The Blizzard of 09

Approximately 20 inches of snow fell this weekend here in Maryland. We spent the weekend shoveling and playing with neighbors. Saturday was cold and windy but Cooper braved the weather for about an hour. On Sunday we went sledding with the Carll boys, Sophie and Jackson. Cooper loved it. He even went alone down the hill alone a handful of times.

Thanksgiving 2009

Cooper turned 21 months old this week as we celebrated his second thanksgiving in Geneva New York. We had a great week. Cooper spent time with his grandparents and the Phippen/LaVoie family. Cooper even contributed by helping grandma make the stuffing. He is a Phippen boy so cooking is in the blood.

Coopers vocabulary is expanding rapidly and he is becoming quite a little chatter box. Not only does he talk all day long but he moves about nonstop. Perpetual motion is the best term to describe his activity level. He continues to grow like a weed and is currently weighing in at 30.6 lbs.

Hallowen

Cooper had a blast on Halloween. He went trick or treating in our neighborhood with the rest of the "animals" his cousins Mia and Raegan and his good friend Ryleigh Connell.

20 months

October proved to be another fun filled month for Cooper. We visited a pumpkin patch, made a visit to see the Szeliga's new house, spent lots of time with his cousins, took a trip to Geneva and we have our costume ready for Halloween.

Cooper had to have a minor surgery the middle of the month but as always won over the crowd in the waiting room and recovery room with his smiles and laughter. He was all about the orange Popsicles! His speech is continuing to improve and his balance is even getting better. Now if only we could get him to walk instead of run head on into life his father and I could take deep breath. But boys will be boys..or so I hear.

Cooper talks about halloween

Big Boy Bed

Our baby is growing so fast and since he climbs like a monkey we had to move him into a toddler bed. We made the leap yesterday and converted the crib into a toddler bed with a bedrail. Last night and today for nap he slept in the bed without climbing out. While I do not anticipate that he will continue to be so good I am super excited that at least the first day was a success and figured I should update the blog now while we are ahead. It brings tears to my eyes to accept that he is no longer in a crib but when you see the smile on his face and his jello stained fingers in the pictures you will understand how he can quickly take those tears away and make me laugh.

Early Fall

Last weekend Cooper kicked fall into full gear with a trip to the pumpkin patch. Aunt Lara's neighbor Alicia organized the trip for her daycare kids and invited Mia, Aunt Lara, Cooper and I along. It was a fun day. We went to North Run farm. There were animals, we went for a hayride, ran thru a toddler sized hay maze, played in giant tires filled with corn and at the end we walked into the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin.

On Saturday we spent the day at Homestead Gardens fall festival. Here Cooper and the Carl boys played games, fed a few animals and ran thru another hay maze.

On Sunday Ryleigh Connell and her parents came over to watch the Ravens game. Sadly the Ravens lost but she and I had a blast. After the game we all went out back and played football. It was a beautiful day for it.

This week the summer ended, fall began and Cooper turned 19 months old. During the past few weeks Cooper continued to improve his climbing skills, his speed seems to be increasing and his balance well..I guess its getting better. He still tends to bounce off most anything in his way and unfortunately his head takes the brunt of the turmoil. Cooper spent a few days with his grandma and grandpa Phippen this month. The three of them had a blast.

Cooper loves being outside, riding his bike, playing in the sandbox. He plays with the neighborhood kids many evenings tossing footballs and chasing one another. We are lucky to have quite a large group around the same age.

One and a half

Thats right Cooper is 18 months old already. Its crazy how time is flying by. We have had a fun filled summer. Ocean City with Nana and Poppop, a Libertino family reunion in Maryland, Geneva for the LaVoie reunion, a ton of play time at the parks and with family and friends, Nana and the Big V pools. Sadly we also had stitches followed by an ER visit to remind us that being a parent is not all fun.

Hopefully everyone else enjoyed their summer as much as we did.

Stitches

Today while Cooper was playing at the park he fell and cut his head. Daddy had to take him to see the doctor and he got 2 stitches. We were so sad but Cooper was tough.

Daddy's Little Helper

We bought a sand table this week and Cooper and daddy put it together as a team. Cooper made sure all of the screws were tight and I think he may have had to straighten Ben out a time or two when he had the directions mixed up!

Summer fun

Cooper is 16 months old and 26 pounds. Now that the weather is warm - or I should say since the rain has stopped - we have been spending alot of time outdoors. Cooper loves to swim and he enjoys the park and playing outside in the sandbox or with his tball set.


June was a blast with Cooper. We went to the baltimore zoo two times, he had a visit from grandma and grandpa Phippen, we went to visit the Lynch Family and Uncle Pat Souza in Virginia and the Franklin's in Cockeysville. We spent a few days a week swimming either at Nana and Poppops pool or at the Big Vanilla pool. He has been spending more time with our neighbors the Carls they have 3 sons and our friends the Connells daughter, Ryleigh. And as always we see Raegan and Mia a few times a week. At Rolly Pollies this summer session he is one of 2 boys in his class and he has managed to win the hearts of his new teachers. His climbing skills are getting better and he and I are concentrating on balance and upper body strength. Improving his balance is especially important to me :-)

Fathers Day 2009

We had a great fathers day today. Ben spent the past few days away at the US Open in New York. Cooper & I filled our time visiting poppop, Nana & mommom and at the pool and the park. Today we kept the same sunday routine, breakfast at Johnnys with Aunt Lara Uncle Adam and Mia, grocery shopping, nap and sunday family dinner. Dinner tonight was at Uncle Adam & Aunt Laras and the kids spent time outside playing before dinner. We set up the sprinkler and let them run around. I think you can tell from the pictures they both love the water.

Cooper is 15 months

May was a fun month. Cooper and I have been bonding since I am at home now. Its been fun and challenging. Surprisingly I have adapted quickly - well Cooper really did not give me much time to sit around and think about it.

Cooper continues to be healthy and happy. His facial expressions and personality are the highlight of our days. He loves to read books, dance, sing songs and wear hats.

We continue to go to Rolly Pollies. He loves to climb. His lacrosse stick is in his hand most of the day and some sort of ball is always in play. At the beginning of the month he was chattering but as we close out May he is talking non stop - jibberish with an occasional english word thrown in. But it is amazing to us no less.

His best friends are his two cousins and his dog Haley. He enjoys playing with them..which for them isn't quite as relaxing since as you will see in some of the pictures he tends to plop himself onto their laps or share toys they may not be ready to part with. But they are still excited to see him every week so I guess its all good.

Lions & Tigers & Bears oh my!

During our trip to Geneva Cooper visited the zoo in Rochester. Cooper had alot of fun. His favorite animals were the Sea Lions and the elephants. We watched the zoologist give the elephant a bath. Amazingly cool to watch him follow directions to lift his legs or ears and trunk.

BEST FRIENDS

LAX PRACTICE

Ben bought Cooper his first lacrosse stick. Cooper loves it. Ben says Coopers a natural based on how he picked up the stick the very first time. The stick of course was nearly as big as Cooper but that has not deterred him from carrying it around the yard and house constantly.

Happy Easter Every Bunny!

Here are a few pictures from Easter and the past few weeks. As Coopers personality develops he is certainly making us laugh. He has lots of new funny expressions, he loves to eat, he loves to wear hats, he loves his dog Haley and he loves to play outside with his cousins Mia and Raegan.

WHAT A YEAR ITS BEEN!

Cooper turned 1 on Feb 27. I feel like I blinked and it was gone. Cooper is walking. Trying to run, bumping his head every 5 minutes or at least it feels that way. I have been bad about updating the blog but here are pictures from his first birthday.

1st Wagon Ride

Cooper is 11 months.

Months 10 and 11 were full of fun. Cooper celebrated his first christmas and new years. He also made another trip to New York to visit his grandparents and the LaVoie family. While we were there he was able to play in the snow briefly thanks to Grandpa P. Cooper has 2 additional teeth bringing the grand total to 6 now. He began pushing objects around the room and walking behind them. He still hasnt really attempted walking but is lightening fast crawling as you can imagine. He loves to climb and the stairs are his favorite. Unfortunately Cooper also had the sad experience of his first flu bug and his first ear infection during this time. He is chatting up a storm. He says dada, mama, nana, pop, hi and lala.