Cooper Potpourri

Here are a few videos of Cooper in the last couple of weeks:

Watering the plants & singing ABCs:

One Saturday I was coming home from running errands. I'd forgotten to pack a lunch for Coop, and so stopped and bought him a turkey sandwich from Subway, giving it to him in the car in the hopes of keeping him awake long enough to eat. I didn't want him falling asleep hungry and not taking a full nap. Oh, that was my first mistake. No sooner had I started driving, I looked in the back seat, and Coop had taken the sandwich apart: turkey was on his lap, one side of bread was mayo side down on his shirt, and he was happily eating the mustard side of bread while clasping it, and squishing the mustard through his fist. Oh mom--big mistake! But it was too late. The damage was done, and at least he was awake, right? :o/

It was raining. As soon as we got home, he wanted to play in the rain. So I let him. Here he is, and from the story above, now you'll understand what all the yellow stuff is on his face as I get close to him at the end. ;o)

Cooper Exploring the Yard

Cooper and I had a chance to enjoy being outside one evening a few weeks ago. You can get a little glimpse of the way he's starting to talk.

Cooper 18 Months

Cooper turned 18 months about 2 weeks ago.

I just love this picture of him.

Stats:

Weight 25.2 lbs. (45th %)

Height 32 inches (45th %)

Head: 20.25 inches (95%)

His head finally came back on the chart!

Latest Cooper-isms:

• Talking is coming along. He says new words nearly every day now.
• He is obsessed with rotary fans, be it the ceiling or free-standing variety. He loves to turn them on and off, on and off, talk into them, and tell you how they go round and round (as he does the hand motions).
• He sings his own version of the ABC's, which he only gets the first 4 letters audibly correct, but you can hear the rest of it are his versions of letters. He recognizes that letters and words exist, but mistakes numbers for letters. When he sees that something is a letter or number, he proudly pronounces, "ABC!" I have been trying unsuccessfully for weeks to get the ABC song on video.
• He also sings "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, " which you can tell by the phrasing, not the words. Same thing with "Baa, Baa Black Sheep," which is distinguished from "Twinkle, Twinkle" by the occasional "Baa, Baa" sound.
• Cooper and Chelsey recently made a cat face out of paper, with the eyes cut out, and pasted on a popsicle stick. When it is held up to his face, him looking through the eye cut-outs, he'll say, "Meow." Gets me every time. Today he made 5 little ducks and was trying to sing me the "Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play" song.
• He is big into singing songs with corresponding hand motions like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Wheels on the Bus," and "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree."
• His favorite book to read is "I'm a Little Teapot" and loves to tip the book at the appropriate time.
• His most favorite thing to read at bed time and naps is a magazine I have that shows what games to play with your baby at appropriate ages. Nearly every page has pictures of babies, and he loves to "read" it by looking at the pictures and talking about what each baby is doing. The thing has been read so many times that the cover has come off (with a little help from Cooper ripping it), and it's becoming rather worn.
• His favorite food is either ketchup or ranch dressing. He won't actually eat the food item being dipped, but will rather lick all the ketchup/ranch off the food item and re-dip until said dip runs out, and then screams for more, which word he has no trouble saying repeatedly. He also loves popsicles and yogurt, but insists on feeding himself with no help. Imagine the mess involved with self-feeding of yogurt.

Sometimes he seems so big. He looks like a little kid here rather than a toddler. He was proud of himself for standing on the counter top...

...and ecstatic to dance on it.

A treat for the cleaning crew

I swear I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my body. Tonight takes the cake as the epitomy of my absent-mindedness. And it's SO embarrassing!

This last Monday I took leftovers to work for lunch, which is AMAZING for me. I either never have leftovers to take (thank you husband with large appetite), or I don't have time in the morning (or evening) to put something together. I feel frazzled ALL THE TIME!

So I was SO proud of myself for taking leftovers on a Monday morning. I didn't have time to pack small portions of salad dressing for my salad or sour cream for my baked potato, so I just put the whole containers in a bag and took it to work with my tupperware of food.

Monday night...forgot to bring tupperware, salad dressing and sour cream home. Only remembered when I went to eat salad at dinner and had no salad dressing.

Tuesday night remembered it as we had tacos for dinner and I wished I had sour cream.

Wednesday night...didn't even cross my mind.

Enter Thursday. For some reason I suddenly remembered at like 10 in the morning that I had stuff in the fridge that I needed to take home. So I proptly wrote "take lunch stuff home" on a bright sticky note and stuck it to the handle of my laptop bag. Couldn't miss it when getting ready to leave. I was so proud of myself for finally getting it together enough to remember. I carried the post-it with me to the fridge on my way out of the office, grabbed the bag out of the fridge and threw away the post-it note. Apparently that was a little too soon. I should have stuck it to my forehead.

So I'm on my way out the door and thinking of the heavy traffic I'm sure to encounter leaving the office at 5:45 pm, I make a pit stop in the ladies room. Set down laptop bag, purse, keys, cell phone, and lunch leftovers.

I had a crazy night, picking up Coop at 6:30, leaving there at 6:45, and heading straight to Wal-Mart to do my bi-weekly shopping since I'll not be able to do it tomorrow night or Saturday. Get home from Wal-Mart with over-tired toddler at 8:00. Unload groceries. Sit down to grab a quick bite to eat, want some salad, and...suddenly remember lunch leftovers supposedly still in the trunk of the car. But why didn't I see the bag when unloading groceries or getting my laptop bag?

Because I left the bag sitting on the counter in the ladies room. So much for the post-it note. A lot of good that did.

Beep Beep, Bye Bye!

I took this video about a month ago one morning before work. I found Cooper in the kitchen with my keys. What a silly kid!

Cooper 17 Months

First off, I apologize for the length of this post. Having had very little free time, at least where I wasn't feeling like a zombie, I haven't been able to blog the last month of Cooper-isms. There have been a few pictures and videos I've been wanting to share, so here you have 'em!

Good morning, Momma! (He's just so cute)

This cabinet is Coop's hangout. It's his go-to spot when he's in the kitchen with me, and also for general playing and mischief. The other day I coudn't find one of his sippy cups, so I looked, and sure enough, there it was in his favorite spot.

We were lucky to have my Mom here for a couple of weeks while she took care of Bryt's family with their new arrival. Coop and Grammie got to hang out a lot, and he sure misses her!

Aunt Denise, Uncle Jim, and Allison came for a Valentine's visit!

Cooper gave Chelsey a valentine. (He was happy the first shot, but the flowers were in Chelsey's face. After that he was cranky and uncooperative because he was hungry.) He was so cute carrying the flowers to her.

Cooper has recently discovered the world of dramatic play (the new buzz word for "dress up"). He LOVES to dress up like daddy. He also likes wearing different kinds of hats.

One Sunday afternoon I was being all domesticated and making zucchini bread. Coop was happily playing beside me. I was busy measuring and such, turned around, and this is what I found... We're STILL using the unraveled paper towells!

Cooper was very excited for my birthday party. He even dressed up for the occasion. Nathan and Chelsey gave me quite the party. Thank you to all my family and friends for making it such a fun day!!

On my birthday, I noticed that spring had suddenly arrived in Charlotte. Yay! I love that about my birthday: it means spring is just around the corner, unless you live in the South, and then it means that spring is HERE!

More spring! Today, two weeks later, the trees are all in full bloom, as are the daffodils and other flowers. Hooray for spring! Coop isn't sure yet what the big deal is, except that he knows he's been able to enjoy spending a lot more time outside.

After my birthday, it was Ellie's birthday! Here's the cousins at the birthday party.

The other night while I was making dinner, Coop decided to play lobster with the oven mitts. He thought it was so hilarious.

It's been a great month! Cooper officially turned 17 months. He's talking a bit more, and is starting to recognize animals and know the sounds they make. Just last night he finally recognized a cow in one of his books and proudly pronounced, "Moo!"

The other big change this month is his interest in copying us. He constantly wants to be doing what we're doing, or mimicking us. This goes from using his popper "vacuum" while I vacuum, brushing his teeth (which he loves to do, and begs often--thank you Thomas the Train automatic toothbrush), and eating what we eat.

He's learned to like a few new foods including raw zucchini, which he prefers just sliced. He's also discovered the fun of dipping food in sauces, and LOVES ketchup.

This month he also had his first haircut in a salon. I let his hair grow out a little long, and it actually started getting pretty curly in the back. I told myself I'd never be the mom with the son with long curly baby hair, but I admit I totally was. It was hard for me to have it cut, but he looks like such a big boy now.

Toddler Bubble Wrap Comedy