12 Months

Cooper, you are one year old! A whole year! Can you believe it? I sure can't. This last year has been completely life changing and all for the better. You make everyday so special. You are our everything.

A few things to note about your life at 12 months:

Height: 29 inches (14%)
Weight: 23 pounds (69%)
Clothes: 12 months
Diaper: Size 4
Teeth: 2
Words: dada, gugas (doggies), no!

You are full of energy. You want to be on the move all the time. Unless you are looking at books, then you will sit for minutes on end.

I took you to visit my teacher friends at the school I worked at when I was pregnant with you. I must have walked by this playground a million times with you in my belly. It was quite a full circle moment for me to see you playing on the same equipment I once saw my kindergartners playing on.

My former teaching partner, Cathy, made a beautiful quilt for you. She gave it to you during our visit. 

You still love your "gugas" and they love you. Even when you steal their spot. 

And they especially love you when you feed them.

Click here for video

password: Cooper

The green couch that we have upstairs is your favorite place to play! You take toys back into the cushions and create your own little world. When we moved into this house I wanted to get rid of this couch. Thank goodness Dad won that battle. 

You are perfecting your killer dance moves.

 click here for some dance moves

password: Cooper

You love the chair Grandma Mel & Kpa got you for your birthday.

It is perfect for reading. 

Enjoying the end of summer with Daddy.

Sienna came over for a play date.

This is what happens when the garage door opens. You squeal with excitement knowing that your Dada is about to walk through the door.

You have a new expression, and it KILLS me. :) click here for the video (password: Cooper)

We joined the YMCA so you can play with other kids your age and I can get a short run in. Your face on the first day explains it all...

You didn't like it at first, but you got more comfortable after about a week. I was excited for you to make new friends and experience a different place. With new places comes new germs. You did not handle that well at all...more to come on that later.

We went on walks almost everyday this summer. We had perfect weather this summer. 

Here is the view from our front door after finishing a late summer walk.

You got in a little confrontation with the baseboard. It cut you pretty good. I think you may have a scar forever on your little cheek. Its cool though, it makes you look tough.

Little buddy, this last year has been perfect. I have loved every day I have spent with you- even the hard ones. We have learned a lot from each other. You have taught me to stop and enjoy the now because the now quickly becomes the past and I will never get these precious moments back. You force me to slow down and stop worrying about to-do lists and errands; and instead build a tower out of tupperware so you can knock it down in a fit of giggles.  I just can't wait to see what is in your future. You are an absolute blessing. 

I am so lucky to be your Mama. 

Football Season 2013

I feel like I slept through last football season. I had a newborn, so I kinda did.

But this football season looks much different!

Chris and I went to the Husky home opener ,first game back in new Husky Stadium! Cooper stayed at home with Grandma Mel. 

First game back! We tailgate with the Hurls for every game. The Barkers and the Cahoons are always there too. We all have seats together.

It was a PERFECT day. This is the view from the concourse near our seats. 

The view to the right of our seats.

I am very happy with our seats. We are even under cover! 

Packed house.We beat Boise State. Badly. It was a great way to start the season and break in our new stadium! 

Sundays consist of Seahawks games. Chris goes to most of the home games. We have been watching the away games with our neighbors. Our neighborhood has a fantasy league, so it makes the action even more exciting!

There are loads of kiddos for Cooper to play with.

Blurry photo, but it needed to be documented that Cooper would not let go of the pink stroller (pink bear in tutu included) and Preston rocked the blue purse with cell phone inside. 

We took Cooper to his first Husky game! He did really well :) Considering he is a squirmy one year old, I would call staying through the 3rd quarter a success. The game was a total blow out. The Huskies beat Idaho State 50 something to 0.  

The headphones stayed on most of the time.

He loves Hurl. 

I love this time of year. 

Puyallup Fair

I have lived on the west side of the state now for 11 years (wow!) and I have never attended the Puyallup Fair. So why not share this first experience with my son?

Our little family went on the first day of the fair. The weather forecast called for rain, so it was pretty slow. It ended up staying dry for us the whole time and we missed all the crowds! Win. Win.

He loved walking around (holding our hands) and looking at the animals.

I told him all about my days as a cowgirl...circa 1988. Lead line. Everyone got a ribbon. Even if you fell off. Which I did.

Fair food is something else. They even have fried butter! No I didn't try it, nor do I want to. 

The stroller was really just a cart for us to haul our stuff around. This is how Cooper wanted to get around at the fair. He "walked" the whole time! 

We had a great time! 

1st Hair Cut!

Cooper's doo was getting a little out of control. So a few weeks ago, I took him to a kid's salon at The Crossroads Mall. They were awesome. We will be going back for sure. (kinda spendy, but worth it in my opinion)

Toys are an excellent distraction.

He wasn't so sure about this new chick being all up in his business, but he didn't cry!

Notice the toys still in his little paws. 

Daddy met us there. Trying to get a picture of him looking at the camera smiling is impossible. 

Nice job little man!