Friday, September 24, 2010

Max 3 month pictures






We were able to get Max's 3 month pictures taken this past week. They turned out really good. There is always too many to choose from. Here are some of our favorites. Hard to believe he is over 3 months old now. He smiles a lot and loves to watch everything that is going on. He does love his pacifier when he is relaxing, and tends to prefer being in someones arms or his favorite jungle swing. Enjoy his sweet smiles!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Abby & her buddy Gabe




Abby and her buddy Gabe, oh they will be friends forever! Last year Gabe and Abby began to share 2-3 days of fun together during the work week with Ms. Melanie as us parents had to put in the work hours. One year later is is fun to see how much their friendship has grown. Gabe will be 2 and Abby will be 3 this January, so they are just about 1 year apart.

Because of busy schedules both Gabe and Abby go to the same pre-school TLE. Melanie is able to spend time with Gabe and Max each Friday, while Abby is still at TLE (we are trying to keep a good schedule for Abby). The goal is to get Abby home from school early enough on Friday's to give her a little time with her buddy Gabe. This past week they were so excited to see each other. As you can see in the pictures they gave hugs, had a snack and rolled around being silly together. They really are buddies! We are so thankful for good friends for our children. Our pal Gabe is special to the entire Cooper family! We love you Gabe.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Rainy Days



With fall weather comes the rain. Abby and daddy headed out on a rainy day to listen to mom Cooper speak at her ministry event. Abby loves to carry her umbrella when she sees it is raining. She does a really good job at keeping dry and walks very carefully.

This day she woke up and came into mommy and daddy's bed right away. She said "mommy it is not dark out" (this is her way of saying it is morning). I then said to her, "Yes, you are correct, Good Morning. Do you want to go to church?" Not more then one second passed and she jumped out of bed and ran into her room and went into her closet. Before I could get to her room, which might I add is one small walk across the living room, out comes Abby with her most girly, pink and frilly dress saying "mommy, I want to wear this one." Needless to say she then picked our her white "church shoes" and had to have a purse to carry her things to church in. Oh our little girly, girl. What a beautiful little lady.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Football Season Begins




The fresh, crisp air is here and the sounds of whistles and football tackles fill the air. It is football season and around our house that is always a mark of fun get-togethers. Max woke and we got him into his football gear early that morning for his first fall football party. Fred and Andrea hosted a Saturday full of food and football. Uncle Fred put his BBQ skills into action and made some delicious burgers and hot dogs. Auntie Andrea got all the side dishes ready and set up activities for the kiddos to be involved in throughout the day. We always enjoy spending time with our good friends and thank them for having us over to enjoying the spirit of fall football.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Max is 3 months Old




Our little man is already 3 months old. We have found that he is beginning to laugh and smile a lot during his wake time. He even giggles when you tickle him under his chin and on his cheeks. What a sweet baby! He is completely on formula now and seems to be doing pretty well. While he is still only eating 2 oz at a time and still eating every 2 hours throughout the day. I added a little rice cereal into his bottle, in hopes he'll start to get more full off his 2 oz bottle. Nights are definitely getting easier. He goes to sleep around 9pm and we usually keep him out with us. We wake him by 11:30pm to eat his last bottle and off to bed we go. He sleeps in his bassinet in our room until about 5-6am, then wakes for another bottle and back to bed for another 1-2 hours (depending on our morning routine). He is doing well and is definitely becoming a little person of his own. The pictures above show him at 3 months (top), 2 months (middle) and 1 month (bottom). What a growing little man we have!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Alison Visits



My friend Alison (now living in Denver) was able to visit with us for a weekend as a pre-trip option to her conference schedule in Chicago for the week. Alison and my friendship goes back to NDSU when I was her freshmen year RA in the residence halls. We have lots of fun memories of Seim Hall and were able to talk about the funny memories of college life.

Alison arrived on Friday and stayed with us through Sunday. We enjoyed two evenings of movies, popcorn and some good ol' Summer Shandy's. Saturday I had my hair appointment scheduled, so Alison came with and helped with Max while I got some highlights with my hair stylist Dale. Too many stories could be said regarding Dale, as he always has stories to tell and keeps us laughing. He was a little caught off guard when I walked in with little man and asked (with sarcasm) "is it drugged?, is it staying?" Oh Dale. After the hair appointment Alison, Max and I were able to enjoy some sushi and a trip to Ikea. Layton and Abby headed out early on Saturday to enjoy hearing mom preach at a ministry event. Our rainy weather Saturday didn't keep us inside!

Sunday included watching the Chicago Bears take a win (even though that was by pure luck)! That evening Alison and I drove into the city and enjoyed a dinner at Grand Lux Cafe on Michigan Avenue with her co-worker. We had a nice time and I enjoyed some time away from the kiddos with adult time. She is going to spend a week in Chicago for her company's conference and will definitely enjoy some great city entertainment. Thanks for the fun visit Alison!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Stroller Ride




Weekends are wonderful. We spent Saturday morning just relaxing and taking in a great stroller ride across LU campus. The kiddos loved their stroller ride (Abby all smiles and Max all nap time). Fall is the greatest season I do believe! We made a quick stop at Mommy's office to pick up some mail. Abby loves going to 'mommy's office' as she gets to push the buttons on the elevator and of course, during the work-week she gets to visit lots of fun people. Happy Fall everyone!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Labor Day BBQ




Labor day marks the end of a fun summer and into the fall we go. Labor Day weekend allowed us to enjoy many of our family members while we joined them at the Brister home in Matteson. There was a great BBQ feast with all of the sides you could think of. Ribs, Chicken and pork grilled to perfection hit the spot in all our tummies! Stories and laughter filled the house as the adults enjoyed the opportunity to get caught up and the kids ran and laughed throughout the entire day. For some this was the first time they had meet Mr. Max. He was able to have lots of snuggling time in all their arms. He loved Cousin Ruben; check out the picture! At 10pm, needless to say, everyone was tired and ready to head home. We were able to also enjoy the Carter family sleep over that evening at our home. Happy Labor day everyone!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Pre-Pre School



This past Monday marked a first for many years to come, Abby started pre-pre school. She is attending TLE and they provide a full day curriculum program for all age groups. Many different things of TLE made it easy to choose it for our little Abby.
Each classroom is based on age and progress.
She is in the Preppers room which is all 2.5-3 year olds that are fully potty trained. Because she is at TLE from about 8am-5:30pm it makes for a very full day of fun for her. Several of the kiddos in her class stay all day (arriving before her and leaving at the same time/later), so this also makes for a good environment for Abby.
They have several activities scheduled for each day including arts and crafts, outdoor time, motor/math (counting), language and music time. We have made it 3 days this week with 2 good days and one day of a little separation anxiety and will make it 2 more.
Interactive and supportive staff help both Abby and us transition into this new routine. Mommy tries not to call often and has only called on day one for an afternoon check up and on day 3 because there were Abby tears in the morning. Both phone calls allow us to speak directly with the teacher/assistant in the room to get a 'real time' update.

While the first day had mommy in tears and the third day had Abby in tears, we do know this is the best place for Abby during this time of our lives. She will learn a lot and have lots of fun doing just that. Stay posted for many, many more fun school updates.