit on his cars potty seat and name all the characters, and then he'd tell me "all done". Cooper loves to get scared or startled and of course Ry loves that, since we've got married Ry and I are always trying to scare each other so obviously Cooper will follow suit. Ry hides behind things are jumps out a Coop and Coop just squeals and belly laughs and will keep running back and forth to get scared again, it's so funny.

Almost every morning Cooper will get up, pick out his "big boys" and some books and say "beh" (bed) and he will sit on our bed and read for as long as I let him, it's so sweet and I try to take full advantage of the snuggle time with him.

I was disappointed in myself when I was looking through my holiday decorations, the only holiday I have more than 2 boxes for his Halloween, which I have at least thirteen, I know I have problems. So thanks to some ideas sparked by pinterest I made some Valentines day decor with my girlfriend Lauren and I can now proudly say I have a whole box of Valentines decorations.

 

Coop got a little table and chairs and he is OBSESSED with having Ry or I sit across from him for a snack or coloring, when Ry is home he's the only one allowed to sit there.

 

VALENTINES PICTURES

I wanted to do a little cupid photo shoot with Coop and since Ry was out of town it was perfect, I turned the living room into an explosion of pink, red, hearts and all things Valentiney. Coop just thought it was a new game to play so I just let him do his thing and I shot away. When Ry called he had to talk to him and tell him I let him have "caheee" (candy) I had to use something to keep him on the pink sheet.

Seriously love his eyes and his cute cheeks!

Seriously Momma? Haha, I know one day he'll look back and love these pictures or at least his future wife will.

We celebrated Valentines a couple days early because Ry had girls State Basketball the whole weekend of Valentines and since we were plagued with another ear infection two days before we were supposed to leave I stayed home to quarantine Coop. I made yummy pancakes with buttermilk syrup, strawberrys and sprinkles.

My cute grandma knit Ry and me a "smitten" it's a mitten that you hold hands with on walks, seriously the cutest thing i've ever seen, I love it, and I know we'll use it lots.

 

 

At the doctor's office to get his ears checked, he fell asleep just laying on me, SOOOO sad, i'm so over him getting sick. Another ear infection, poor baby.

 

 

VALENTINES DAY

Before Ry left for Boise I packed his Vday surprises in his bag. I had a wonderful Valentines with my little love bug just snuggling and hanging out. I was surprised to get a gorgeous flower arrangement from Ry and Coop. We made our Valetines, but since Coop was sick the only people that got their's were the people that came to visit.

When Ry got back from Boise he surprised me with a "C" necklace, very sweet and thoughtful.

 

FIRST DAY AT NURSERY

I haven't taken Coop to nursery yet, I know he's twenty months old, but I just love having him come to our Sunday school class with us, and I think the kids like it as well. I decided to try it out, I stayed with him the entire time, it went a little something like this: the second we walk in the door, complete, total breakdown, complete with water works and the saddest cry you've ever heard, clinging onto me like a lost monkey. Pretending he had to pee, twice, so he could get out of there, sat on my lap like a dead weight during song and lesson time, even when I tried to help him stand up for wiggle songs, his legs turned to jello and he couldn't stand unassisted. Finally at snack and coloring time he sat at the table and ate a few crackers looking back at me every five seconds to make sure I didn't sneak out. Watching the kids play chase, his favorite game, watching the bubbles, saying "bubbuhs" but not popping or playing with them. Completely estatic when it was time for sacrament, hopefully it will improve, he was quite dramatic and i'm not sure that I can handle that reaction every single week.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

Our little beast turned one of February 22nd, I can't believe we have had her almost a year, she really has become a big, literally and figuratively, part of our family.

 

Super Bowl XLVII

We have late church now so we had someone teach our lesson since our Superbowl festivities start before 4:00PM, I know we are bad. Since we had the morning to enjoy ourselves and not prepare our lesson we took a walk together, a little pre-game exercise. Coop loves to walk on the ice with Ry, as he does it he says "lick" or "lye" (slick, slide) and when he slips "whoa" so cute.

We fed the ducks, and as you can see Coop enjoyed more bread than he fed the ducks. It was a chilly morning but was one of our warmest in a while, no wind and sunshine. The river was completely frozed over so the ducks were slipping and sliding trying to get the bread pieces we threw out.

All worn out from our walk and taking a pre-game nap.

Every year my parents have a big Super Bowl party, and by big I mean lots of food, not lots of people, just family. Coop in his Joe Flacco jersey; Ry started the jersey tradition the first year we got married and he says it will continue forever, I don't know how that will go as we have more kids, it gets to be expensive, and eventually i'm sure we are bound to have the jersey of a team that is already playing.

Showing off our team spirit!!!

Boppa and Coop watching the game together, my Dad is seriously so cute with him, he's quite a proud Boppa.

Cooper's first Jello experience, he wasn't sure at first, but he eventually ate half of the purple Jello football.

A few pics of all the food we had from football cupcakes, shrimp, wings all the way to my grandma's yummy chocolate mousse. I felt like I didn't need to eat for a week by the time the game was over, everything was so delicious, and to top it off our team won!

Coop and Ry rough housing, as always, both of them loving every second of it!