Silly Boy, Cute Boy

Cooper loves to be silly.

Cooper loves watermelon almost as much as his Poppy.  He was excited yesterday when I gave him this big slice of watermelon all for himself at lunch.  He declared it "ginormous."

Story time at the library yesterday was all about babies.  At the end, the children were given stickers with babies on them.  Cooper woke up from his nap with his sticker still on his shirt.  He quickly pulled it from his shirt, lifted it, and stuck the sticker to his belly and said, "Wook, Mom.  I donna hab a baby!"  Where does he learn this stuff?  Oh my. 

 I asked him to take a more modest picture (been teaching him about how to dress modestly), and he cracked me up with the look on his face.  You can see how he's really thinking about it.

Lastly, we've been getting books from the library each week.  His favorites are about trucks, and I have to be sure that we bring home at least two truck books each week, or he flips out.  We've also been checking out some childrens' DVDs called "All About John Deere" and "Metal Monsters."  He loves both, and they are my babysitters while I take a shower each morning.  They're the only DVDs I've left him watching and come out of the shower 10-15 minutes later to see him sitting in practically the same spot, eyes glued to the TV.  I am thankful that he is no longer trying to go outside or getting into other trouble when I'm trying to shower.

Anyway, one book in particular, Tip Tip Dig Dig, seemed so cute to me.  We read it twice a day for about a week.  Then out of the blue, he wanted to "read" it to me.  I thought he'd make up words, but to my surprise, he'd memorized it.  It's not a long or complicated book, but still amazed me.  And I thought it adorable. Couldn't get him to read it on video without me prompting him on each page, but it's still cute.
One last thing I'll add is that you'll see that he tries to insert the word "pooted" for "tipped" when speaking about the dump truck.  The kid is all bathroom humor lately.  I'm currently using the method of pretty much just ignoring it.  Most ignoring works.  Boys...[sigh].

A Visit from Poppy and MeMaw

Poppy and MeMaw stopped by for a visit last week.  Cooper had so much fun playing with them.  They played with his new train set, read stories, and most of all played outside.

 Thursday we went to the Lazy 5 Ranch, a drive-through zoo, with a small petting zoo and such.  Instead of driving our own car through, this time we decided to take the horse-drawn wagon ride.  SO much better than driving the car! 

We had a quick picnic lunch, and then MeMaw, Cooper and Poppy (and I) were ready for the ride, and to see some animals. 

 We saw lots of animals up close and personal as they came right up to the wagon to be fed.  We were used to the llamas, emus, and ostrich from our last trip, but this time the water buffalo came right out of the water, and over to the wagon to be fed.  Cooper thought it was funny the way they opened their mouths to eat, or the way you drop the food on some animals' noses instead of in their mouths.

 The giraffes did not disappoint.  Cooper got to say a close hello to this giraffe.  There was also a baby giraffe, named Patrick for being born on St. Patrick's Day.  He thought the baby was, "Tute."

 We saw Luther, the rhinoceros, who is 19 years old.  The guide told me rhinos live to be 50, so while he looked huge to us, he's just a teenager, and still has some growing to do!  The rhino must have been Cooper's favorite part, because days later he was still talking about "Lufer the wino." 

 This bison's name is Ladybug.  Cooper was confused why the man kept saying this big animal was a ladybug.  I didn't catch a picture of his face, but the confused look was priceless.

 This long-tongued animal is a cow from India.  We thought the long tongue was funny. 

 This white cow is also from India, and one of the kind they consider to be holy. 

We saw LOTS of other animals like zebras, deer, antelope, wild pigs (some with little babies just two weeks old that were about as big as a man's hand), and lots of other beautiful animals.  Cooper got to witness a fawn nursing, and some tortoises mating--thank you, Nature.

 The petting zoo area is beautiful.  I love this weeping willow tree in the aviary.  Cooper did NOT want to stop for a picture.

 Coop LOVED petting all the goats and sheep.  He especially liked the sheep, which he reported were soft.

 The other thing he did with Poppy and MeMaw was play in their car, an activity he LOVES to do when he's allowed.  He came in the house with MeMaw's flip-flop shaped air freshener around his neck.  

Thank you, Poppy and MeMaw for visiting Cooper at his house.  We missed you the minute you left!

One last thing of note is that instead of Cooper calling his Grandpa "Poppy" like all the other grandkids, he kept calling him "Grand Pa-Pa.  So stinking cute.

Stay-at-Home Mom: Part 3

It's been a few weeks since I had a chance to blog.  Something interesting happened to me that I wanted to note about being a stay-at-home mom.

The last month when making plans with friends, talking to acquaintances at church, and at various places around town, I've told these people (mostly women) I'm now a stat-at-home mom.  Nearly every single time, the first thing they said was, "Oh, are you pregnant?"  I thought this an interesting response.  First, no, I am not pregnant.  Why is it that people assume that to quit work to be a stay-at-home mother does the mother need more than one child?  I totally understand that one is easier, and less expensive than two or more, but I think it sad that it seems to be the social norm (Mormon or not), that a working woman would remain working until she has child #2.  It's like unless you choose to stay at home when your first child is born, that you're expected to work until you have a second.  I wasn't offended or anything, just thought it was a weird thing.

The reason I want to stay at home now is that I feel that I only have a few short years before Cooper grows  up and goes off to school, and I don't want to miss out on being the one to teach him during these years that are so crucial to his learning.  I'll admit I'm not the most qualified to teach preschool, nor am I super consistent about doing it, but in teaching him life lessons he will learn the things I feel are important for a child to know before he goes off to school where there is peer pressure, and so many other outside influences.

Me "quitting" work had nothing to do with cost of daycare or anything like that.  Nor would that have been the case if baby #2 had come along while I was working.  There comes a time in a woman's career when she makes enough money to pay for daycare of several children, and still have it be worthwhile (from a financial perspective) to continue working.  This would have been the case for me.  Quitting work is actually a bit of a financial strain on our family, in that me not working means we won't be getting completely out of debt as quickly as we had hoped, that we won't be taking as many vacations, that we won't be buying a house as soon, that we won't have as much in retirement savings, that we'll have less to spend on things we want, and that we have to live on a strict budget.  But we do have what we need, and that's all that really matters.

And while I may be home with only one child, I find that I am no less busy than any other mother.  Something amazing about mothers is our ability to adapt to whatever our family needs.  Additional children means an adaptation to having less time for other things.  But to that I quote the Proverb: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven..." (or something like that).  Right now is my season to love and teach Cooper, to spend one-on-one time with him, and to start really molding him into the man I hope him to be someday.  If/when additional children make their way to our family, we'll adapt.  But for now, I am a very happy stay-at-home mother of one.

More Fun with Mom & Quotable Cooper

On May 8th Cooper went with me to vote in the NC primaries.  He was SO excited to get a sticker.  I was able to bribe him to be good, telling him that only good kids who stay by their moms get stickers at the end.  Wish that kind of rationale worked all the time!

 We recently bought an unfinished bed and bookshelf for Cooper at a yard sale (score!).  The only hitch is now I get to putty, sand and paint it.  Cooper was intrigued by the wood putty, and kept calling it peanut butter.  He was mad I wouldn't let him play with it.  I was too afraid he'd eat it.

To keep him occupied, I sat him in a chair next to me, and gave him some yogurt.  I had my back to him, puttying away, when he decided that peach yogurt and wood putty look similar, and proceeded to spread peach yogurt all over the top of the bookshelf.  I didn't take a picture, too panicked to get the yogurt off the raw wood.  But I had to just laugh at it, and took a picture of him "helping" me sand.

 One day last week it had been raining all day, and Cooper was bored of being indoors.  So when the rain stopped, and it warmed up outside, I let him run through the drainage ditch in our front lawn that runs when we get a lot of rain.  He had a blast splashing through the rainwater.  He face-planted a few times, but being Coop, he just laughed and laughed, wiped his face with his hands, and kept on trucking.

  Cooper Quotes  and other memorable moments from the last few weeks:

• Nate's turn to bathe Coop. I hear Nate pour water on Coop's hair with a cup, and Coop says "No! Don't water me!"
• One night at the store Nate said to Cooper, "Thank you for making a good choice."
  Coop sweetly threw his arms around Nate's neck and said, "Thank you for bein' a dood daddy!"
• One morning Coop says, "Mom, can I wun in the sprinkle-wer?"
  "Not yet Bug, it's too early in the morning. You can this afternoon after your nap."
  ...pause...
  "Mom, can I take a nap?"
• After putting Cooper to bed and I heard him in his room singing "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man." Too cute to tell him to be quiet and go to sleep.
• Coop took my Bible, sat on the couch and said, "Jesus went on the water. Let's talk about it. Other things go on the water, like boats, and fish, and Jesus goes on the water too."
• Totally surprised me one day when I was on the phone giving our address to someone, said the first two digits, and Coop finished the house # and street. Guess something I've taught him lately has actually stuck! That made my day.
• Coop turned on the tv by himself, and chose VH1 80s Popup Videos to watch. Refused cartoons. He thought The Proclaimers "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" was dance worthy.
• A few weeks ago  Coop had about 30 scratch tests done and 4 vials of blood drawn to determine some allergies. Kid didn't even cry. He never ceases to amaze me. Docs and nurses were all talking about him as we came out. Apparently one of the best behaved kids they've ever seen under such circumstances. I think he's something special.
• So frustrating that the dinner table has become a negotiating table to get my 2 yr old to eat. I long to just eat my dinner in peace without making deals about how many more bites to eat, or getting a fistful of corn thrown at me. And then he says, "But Mom, my fork os not working!" and it's all I can do not to laugh.
• Had my ipod on shuffle. Walk into room and catch Coop singing along (into his toy microphone) and dancing to the Beatles "Drive My Car." First non-kid song I've ever heard him sing. Knows the whole chorus. "Baby you tan dwive my tar!" to which he turns and says, "Mom, my dwive your tar?"
• Conversation with Coop one morning:
  "Mommy, my bewlly is hurtin'."
  "It is? I think that's 'cause you're hungry."
  "No. It's tause I need some hold yous."
  How could I resist that?
  A few min later, Coop eating breakfast while I hold him...
  "Mommy, my bewlly is dettin' better tause I wuv u so much."

Birthday Party - Kentucky Derby Style

On May 5th Cooper attended his first birthday party for a friend.  Since the day of the party was the same day as the Kentucky Derby, that was the theme of the party.  They asked the kids to dress up like they were going to the Derby.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this Southern tradition, the ladies all wear dresses and big hats, and the men wear suits, usually seer-sucker, plaid, or argyle.  Here is Coop all dressed up for the party. 

 They had a real horse at the party, and each child had a turn to ride.  Cooper was excited to ride the horse, and had no qualms about getting on, and going round and round the circle.

 Toward the end, the saddle started slipping to the side, and Cooper with it.  The guy who was supposed to be holding on to Cooper didn't realize, until I pointed it out, that Cooper was slipping.  Poor Coop was hanging on to the saddle horn for dear life.

 By the time they pushed him upright again, and it was time to take a good photo, he totally freaked out, and this is the shot I got.  Ah, memories.

 The kids had stick horse races...

 And there was a toy horse to ride as well.  Coop spent a lot of time on this.  Thank goodness most of the other kids were too old to care about the toy horse, so his hogging it was not a big deal. 

His cheeks are cherry red because it was a HOT, HOT, humid afternoon.  He doesn't sunburn easily, but when he gets hot, his cheeks get red like mine do.

  The birthday girls, Cora and Caroline (twins), were turning five.  The cakes were like flower wreaths for horses.

 Coop also had a great time smacking the horse pinata with the stick, but at that point I was done taking pictures.  He had a great time at his first friends birthday party.

That night we went out to dinner, and everyone kept commenting on Cooper's "Southern" style, complete with viser hat, so we snapped one last picture of him as we were waiting for a seat.

Saturday Stuff

Love, love, love all the wild honeysuckle that grows around here. There's tons on our street, and today there was some at the park. Such a yummy, sweet scent, and it's beautiful.

Cooper loves Brody! These two play well together. Brody is a very patient dog. Caught Coop playing fireman the other day, using poor Brody's tail as the pretent fire hose.

And Cooper is getting SO big, trying new things at the playground.

Summer is here!

Summer has arrived in the Carolinas this week. Every day has been in the mid-80s, which means we're trying to still enjoy the outdoors some. Coop had his first popcicle of the summer today. He chose red. He's also been running in the sprinkler, and playing with neighbor friends.

A conversation with him the other day:
"Mom, can I wun in the spwinle-wer?"
"Not yet, Bug, it's too early in the morning. You can this afternoon after your nap."
...pause...
"Mom, can I take a nap?"

Now you know what I'm up against every day. :)