Christmas 2013

This Christmas was SO much fun. Cooper may not totally get the whole concept yet, but he is definitely more engaged in everything. He is so full of personality and spunk (or toddler-tude) these days. He laughs hard and he hugs tight and intentionally. It about melts me. Our little guy is growing up so fast! He has always been so good at letting me know when he is ready to grow-out of something. For example, nursing, he told me when he was done. Same with giving up the bottle. At about 14 months old he continued to throw the bottle of whole milk on the ground, so I decided to put that same milk in a sippy cup and low-and-behold he chugged that milk right down! Our counter is now free of bottle brushes and drying bottles. It is a good thing he tells me when he is ready to move on cause I think I would have a hard time with these types of transitions.

Any who, on to the fun that was December!

We continue to meet with our PEPS friends. We both still love it! We decided to take the kids to see Santa and his reindeer at the Issaquah Zoo (super fun if you live in the area!).  Santa was very nice, but thought we were crazy to try to get all the littles in one photo. He may have been right. See photo below. (I feel like Santa is laughing at the moms :) )

Photo with the moms worked out much better! 

We also had a gift exchange with our PEPS friends. Fun gifts for the moms and the kiddos bought each other books.  

Of course Cooper went to visit Santa. We bought a picture of Cooper on Santa's lap but I have already packed away the Christmas stuff for the year. Let's just say that he was not thrilled about a stranger with a white beard holding him. I did however get a picture of our handsome guy in his Santa outfit!

Cooper partied it up at Sienna's first birthday! Dawn did a great job! It is hard to believe this was a year ago…

And now look at them!

This is just a random quiet moment that I was so glad to catch. I watched him pick up the book and bring it into the closet to "read." I am already brainstorming how I am going to incorporate a reading tent into his "big boy room."

 Our time in Spokane is always packed with special times. Cooper had a play date with Harper and Jack. The toddlers are lacking smiles because they were forced to sit still for .009 seconds, which only happened because they were bribed with goldfish and electronics. Jack on the other hand is happy as a clam, as always. The kid is so smiley! 

We stuck with our schedule from last year and stayed at Chris's parents house until Christmas Eve. Cooper had a great time at Nana and Pop Pop's house.

(It should be noted that I forgot our camera. Therefore, all the pictures are either from my iPhone or courtesy of Peter Spier or Janie Pryor.)

Cooper would steal Max if he could. He LOVES this dog, and Max is absolutely GREAT with Cooper. 

Wintery walks sans kiddo.

Christmas Eve

He is constantly making this gesture lately. It usually has a little shoulder shrug too.

Cooper is not so sure about the new wheels he got from Santa. It is battery powered and the sound startles him just little bit. He is starting to warm up to it now, but this was the initial reaction.

Christmas Day we moved camp to Grandma and Kpa's.

It was a cozy day spent with my brothers, Auntie Janie, Grandma, Kpa, and cousin Kole. 

This is actually Kole's gift. 

How adorable is this kid!?

  

Everyone needs a binocular holster! 

Just a typical Christmas morning in the Pryor house.

Cheering on the Huskies to their bowl game victory! 

We missed Uncle Kyle this Christmas, he had to work. Cooper sure LOVES the bath blocks from Uncle Kyle. Such a fun bath toy!

To wrap up our holiday season we were going to ring in the new year with our great neighbors and all our kids. But most of the kids ended up getting sick so we canceled our plans. Which ended up being a good thing because Cooper came down with a fever on New Years eve. He literally woke up at 12:01am crying because his Motrin had worn off and he was due for another dose. So my little man and I were up to ring in 2014 together. 

His virus was nasty but quick and he was all smiles by the afternoon on New Years day. I think his new wagon from Nana and Pop Pop may have been just the medicine he needed. 

(Sidebar: I realize Cooper looks like Ralphy's little brother from "A Christmas Story" and Chris is in shorts. Let it be noted that Chris is severely underdressed to be taking down the Christmas lights in January. I am not an over protective mom who was worried that her baby was outside while possibly still recovering from being sick… that just could NOT be the case.)