Getting Excited For Christmas!

Back from Colorado.....

Ranch

Ranch



Ranch after the snow storm.



The wifey and Cooper toughed it out at home without me for 2 weeks.  Either Steph is completely sick of me and looks forward to kicking me out for 2 weeks or she is a great wife...maybe both.  Anyhow, Thanks!

It was extremely hard being away this time.  I did get to video chat with the family, but I think that just made me miss them more.

I did make it back just in time for Trick Or Treat night.  Cooper dressed up at Thomas the Train. 

Trick Or Treat?

It really is amazing the change in Cooper in just 2 weeks!  Not only does his shirts no longer fit him, but his speech is amazing now.  Before I left, he struggled to spit out a sentence.....but now he tells me exactly what he wants.

Next time I'm taking the family to Colorado with me!

Too long

It's been too long since we posted an update but in all honesty most days I feel like I'm not sure how I had the time to shower and get out the door to work.  We had a great summer and Cooper is growing like a weed.  I was a bad mom and didn't take him for 2 year old pictures so this weekend he actually let me take them myself in the back yard.  I think they turned out pretty good, and I like them better b/c they were taken at home.  I still have to photoshop them a little to boost the clarity but I love the sun and the background and how he was so good to pose for his Momma.

My Baby

My baby boy is currently sick with what we thought was strep but is actually some really oddly named virus that causes blisters on the back of his throat.  Apparently it just has to run its course and we just pump him full of ibuprofen every 6 hours to ease the pain.  However, he can't swallow so when I say "pump him" you can take a wild guess as to where we have to put the ibuprofen.  Yes, this is what is happening to my poor baby.  On the other hand, up until Sunday he had a great weekend.  We went to the camper again, which you really can't go wrong with for Coop, and on Saturday evening we spent some time on Mt. Davis, which is the highest point in Pennsylvania.  It also has a strikingly beautiful lake and sunset and it made my boy look like the angel he is basking in the warm of the setting sun (most of the time).

Weekend in Review

Our weekend was pretty uneventful, hot and uneventful at least.  Friday we went to a lovely wedding for our cousin Sarah and Chris and then spent the rest of the weekend at home, in the heat.  So the theme of our weekend is heat.  Yesterday it was so humid I've never seen Coop soaked in so much sweat and he was sticky, which made his hugs and kisses even more delightful.  Our pool is currently in a constant battle with some tough algae so we weren't able to cool off in that so Coop kept himself busy with dirt, and minnows, and more dirt.

Training the trainer

At work there is a workshop/course we sell called "train the trainer". At home we have the Bedilion adaptation of that. Here,we do what works. Even when it is this....(Coop as a teen you have permission to be mad at me for this one for about 24 hours)

A Typical Day

With a 2 year old we've come to realize that there are no such things as "typical" days.  With a 2 year old like Coop, who is very opinionated, very charming, and very smart, typical would would be an insult to describe our days.  With a 2 year old as opinionated, charming and smart as Coop who is potty training everyday is an adventure.  But nonetheless, this is what our summer days consist of:

Stopping multiple times on the side of the road and/or random parking lot to quickly whip out the potty chair for my inconsistent-potty-training son.  For those of you who are great at Wheel of Fortune - can you figure out the type of store we were sitting at based on the sign?

Getting a haircut and/or visiting Uncle Bill (pronounced Beel if said by Coop)

And at the end of the day when Coop is tired of being in and out of the car and leaving his tractors behind, the only thing left to do is this:

A Friendly Fourth

We had a great fourth of July weekend.  We traveled down to the camper in Ohiopyle for the weekend and our good friends Patty and Dave joined us for most of it.  I was a little worried that they would be bored since sometimes we are a little limited on what we can do with Coop but I think we succeeded in wearing them out.  Coop was great.  He did the entire 22 mile bike trail with us (11 miles each way) to and from Ohiopyle!  We only had to stop once each way so he could play a little in the river and then he was happy to get back on the bike and continue our trek.  Coop was a big fan of Patty.  Steve, Coop and Patty went down the natural water slides about a half a dozen times and I think if he wasn't shivering he would have gone down at least a dozen more.  The heat was bearable since the bike trail is lined with huge rocks that keep everything nice and cool and the breeze comes off of the river.  In the evening we made s'mores and lit sparklers and smoke bomb type thingys that the guys had great fun with.  Monday we spent the day on the beach with Pappy and Nana and baked in the sun, or the tented heat of the sun at least.  Coop had a great time playing in the water and even convinced me to get in (although the heat made it pretty impossible not to get in the water).  Patty was a great photographer this weekend too.  Here are pictures to enjoy.

We started our weekend with a bang.....fireworks and sparklers (and smoke bombs for the boys)

 

Look Mama it's dead......................

Let me eat my butterfly in peace...........

I love biking on the trail in my wee rider............

Not too shabby for mile 18

 

Rain and Storms....

and Cooper still didn't want to leave the beach at the Yough Dam.

Just a couple pictures.

Memorial Day Weekend

At the last minute Coop, me and my mom went to visit Jo in Baltimore for the weekend. I was a little nervous about the car ride mostly b/c it's hard to get Coop to sit for 5 minutes let alone 4 hours but he did well. The one problem I did not think about was potty training. We started "intensive" potty training about a month or so ago and it's gone pretty well. He definitely has had his moments when he refuses to go on the potty and I have decided I won't push him or force him to do it. So when he started frantically screaming "I pee on potty" about an hour into our car ride I was a little caught off guard. He was wearing a diaper and I had honestly assumed he would just go in that since I didn't even tell him that he needed to tell me when he had to pee. So we quickly found a walmart and he held it all the way until we got to the potty. And then he peed, and peed and peed and peed and peed. I was shocked and quite pleased. So we left walmart with Coop proudly yelling "I pee on potty!" and with three new toys. That ended up not being a one time deal as he woke up 20 minutes into a nap obviously having to pee immediately so on that one we had to pull over and he peed on the side of the interstate. That became the norm. But I'm proud of him and I think we are well on our way to being completely potty trained. And I'm certain by saying that I just jinxed it!

Anyway, we had a great time with Jo this weekend on what is likely our last visit to Baltimore until she leaves for her move to Boston at the end of this month. Congratulations Aunt Jo and soon-to-be Uncle Brandon!

We spent Sunday at the aquarium and then the afternoon at the park and Coop got his fill of Aunt Jo, or at least close to it. Here are some pictures from our weekend.

Pool fun...

Cooper's Playset.....

So our nice neighbors gave us their playset. Their kids had out grown it. So I spent a couple days moving it from their backyard to our backyard. This was no easy task....seeing I did it by myself with the help of a come-a-long and a dolly.

The move.

Here it is completed....bad picture because I took it through a screened window.

So Coop had it for about 1 week.....and then Steph sends me this picture.

Yes...That's right....a huge cherry tree fell on it and totalled it.

So now I am in the process of cutting up a HUGE tree and trying to figure out what to do with the wood.  Hopefully I will begin rebuilding Cooper's playhouse soon.

Easter and Aunt Jo

I could probably do an entire post on Aunt Jo and Coop and their funny little relationship/connection. You will see that the pictures tell the story for you though. Cooper had a good Easter. We didn't really make a big deal of the easter bunny b/c I thought he was a little young to grasp the concept and I didn't want him to think that the Easter bunny was anything like Santa and would bring him lots of gifts. He got a basket of books, markers, and a yoyo and when he saw it his reactions was "ooooooh wooooow!" so I think it was a hit. He also had a good time coloring eggs with Nana and looking for eggs at the farm. He even made it through church which was no small feat! We are preparing for his 2nd birthday now and it's just hard to believe that he is turning 2 already!

Here are some easter pics:

Listening carefully to Nana's easter egg instructions....

I think his face in this pic says it all as to what we were dealing with in church....Here is a typical interaction between Cooper and his Aunt Jo: