Months of Miles: 11 Months

 

Diaper Size: 5

Clothes size: Some 12 months, Some 18 months

Things you love: babbling and talking, pulling to stand (especially on the bathtub for some reason!), chewing and teething on toys, drinking water from your cup, crawling everywhere.

Things you don't love: when we take things away, when brother won't let you have a toy, when you're waiting for more food, 

Milestones:  You moved to creeping on hands and knees pretty quickly this month and you love crawling over things-- you crawl up on the trampoline and over the other side, up onto little chairs, across the couch, and you also navigate the step into/out of our living room really well.  You started pulling to stand and love to do it on anything you can find.  You finally figured out a cup and love to drink water from your straw cup with meals.  You're still babbling like crazy and have started looking for people when we name them.

My sweet baby boy I can't believe we're only a month away from your first birthday.  You are showing so much of your personality this month-- you love to explore and you love to talk.  You also started screaming and yelling a lot more.  You snuggle close and love to be near me, but also take off to check out other places around the house.  You and your brother are starting to have to navigate sharing toys more and neither of you are huge fans of that-- but it's so fun seeing you play together.  You are so sweet and chill most of the time and you just light up our days.  I'm so thankful you are mine my Miles a moo.

Bluebonnet Boys

 

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Last weekend we took advantage of a nice evening and grabbed some bluebonnet pictures for the year.  We were able to go back to a field off the Bluebonnet Trail that we've been to the last few years and it was pretty easy.  We've been taking lots of walks along this trail lately, so we've been watching the blooms start and it was fun to grab some pictures of the boys.

Baby's first bluebonnet pictures

Sweet brothers.  Cooper always wants Miles in his lap, but he's just too big so we have to compromise and sit them next to each other.

My bluebonnet baby.

And just for fun I always like looking back at the previous years' pictures:

2020

2019

2018

2017

Easter Fun

Since Cooper's birthday was in the week before Easter, we didn't do as many Easter themed activities this year, but we still had a few things.

This is our Jesus Tree-- isn't it beautiful ;)  I had looked online to try to find a Lent devotional for kids or families and one of the things I came across was called a Jesus Tree. Cooper loved our Jesse Tree that we used to countdown to Christmas, so I was intrigued by the idea of a Jesus Tree.  Basically it is a story every day from Ash Wednesday until Easter Monday and the stories are all about the life of Jesus-- his birth, his ministry and miracles, and his death and resurrection.  There were actually several options on Etsy and I ended up buying this one-- mainly because I liked that the ornaments could just be printed on cardstock and the stories were simple and each one had a question and a prayer at the end.  And it was cost effective since we weren't sure if this was something we'd continue in later years.  We did really enjoy it and I am planning to put the stories on the back of the ornaments and laminate to store for future years.  It was fun having a little devotional that we did every morning over breakfast.

I don't have pictures of our own, but we also did our same Resurrection Eggs that we've done every year.  These are a very simplified version of Resurrection Eggs, but I think they tell the story well.  And one of my favorite parts that we started last year and continued this year is the surprise in them.  We do the eggs every day in the week leading up to Easter and the last egg is always empty as a sign that Jesus rose from the dead.  On Easter Sunday I fill it with candy as a symbol of the sweet surprise of Easter that Jesus is alive.  So when Cooper opens all the eggs Sunday and is telling us what the mean (since we've been doing it all week he knows the story by Sunday) he gets to the last one and shakes it and is totally surprised.  Then we talk about how fun that surprise is and when Jesus' friends went to the tomb they expect him to be there but it's empty and that is an even better surprise.  This really stuck with him both years and he tells everyone about it (although he didn't remember it from last year, so it was fun that it was a surprise again!).

 

We also participated in the Plano Parks and Rec "Easter egg hunt."  They hid signs with pictures of Easter eggs along one of the longer trails.  Each sign had either a challenge ("hop like a bunny 10 times") or a riddle (What does an egg do when it laughs?  Gets cracked up). You take pictures with them and send in proof and are entered for a prize pack.  For us it was just a fun way to get outside and do something different on our walk!

We also dyed eggs this year for the first time.  Cooper helped mix the colors and was very interested in it.

I had planned to use them to make confetti eggs, but there was no confetti in stores at the last minute, I had no rice (which was the other idea I found) and I couldn't even find our 3 hole punch to make my own confetti.  So I gave up--maybe next year we'll be more prepared.

Sunday we went to church with my family at Woodcreek since they had an outdoor service.  And then back to my mom's backyard for lunch and playing.  Cooper loves to match Miles and it's actually the only way I can get him to dress up-- because he gets to choose matching shirts for them.  

While his cousins and brother were too excited about an impending Easter egg hunt to enjoy much lunch, this boy savored all the foods on his plate.  

While Miles napped the other kids did an Easter egg hunt.

Emptying the eggs and sorting the candy from the coins.

Then we let Cooper hide the eggs for Miles and Miles crawled to get them after nap time.

This was the only one he picked up.  He loved it!  So big brother got to get the rest-- win win.

It was a happy Easter indeed!

Cooper turns 4

We had a fun few days celebrating our new 4 year old last week.  His 2nd birthday party was pretty much rained out and his 3rd birthday fell right at the beginning of COVID, so even though we had thought this birthday would not be so much of a flop here we were in the midst of COVID still.  But even though we still weren't ready for a big party, we were thankful this year to at least be able to see our families to celebrate Cooper-- those are his favorite people anyway, so he didn't miss a thing.  

Saturday before his birthday we had my family over for a backyard party.  We had bought this Ninja Line on sale last Fall and it's just been sitting in our garage, so we put it up the afternoon of the party as a birthday present for Cooper.  It's the perfect height for him--he can reach everything from the ground but is learning to swing on them and eventually move between them.

He dressed in his superman costume and enjoyed Chick Fil A and fruit with his cousins.

And then Captain America showed up.  All week he'd been asking for a shield and it was perfect because his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins had bought him a new Captain America Costume for his birthday so he had a quick outfit change in the middle of opening presents.  He is very into pretend play--especially pretending to be different characters-- so costumes are his go-to fun right now.

He also got this Jeep from Grandma and Uncle Nick and he is a huge fan!  We had a fun evening celebrating with part of our family.

On Cooper's actual birthday, David took off work so we could spend the day doing something as a family. We started off with breakfast and watching the video compilation of memories of his 4th year and then we headed to have lunch at his Nanny and Pappaw's house.

He was so excited to get to open more present-- more dress up capes and masks, a DUPLO set, and a whole bunch of DUPLO cars to build.  He wanted to try them all out right away and had fun playing with Pappaw and his new toys.

Nanny bought Cooper his very first ice cream cake.

He was definitely a fan!

After lunch we headed out for an afternoon at Fossil Rim.

When I was trying to think of something fun for Cooper's birthday in lieu of a party, I thought this might be a fun and safe place for us to go.  David graciously agreed to use a day off to spend with us here

Cooper loved throwing food to all of the animals.

Giraffes are his favorite and they are the only animal you're allowed to feed by hand (rather than throwing food to them).  When we got to the giraffes there was one right on the side of the road ready to say hi.  Once it was a reality, Cooper was a little more shy than he'd planned, but he sat with David while he fed the giraffe. 

We stopped at the midway point and got out of the car.  We checked out the nature store and were pleasantly surprised by the prices of things, so Cooper got to pick out some binoculars and a set of animal toys to take home.  He explored the top of the hill with his binoculars before we got back in the car to see the second half.

Little brother was now awake and ready to check it out, so I sat with him and let him look out the window.

This zebra came right up to the car on our way out.  It was so fun seeing so many animals up close and the weather was perfect for this outing!  We spent the night at a hotel in Glen Rose and had planned to go to the State Park on Friday, but after a long night at the hotel we decided it was better for us to head home early Friday morning.  So we went home where Cooper got to play with all of his fun toys and we headed into Easter weekend.

It was a great time celebrating our new 4 year old!

Cooper's Cubbyhole: 4 Years

Diaper Size: You are finally potty trained!!!!!!  It took *a while* but we're done with daytime diapers.  We just recently moved to Goodnites for overnight because you are nowhere near ready for nighttime potty training (which is 100% fine) and these help get you through the night dry

Clothing Size: 3T mostly, we've gotten out your 4T shirts to give you some new options.

Things you love: Superheroes, riding your balance bike, exploring creeks, building with magnatiles, Paw Patrol, dressing up like characters, books, puzzles, cars.

Things you don't love:  Being told no, being patient, bedtime, not having anyone to play with, his exact words are "That I don't get something that I want" when he talks about what makes him sad.

Milestones: Your communication is still one of your greatest strengths-- you have so many words in your vocabulary and you are really good at explaining what's happening, what you want, what's wrong, etc.  This past year you've learned most of your letters and have really taken to counting.  You're still not a huge fan of any kind of coloring or art project, but you've started getting coloring books out a little more on your own.  You ride super fast on your balance bike, but still are really struggling with figuring out pedaling a bike.  You can climb and jump and run better than almost anyone I know-- it always amazes me and others how well you do on physical tasks.  You've also memorized several Bible verses over the past year through our Superhero School and songs that we listen to/sing.  

Fun things about you:

*You are still such a people person.  Even though we're not around as many people as we used to be, you still constantly think of and ask about your friends.  You are an amazing big brother to Miles.  And you've even started getting interested in other smaller kids around M's age.  

*Every single morning you come find us and the first thing out of your mouth is "Let's pretend to be characters from __________." (Paw Patrol, Avengers, Lion King, Frozen, etc.) and then proceed to tell us who everyone can be. (usually including "all our friends and family and people we don't know can be ______."). Daddy used to tell you he didn't have time to play in response to this, but we've learned if we just say "okay" then you go on your way pretending to be those things.  You also get upset if we call you the wrong character name, but sometimes it's hard to keep up with who you are pretending to be!

*You still have an amazing memory.  We will listen to something once and you can remember the words.  You remember things from more than a year ago at times and will bring them up or incorporate them into the way you're playing.

*You still like balls and sports, but mostly just play with Daddy.  We've talked about trying out a soccer team, but you always tell us you just want to play at home.

We did another interview this year to see what Cooper had to say about himself.

What's your favorite color? Red

What's your favorite food? Cheerios

What's your favorite movie? Lion King 1 and 2 (his current favorites)

What's your favorite TV show? Lion Guard and Paw Patrol 

What's your favorite song? "Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum"

What's your favorite book? Paw Patrol 5 Minute Stories, Paw Patrol Puppy Birthday to you

What's your favorite toy? All the toys that I have

What's your favorite thing to do? Play in my room

What's your favorite place to go? A Playplace (He literally has not been to a playplace in over a year, but we think he remembers this answer from his video last year)

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Daddy

Cooper Paul, what a fun 4 years we've had together!  Over the past year we've had a lot of time together and while some of it has made us both crazy, I've so enjoyed seeing your mind work and exploring what you're interested in.  I love adventuring with you and the things that you show me when we're out on walks.  Your love of pretend play and dressing up keeps us on our toes.  And you keep us laughing with the ideas you come up-- you frequently say "I have a great idea, let's ________."  Sometimes I worry we aren't doing enough for you or we are messing up everything, but overall I think you're a pretty fun kid who is learning and growing so much all the time.  Watching you with Miles has been a favorite part of this past year and you still love him a lot (although you're not a huge fan of the fact that he can now crawl and get to your toys).  Thanks for being my adventure buddy and my playmate.  I love you to Mars and Back my Cooper Paul!