For our family: this is for you to catch an updated glimpse of our little mr. mr. at this fun age!
For me: I will print this and add to Cooper's album. (Makes it way simpler when the day comes to pull out my scrapbooking supplies again! And these days I am loving simpler!) I can't even relay how good it feels to get this post done. It's been on my list for awhile!
And for our friends: bless you if you make it to the end
Precious Cooper,
Words cannot express how much Daddy, Parker and I love you. We cannot possibly imagine this family without you. Your silly antics and hilarious expressions keep us laughing throughout the days. You and Parker certainly make quite a pair!! Daddy and I can't help but notice quite a few similarities, yet also a number of differences between you and your older brother. It is fun to notice these things as you grow. I love this stage you are at...excitedly bumbling through life without a care in the world! I want to remember these days and the little things that you do and say. Below are a few things that your daddy and I want to remember about you and your sweet personality around 18 months (and consistencies we have noticed from baby to 18 months).
*No, my math is not wrong. I am aware that you are over 19 months, but you and Parker have been keeping me busy, so I am just now finalizing this post. Though I have tried to be thorough, more than likely I have left off a few forgotten items, so I will probably go back and update this as I think of those things. I probably repeated myself on a number of things but I wanted to make sure I documented it all!! I don't want to miss a thing! Most of these pictures are very recent (taken within the last 2 months) but I did label a few of them that were taken when you were younger in 2011 :)
Cooper at 18 months:
Weight: 27lbs (61%)
Height: 35in (97%)
Head: 19 in (61%)
About Me: Very active and busy. Happy. Talkative. Observant. Good sleeper. Loves to play when it is playtime. Loves to sleep when it is sleepytime. Good eater. (especially loves all fruit) I enjoy vegetables more if they are cooked into something and very small (although I do love to chomp down on some broccoli!) Between meat, vegetables, breads, sweets and fruits, mama has a harder time getting me to eat all my veggies. I want to do everything my big brother does. I like to get into everything that my little hands will let me get into. I am such a happy little boy that smiles and laughs all of the time! I am a character and like to make others laugh at me by my silly faces and games (ie peek a boo, the winner...) I do not like to sit still (even in people's laps) very much; however, I do love to be held if that person is up moving around. Sociable. Pretty flexible. Likes to travel in carseat. Loves the outdoors. Likes riding on my "horsee," playing with balls, taking toys out of my toy buckets, driving little cars around the house and making Vroom vroom noises and going places. I do not sit still for mama to read me a book (though she tries daily)...the doctor says I will be one of those who learns by going and doing and not by reading. Size 4 Target diapers(I have been in a size 4 for a very long time now as mama said I just scooted through size 3). Wearing 18-24 months (barely), 24 months or 2T clothes (depends on the brand). I love helping my mommy around the house (especially with the sweeping). I love my lovey's and blankie's and will not sleep without them. (preferably, I like to sleep with more than one. Mama sometimes has to come in and take some out of my crib after I am asleep.) I sign "All done" and "more" for mama and daddy. I am using phrases like, "sit down," "get down," "up peas." Other words that I say all the time are: mama, dada and daddy, milk, bubba (for brother). I will try and repeat words that I hear throughout the day as well; my mama and daddy tell me I am quite the talkative one. Right at 18 months, I started using "Gah gah and Guh guh" syllables. I like to point to lots of things and randomly state what I think it is (in words that mama and daddy can't quite understand). I like to go on walks in my stroller...as long as I have my paci, I could go for over half an hour before wanting to get out. I want to be where the party is. My mommy and daddy think I am going to like contact sports one day as I like to run up and pounce on my daddy and brother when I have the opportunity...I love to wrestle like a little bear cub. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Fair and sensitive skin that burns when in contact with sun. I like to swing my arms back and forth and from side to side sometimes when I am walking.
A few things in pictures and in words:
Since you were just big enough to roll and crawl, I realized I was going to have my hands full with your little sneaky and curious self! For as long as you have been able to, you have enjoyed making extra special messes and getting into all of mama's "pretties." Still now, I have to watch you like a hawk to ensure that those little fingers do not get into something they are not supposed to. You keep your mama and daddy VERY busy! :)
June 2011
December 2011
For several months now, you have enjoyed showing us where your nose is! (you also like to show us where your eyes and mouth are) The cutest part about it is that you don't just point to it, but you squeeze it!!!
You are obsessed with eating fuzz. We are clueless as to what this is about, but you have always eaten fuzz...fuzz off of the floor, fuzz off of all the blankets, fuzz off of people's coats. As a small baby you picked pratically all the hair off of your favorite bunny lovey. Though it is not as fuzzy on top these days, you still love that thing. Sigh.
You are super silly and love to make faces that get us all laughing!
We totally gush over your sweet dimples!!
Since about 15 months old, you have loved to play peekaboo. Your favorite place to ham it up and get everyone laughing at you is when you are in your high chair at dinnertime. This is when your game of peekaboo is most often started.
You also love to show us "the Winner!" just as your brother did when he was your age.
You are strong. It kinda cracks us up.
You still LOVE your blankies and practically will not leave the house with at least one of them. (Thankfully, since he was a baby, we used several different ones and Cooper never got attached to just one of them. He has like 4 favorites and usually, as long as he has one of those, he is good to go.)
Whether it be going for an outing at the zoo or sitting on the couch at home, Cooper feels extra good when his blankie is with him! Clay and I actually laugh about this all the time. Parker was never as attached to blankies and lovee's as his brother is.
2011
2011
Lovee's and blankies...you won't catch me without them!
Recently, you have expressed more interest in playing with shape shorters, stacking blocks (more than 2-3), and ring stackers.
Though typically each picture I take of you portrays multiple boo boo incidents, you still are the cutest little Mr. Mr. around!
You are all about mama right now. Most days, my arms are ready to fall off by the end of the day from carrying you around so much. :) You cry when I leave the room and are not happy one little bit when I get up to go do something else that does not involve holding you. (not all the time...just more than usual.) You also love it when daddy holds you and plays with you, but just seem to be more of a mama's boy these days.
"Up Peas!!!!"
You are still putting EVERYTHING in your mouth. Charcoal? Yes, please; I will try some of that. (and no, it was not hot for those of you terribly concerned.) ;)
Up until almost 19 months, you were still going strong with your bottle in the evenings (or if we traveled) and would not go to sleep without having it first. You would inhale 9 oz (and sometimes more) in less than 12 minutes. As of our move, you are no longer taking a bottle. Between the craziness and late nights that the move brought to our household, conveniently, you were usually konked out by the time your head hit the pillow at night. I took that as the perfect time to collect and pack up all bottles. So far so good. (Since we have moved, you do wake up earlier each morning requesting food, so it may be that you are hungrier in the mornings because you are not getting that bottle just before bedtime.)
Just like your brother, you want nothing more than to be outdoors and sometimes do not appreciate it when mama tells you it is time to come in for the day.
For awhile now, you have been proudly blowing your nose (usually you don't truly need to blow your nose so we see and hear nothing but as much air as your little blows can possibly let out). It is funny to watch you walk off with the toilet paper still on the roll as you blow your nose and then happily toss it in the garbage. Whenever I see toilet paper hanging from inside the cabinet door dragged from the toilet paper roll I know you were in there blowing your nose. Why Cooper does not use the Kleenex on the back of the toilet that he sees us use everyday, I will never know. It is funny to watch him blow his nose nonetheless.
You are happy to go for walks.
You are the biggest ham ever! Daddy and I laugh at your sweet little antics every single day!! You totally crack us up, which makes us hard to get on to you sometimes!
Unlike when you were smaller, you are now very attached to your pacifiers. Never fear! Though we might not can find clean socks and paper towels, we know where all the paci's are. (Day 1 in the new house, when Parker was locating his Lightening McQueen Bandaids, Cooper was successfully searching for and trying out all of his clean pacifiers on the kitchen floor.
You are very observant and do not miss a thing.
Differences Daddy and I have noticed between you and Parker thus far:
You are a messier eater (slightly more messy than your brother was from what we remember! ha ha!). You like to sleep longer hours than Parker ever has (and usually smile when we place you in your crib at night.) You love and are very attached to your lovee's and blankies. Parker could have them or not have them and was ok with that. Your vocal pitches get to such levels that we never heard come out of Parker's mouth (sometimes it is just to make sure everyone knows you are there and other times it is because you are upset.) I really look forward to my every other day shower as I would never dream of taking a 5-7 minute shower with you not confined in your crib asleep or with Daddy. I could easily take showers (quick showers) while Parker would happily play with toys for those few minutes (though there were a few times our little man decided to get into a little trouble during my brief washing). Never in a million years would I ever even attempt to try this with you for fear of, well, pretty much any fear that a mother can concoct with her imagination. You like to get into everything that you are not supposed to and are mama's little mess maker. Be forewarned that if the little mr. mr.'s hands are near, nothing is safe. ha ha! After telling Parker not to touch mama's "pretties" (aka breakable decor) he would usually oblige. You, on the other hand, as young as just a little baby would reach up as high as those little hands would reach and grab for whatever they would pull down. You have extremely sensitive skin. We cannot use classic baby shampoo's and washes on your sweet little skin very often. You are my fair skinned child. You are a climber. Parker was always busy and into things, but he never climbed like you do. You like to be held...a lot. Parker also did not mind being held, but I do not believe he requested, "Up Peas!" nearly as much. :) You have a sweet tooth. Your face lights up when I bring you any fruit and/or sweet treats and you readily inhale it. Parker truly is just as content having raw vegetables and a variety of healthy foods and could do with or without the sweets (on most occasions.) You will not sit still with me to read books. By the time Parker was a year old (maybe even a little before) he would sit in my lap and I could read at least 1-2 books to him without blinking an eye. I could count on my two hands the number of times I have made it through a whole book with you! You repeat words immediately as you hear them. Parker listened and when he felt like he could say it he would then say it.
Biggest Similarities between you and Parker thus far:
Outgoing and sociable. Busy. Opinionated and strong-willed. Happy. Talkative. Observant. Loves anything outdoors. Good eater. Loves being around others. Loves to play with balls and anything having to do with "big boy sports."
A few things that you have done lately that make us laugh each time you do it:
-When pretending to leave the house, if there is a coat within reach, you automatically put your coat on, grab your nearest paci and wave with boys hands as you walk away and proclaim, "Bye, Bye!"
-Peek a boo at the dinner table
-the way you make sure that wherever you go, your lovey and blankie are thought of first before clothes or anything else.
-if you can't go fast enough on something (such as your little tricycle) you just pick it up under one arm and start walking/running with it
Recent proof of my mischief:
Sunday, May 27 - Mama found me dipping my sippy cup in the potty for more water!
We love you Cooper!
Love, Mama and Daddy
