Enjoying the last of the warm weather

It's definitely not warm now. In fact, yesterday we were blanketed in a bazillion inches of snow so this is just a distant memory. We went to Grandma & Grandpa's in November & Cooper helped with to rake & then redistribute the leaves.






And Dexter napped. Here his is in the Moby wrap:

Dexter did some more napping. Lots of growing going on!

Wrestling with Grandpa

Autumn arrives in our backyard

Earlier this week every leaf from our neighbor's tree fell in our yard overnight. Cooper has a bit of an obsession with leaves; if there's a single leaf outside he'll find it, carry it around, and probably try to eat it. So when I saw leaves several inches high in our yard I bundled him up (don't you love the monkey hat? It was a gift from my brother Adam), grabbed the camera, & took Cooper & the dogs into the yard.
Most of the time I'm a little disappointed that photos don't really capture what's happening; you can't see the action - the way Cooper's dancing, or how his expression changes, or anything. Not the case with these pictures. They fully capture everything that was happening:


I know. You were expecting some action-packed shots with smiles, and flying leaves, & the blur of a toddler. Me too. But this was it. I set Cooper down in the yard, and he stood there. He moved a little because the sun was in his eyes, then stood. Still. No stomping on crunchy leaves, or throwing them in the air. Nothing. He did eventually pick a few leaves up & held them, but that was about it. When he finally actually moved, he went over to the deck, climbed the stairs, & stood by the door until I let him in. Oh well, we'll try again soon.

Loyola NICU Reunion

Several weeks ago I got a piece of mail from Ronald McDonald House/Loyola NICU. I assumed it was a donation request & since I have a bad habit of sending money to anyone who asks for it & we're broke, I almost threw it out. But Loyola was good with Cooper when he was born, & the Ronald McDonald House offered to let us stay there (even though we only live about 30 minutes from the hospital) when we thought Cooper might need surgery & have to stay awhile, so I felt guilty & opened it. It wasn't a donation request (sigh of relief), but an invitation to a NICU reunion.
So we went to the reunion. It wasn't really meant for us; Cooper only spent 36 hours in the NICU so we really didn't have time to form relationships with doctors, nurses, or other parents, but I thought it would be neat to go back to the hospital where Cooper was born and I thought it would probably be nice for the doctors & nurses, even if they didn't recognize us, to see their former patients big, healthy, & running around. (John suggested some of the doctors & nurses might recognize me since I very dramatically passed out on their floor bleeding all over the place, creating complete chaos while they tried to gather nurses & instruments meant for an adult patient, and then had to be wheeled out on a bed; fortunately, they did not!)
It was much larger than I expected, with kids of all ages & lots of twins & triplets (yikes!). We snacked a little, played with bubbles outside, played with some play-doh in their activity room, but it was pretty chaotic so we didn't stay long.
There were tons of very normal, healthy kids (like Cooper) there, but there were also some kids that had disabilities or continue to need special care.
I took these pictures as we were leaving.




I was so upset that Cooper had to go to the NICU & couldn't be with us from the beginning, but we really were & are lucky that he had some pretty minor problems & he's perfectly healthy now.

Cooper's birthday, Part I: Activities with Mom & Dad

Cooper's birthday on Monday was full of festivities; John took the day off work (both jobs!) & we spent the morning at a pumpkin patch. We went on the "hay" ride, which had no hay, but was still fun; played in the kids' farm; & picked out our pumpkin.

Daddy, Cooper, & Mommy on the hayless hayride

Woah! Look at that!
(A large group of 2nd graders was on the hayride with us - Cooper was
fascinated by all the older kids.)

Honk! Honk! Outta my way!

So big!

Don't worry - I got it!

After the pumpkin farm, it was off to lunch, the mall, & the pediatrician for Cooper's 1 year appointment. He had to get one booster shot, but only cried until Mom & Dad hugged him, & one finger prick that he didn't cry for at all. What a brave boy!

How many...

...adults does it take to take a toddler to the park? Apparently for us, it's three - one to push him on the swings & two to take pictures!

Cooper is very patient with us, but taking your parents to the park is a lot of work. You just never know what they're going to do, so you have to hold on tight...

Sometimes, really, really tight (look at those white fingertips!)

You never know when they're just going to wander off, so you have to hold on to them all the time.

I mean, it's fun...

but it's a lot of work so it's important you take a break & have some time to yourself every once in a while.

Then back to work...

Parents really can't even be trusted with a dog; I mean they say they'll take care of them, but who winds up walking them? Cooper!

Brookfield Zoo

Cooper & I went to the zoo yesterday with my friend Becca and her daughters, Samantha & Madeline. We had some fabulous warm, sunny weather, & it was a free day & we didn't even know it! I love it when that happens.

Cooper & Madeline

Cooper peaking out of his stroller.

Becca & Madeline watching Samantha play.

"Hmm... this tastes better than that chicken Mom's always trying to make me eat."

I think Cooper was watching a goose in the distance; shortly after the picture he took off after it, pointing & yelling, of course. It's lucky the goose didn't notice him because I was laughing too hard to catch him at first.

Pictured counter-clockwise from right to left: some little girl we don't know, Samantha, Cooper, Cooper's plumber butt.

My big boy

Cooper's looking like a real boy lately - he's not a baby anymore! I can't believe he's almost a year. It really did fly by. He's been walking a month and a half now & he's getting really good at it (and fast!). We went to the park today & the ground was very uneven, but he managed it really well. Of course, shortly after this picture he fell on his face & I felt horrible. Not the first time, & I'm sure it won't be the last.
And he started signing "finished" today after dinner! So now he knows the signs for bath, milk, finished, & more (although I think he thinks it means Cheerios). We're still working on eat & drink.

Apple picking (cont'd)

John, Cooper, & I went to County Line Orchards in Hobart, IN with some of the nursing group families. We had perfect weather - just a little bit cool & sunny. I took a bazillion pictures; have I mentioned that digital cameras are absolutely the best invention ever?

Hurry! Let's go pick apples!

We started out with apple picking, which John was doing for the first time, then we went to the petting zoo, had lunch, played in the corn maze (or maize as they call it - ha, ha), and went on the "Moo-Choo", a kids cow train.

I've been very reluctant to give Cooper any food larger than bite size. He doesn't bite things, just shoves them in his mouth, so I'm always worried about him choking. Particularly with apples because when I give him bite size pieces (with no skin, of course), he puts them in his mouth, chews, puts more in his mouth, chews, puts more in his mouth, chews, but never swallows and winds up choking up all the apple. So I was nervous about giving him an apple at the orchard today, but I'm trying to loosen up a little. Cooper loved it! He dug right in, bit the apples (made it through the skin & everything), & sucked all the juice. And he was so cute doing it!

Cooper kept shoving the apple in my mouth & when I'd bite a little of it he'd laugh hysterically. He was so excited about sharing (& insistent!) that he nearly choked me!

Almost napping in the corn maze

Cooper kept signing milk! milk! milk! before we left.

The last week or so has been a communication explosion. Cooper's been saying "Mama" & "Dada" for a while, & he seems to know "dada", but we haven't been so sure if he knows what "mama" means. Last week when I was letting the dogs out, Cooper pointed outside & said, "Go! Go! Go!" (Okay, it's a little more like "ga! ga! ga!" but he seems to mean go, which is what we say when we let the dogs outside.) He's also doing the sign for milk (nurse), bath, & more. He does the sign for milk all the time! He always wants to nurse. I would think it wasn't really a sign, just something he does with his hands, but he brings me the boppy pillow when he does it. He does do it sometimes when we're in the car or out & it doesn't seem like he wants to nurse, but that's making me suspect that the sign for milk also means me. It reminds me of the first few weeks after he was born when John would call me "Milk" because I said I felt like that's all I was. It's much cuter & sweeter coming from Cooper though!

Apple picking

We went apple picking today. I'll add details & more pictures later, but I couldn't wait on this one. I think I'll have to buy some more frames for the house.