We enjoy this kid a lot. He is such a delight to our whole family and while this year has seemed too fast it is hard to picture the time when Cooper wasn't a part of our gang. I can't get enough of his big toothy grin, sweet laugh, sparkly eyes and overall awesomeness.
The boy rarely cries but he will throw a fit though under two circumstances: 1) if you take his food 2) diaper and clothes changes as of lately. He is also hard to say no to; he will stop, shake his head no, laugh and resume whatever rascally thing he was up to. If I continue to repeat no he will stop but clearly get frustrated, throw his hands in the air and growl. Speaking of which, he is an expert growler. He loves when I chase him while both crawling and growling at each other. Cooper also loves to bark at Duncan or any dog for that matter. We joke that he is our second puppy.
He isn't a man of many words. Correction, he isn't a man of many ENGLISH words. In fact I am not certain that his native tongue will ever be English. Whatever language he speaks, he is confident that he has mighty fine things to say. The boy is starting to get loud too, his babbles are getting bolder and more hilarious every day.
Lets talk about sleep. Oh Hallelujah! Shortly after moving into our new home Cooper finally started sleeping through the night. I was determined that when we moved I would do whatever it took to get the boy sleeping better. Turns out he didn't need any tough love after all, he started sleeping through the night on his own. I think after a summer of sleeping in a pack n' play in a closet or wherever we could find room for him he was happy to have his own nice and cozy room and crib. He also started nursing so much better. It is no longer a frustrating wrestling match to get him to eat. I know having his own quiet room with a glider where we can go to nurse without crazy distractions has made a huge difference. I was determined to wean him right at 12 months but now I feel that we can take our time with that. We are also sitting down for regular meals where he is eating just about everything we eat. The boy has a mighty appetite and always eats more than his big sister. So I think between nursing better during the day and eating real meals he isn't waking up hungry in the middle of the night. Whew, that was a long explanation as to why the kid is sleeping. Point is, he is sleeping, I am sleeping, life is GOOD.
Cooper is a sweet guy but we also think he is a rascally little fella. He often wants to be where we aren't. He is easy to lose in the house. He is always running off to get into something precarious. Throwing shoes off the rack, unplugging the hallway nightlight for the millionth time, dumping all the books off the shelf, ransacking sister's room, finding new small objects to put in his mouth; the boy is antsy to explore and destroy. He keeps me moving. I am grateful for nap times and I am thankful he is real good at those.
Like I said before, Cooper is a big eater. He really will eat anything we give him. I remember those days fondly with Hannah. However with him I won't get a mom ego and think we are doing something special over here. Once upon a time she ate everything like him. Curry dishes, Mexican, all the vegetables, anything spicy, chili, Afghan chicken, all the good food of the world. Yeah, I am no fool, I know those days will pass. There will be a day when he too finds the need to survive off of cheese sticks, cheddar bunnies, and grapes just to prove a point. What point is that exactly? Who knows, maybe three year olds are just punks. But for now I will enjoy and appreciate the little boy who will stuff his face with anything.
I don't remember what the count was last month but Cooper is now up to 16th teeth, all but his two year molars left. His main mode of transportation is crawling and cruising along furniture. He mainly just says "Momma", though "Dada" and "up" is becoming more popular in his vocabulary again. He gives cute but slobber filled kisses. He devoured his first piece of cake on his birthday and seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. He likes baths, observing and playing with rocks, chasing the dog, reading books, sorting through the trashcan, running away, throwing out and rearranging our belongings and playing with just about whatever Hannah thinks is cool. He loves throwing his body on to our giant bean bag and rolling around. He also likes to throw his body off of beds, couches, and people. He has no fear. He is tough and gets up from a spill real fast. He is a total bro and he knows it. He is one sweet dude and we love him like crazy.
This year has been fast but full of a lot of good. We are happy to be in our new home here in Alaska. Overall it has been a pretty smooth transition. It doesn't hurt having a baby that is finally sleeping through the night. We are really enjoying exploring around and appreciate a change of pace and different lifestyle here. It is cool to think Cooper's first few years of life get to be spent in such a neat place. Some of his first memories will be Alaskan memories. It was initially a bit of surprise that we ended up here but it couldn't be more clear that this is where we are meant to be right now. While moving is never easy, I have had more peace about this move than any others and I am really looking forward to some cool years with our kids here. I think Cooper, who we have lovingly referred to as baby bear since he was born will fit right in here.
I have been reflecting a lot on the birth of Cooper and different stages of his life so far. I now only vaguely remember those few really tough weeks where it seemed like he always cried when he was awake. Now most of memories of Cooper are filled with happiness. He is just an easy going dude and so fun. Oh man I love this little guy and am so so so thankful for the timing of him in our life and our family. I am so glad Cooper is a part of us and that such a cool little guy is my son. I look forward to seeing how he grows and changes to come, though I wouldn't mind if time slowed down just a bit. So with that my friends....
Happy one year baby bear. We love you lots.
1 comment:
Love you little man 💕
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