Cooper counting to 10!

So, I have been working randomly with Coop on counting, but until recently he had just gotten "one, two."  Then he would repeat 'one, two' over and over and over again!  A few weeks ago, Adam was in the office and just started counting, much to our surprise Cooper counted all the way to 10!!  We were shocked, he had never gone past 2!!  Of course he wouldn't repeat it and we really didn't bring it up again.  The next week in KC I was changing his diaper and started counting and again he finished all the way to 10!  But, wouldn't do it again.  Then the following week, Adam and I started counting again and he joined in.  Since then, he is pretty proud of himself and we catch him counting to 10 at random times.  Click on the link below to watch the video.  

Coop counting to 10!

Also, I can't figure out how to rotate the video...sorry!  It seems like it should be so simple, but obviously not!

Memorial Day Weekend

Adam took a vacation day Friday, so we had 4 days of the holiday weekend!!!  We spent lots of time with neighbors grilling out, letting the kids play and drinking beers (water for me obviously;) in our front yards as the sun went down well into the night.  We love our neighborhood!!!  We took our first trip to the pool on Saturday over to the Dieckhaus's home.  They have a gorgeous pool and Coop was all about it.  He was definitely outnumbered as he was 1 boy and there were 6 little girls...can you believe that!?  Adam was saying, "man, cooper will be killing for these odds in 10 years..."  We wrapped up the weekend at the neighborhood pool, such awesome pool weather this weekend, sun was shining full time!  Hope you all had a fabulous few days!

All these pics were taken on my phone, somehow didn't have my camera with me all weekend!

We started the weekend off on Friday at the gym.  So, everyday Coop and I go to the gym we have to stop e.v.e.r.y. single time to watch the guys playing basketball in the gym.  Coop gets just as excited everyday he sees them.  Well, Dad made his day by taking him in the gym and letting him play ball.  He was in heaven, seriously!  He would really pretend to shoot even though the ball would only go 3 inches from his hands.  Needless to say, we had to take him out kicking and screaming and now I am sure he will expect to go in everyday to play...thanks Dad.

Wish I had video of him saying, "shoot the ball."

This is Saturday, pre-pool party!  Check out those awesome shades, he actually wanted to wear them!

Just chillin' poolside, of course with a ball in his hands near the basketball goal.   He was pretty fearless in the pool and even went off the diving board with Dad!!!

The pool can really take it out of a kid!

At the neighborhood pool, not as fearless today as yesterday...who knows?

Dad is so much more fun than Mom in the pool!

Summer Buzz

It's not hard to tell that Cooper doesn't exactly have a head full of hair, in fact, most kids his age put him to shame!  However, the hair he did have was getting long, beginning to resemble a mullet and hard to fix.  This where the beauty of a boy comes in...I sat with him in the bathtub while Dad took the clippers and buzzed his hair.  I couldn't believe all the hair we took off!  He was pretty proud when we showed him in the mirror, couldn't stop smiling.  Adam and I think he looks so different now, like a little boy, so grown up!

A "before" pic in the backyard

He didn't really start crying until afterwards when we told him he had to take a shower.  He looks like an old man with a hairy back ;).

An "after" picture, kind of hard to tell in pictures, but in person it is a big difference!  This cow was outside of Chick-Fil-A and he loved it, had to drag him away!

Memorial Day Sale!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  What a better way to kick off the summer than with some new jewels!  The best news...they are on sale!!!  Stella and Dot has announced which pieces will be discontinued when the Fall line is released and for this weekend only, they are all 20% off!  There are some great pieces, including the Charlotte Charm Necklace, Penelope Necklace, Pave Clover earrings...I could go on and on. Click here to see them all and shop.  They go back to their regular prices on Tuesday, so pick out gifts you need and treat yourself today!

Emily's Hope, Great Strides 2011

Just last month, I met a Mom in my mom's group whose daughter has cystic fibrosis, a rare lung disease that only affects 30,000 people in America. They were fundraising and establishing a team for the May 22nd Great Strides walk to help cure Cystic Fibrosis.  I watched this video and knew I wanted to help in some way.

Did you watch it...see what I mean?  So, a couple weeks ago I hosted a Stella and Dot trunk show at the Williams' home and donated all my profits back to Emily's hope.  From that 2 hour show, I was able to donate almost $400 to the Cystic Fibrosis foundation and was ecstatic to do so!  Just last weekend, Coop and I participated in the 3 mile walk in Arlington.  Events like these make you truly appreciate what you have and feel so blessed.  

 The walk started at Six Flags and went around Rangers and Cowboys stadium, great scenery!

 Cooper's favorite part...the little league baseball game we passed by.

 It was a hot morning, so this waterfall outside Cowboys stadium was a popular resting point.

Coop was a trooper and did so good!  It was great to be a part of something so inspiring!

Scout

Scout has made his way in and out of Cooper's interest a few times since he got him 2 Christmas' ago.  Who is Scout you ask?  Well, Scout is an adorable dog that you can hook up to the computer and personalize his songs to your child.  You program Scout with his/her name, favorite food, animal, color and songs.  Embarrassing to say...we haven't changed anything on Scout in the year and a half we have had him!  Scout also comes in a girl version, she is Violet.  In the beginning, Coopie would just stare at the light flash on/off, then he started getting interested in the actual buttons and what they did.  Just in the last few weeks, he has again pulled him from a bin and started "taking care of him."  Here is an example  from the other night while I was cooking dinner and he was entertaining himself.

He was pretending this towel was his blanket, would say, "Scout blanket, night, night."

And then he would watch Scout 'sleep.'

Giving him kisses.  What I don't have a picture of is Cooper demanding that I hold Scout, towel and all.  Whenever, I laid him down, he would say, "Mom, Scout, night, night!"

Most nights I am making dinner before Adam gets home and this is just a glimpse at what my kitchen floor turns into.  Needless to say, we have not figured out the 'stay out of the kitchen when Mom is cooking' rule!

Baby Souders' Baby Shower

The other reason we were in KC was for Bryson and Tara's baby shower!!  Their bundle of joy is due on my 30th birthday, July 7th!  They are keeping the sex a mystery as well, so we all can't wait to see who the next addition to our family is!!  My mom, sis and I hosted Tara's shower, just 12 hours after finishing up with Alli's graduation fiesta.  It was crazy, but everything turned out great, in fact we were really prepared, which is sooo unlike us!  We decided to go with an owl theme and it turned out real cute!  

 Tara with some help from her niece, Sophi.  *Note the cute onesies and bibs my sister did, she's good*

Bryson clearly thinks it's a boy as he registered for this bib!

 Diaper cake Alli and I created

Tara with her mom, sisters, and nieces.  There are 3 granddaughters on Tara's side and her sister is expecting another girl...so, Bryson and Tara will complete the basketball team or buck the trend! Less than 2 months until we find out, can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aunt Alli Graduates

One of the reasons Coop and I were in KC was for my sister's graduation from Avila University.  She graduated with a degree in radiologic science and will be working at St. Joe's hospital in KC.  We are all so proud of her and excited to celebrate over the weekend!

The night before graduation at her pinning ceremony.

Graduation-check, Wedding-5 months away...exciting year for these two!

Graduation was at Independence Events Center.  These events are always interesting with a toddler ;).

The uncles were busy keeping him entertained with Toy Story videos on the phone and chasing him around the events center commons during the 2 hour ceremony.

It's official, she's a graduate!  (in a pregnant girl sandwich:))

Proud Parents

The ceremony wore this kid out...he couldn't even finish the french fries! 

We did have a fun Fiesta back at my parents house, but didn't get any fun pics of the party.  I probably would have if I was able to partake in the Margaritas, instead I had seconds (and maybe thirds/fourths) of dessert. :)

A playdate and dinner date

We met up with my two best HS girlfriends for a Winstead's dinner, so good!  We are all 3 pregnant, Ali in July and Stace and I on the exact same day...crazy, huh?  Ali and I had Emersyn and Coop, hence Winsteads, kids could be loud and food is fast.  They were both so good and didn't even sit in highchairs!

 How sweet is this...Emersyn was feeding Cooper her grilled cheese!

Just when you thought it couldn't get sweeter, they kiss!

The next morning we met the Stilley gals at Deanna Rose petting zoo...love that place!  

Snacks, yes!  Sharing, not so much...had to remove my cranky son from the situation.

Aunt Alli helped chase the little man down.

 Sweet Anna cooperating for pics, while the Coopster was in a world of his own...

Loved the buffalo from afar, traumatized as it moved in closer.

They both loved feeding the goats!

KC Cousins

We were able to meet up with the Vermillion/Jones clan a couple times on our KC visit.  Coop and Cash were definitely struggling between a love/hate relationship.  One minute they were fine and playing and the next, somebody was crying.  Sure to be just the beginning!  

 Playing trains together, of course actually looking at the camera and smiling would have been too much :)

What's wrong with this picture?  See Braeden at the bottom of the driveway...he was their personal ball boy, since one of them was rolling a ball down every 3 minutes.

We were so happy to be able to have birthday dinner with 9 year old Ava-Grace!  I just love this picture, even though Cooper was not cooperating one bit!

Life on the Farm

Coop is such a boy when it comes to his fascination with any type of truck, construction vehicle, tractor, lawnmower, etc.  We read all about them in books and are always on the lookout in the car.  Given this I thought he would love nothing more than to ride on a real tractor, right?  Yeah, not so much.  On our way home from the airport Bryson happened to be working on a tractor, so we stopped by.  Coop was so excited until he got up close and personal with the live and loud machine...see below.

Tried to lock him in with Bryson, but he wanted nothing to do with it.

Maybe next visit...

Keeping up with the farm theme, we went down to my Grandmas to see the farm life and lots of tractors up close (not running, thankfully:)).

Can't remember why, but my Grandma is housing a donkey on the farm these days.  He was quite friendly and wanting some attention, but the horse was often running him off.  We even got to listen to him "eee-haw."  Now, Cooper will say, "donkey eee-haw."  

 He was lovin' the huge dirt pile!  My grandma is building a house so this was all the dirt from digging the basement.

 With Aunt Alli...the newly poured basement in the background

Definitely liked the non-running tractor better!