Christmas in Nampa 2009

The holidays are over, the decorations are put away, and we are getting back into our routines. Now I finally have time to write this blog. This year we went to Idaho for Christmas. Since the whole family was unable to get together all at the same time, our Christmas celebration was spread over several days in a row. We arrived in Idaho on Tuesday Dec. 22nd safely thanks to our Forester. We hit snow just outside of Utah, and the Forester handled it well! We weren't sure what toys Cooper was going to want to play with while in Nampa so we brought a laundry basket full. It turns out that our choice of toys didn't really matter, because instead of playing with his toys, this is how Cooper was entertained.


Grammy and grandpa found this laundry basket that had wheels and just had to get it for Cooper to play with (in).


As you can see, Cooper couldn't play with the basket all by himself. The basket stayed in Nampa when we left.


Cooper's other favorite "toys" were playing with the three remote controls that grammy and grandpa had in their TV room. Cooper watches minimal TV at home, but he knew exactly what to do with the remotes. He would point them at the TV, turn it on and off, and change the stations.

As for the actual toys we brought with us from home... most of them grew dusty over the week.

Cooper wasn't quite sure what to think about opening presents. In this video grammy pokes a hole in the wrapping paper and Cooper tries to put the paper back together.




Cooper has a fascination with buttons. He loves to push anything we will let him. This is a microwave box that has a picture on the outside and Cooper went right for the buttons on the picture. Funny kid!


Helping mommy open a present. He's so thoughtful like that.


Paul's sister April and her husband Zach.



Cooper enjoys riding his turtle. He's not quite tall enough to bounce on it yet.



Aww! The boys are so cute!

What a wonderful holiday we had in Nampa, thanks to our family!


Click on the link to see more pictures of our holiday in Nampa. Holiday photos

Cooper's First Snow Adventure

Last weekend we had our first significant snow fall of the year. We decided to try out Cooper's snowsuit and take him out to play.



Who knew getting into a snowsuit was so much work!


What a cute little boy! Oh, and daddy's cute too.



Snow is cold!



Wow! What a storm!



Even in the snow Cooper loves to be walked around! Maybe he will be walking by himself for the next snow storm.




What a fun snowy day!

Cooper's First Participitory Halloween

So last year, for Halloween, Cooper was two weeks old and was pretty much a nonparticipant. Although we had a great time, our fun was a bit limited pumpkin carving and naps. Over the past year, it has been amazing to see how much Cooper has changed. Most parents probably already do this, but it seems like every holiday offers us a chance to look at Cooper and holiday memories with retrospect.


Halloween 2008, just for historical purposes.

This year was a bit more of an active holiday for Cooper, and we think he had a great time. The festivities began a few days prior to Halloween. We went to a local produce stand and purchased a pumpkin for carving. Cooper had a great time walking around (with help of course) the rows and rows of pumpkins. When we arrived back home, it was time to carve the pumpkin. We weren't sure what Cooper would think of the whole pumpkin carving process, but it turned out, he jumped in like he had done it before. It must have been the fact that we were using tools, which he loves. It was enjoyable for us to see him mimic our actions. He even helped me to scoop out the guts. Below are some photos of him helping.


Exploring the textures of the pumpkin.


Trying to assist Mommy with the marker.


Hopeful for the camera.


Mmmmm. Pumpkin guts.


If I am going to carve it, I should taste it.


Waiting to help daddy.


Really ready to help now!


Alright! Scooping out the seeds.


What do I do with this?


Right. Digging out the guts!


Little boys like to explore!


...and use tools.


2008 Halloween family portrait


2009 Halloween family portrait


Cooper sitting with the jack-o-lantern


Not sure about sitting on the porch.

For Halloween, Cooper was his namesake...a Coopersaurus destructus. We had a fun time watching him play in his costume. We then went trick-or-treating to a few of the neighbors' houses. He cried when our neighbor boisterously celebrated Cooper's presence. After Cooper recovered from that surprise, he got into it and enjoyed the other houses...mommy and daddy enjoyed the candy!


Coopersaurus visiting Grammy and Poppy on Skype.


Ready to go with the candy bag given to him by his Great Grandma Beulah.


Boo!


Waiting for our neighbor to answer the door.


Family portrait outside at night.


Cooper ready to continue the playing process.

We weren't too stingy with the candy though, we let Cooper eat a Dum-Dum. This was fun to watch. His enjoyment was wholesome...and messy. It's also a nice reward for all of those immunization shots he has had this year...but that's another story.






Eating a dum dum.

Fall Fun

On Saturday we went outside and played with the leaves in our backyard. At first Cooper was unsure about the leaves.



Once we started throwing them he finally figured out that leaves were fun.



His favorite thing to do was to run and jump in the leaves, with a little help from mom of course.



He was also very interested in the rake. We need to get him his own rake so he can help us pick up all the leaves.



He liked to throw the leaves and watch them fall.



It was such a fun afternoon for our family. Cooper is such an expressive little boy and has the cutest personality. Having him in our family is the best thing we could ever ask for.

Cooper's First Birthday!

On October 12, 2009 Cooper turned one year old! I can't believe my little boy is growing up to be the best little boy. Cooper is so much fun. He is very energetic, independent, very curious, and almost always happy.

New Abilities:
standing and walking while holding on to furniture
using a fork to feed himself (after the food is on the fork)
pointing and saying "dat"
babbling in sentences
drinking from a regular cup (with help of course)
pushing buttons with his fingers
loves to turn on/off the light switches


Likes:
eating almost anything mom and dad eat
drinking juice
yelling and screaming
making loud noises
playing with and carrying mom's cell phone (mom's is the favorite because it's a flip phone)
standing up in front of the window and looking outside
sleeping with his giraffe
singing and dancing to music
typing on the computer
playing with any electronic devices: camera, cell phone, net book, power cords etc.
crawling into the bathroom
opening and closing doors
crawling or walking (with help) up and down the stairs
to throw food on the floor when he doesn't want any more
watching other little kids

Dislikes:
diaper changes
screams in anger when electronic devices are taken away (mom's phone if it's ringing)
having his shoes and coat put on
getting ready for bed
when doors are closed and he can't get in the office or bathroom (he will stand and bang on it)

To celebrate Cooper's first birthday we had all of my family and all of Paul's family at our house for a weekend celebration. We had 12 people in our house the whole weekend! Can we say a little packed?! It was so wonderful that all Cooper's grandparents, aunts and almost all his uncles could come. Even Cooper's great grandmother, Beulah was able to come for the weekend. What a treat! Friday night, Cooper was a little overwhelmed by about all the people. He was tired and ready for bed. But by Saturday morning he was happy to see everyone and play with them. The weather was gorgeous and couldn't have been more perfect! After Cooper's naps we all had a BBQ lunch and then it was time for the party to begin! Cooper loved everyone singing happy birthday to him. He wasn't quite sure what to think about the cake. He finally figured out it was delicious!



After eating cake Cooper needed a bath. A quick bath, change of cloths and it was time to open presents. Cooper was so cute with all the gifts. At first, his favorite part was opening and closing all the cards. But then he realized there was more fun to come.



We had to cut our present opening a little short so we could head over to church for Cooper's baptism. Luckily Cooper wasn't too upset that we had to leave a pile of unopened presents behind. Cooper behaved pretty well during the ceremony. Well, as good as we could expect any one year old to behave. Close to the end his sugar rush from all the cake was beginning to wear off and he was getting a little fussy and tired. It was a wonderful experience to know that Cooper was blessed with loving family to share in this special moment.

The priest, Father Cummins, said that in his 42 years of being a priest he's never had anyone grab his hand. I guess he's used to baptizing younger more immobile babies. Although funny, it was a precious moment.



By the end Cooper was so tired.



However, not tired enough to go to sleep when we got home. He remembered he still had presents to open and new toys to play with. He would have stayed up all night if we would have let him.



Where's Cooper? Who would have thought with such a small family that he'd have so many presents. I guess the first grandchild is spoiled the most! Lucky Cooper!



Whenever there are tools involved Cooper has to be in the middle checking out all the action!



Here is a video of Cooper riding his new toy. Thanks to Uncle Craig and Grammy Terry for putting it together.




A huge THANK YOU to all our family for coming and celebrating our little man's first birthday. We love you all and appreciate all you have done! Although he is too young to express it I know he appreciates you coming too and bringing all the fun toys. He plays with them everyday!



To see many more pictures of Cooper's birthday weekend click here: picture link.