Happy 2010

Where to begin...

2010 is well under way, but it's hard to believe it only began a month ago. The New Year holiday was a busy time for us. My parents came to visit for a week and a half, my brother Craig and his wife Olga came and Olga's mom, Luba, came all the way from Russia. This was Luba's first visit to the US. Even though she speaks no English she was able to make the journey by herself. I have to admit, I was a little nervous at first about having her stay at our house. I wasn't sure what to expect since she doesn't speak English and I don't speak Russian. I was afraid we would have those awkward silence moments that nobody likes. As it turned out, her visit was nothing like I expected.

on Monday night we went to pick up Grammy and Papi at the airport.


Cooper had a great time watching all of the luggage go around on the carousel at the airport.


We went out to the Red Iguana for dinner. And Cooper was excited to use a straw for the first time.


Cooper spent most of his time being pulled around in the laundry basket. It was one of his favorite games.


Cooper loved the fill and dump wagon from Grammy and Papi. When it crashed, he pulled out his screwdriver and started to fix it.


When Craig, Olga, and Luba arived Luba wan't shy at all. She jumped right in and warmed up to Cooper right away.


Cooper trying on Olga's Russian hat.

This was our third Christmas celebration for this year. And by this time Cooper was a pro at opening presents.


Here is Cooper opening his Russian stuffed animals and wooden tool bench.

Everyone got new hats for Christmas.


Papi was especially excited about his because it was a Russian revolutionary hat.

Grammy made a hat for everyone.


Cooper's was a little big for him.

Craig is always the clown in the family.


Cooper loved playing with his Russian whistle toy. Although he had difficulty blowing it, he would carry it around in his mouth.


For New Year's dinner we had barbeque pork ribs, garlic noodles, and green salad. Who's idea was it to have Cooper suck on the bone? Oh yeah, Grammy's. To our surprise, he loved it!


Cooper always seems to copy Uncle Craig. But Cooper is much cuter, sorry Uncle Craig.


Cooper is helping Luba learn English by reading a Curious George book.


We were thankful the air cleared up one day so we could go out and play. Thanks to Craig, we were able to have the tallest snowman on the block. Who ever heard of a 4 ball snowman?? Cooper enjoyed helping too.

Since this was Luba's first trip to Utah, we thought it would be fun to take the Front Runner down to SLC for a day.


Cooper loved riding on the train. Looking out the window at all the scenery was so exciting.


After awhile, Cooper was getting tired of being held. Thank goodness we were almost there.


Temple Square was just as busy as ever. All Cooper wanted to do was walk up and down the stairs.


We had fun shopping at the Gateway. I was most excited about getting a snickers caramel apple.


On the way home, one of the train workers was passing out candy canes. Cooper love it instantly.


When we got home we ate sushi and steak. My dad and I were the ones who ate steak. We're not big on eating sushi. Mom, however dove right in and enjoyed every bite.


After all the toys Cooper had received for Christmas, his favorite toy ended up being some pipe insinuation we used as bumper pads around our table.

None of us made it to midnight this year. We were all in bed by 9:30.
What a great New Years celebration this turned out to be!

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.