Several Updates

Lots of things have happened lately and I haven't taken the chance to post pictures. so scroll down and enjoy pictures of Cooper...since that's all our life is right now!

cool baby!

Cooper loves loves loves my head bands. He puts them on and struts around feeling really cool! So to help him be a little more "boyish" I bought him toddler sunglasses! He must feel pretty cool in them because he always has a huge grin when he wears them!

super hero!

I recently bought cloth diapers and to go with them I purchased a bag to hold the dirty one's in to make washing convenient. I had just opened the package to show Brady and Cooper thought it was pretty cool as a cape! Here is our super hero:

SUPER COOPER!

our little helper

Our little man LOVES to help with everything right now. His favorite: loading the dryer. I will put the wet clothes on the door so he can shove them in. I often find him putting the dirty laundry in with the clean/wet ones! This day I took the load from the dryer into the other room so I could fold them. I came back to find this:

seasoning in the dryer! (with a dirty shirt of course!)

Here's a good shot of our new cloth diapers! I love them!!

He also likes to help load the dishwasher, scrub the floors, and scrub his feet. The rest he likes to undo what I just did... putting toys in the tub, taking clothes out of the drawer, taking toys out of the box, putting food on the floor and whatever else you can imagine a 1 year old LOVING! He is super fun and loves to make messes! It's funny to see how Brady reacts to the messes. Here I thought I was the "grumpy" one trying to keep things organized :)

Easter 2011

The Easter bunny came!! He brought little Cooper a new blanket, video, CD with music to dance to, a new shirt for church, and the most favorite gift of all...a HUGE soccer ball!! (the ball was a gift for his birthday that we didn't get out until now).

everything is set

excited to see his new toys!

looking through his goodies

the Easter bunny new exactly what he liked!!

our little family on Easter morning

So a funny story. We have only been in our new ward for 3 weeks. Our first week there was wonderful. Our second week we were in Michigan for a funeral so our third week was Easter Sunday. We get to our church building to find it completely empty. We had NO IDEA what was going on. We assumed Stake Conference but didn't have anyone to call. Come to find out it WAS Stake Conference with President Uchtdorf speaking!! AHHH!! And we missed it! What a bummer! The center was probably packed and crazy but we sure would have liked to have gone. And I worked that evening so our Easter was pretty lame.

To the park we go!

He loves his wagon!

He would rather push it than sit in it!

Going down the slide...

He liked it...but prefers to go UP!

"dog!"

Cooper can officially said "dog!"

We were both playing in the living room when I saw a squirrel running in the yard. I pointed it out to Cooper and he yells, at the top of his lungs, "DOG!! DOG!! DOG!!" and pointing at the squirrel! hahaha I about died! He was so so so excited and started crying when the squirrel was out of sight.

Then, when I took him to daycare yesterday there was a dog barking in the next car. Again, at the top of his lungs, he's yelling "DOG! DOG! DOG!" with his little finger pointing in the direction of the bark.

He really likes dogs and it's too bad we no longer have Missy here for him to play with. I bet they would be best buds...or maybe Missy would be annoyed...who knows!

Real Quick

I don't have much time for an update but here are two pictures from yesterday.

Cooper and Mommy on Easter!

Mommy and Baby Boy 3 on Easter!

I definitely have a pictures of Daddy that I will post later!

new shoes

Cooper wouldn't let me put pants on him but wanted his new shoes!

Spring Time

The weather is finally nice and we were able to go outside and play for a little bit! We have a very little back yard now but it works for little Cooper. He loves to just walk around and be outside.

We walked to a park that's just down the street and he was SO excited to be out and about. (pictures are soon to come)

bath time fun

The other night I decided it would be fun to make some bubbles in the tub! It was pretty cute and he wasn't too sure about it at first. But eventually he thought it was great!

Around the same time we were curious how he would do the in the shower. Brady was taking a shower one evening so I threw Cooper in with him. He did not like it and had to have his binky with him the whole time!

Food!!

Cooper LOVES to eat. And he eats a LOT! Here are his favorites:

For breakfast he likes to have 2 pieces of toast and a container of yogurt.

For lunch he likes 1 hot dog, 1 PB&J, and a jar of fruit.

For dinner he likes grilled cheese, water, and usually a vegetable.

He can eat everything and at least half a sippy of water at ever sitting...then be whining for food two hours later! And to add to that...if you look at Cooper he looks like the average boy. HOWEVER, he is solid. Everyone that picks him up seems surprised at how much he weighs! Oh how I love my little eater (that hates fresh fruits and veggies).

Baby bump!

Things are still going great with our little little boy! My stomach is getting larger, which means he is too! My stomach is pretty firm and stretching already. He wiggles a lot but not kicking or punching very often (something Cooper did nonstop). I have cravings for bacon cheeseburgers with lots of ketchup. I hate burgers but for some reason I'm LOVING them! I'm more exhausted than I was with Cooper. I have a bad case of RestlessLeg Syndrome and I get super grumpy when it starts up. Usually, it's late at night when I'm trying to relax. The eczema is still driving me crazy but it's getting better. It flares up with stress and lack of sleep! This pregnancy is so different from the others. Some people still think I am having a girl...mainly because I am very moody and hormonal. One minute I'm angry and the next I'm crying. AND my pregnancy brain is something to be concerned about. It's difficult for me to make it through a sentence without pausing and trying to remember what I was talking about or going to say...mid sentence! Oh the joys of pregnancy but in the end we will have another child that brings more joy to our life than we can imagine!!

21 weeks with Cooper

Really Mom?

You're letting me do this??

Naughty naughty!

100% BOY!

It's happened again...

...grocery shopping has become difficult!

Last night I made it through until the last 2 aisles before the gagging hit! Brady was with me and started laughing and said "oh no!" We needed hamburger meet and he was so sweet and said "I'll go get that" with a smile on his face! :) He thinks it's the silliest thing but is such a trooper.

Last night Brady put up childproof locks on our cupboards! Oh what a relief. Several times Cooper tried opening them and even threw a few tantrums when he wasn't successful. I find him pulling/leaning with all his weight to get them to open...and he's screaming the whole time! I can't help but giggle. There's one cupboard that is actually a lazy susan (sp?) that he found he can open. Thankfully, there is nothing that can break/hurt him. We have an ugly string tied on our entertainment center to keep him out of the electronics. I have a feeling someday he will break the doors/glass because he pulls on it with all his weight and starts to shake them vigorously. Hopefully that doesn't happen!

I love love love our little man!! Don't get me wrong. He's the greatest little boy in the whole world! He has loads of energy, happy (unless he's told no), eats great, and sleeps awesome! He brings so much joy to our family...it's just one of those things I guess he'll go through. He's stubborn like me and wants things in a particular way. He wants things his way! But who doesn't? A funny example of this is with his "personal space". If someone is in the back seat with him...DO NOT put your arms or hands in his "space". He will kick, whine, and gets super frustrated. Even if it's just your arm on his car seat! haha

"tee!"

So aside from my frustrations (see previous post), Cooper is learning pretty fast! For a few weeks now he's been saying his own version of "what's that?" and I'm pretty sure only Brady and I know what he's saying. Today he looked out our front window and pointed to the tree saying (in his own version) "what's that?" I told him "it's a tree!" and he immediately repeated "tee!" and I said, "yes it's a tree!" and he pointed his little finger back at the tree and said "tee! tee!"

He's also fascinated with lights. Especially our ceiling fan!! He gets super super excited when he walks into the room. He wants to have the lights on all the time and points with excitement! I'm thinking his next word will be "light" or some version of it :)

Since I haven't uploaded in pictures in forever...here is a picture of Cooper almost a year ago! Still smiley as ever!

struggle

We are struggling with Cooper getting into trouble. And he's ALWAYS wanting to get into things he's not supposed to. Examples: cupboards with breakables (I put all the toxins up high), oven, electronics, pushing the tv (climbing up on things to get to it), and MUCH more that are not dangerous to him. The boy has TONS AND TONS of toys and of course all he wants is to get into things that can hurt him. We tell him no, put him in time out (for like 2 min. in his crib), distract him, block it off, he'll even pinch his fingers in the doors and STILL want to get to it!! He actually got a hold of a glass measuring cup and it shattered. He was scared and screaming when it happened. Guess what? He STILL went into the cupboard after I cleaned everything up. I don't really like the idea of spanking but it's to the point that I give him a little tap on the bum and it still does nothing. He has a history of hitting so I really don't like that idea so it doesn't happen often. I do give him things from the cupboards that he can play with and those are all out for grabs...but he STILL is not satisfied. I am lost at what to do. He "listens" to Brady more than me. He doesn't even try to get into things when he's around and I "punish" him more than Brady. I'm going to purchase several parenting guide books because it's getting out of control!!

He's FINALLY growing out of the biting/pinching/hitting stage!! That was bad but this is just scary. I can't even leave the room for a second because he heads into something dangerous. I know he's only 1 but he should start to kind of understand he's not allowed into certain things...especially being told over and over and never allowed into it. AND another problem is he laughs at me. He'll smile and giggle. I don't laugh or giggle. I'm so frustrated so I have a straight face and a deep voice. UGH.

I'm up for ANY suggestions you might have.