The Shag has got to GO!

Although with summer coming on we thought about letting him just keep the shag and run with it, not seeing his ears and eyes was starting to bug us. Not to mention the fact that now he doesn't want to wash it or get it wet. "But I want it long like a girls," he'd cry, when we brought up the fact that he truly needed a haircut. He'd run his hands all over it, enjoying the feel of it and the look of it when he'd wake up with severe bed head. The bigger poof and bed head the prouder he seemed. Today, however, after much prep work throughout this last week, Thomas finally succumbed to the dreaded haircut. Poor Brad had to work like crazy to get it done, and was a pro at dealing with the squirming, the threatened mutiny in the middle of it, and weird head positions when Thomas would be tickled or annoyed or angry that a hair was not just right on his face. After it all, and a shower in which he actually had to wash his head (this produced a near meltdown and many tears) he was rewarded with a Hershey chocolate bar and a trip to pick out a toy of his choice-the bribes that worked this time to get him on the stool.
Thanks Brad! You're one fabulous "uncle" and even better barber!

A glimpse of sunshine!

Cooper at 11 months!

Cooper continues to be an absolute delight! He has mastered walking ( a bit wobbly and stiff at times, but around objects, in circles, etc.), and now can be found "bounding" around as we hold our breath. He clearly wants to run like his big brother. He loves to chase Thomas around, and now enjoys laughing and squealing through the house in chases with all of us. He loves to wrestle, loves to race for the toilet when someone forgets the door, and will squeal with delight if he makes it all the way in. Of course, that same enthusiasm is in full force if you pull him away, including back arching and cries of intense distress. He continues to put everything into his mouth, including legos, rocks, old food, dirt, sand, and chunks of our flesh, should we let him get to our skin. He loves to rummage through the fridge, delighting in anything he can fling out, and crawls into the dishwasher to fling things here and there. There is a big box of party supplies from the Nascar party that he crawls into and trashes through. He's into climbing now, not only into the fridge and dishwasher, but up onto the ottoman, couches, and toys big enough to fit his body, or so he thinks. He wakes up happy and has quite the range of sounds and chatter that fill the house most of the day. His tongue looks like it may actually heal up better than we thought as of a few days ago, and we think the lump from his flap may actually be molding more to the main part of his tongue. Speech issues, drooling, playing with the tongue and a deformity have all weighed on my mind lately. He enjoys playing games with peek-a-boo and This Little Mouse, and you can see his mind just trying to figure it all out. Grandma got him playing a game on the bed with her, and it's so sweet to see him develop these little games that he enjoys. With all the company we've had with cousins and friends, he's had a great time with all the attention, and seems to really enjoy the excitement and activity. He loves to cuddle on the couch and watch BunnyTown for moments here and there, and still laughs and gets all excited when Jack's Big Music Show is on. He cries and cries if he's left out of outings outside or upstairs, and when allowed outside finds complete enjoyment playing with his old car seat, playing with the straps, checking out the toys strewn about and finding his way back to the water buckets. The other day I had to pull him out of the hot water bucket as his lips were purple from the cold. He could care less how cold it was outside and was mighty displeased when I hussled him back inside to warm up. It will be very interesting watching these two boys as we get nearer to warm weather and fun times outside.

Preschool Gladiators

Tommy's 4th Birthday: The Kid Party

We knew it would be a special day when we woke up to a near blizzard and the biggest flakes we've seen! We have such wonderful friends, too. Erica, Brad and the girls drove up late last night to help us celebrate this weekend, and they were such a big help this morning helping us gather up everything, remember it all, and keep Cooper out of trouble through it all. I was worried about making sure it all "happened" but Erica was my right hand man, pitching in with everything and really helping me enjoy the morning without getting all uptight about everything. I owe her a lot. Jenny called me up, assuring me that she'd be bringing the party crowd with her. Sophia helped out keeping Cooper wrangled at the party, and Mike Carr, Ace's dad, zoomed around the room with Cooper in his stroller, wearing him down and getting him to sleep. Great help, Mike. I really appreciated it. Veronica was a big blessing, calling me up out of the blue and offering to supply the coffee for the adults. That really meant a lot. So thoughtful and willing to help out. Honestly, I didn't even think about coffee. It was such a wonderful thing to help out with. She is a wonderful friend I really hope to get to know more as we head off into spring...if the snow stops.
Anyway, it turned out to be a great party, one that I think we adults enjoyed as much as the kids. With it snowing like crazy outside, it was wonderful to have the kids playing inside, racing around the castle, painting wooden cars and fighting it out in the pit. Thomas enjoyed the rest of the day with his cousins, playing, eating candy and enjoying new toys. Again, the hit of the birthday gifts goes again to the Hutchisons, who scored with a pop up gift that folds up into a little case Tommy can haul around. This is two years in a row!
Two birthday weekends, with another round of cousins coming in on Monday for more fun times. This is a birthday that just won't stop!

Tommy's 4th Birthday

I took the day off to join the family in celebrating Tommy's 4th birthday. With a Bobcat coming to work on the beach sand, then the crane putting the sailboat back into the water, it was decided that Tommy would stay with us instead of going to preschool today. And what a day it was. Although we had to forego the birthday pancakes with the Lawrences because we're all still sick, we still managed to have fun with presents, balloons, birthday donuts, a Bobcat coming over and then a sail around to the marina to put the boat back in it's slip. I told Tommy he was a pretty lucky little boy to be able to take a sail on his birthday morning. Later that evening we met up with the Lawrences and grandma and grandpa for a meal at Red Robin. Lots of fun, but Thomas did not like all the wait staff singing and clapping to him. It was a bit too loud for him, which is silly, considering how loud he is..but...
Later that evening he opened more presents from Daddy and they enjoyed yet more Legos. Daddy says no more legos for a while. He's Lego-d out for now!

Blood, Sweat and Tears (Cooper's, Mine and Ours..in that order)

Monday morning we should have gone to preschool. If we had gone to preschool, our week wouldn't have set up the way it did by one sad, sad event. With Tommy still sick, John fighting it as well, we decided another day at home would be best. Cooper was toddling about as usual, then tripped on a blanket on the ground. He nailed his chin directly on the wood of our ottoman, and when I pulled him into my arms, his mouth was full of blood, blood spurting onto me and my clothes and all over.
I'll admit, I froze. Seconds where I just held him, stunned by his mouth, the blood, the screams. It seemed like forever before I yelled out for John, who was trying to hide from the flu in the covers of our bed.
Poor Cooper. To say he bit his tongue is a far cry from what he did to it. Mangled is a better word. Meat grinder comes to mind. Bruce said he crushed it. A rather large chunk of his baby tongue just flopping around. Sorry to be graphic, but it's just plain reality. Two days later Tommy went to give him a hug, then thrust backwards, away from Cooper. "Uh, it's hanging out, it's hanging out!" he cried, covering his mouth and starting his dry heaving (He also does this when Cooper urps, throws up or doesn't chew his food properly!). Yes, Cooper had positioned his tongue in such a way that the flap was hanging out of his lips. Five days later it still makes me get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see it. Five days later the smell of his mouth is abating. That or I'm just getting used to Cooper smelling like dog. And that's what it smelled like. The morning after it happened, I could barely stand the sight, much less the smell of his tongue. "John, you have to have your dad look at it again," I cried, horrified by the condition. "What's that smell?" John asked later that day, holding him. "Dog?" "That would be Cooper's mouth," I replied.

And on top of that, he's now sick with the cold and flu that has knocked both Tommy and John out for going into the second week. Poor Cooper has the worst wound in his mouth and the flu on top of it. He doesn't swallow, so buckets of drool flow onto everything, as well as the hose that is his nose. So gross. So gross. A while back I told myself I was prepared to have boys, felt like I had a handle on the little beasts. Tommy's burn looked bad, but it was manageable. I got over it. Cooper's tongue? I think I've lost some of the years of my life on this one.

"Baby Bill" gets a ride.

Birthday Rave!

Cooper walks!

Video (click play button below)

Last week, Tuesday, Tommy burned himself tripping and falling into the exhaust pipe of the lawn mower. Grandpa bandaged it that night, then again on Thursday, but until today he refused to take a bath. To his credit, I didn't start smelling him until today, when I insisted that it had to be changed, not to mention his more than ripe body. A lot of crying, then screaming, later and we managed to get the bandage off in the tub. This is what it now looks like 5 full days later. Even after the bath, he still continued to fuss about it. He couldn't stand to look at it, so I had to put a towel up (don't TOUCH MY OW-EY!) beside it to block his view of it while he watched tv. I don't blame him. It doesn't look too nice right now.

8 Steps

Today John counted 8 steps all by himself. He still takes convincing to do it instead of crawling, but he's slowing getting this stepping thing down. Making messes he does not need encouragement towards. Rolls of toilet paper are no match for him, as is magazines and garbage pails. Clean and dirty dishes are thrown around at will, and he makes no effort to conceal his displeasure if any of his wishes are not granted...immediately. I don't remember back arches, howling and high pitched screaming being the norm back in the day, but Cooper is quick to remind me of who is in charge these days. The other day I saw him scrunch up his face, throw his head back with a howl, then launch himself onto Tommy, biting down with all his might. Of course, Tommy had been pushing him away from a desired toy and barking at him, but....
Cooper really wants to be in on all the action. When any door opens he is on it like lightning. When one of us leaves the room, he knows about it. When the fridge opens, he is hustling over to get himself inside, quick to check out and rearrange. When the door upstairs squeaks open or closed, he turns his head and waits. There is very little hiding done these days. He loves to be outside, climbing on the toys and playing in the sand. Hopefully he'll walk soon, which will make it a lot easier to keep him dry and clean, instead of mucked up and foul whenever he goes out.

Re-everything these days. Re-got (forgot), re-struction (construction)
Gool (School)

The other day he was corrected on form in gymnastics. He melted down with it, and with deep and intense sobs, told me he would not go back out on the floor and wanted to go home. I finally convinced him to give it one more shot, but when he doesn't get it right, he does not want to do it. He has to be right and when I try to correct him on something, however minor, he either quickly tries to deflect it onto something else, change the subject or distract me, or he melts down into tears.

"ma-ma, ma-ma"

Cooper has taken to calling out ma-ma all the time. John saw Cooper crawl over to Thomas while he was playing Legos on the deck of his boat bed. Cooper was jabbering, "Ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma" over and over, pulling on his pants and legs. Thomas leans over and calls, "I'm not your Ma-ma. Stop bugging me!"

Sunshine, finally!

Coopie, don't take my Doritos!

Today we went down to Boulevard Park to enjoy the sunshine, boardwalk, hot cocoa and Tommy's beach catapult. Cooper tried out his new backpack Sherpani, and seemed to like it just fine. I think he was quite entertaining on the ride back, drawing looks here and there as he slept.

Walking (Stepping) Begins! 9 1/2 months

Today John and I both were able to witness Cooper first take three or four steps on his own, then again later in the day he pulled two off before dropping down to his steady and reliable crawl position. He also finds great delight in hustling off at high speed crawling to get to the toilet before we can catch him, and belly laughs when he gets his hands on the rim before we haul his bum out of there. He enjoys pulling all the laundry out of the dryer and scattering it, as well as the utensils in the dishwasher. Same with items in the fridge that he can handle and throw about. Now he actually crawls into the dishwasher to get into things, and whines and calls for us when he can't figure out how to get down. He loves to play chase with Tommy, loves to be with him, wrestle and play. In the morning, his face lights up when Tommy drags himself out of bed, and where Tommy is, so must Cooper. He is no dummy. He knows when we're sneaking upstairs or outside without him. He knows when the bath water starts up and screams a high pitched yell when he's not getting his way about any of this. Today he launched himself onto the coffee grinder that I had running on the floor in Tommy's room (it's too loud in the mornings when someone is sleeping so we do it in another room). Both boys love to get their hands on this machine, and Cooper was fully draped over it while it ground the coffee beans up. Coop enjoys eating big boy food these days, happily munching on whatever the rest of us are having, including meats and treats. It's so great to almost be out of the baby food stage. I'm thankful it's short lived and Cooper didn't really care for it to begin with.

This is such an amazing photo to us, not in that it's unusual in any way, but that our baby looks so big and grown up. Naked and streaking through the house he still looks all little and cuddly. Here he looks so much like a boy. Thomas has finally decided that he wants to go poo on his potty, but that has brought with it a lot of cleaning on our end. As much as I longed for this day, it's much more of a learning process (and hygiene issue) than I planned on. He loves his brother-and he can't stand him as well. "Coopie, get out of here!" he'll yell, and slam the door to his room. "Coopie, Coopie", he'll say, as he's loving on him and wrestling with him on the bed. "I don't want you in here!" he'll yell, stomping his feet. Tonight he said to me, "Mama, will you watch Cooper and Daddy can take me up to Isaac's?" "You stay home. Just me and Daddy." "Just me and Daddy, got it?" For the last three nights he's taken to sleeping in his boat bed again, giving us a much needed break from three of us rotating between our bed and the mattress on the floor. Throw Cooper into the mix and it's still musical beds all throughout the night. Cooper tends to take the longest naps when he's put down on the floor bed. Go figure. I've suspected for a bit now that Cooper coming into the picture gave him some separation anxiety and then he took to being scared of the dark. Maybe now we've turned a corner.
Tommy is really enjoying preschool and comes home singing new songs and talking about what he's picking up. However, when asked how his day is, his usual response is "good" but nothing much more. He's really interested in reading now and wants to write letters, although he's still trying to figure out if he's left handed or right handed, which is making writing challenging. He's also really big into pretend, and likes to act out the things that he's doing or what he's seen. He's big into watching BunnyTown, so he wants to play BunnyTown in our room and assigns himself a bunny and us one as well. I came home from work to find crackers and crumbs all over the floor and in the floor bed. When I asked John about it, he told me that crackers are allowed in the beds of BunnyTown. I think that deserves the look of annoyance that was on my face. The other day he started gym again and our room transformed into a gym, with climbing boxes to jump from, added blankets and new positions to try and jumps to perform. He makes waterfalls in the sink, then strips naked to climb on in. He makes himself busy cooking (flour all over) and washing (soap and toothepaste cleaning the mirrors). The other day he jumped in the lake and began the ritual of outdoor tub time (37 degrees outside). A bit on the early side, but a great taste of summer days to come. He wants me to cuddle up with him to go to sleep, both at night and sometimes for nap, telling me stories big storms and tornadoes, and still enjoys the taste of a good cup of creamer with our coffee in the morning. Our runs to Starbucks are a favorite trip, as is Fi-llama burger, Thai food and Burger Me. He's still my great grocery trip buddy and I love our time together when we get to go. I'm still conflicted on sharing my time, though, and I pray that he never feels like I don't have enough time for him. Cooper is very demanding in ways, and I have to juggle the needs of both, and I just hope that I can still find the time to make "our" time special with him.
"Dad, you're annoying me," he says when John's humming a song on the way to the car. He has to be the one to grind the coffee and blend anything that needs to be blended. "Good job, Daddy!"
At bedtime, "Thomas, you're my treasure, baby." "But Mama, I'm not treasure." "But you're my treasure, the best kind of treasure." "But I'm not gold, I'm not golden." Thomas, if a pirate came in here right now and offered me all the treasure in the world, big, big piles of it, I still wouldn't give you up. You're the best kind of treasure ever and you'll always be my treasure." He didn't say anything after that, just snuggled closer and looped his arm around me tighter.

Opening day of Bucket Season

Cooper gets his first taste of the hot water bucket