Happy 2nd Birthday, Cooper!

Cooper turned two over the weekend. I can't believe my baby is already two! Leading up to his birthday, we'd been practicing saying he's two, and holding up two fingers. We've also been practicing saying his full name, and answering "What is your name, and how old are you?", the two questions everyone seems to ask a toddler.

So Friday when we took his birthday cupcakes to school, he proudly walked up to his teacher and pronounced, "Pootah (Cooper), burfday, two!", and held up five fingers. He was so excited to have the cupcakes at school to celebrate his birthday and graduating to the next class.

His birthday was eventful, but not for the right reasons. Coop and I were sick all last week; he stayed home from school two days, and I was home from work all week. Friday he seemed to be doing better, so I sent him off to school, only to have the school call me at 3 pm to tell me he had a fever.

My instincts told me to get him to the doctor before the weekend, so we got him in late Friday afternoon to be seen. Diagnosis: double ear infections and a sinus infection. I felt so bad for the poor little guy, but was relieved to get him on antibiotics and better in time for his bday party the next day.

Saturday rolled around and he seemed to be perked up and doing better until noon when his fever came back with a vengence--103.7. Yikes! Poppy and Memaw had already cancelled their plans to visit, since Poppy is sick too. But Aunt Denise, Lindsay and Alison were on their way to our house by the time his fever came back. So they came to visit and have a little party anyway. Of course, Coop only took a 20-minute nap that day, which didn't help anything.

So the birthday guests arrived and we started the party. You can see how enthused Cooper is in the pictures. Here is the birthday boy with Alison.

The birthday party was puppy-themed, complete with dog bowls as serving dishes (which Nathan found utterly repulsive), and a dog bowl birthday cake. I made Coop's favorite dinner, steaks with sauted peppers and onions, black beans, and spanish rice, all served with tortilla chips and salsa. To Coop, all of the above food items are merely a salsa delivery mechanism.
The birthday boy with Lindsay, Aunt Denise, and Alison.

We unwrapped presents, which Cooper had been excited about for days.

Alison gave him this adorable USC jersey. Now he can root for the gamecocks in style!

The presents before...

The presents after...

Aunt Denise gave him this awesome sand/water table to play outside. Even though he was sick, he was excited to try it out. He's played with it every day since.
His other two favorite presents are this fireman action figure that shoots some kind of water bazooka thing, and the lawn mower "just like dad's." He was afraid of the blue car that makes lots of noise and moves when the buttons are pushed. Dad "fixed" it by taking the batteries out, and now Coop likes it. We also gave him some construction tools, and he LOVES the power drill!

Here's the cake...

Coop was all excited about the cake and the "tar" (star) candles, until I lit them. Then he threw a fit. He's apparently still terrified of lit candles. Daddy blew out the candles while Coop and I stood a small distance away. But Cooper still didn't want ANYTHING to do with the cake, no eating it, nothing. What a kid.

Late Saturday night his fever spiked again to 104.8! It was awful trying to get the fever down and keep him comfortable. The fever lasted until Monday at noon. The doc thinks he had a viral infection on top of the ear/sinus infections. So awful!! Not a fun way to spend your birthday.

Sunday we had one more present to open. Coop came downstairs Sunday morning, and saw the present, went to rip it open, and then stopped and said to me, "Ohhhh, oh, oh oh. Wait for daddy." Yep, we needed to wait for daddy. But once daddy came downstairs, it was present-opening seriousness.

It was a lawn mower just like dad's! He HAD to go outside and try it immediately. Dad showed him how to start it.

And the rest of the day he spent pretty much putting gas in his new mower. Apparently that's the most important part.

I am glad, like my sister-in-law said, "that the plague has left the Smith household." Finally. Today we're finally feeling better. Coop is back at school. Too bad we can't do a birthday re-do once he's feeling better. Looking back, I should have just postponed it all. Hindsight...