Fall 2010

September and October have been full of fall fun. Cooper has been going to school 2 days a week. He really likes his teacher Miss Jill and he talks about some of his classmates. We went to the Kinder Park fall festival, an apple festival, and the pumpkin patch. Cooper is still very interested in sports. He loves to wear his Ravens jerseys.

We celebrated Halloween this weekend at a party at Cooper's friend Cole's house. They had a moonbounce, a swingset, lots of toys and friends, including his cousin Mia and Ryleigh Connell. And we ended the night roasting smores. On Halloween we trick or treated with Mia. Mia and Cooper were super excited. As a shark and a pretty fairy witch they visisted nearly every house in the neighborhood. Both did a great job saying trick or treat and thanking everyone. BUT their favorite part undoubtedly was coming back to our house and tasting nearly every type of candy in their goodie bags.

1st Day of School

Cooper started school today. He will be attending the WEE Center in Severna Park on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He was super excited to go to school this morning and to meet his teacher, Miss Jill. When we arrived he was a bit timid at first and once he saw a few other children crying he did shed a few tears for about 2 minutes. Once he saw his buddies Brennan Carll and Sal McCome he was off. When I returned he greeted me with a huge smile and yelled "Mommy!" he gave me a hug then just started chatting about all of the the things he had done.

1st MLB game O's vs Rangers Aug 20, 2010

Tonight we went to Oriole Park for Cooper's first major league baseball game. He had fun. We went early for batting practice and showed Cooper around the stadium. Cooper had his ticket signed by Cesar Iztirus and Kevin Millwood. Kevin Millwood gave him not only 1 but 2 high fives and told him to enjoy his first game.

Cooper was super excited to see the Oriole Bird. He cheered and chanted along with the fans. His excitement was heightened by the kid zone area where he was able to pitch and hit balls and play in the moon bounce and on the playset. And on the drive home he used the giant orange hand that Steve and Donna lent him to cheer more and drink his milk before bed.

July 4th in Geneva

We spent July 4th in New York with Grandma and Grandpa Phippen. The five days were packed with fun. We took the boat down the lake for lunch one day. Cooper loved every minute from skipping stones on the dock to driving the boat. On July 4th we went to the Schroeders lake house for a BBQ and watched the fireworks. Cooper had a blast swimming in the lake, playing with his second cousins and staying up late to watch fireworks.

June

Cooper had another fun month. We have been spending alot of time swimming and doing other water activities. AJ Lynch came to visit twice this month. The boys play really well together. We also took a trip to Long Beach Island, NJ to stay at the Szeliga's beach house. The other Phippens came too and Mia, Caroline and Cooper had fun playing on the beach and in the backyard. We took bike rides and went to the rides and for special treats of ice cream and donuts. We have also begun potty training. He is doing well so far and looks adorable in his underpants. Cooper enjoys helping out around the house. He helps us vaccuum and tries to clean windows and always want to help cook. He definitely gets those genes from his dad!

Sweet Dreams for my Little Prince

On the 1st of June Cooper reached another milestone...we removed the toddler bed and replaced it with a full size bed.

May 2010

May brought our family outside more often, the flowers were blooming , the parks were full of people and we found plenty of puddles to jump in on the rainy days. Cooper went to a few of his cousins lacrosse games this month, with his own lax stick in tow of course. We visited the National zoo and we also had some family photos taken by Charms of Life Photography. My friend is starting her own business and she met the 3 of us in Annapolis to take some shots while we wandered around the Academy.

April

April has been another fun filled month for Cooper. We continue to visit our local parks - especially Kinder Farm Park each week. The animals on the farm make this one of Coopers favorite places to go. Cooper is talking up a storm. He is starting to sing and makes us laugh with his impromptu outbursts.

We went to Geneva for a long weekend over Easter. The weather was perfect above 80 every day. We spent alot of time outdoors. An egg hunt on Easter, walking in the woods, skipping stones in a stream, climbing a tree (with help from mom and dad)The Easter bunny brought Cooper a kite and we took it down to the lake and out back of the neighbors house to fly two separate days. Cooper thought it was incredible.

We went to the circus. Our seats were up close and personal and Cooper had loads of fun. He ate some cotton candy, brought home a light up wand just like the ring master used. Ever since we left he has been practicing the magic words Zing Zang Zoom while wearing his clown hat and carrying the "stick" as he calls it.


We also visited quiet waters park in Annapolis for a family fun music and kite festival. Cooper and Mia attempted to fly kites, there was live music and hot air balloon rides. We did not take a ride but Cooper did enjoy seeing the balloon and knowing there were people inside.

I took quite a few pictures this month and I had a hard time narrowing down favorites.



Circus

Baltimore Zoo April 1, 2010

Today is a beautiful spring day. 70 degrees and sunny. We took advantage of the weather and made our first zoo outing for the year. Poppop Cooper and mommy visited all of the animals. Cooper fed the giraffe. The chimps were all wound up running around the yard; jumping around, swinging and bouncing off of the glass at times. Which by far made that Coopers favorite spot today.

Here comes Peter Cottontail!

Today Cooper went to two Easter Egg Hunts. The first was at the Wee Center which is where Cooper will be going to school this fall. The second was in Nana and Poppop's neighborhood. The Easter Bunny made an appearance to say hello.

We only found one egg at the first hunt but at the second we found about 10. Hopefully by the time easter comes next week we will be able to find even more.

Cooper's 2nd Birthday!

2 years old, 36.5 inches (85 percentile) and 29.4 lbs (75 percentile).

We celebrated Cooper's second birthday with a party at our house for family and close friends. Cooper had a blast. We feel so blessed to have such a fantastic group of people involved in his life.

Snow 2010

We had another record snowfall here in Pasadena. Approximately 30 inches of snow fell beginning friday around noon and ending Saturday mid afternoon. After hours of digging most neighbors had their driveways and part of the street shoveled and we could go out and play...play basketball of course. Yes thats right Cooper insisted he could not only bring but play basketball. Lucky for him the neighborhood girls were all willing to climb up the snow mounds and help him dunk it. Today we played with the Carll boys and Sophie for a bit.

Late 2009 & Early 2010

Cooper is growing so fast and its hard for us to believe he will be 2 in just a few weeks. His vocabulary is growing daily. He steady talks from morning til night..I hear he is alot like his mom with this. He still loves to climb and I fequently find my heart stopping as I try to grab him off of the island or back of the couch or dining room table. I know I know I need to be faster but darn..my eagle eyes even miss how fast he moves at times. Cooper goes to Rolly Pollies each week and he is now going to the gym to play a few times each week.

During the holidays we went to visit Coopers friend Caroline Szeliga. Cooper Mia and Caroline had fun playing in Carolines playroom and riding in her new jeep. We continue to spend alot of time with cousins Mia and Raegan. We went to a few birthday parties for Coopers buddies, Jackson, Luke, Alexander and Drew in the past few weeks. We also took a trip to the Chesapeake Childrens Museum with Luke and to the Science Center with Mia and Caroline.

Christmas & New Years 2009

Cooper had a fun filled Christmas holiday. He loved the christmas lights and music. Jingle Bells was by far his favorite song and by the end of the December he could sing a few words himself. We attempted to visit Santa a few times and Cooper refused to sit on his lap. We visited Lights on the Bay with his cousin Mia. Both kids adored the displays. Cooper helped decorate the tree and has taken a liking to any decoration that plays music or has frosty on it. We did not travel for the holidays to New York instead Grandma and Grandpa Phippen came to stay with us. We had a blast. Especially playing with presents. His basketball and trampoline were the favorites. But every gift has had long term success. Trucks, a train set, a train table with storage bins, aplaymat to drive the trucks, books, dinosaurs and a new basketball hoop! Wow Santa really knew what Cooper loves.

For New Years we went to the Outer Banks. The Connells (Mr. Pat, Miss Angela & Ryleigh)invited the three of us and cousin Mia, Aunt Lara and Uncle Adam. We spent 5 days and had so much fun. It was cold but that didnt stop us from playing on the beach and taking walks. Cooper slept in a bunk bed for the first time and loved it.