Merry Christmas from Team Lamb

Where's Cooper?

Our kitchen island has three cabinets--the first cabinet is the "Cooper Cabinet" where I keep things he can play with, and the other two cabinets have baby locks on them because there are...were....breakable items in there. Well, a few weeks ago, Cooper was happily playing in his cabinet, when he decided to get a little adventurous. He would reach over into the second cabinet as far as he could, grab something and then hand it to me. He did this over and over, handing me glass jars and a tea kettle, and then he decided to dig a little deeper!

He decided to unload the cabinet and began handing me everything he could reach! I have since rearranged the entire cabinet and filled it with nonbreakable items and tupperware.

"Here, Mommy, this is in my way."

Who knew cabinets could be so fun?!

Melts My Heart

Is there anything cuter than a little boy wearing footed fleece monkey PJs, holding his blankie and his milk, and ready for bed? I think not.

Proud Mommy

Recently, I'm seeing more and more "little boy" Cooper and less "baby" Cooper. I know that Cooper understands a lot more from me than he can communicate back, but today he showed me several times just how much he really understands from me and the sign language that we've been working on.

First, at lunchtime, I said "Cooper, are you hungry?" and I did the sign for "eat," and what did he do?! He walked over to his highchair and indicated that he was ready to sit down! I don't know if he understood the words or the sign, but either way, that was a big accomplishment!

Later that night, we were all sitting in the den and playing, and I said, "Cooper, it's bathtime. Let's go take a bath." Cooper dropped the toy he was holding, walked out of the den, down the hall and stood at the bathroom door! Philip and I looked at each other like--did you see that?! When Cooper realized I wasn't right behind him, he turned around and walked back in the den with a look on his face like, "come on Mommy, you said it was bathtime..."

THEN, Cooper and I were in his room, and I was rocking him a little before putting him in bed when he sat up in my lap and did the sign for "milk." Even though we had already brushed his teeth, I wanted to reward him for doing the sign, so I put him down, he pulled his bedroom door open, walked to the kitchen and pointed up at the fridge! After taking a few sips of his milk, he handed me his cup and I said, "ok, it's time for night-night." He picked up his blankie and walked back to his room.

Wow! It just amazes me that his little brain is constantly processing and learning and taking everything in. It's like he absorbs for months and months and then all of a sudden--click!--it all makes sense to him! I am one proud Mommy!

Drop It

My friend Megan recently blogged about her daughter, Ella, saying "goway" to their dog, trying to get the dog to go away while Ella was eating. It made me wonder if Cooper was repeating anything we were saying to Drake. So, Philip and I opened our ears and sure enough, we heard something the other night--Cooper walked over to Drake, who was holding a big red ball in his mouth, held out his hand, and started saying, "dah, dah, dah." Now, that might not mean anything to you, but he was telling Drake to "drop it," which is the command for Drake to drop what he has in his mouth. Sure enough, Drake dropped the ball, Cooper picked it up while saying "ball, ball, ball" and then threw it for Drake. Drake went back over to Cooper with the ball in his mouth, and Cooper again held out his hand and said, "dah, dah, dah," Drake dropped the ball, and over and over again they played fetch! It's Cooper's new favorite game and brings out lots of fun squeals from Cooper!

"Dah, Dah, Dah"

Ok, so maybe we need to teach Coop not to put his hand in Drake's mouth...

Throwing the ball for Drake (we'll work on aim later).

Best Friends!

Thanksgiving

So much to be thankful for this year!

Thankful for lots of playtime with cousins.

Thankful for Gigi's homemade rolls!

Thankful for everyone at one big table. (Not sure why Cameron looks sad. And, how did Cooper know to poke his head around at the very far end of the table?!)

Thankful for a great football game.

Thankful Uncle Ed was able to do his post-game show remotely and we got the phone line working. Phew! Who knew a radio show could sound great in a kitchen?!

Thankful for Gigi tickling our toes.

Thankful for an amazing husband.

But, most of all, I'm thankful for my life and all the blessings God has given us!

Mommy's Helper

I don't know what it's like loading and unloading the dishwasher at your house, but these days, I have a little extra "help." I've quickly learned that the technique has to be to unload the dishes quickly onto the counter first, shut the washer, then proceed to put away the dishes while dancing around a little monkey.

Playdate and Best Friends

Last weekend we took advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon, grabbed some friends, and headed to...surprise, surprise...the Arboretum. It was the first time we had Cooper, Caden, baby Hunter (who is exactly one year behind Coop and Caden), and Kylie (Caden's big sister) all together for a playdate. The kiddos and mommies had such a fun day!

I love this series of Coop and Caden. Ok...so we are all still learning to share!

I think Cooper's favorite part of the day was running around and playing with Kylie. She was so great with him, too. Every time I looked up, there was Cooper waddling around in the grass with Kylie right behind him. It was so cute to see!

Such a fun day with great friends!!