(*all photos taken by my friends christy and liz ... thanks girls and your fab cameras!)
cooper is always smiling ... almost always anyway.
in the month of may, he has gone from barely belly-scooting to speed-crawling, pulling up on everything, cruising all around and thinking about climbing stairs. he is transforming before our eyes. (i suppose that's what babies do. it always seems new, though, doesn't it?)
he just popped his first tooth ... at nearly 10 months old. hopefully they won't start coming rapid-fire now, but he wasn't too terribly upset by this first one.
everyone mentions his mohawk ... yes, folks, it just grows that way! pretty stylish, though.
cooper's favorites: • balls ... he has a particular love for them. he starts bouncing and laughing whenever he sees one, and already understands that he's supposed to throw it. • eating ... especially grown-up food or whatever is on mom's fork. • being held ... he is a sweet cuddler, and for this mommy is very grateful. • his brother! cooper always wants to play with owen and see what owen is holding or doing ... owen is still trying to get used to this new development. • tossing things on the floor, thus creating opportunities to say his first word ... "uh-oh!" • practicing his new clapping, pointing and sippy cup skills.
here are a few more photos from the memorial day picnic at our house ... here, big girl riley watches over cooper and toby, who were born 7 days apart.
owen's favorites: • ms. joy and ms. chris (his mother's day out teachers, whom he will dearly miss now that school is out for the summer) • interstate 81 (a.k.a. "the big road," "where the trucks are," "81") • going "on top of bridges" • going under bridges (if you're going under, they're called "big ceilings") • driving matchbox cars under big ceilings made of legos • popsicles and jelly beans • singing to his brother (ABCs mostly) • SuperWhy on PBS Kids (who wouldn't love a cartoon where the characters have spelling and reading superpowers!?)
owen's recent/frequent quotables: "mommy! i like your drink! i like you drink your drink!" "daddy! i like your medicine! i like you eat your medicine!" "you went potty? yay, mom! great job! now you need three jelly beans!" "mommy, i really want to go where the trucks are on the big road and go on top of some bridges." "i love grandma. grandma is my favorite friend." (owen has many, many favorite friends ... from daddy and mommy to cartoon characters, our realtor and the man at the appliance store.)
here are some pictures from owen's last day of mother's day out ... singing songs with the bigger kids ...
standing right next to his friend lydia (they've been playing together since birth and in the same MDO class for two years now!)
we made a paper chain this morning to count down the days until mommy's friend vanessa and her sweet little baby brielle come to visit! six more days ...
* credit to my sweet friend christy for the great photo of owen at the top of this post!
another month comes and goes, and here are some pictures of our sweet boys!
first, a short list of what recent days have held for each of our little people ...
owen: • potty success (lots) • potty accidents (lots) • talking, singing, playing blocks, vacuuming, asking, "but, why?" • asking each morning: "where we going today, mom?" (church, school, exercise ... each comes with its own excitements and friends to see) • highlight of the week: seeing "shooters" (parachuters) while on a walk with grandma. Most frequent quote of the last few days: "cooper, guess what? i saw shooters!" • correction ... MOST frequent quote is actually, "NO!! I NOT do [whatever parent asked him to do]!" • more sayings ... "mommy/daddy, build a bridge really high!" "no, mommy, DON'T SING." (he does love when we sing ... but only at owen-appointed appropriate times. no singing along with the sesame street theme song.)
cooper: • mobility (army crawl, getting faster by the day) • laughing, smiling, imitating noises (dada, baba, etc.) • eating like a champ ... more in quantity and variety than some 2 1/2 year-old boys i know (ahem ... not that i compare them ... no, not me.) • deciding to really, really like his pacifier after months of ambivalence • all-around sweet, pleasant and calm temperament ... except around 4 a.m. each day, when he still awakens wishing (loudly) that i would feed him. sometimes i do, sometimes i don't.
now, on with the photo show ...
easter buckets ... owen got lots of outdoor toys
and dinosaur stickers.
hunting for eggs
daddy and coop before church
"Bana" and the boys
daddy home from work just in time to cuddle both boys at once
cooper and his rediscovered beloved "peacepipe"
bro hug
i found cooper sleeping like this during his nap today ...
and a bonus video ... my parents came to visit at the end of march, and we took the kids to a hands-on science museum. owen's favorite part, by far, was standing in a bubble (sorry it's sideways):
