The Smitty Gritty: Mommy and Me

Being at home full-time for the past two weeks has had its ups and downs, but with my days being mostly full of doing things with Cooper, they are pretty amazing and fun. Here are a few of the things we've been doing...

Riding "bikes" every day is an essential. We try to play outside every afternoon for a few hours. With the beautiful weather this time of year, we take advantage of being able to be outside without melting.

Cooper loves his 4-wheeler the best, at least this is what he spends the most time riding.

We went to visit a friend last week who lives way out in the country. We got to feed her ducks at the pond (the white kind with orange beaks, not mallards). Reminded me of my Great Uncle Jake and his farm animals. There were fish and turtles in the pond. We also got to gather duck eggs, play with the kitty, and dog. When we went inside for lunch, Cooper got to play with their pet python (yikes!). I was brave enough to touch it once. Cooper was not afraid at all, and wanted to keep picking it up.

We also got to play with one of the turtles from the pond.

We planted lots of flowers in the yard and in our pots. Since this picture, even MORE flowers were added to this flower bed. Cooper loves helping me in the yard. We also planted tomato, cucumber and zucchini plants in pots in our backyard. I caught him the other day taking dirt from the pots, and "planting" grass blades in the dirt. He said he was planting a garden. I'm so glad he likes to be outside as much as I do. We make a good pair.

A few other memorable moments from these two weeks:

One day I walked in my room, and Cooper had his stuffed animal shark, and was feeding it fish from his fish puzzle. (That's a sticker on his head.)

Another day he INSISTED on wearing his "Super Cooper" cape to the grocery store. I said, "Why not? You're only two once!"

Couldn't help but snap a picture of him sleeping with his puppy and blankets--his three sleeping essentials. Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping child?

We go on walks down the street nearly every day. Three lots down from our house, there is field of clover in bloom. I never knew clover bloomed in red, and had to go check out what kind of flowers all these red blossoms were. Then couldn't help but take a picture.

One day we were walking down the street, and Cooper kept bending over and sniffing the ground like our dog, Brody. It cracked me up!

Lastly, Cooper just learned a few days ago how to get in the swing by himself, but can only get into a standing position, or stay sitting on his feet. When I snapped this photo, it reminded me of one of myself, and I was surprised to see that the photo of me is at the same age as Cooper is now. Here's Cooper at 2-1/2 years old...