Play by Play

And... here is Cooper seeing Santa for the first time he is able to process the experience...

Picture 1: Mommy and Cooper going to sit down and see Santa.


Picture 2: Cooper scoping out the man next to him


Picture 3: Cooper NOT so much liking this...


Picture 4: Cooper is getting the frick out of there!

We actually got a really great picture of Cooper, the "Official Version," but the ones on our camera were too funny to not share, but, back to the previous post... Next year, mommy will remember to shower pre-Santa, and forego the sleeping in... then again, maybe not. That is what I think is great about Santa pictures, their imperfections and authenticity. There was a woman at the Macy's that, after seeing the proofs, literally said "I want a re-do" and then lectured her children about how they needed to improve their Santa picture. All the (sane) people around her were asking if she was for real.

We had 2, TWO, pictures to choose from - the first was just Santa, shot before we sat down and only slightly catching the side of my sweatshirt and in the second I am waaay hyped to see Santa in my sweatpants and messy hair and dapper Cooper is not so much (though not screaming). I wouldn't trade our shot for the world. This was our day, this year in 2010, that we went to visit Santa. Any other picture would have misrepresented the memory.

This is us, and I have a feeling we will have a very Merry Christmas.

The Big Guy

Today we decided to get out of the house early and go see the big man in red. (Having already gone yesterday later in the day to see the Looooong Line and Long Wait). Sadly, or miraculously, I slept in until waaaay later than intended, so I didn't have time to shower, threw my hair in a ponytail and we rushed out the door (this is relevant later), in order to get in the store as soon as the first door unlocked... only to still have to wait 30 minutes...

Thankfully, at Macy's in downtown Chicago, there is an AMAZING Santa's playland set up for while you wait...

Gobble Gobble Gobble

So, now to play baby book catch up, blog edition.

Thanksgiving was great, minus Steve's random illness, and Great Uncle Gary and Great Aunt Sharon having to cancel last minute for a family emergency. We enjoyed a great dinner out, Cooper was a champ, and we were happy and stuffed.

I ended the evening seeing Harry Potter while Steve passed out around 7:30pm, and then a couple hours of work, and it was both a restful AND productive Thanksgiving.

Oh, Yeah, and Now I am Older

But still not as old as Steve!!!! That will never get old (unlike Steve!) Ha ha ha!

Phew, and delirious tiredness has overtaken me.

Apparently I had a birthday somewhere in there, but no one seemed to notice. Apparently when you are at work and something needs to get done that will require you to stay later and your boss asks you to do it, it is not appropriate to say "But, it's my birthday."

Don't worry I didn't ACTUALLY say that... because no one actually asked me if I could stay later... it was assumed.

Thus, this year was a year of my Birthday FEATURING WORK (and kind of for a moment featuring Coop). The cool thing about my lovely birthday is that it is usually preceded or followed by Thanksgiving. YAY FOR VACATIONS. Thus, the next 4 days will greatly feature one Cooper von Cooperton, and that is waaaay better then one stinking day.

Anywho, I made a fresh apple pie for tomorrow, and that is it. Cooper shall be attending his first Kowalski style Thanksgiving this year, which will entail eating out for Thanksgiving. At a restaurant. Which I am just incredibly in favor of (I would do every meal somewhere else where someone else prepared it and cleaned it up... especially lately).

Ten Things Cooper is Thankful for This Year:
1) Clementine. Without her, he would have no one to headbutt
2) Daddy. He is pretty cool
3) Mommy. Also pretty cool, when he manages to catch glimpses of her as she dashes out the door
4) The ability to take off his own diaper
5) Bubbles. And Grandma for showing him how to blow them off of his hands. Endless hilarity.
6) Pianos. He likes to jam with Beka and Grandpa
7) Chocolate. (and Blueberries, but mainly chocolate)
8) Having hair.
9) His "Fun House" magazine. It is really just a coloring book, but it was $1 and Steve got it for him about 2 months ago, and he STILL sits and "reads" it for hours
10) His upper body strength - now he has unlimited (unless we limit it) access to the refrigerator

Surprisingly Well Mannered

Coop had his play date this past Saturday and it went quite well.

There was one moment of kids (Coop) trying to grab from each other (trying to grab from his little amiga), but as soon as they (Coop) realized that was not, in fact, the way we roll here in the Cox-Kowalski house, it became a contest to out-share one another. It was so sweet to see him interact with someone his age, and watch her as she played with his stuff, and go to help her open and close the oven, and help her shoot cars down the plastic slide. Much like Coop, his friend looooved Clementine, and not a tear was shed, but giggles were abundant.

It was amazing to see someone his age with the vocabulary of a little person... a little English (and Spanish) speaking person. Coop still speaks primarily in CoopSpeak, and I cannot even imagine him saying things like "Doggie says Woof," and that is so ok with us. Yes, I want him to get his speaking groove on, but I am not in a rush, and I have finally realized that this is not something we need to rush. He communicates with us and with his little friends just fine. I will miss his random noises, though I will welcome the toddler speak. It is so neat to see the other many ways he is way ahead of his age group like his problem solving and his spacial relations - he is a little astronaut in the making. Or engineer. Or brain surgeon. Or bucket stacker (do they hire people to do that?)

All in all, it was a pretty great Saturday.

Karate Kid

Today Cooper was doing some sweet karate moves (at least I think that is what that was...)

Then he busted in to some sweet dance moves...

Then he ran into the kitchen and back making a high pitched squeaking sound...

He has a play date scheduled for this Saturday with a co-worker's daughter...

Steve and I have realized we won't have / get to be the parents that embarrass our child... we will just sit back and let him take care of that himself.

Oh My Osh Kosh B'Gosh is He Handsome!

At least his Mama thinks so!

Coop was sporting his new overalls this weekend, and having quite a good time.

We are all sorts of busy over here getting ready for the holidays and what not.

No real news, no real stories, at least not ones my tired fingers have the strength to tap out. He is the same old knee-high greatness.

The End of a Season...

Much belatedly, it appears fall is coming to an end soon. I fear today was the last day I can walk to work without needing a jacket.

Ugh.

I feel like time is flying by too quickly, but then at the same time not quickly enough. We made it so long without a really cold Chicago day, but now I know we have many months of those to come... can't it just be March already (or May...?) but then, no it cannot be March because in March I will have a two year old, and I am not ready to have a two year old, so let's take it back to say 2009, shall we?

Coop is bigger and sassier every day. He has entered a whining phase which is as delightful as it sounds. Fortunately, he has many redeeming qualities that prevents us from sending him somewhere to hibernate (and whine) for the Winter.

His favorite "word" right now is: dikadikadikadika

When I say "Coop, say Mommy", he will say "Mama!"
Then I will say "Coop, say Dada," and he will make a humm / sigh, tilt his head down and eyes up as he makes his way to Steve, and then he will stick his tongue out and make this funny noise. I can't explain it, but it is hilarious!

He looooves to open the refrigerator. There is nothing cute or redeeming about this. Not after the first fifteen hundred times... but it is a skill he has mastered, so I shall document it.

He gives great hugs and is a super helper getting me ready for work in the morning.

I am halfway through my Friday right now, and I miss that whiny little boy quite a lot actually.

What an Extra Hour Can Do For a Person...

So, I managed to get more Christmas shopping done, make banana bread, cinnamon rolls, and peanut butter cookies (from scratch), get all my work done by last night, and have lots of Coop and extended family time. I am feeling pretty good about myself. Which means, invariably, that this week will be a chaotic mess and nothing shall go as planned.

Here is to coming snowfalls, darkness before 5pm, turning older, welcoming Santa, and blowing out two candles... something about turning the clocks back, it seems to speed time up.

Thankfully, this weekend, we enjoyed that extra hour.

From Cooper

"Ummm, Clementine, you are on my coloring book"

"Well, ok, if you won't move I will have to color around you...





"Wow! We colored a pretty picture!!!"













"Yes, YOU and Me together!"











"Let's Eskimo kiss to celebrate!"

Bonjour!

We often joke that Coop is feral. He doesn't have a lot of friends to play with that are his own age... poor buddy (though I am really trying to get a playdate set up with a co-worker's kid).

Anywho, needless to say, I was SHOCKED to hear that Cooper had a friend over yesterday, but Steve had pictures to prove it:






His name was Franco.









Leave it to Coop to INSIST on wearing a mustache AFTER Halloween.

Let Me Take a Quick Moment...

To talk about some of the things of late:

- Cooper has been on a run of filling his diaper every night about 30 minutes after he gets in his crib. Fortunately for him, we check on him every night before we go to bed, thus catch a whif of what happened, and I do a ninja-like diaper change (seriously, I am impressive). You would think I would HATE doing this... well, I mean, I don't love the loaded diaper part, but I kind of realized last night, when he had - for the first time in weeks - NOT filled his diaper, that I missed our little poo-poo rendezvous.

- Cooper recently grabbed my contact case one morning. He immediately opened it and then reenacted putting in his contacts. I was thoroughly impressed until he then tried to put in Clem's contacts, which knocked me straight out of my awed with my child state into scratch interference.

- I don't see my kiddo much during the week these days. I hustle to see him as much as I can, but there is both work and a pressure to put in face time that is really cutting into my mommy time. Dern job. So... even though I don't rock him to bed, I do rocky him every night. I sit in the rocking chair, he gets in my lap and wraps his arms and legs around me marsupial style and we rock back and forth. He will hum, then I will make a humming noise back, then he will giggle. I will walk my fingers up his back, he will walk his fingers up the side of my arm. He doesn't ever fall asleep in my arms, he always willingly gets in his crib after 2, 5, 15... minutes, or however much Cooper-time I need, and puts himself to bed like usual. I think he knows how precious my time with him is to me.

Little Baby No More

The whispies of baby hair were removed today. The haircut was far from expert as I did it, and I value my child's eyeballs (thus, when he was all squirmy I was ok with sacrificing the 'do' for the sake of his vision).

So cute.

Picture 1: A "before" - also showcasing one of Coop's new talents. Impressive.

(You can reference the Hulk photos for other good "before" shots)

Pics 2-4: "After"

Scuse me while I go seal the envelope holding that hair... That little baby hair it took him nearly a year to grow...

Gulp.