Cooper Alan: 10 months

It seems as if this month Cooper has transformed from a baby to a little dude. I have seen the most changes in him this month and it has been a lot of fun. Ten months, as always tough to wrap my head around the speed as to which they grow.

Cooper learned to crawl this month and he is so much more content because of it. Man that kid was aching to be moving but had trouble figuring it out. But as soon as he got it, he was off. Hannah was a late crawler at 11 months and even once she learned to crawl she didn't have much of a drive to go anywhere in particular. In fact she never really left the living room rug. I probably could have left her there, gone out to get coffee with a friend, and returned an hour later only to find her in the same spot playing with the same speck of lint on the floor. Don't worry, I never actually did that but it sure was easier to leave the room for a second to grab something. The minute Cooper hits the floor, he is outta there. Leave a door open to the outside world and he will make it his personal life mission to escape. Where does he want to go? I don't know. But he wants to go go go. I have been rather slacking in my normal runs and workouts this month but good thing this boy keeps me moving all day, constantly redirecting him from troublesome baby hazards. As he is making his way towards something dangerous I will loudly say "Cooper, no no." With that he will look up, shake his head no, clap his hands, laugh, and then resume towards said baby danger zone with more determination then ever. He thinks he is hilarious. I think I am tired.

This stage is ridiculously fun. His little personality has us squealing, "ISN'T HE JUST THE CUTEST" at least five dozen times a day. I also love that he is so different from Hannah at this age but it also keeps us on our toes. It is a good reminder that even when you think you you have this parenting thing figured out and know what works best, let ye not forget what works on one kid won't work on another. Be humble. Be flexible. Don't let them know you are scared and they surely can't take over, right? Okay okay, that got a little dramatic, sorry, I am hyped on coffee after a restless night with Mr. Teether. Speaking of which, Cooper finally got one of his one year molars in, three more to go. Babies, they all get them, we all complain about them, but seriously can't they just do without teeth? We all end up with dentures when we are old anyways.


So what is really new this month? Cooper is eating more big kiddo foods. He had his first meal with chicken the other night, Afgan chicken kabobs at a restaurant by us. He was eating faster than I could serve it to him. He will surely be disappointed with any other chicken I make for him because man those were so stinking good. Coop is also an expert clapper (I know I know, his baby skills are just so unreal). I think he legit knows the word Momma now cause obviously I am the best. He lifts his arms up to be picked up, which melts my heart. If you try to cut him off from crawling somewhere he will throw his body in the opposite direction, giggle in delight, and try to run away with the fullest of enthusiasm. He is starting to pull himself up on furniture, boxes, other humans and things. He is a fan of dumping our laundry basket over and throwing everything out all over the floor. While Duncan is away for the summer Cooper has taken on the responsibility of being our house dog. He crawls around the house with whatever he can find to put in his mouth, shaking it back and forth. The most entertaining was a bra that he grabbed out of the laundry the other day and dragged around the house. Also in full dog fashion, he likes to grab and pull and chew on our door blinds. Our leasing office might question whether or not we had a kid or a canine living here.






Hobbies include but not limited to:
Eating dirt, grass, mulch, or whatever else he can find off the floor.
Resisting diaper changes and clothing.
Turning nursing into a challenging sport of wrestling (boy did I never think I would look forward weaning a baby so much)
Hitting and watching the door stoppers rattle
Swimming
Yelling and grunting loudly
Hardcore napping
Eating more stuff off the ground
Middle of the night nursing (because who has time for that in the middle of the day, not Cooper)
Wrestling with Hannah
Did I mention eating off the floor?
Other cool baby stuff






This month has been fun with travels to the beach and the farm to visit with family and loved ones. We have three more weeks until our big move and trip to Alaska. I think we are all getting antsy to get going and settled in to our new home. Cooper has been overall great with all these changes and has gone with the flow. Except for sleep, he still stinks at that. Overall, I am thankful for these kiddos that adapt pretty well. I think Hannah has had the toughest time, her attitude definitely reflected all these changes but that has dramatically improved in the last week or two. She was constantly reminding me that she missed our house, her bed, and her friends but now she just seems excited to go on our trip and get to Alaska.

On a deeper note, this last month has been exceptionally sad in our nation and around the world. Its hard to put it all into words and I have a lot of thoughts and emotions running deep in my heart and mind. A lot of people are hurting and grieving, feeling lost and fearful. Just in relation to my kids, the responsibility to be a good example to them seems more grave then ever. The way I want them to treat others and serve their community has to be set by Brian and I's example. I don't know exactly yet how that looks, especially now as I feel like we are living in limbo. I hope that we can find more ways to love and to serve when we arrive in Juneau. Meanwhile, I hope to show them to love others in simple ways just in everyday interactions. The world looks scary right now. Ultimately I know our true home is in Heaven. We are here to serve, love, and show Jesus to others. Sometimes that feels hard when it seems like these years of little humans, diaper changes, sleepless nights, toddler tantrums, etc. dictate my every day way of life. But we are raising these little humans to go out and be sent into the world. Phew, now isn't that a mighty responsibility and I am thankful, so very thankful.


And finally, because she is cute and sweet too and oh so badly wanted to be included and have pictures taken of herself, photos of our crazy and silly three year old.