Saturday, November 6, 2010

Halloween 2010

The weekend of Halloween, we had some pretty rainy weather. We were lucky enough to get to play outside one morning before it really started to rain. The weather was quite windy so daddy had a great idea and pulled out Cooper's kite. At first daddy seemed to have a difficult time getting it to go up in the air. But eventually, it went up with all the wind.



Cooper watched daddy very closely to see how this whole kite flying thing worked.


Then he had to have a turn. Notice how he's holding it with his right hand and has snacks in the other. He held on to those snacks the entire time we were outside.


Mommy enjoyed helping Cooper fly the kite.


Wow! That kite is high. It was quite windy out. so Cooper decided "lefty" would do a better job holding the kite string. It got a little out of control with "righty".


I guess it was just too windy for him to hold on.


We had just enough leaves in our backyard to make a small pile so Cooper could jump in them. He didn't quite understand the jumping part. He mostly marched through the pile and threw the leaves.






Cooper had fun picking out a pumpkin. Because it was Halloween weekend, there weren't many left to pick from. But we still found a good scary looking one.


Cooper watched intently as daddy began to carve the pumpkin.


Helping daddy scoop out the insides.


Pen in the ear... sure, why not.


So cute smiling for the camera.


Cooper is still holding on to his snack bowl in the picture.


Isn't he cute. Our little photographer.


This is the picture that Cooper took. Pretty good for an amateur, and being only 2 years old!


I'm not usually a big fan of Halloween. Eating candy is fun, but I usually eat way too much. Now that Cooper is older, it's more fun because he seemed to understand the concept of trick or treating.

On Thursday that week Cooper's daycare was having a Halloween party.


He was a little unwilling to put on his costume at first, but then when he found out he was going to school for a party to get candy, well he was all over that!


This was a toy that was in the older kids room. He thought the toys in the big kid room were awesome!


He loved trying to play the games like the older kids.


Taking a break to eat a chocolate doughnut.


He was just so cute posing for his picture. He actually left his hood on most of the evening.


When we got home, he of course had to test out one of these delicious candies that he got at his party. Suckers seem to be his favorite.


Saturday was the day most of the kids in our neighborhood went trick or treating. Cooper went with daddy and some neighbor kids. I wish I had went too. I really could have because the door only rang twice and we had about 10 kids.


Aren't they cute. Cooper held on to his bag the entire time, dragging it on the ground. Daddy offered to carry it but Cooper said no. Cooper was so excited and such a good boy he walked almost the entire 3 blocks.


Cooper and Benicio posing for a picture.


And of course, we can't forget to pose with Papi.

What a fun Halloween this was. Cooper is being such a good boy with his candy. We usually only let him have 1-2 pieces a day if he eats a good dinner. And with the exception of once, he doesn't usually ask for candy unless we suggest it to him. And when his one piece is gone, he usually doesn't throw a fit for more. Such a good boy.

I can't wait until next year!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Daddy Rock You!!!

That is Cooper's subtle request for his daddy to rock him at night before bed. Really, I love doing it so how can I resist. Kelly and I alternate nights putting Cooper to bed so that we can both contribute as parents and so that it doesn't become an overwhelming burden for either of us.. Although it was Kelly's turn to rock Cooper tonight, it quickly became a "Daddy Rock You" night. Most likely because I needed to attend an evening meeting, so I didn't get home until 7:45pm right before his bedtime. As Kelly began the process of putting Cooper down, he began screaming. "Daaaadddddyyy Roooocccckkk Yooooooouuuu," over and over. After about a minute, I went in and gave mommy a break.

So there I was, sitting on the rocking chair with Cooper and all of his bedtime paraphernalia, his stuffed animal (Gragg), two blankets, and his happy (AKA Pacifier). Somewhere in this pile of stuff is Cooper. It really is quite a site to behold.

We read a few books and after about 20 minutes of rocking, he says, "Book. Happy Day."
I say, "Happy day? You want to read the happy day book?"
He replies, "Yeah!"
I pause and think for a moment..."Uh, we have no happy day book."
He says again, "Happy day!?"
I look at him and notice that he is pointing to the bookshelf. Initially I thought he was pointing at a book, but alas on top of the bookshelf is his birthday hat from day care (AKA the Happy Day Hat).
At this point I think, "I am really screwed. I am being manipulated...again. And I know it is happening."
So I grab the hat knowing that this is going to induce play and that I will not extract it from his head when it is time for sleep.
Then Cooper says, "Sing Song?"
I say, "What song?"
Cooper replies, "Happy day song! Yeah?"
So I sing "Happy Birthday."
"More?" he says.
I sing it again.
"More, happy day?"
So after singing the birthday song about 20 times, Cooper looks at me and says, "Bed? Hat Off."
And that's it, in bed without a fight.