Splish Splash

I figured I would open this blog post with a beautiful picture of our family at Kristin and Mick's wedding, LOL! Daddy is not going to be happy about this one. While we were preparing for a quick photo of our family, a bird flew over and caught his attention. Hence, he has a ridiculous look on his face. So much for the beautiful family photo :)

The weather this past week has been blazing HOT! Mommy decided to venture out some more so we scheduled several playdates with friends and water. Shauna hosted a pool party which was quite the challenge for Mommy. Cooper was too hot in his carseat and I wanted to go down the ladder right into the deep end. She has realized how two boys with very different needs can pose challenges in many situations.

Shauna has a lot of fun toys in her backyard. One of my favorites was this mini lounger. Isn't it cute!?! I decided to take a little break and relax for a bit.

I was showing off Cooper's silly hat to our friends. You can tell that Cooper is stressed as he is nearly gnawing off his little finger.

Cooper has been smiling for several weeks now, but he is starting to do lots of cooing. He is especially happy in the mornings. He is a morning person, just like me and unlike our Mommy.

One of Mommy's favorite times is when Cooper hears my voice in the morning. He immediately smiles and begins to kick his chubby legs. I guess I have that affect on people :)

Another fun outing this week was to the local park. They have a fun playground area and a fountain for kids to splash in. We met up with Carter and Owen (Mommy works with their Mommy Rachel) and Heather and Finley too.

Mommy cannot believe they still allow these dangerous merry-go-round things at playgrounds! Luckily, we were the only kids on it, so we went nice and slow.

Finley and I had fun swinging together. Lately, I pitch a royal fit when it is time to stop swinging. I think I could honestly swing for 30 minutes at a time!

The fountain is a fun place to be on a hot day! It is a large fountain with chlorinated water (yeah to the germ killer!) The second day we went to the fountain, we caught on and brought our own beach toys for the water.

The second day was not as exciting as the first. The Moms were wondering why we were all hanging around them eating goldfish. We still had fun, but maybe the hot weather was getting to us.

I created new fun on our second trip by playing peek-a-boo with my John Deere beach towel. I then thought it would be exciting to run through the water with it on my head. Mommy has decided to pick her battles and this one was not worth fighting.

Our first day at the fountain was a busy one. Not as crowded as a weekend day, but fairly busy. It was especially fun to get my head wet and take drinks of water.

Mommy and Heather cracked up at this picture. This was taken at the end of our fountain playdate. Can you tell that I had enough?

Finley was still ready to keep on playing, me... not so much.

Last weekend, we had Kristin's wedding. We stopped by Papa's so that he could give Mommy and Daddy their anniversary gift (10 years on August 12th!) Their gift was not the Harley, sorry Daddy! Papa gave them MN Viking vs Packers tickets! Mommy was excited about that one. I love going to Papa's because he has lots of fun things that I shouldn't touch. His Harley is one toy that Papa doesn't mind me crawling on, to Mommy's dismay.

I kept asking to go on a ride and Mommy would quickly reply, "No." What a bummer for me because I think this thing could go fast.

Before we went to Papa's we spent some time at Grandma's and Grandpa Jamie house. Great-auntie Karen gave me some hugs. She was in town for the wedding and we rarely get to see each other.

The big day finally arrived for Mommy's cousin Kristin. Kristin and Mick got married in the cities and we were excited for the special event. This is Grandma's side of the family, which is a bit small, so a wedding is a big deal and it was time to debut my baby brother. Cousins Lexi and Sam were there to keep me company.

My Mom dressed Cooper and I similarly (Cooper in a shortall and me in a plaid shirt that matched). I can already see the nerdiness in these situations. She attempted to get a picture of us boys together, but I was more interested in the golf course which is where the reception was.

We LOVE this picture of the four "grandkids." It is a miracle that we are all looking at the camera at the same time.

Mommy is showing off her new ring from Daddy. Daddy has been saving for many years since he decided he would do things differently at his wise old age:) Mommy picked out the ring and Daddy gave it to her since she has had to put up with him for 10 years ( I think it is the other way around!)

Happy 10 year anniversary Mommy and Daddy! May you have many more wonderful years together!

As I was saying, Kristin got married last weekend which meant we had many family members to celebrate with! I am in hardly any pictures because I loved the waterfalls and golf course, the place where the outdoor pictures were taken above. Daddy left with me around 8:30 since I started to fall apart. My little brother was a "gem" all night and was able to stay with Mommy, lucky duck!

Kristin was a beautiful bride and we really like Mick too! He is a cool guy and we wish them many happy years and babies together! That's my plug for more little cousins to play with.

Here is Kristin's Mom and stepdad meeting Cooper. You can tell he was real thrilled at the time. This was probably the only time he cried all night. He was perfect and happy to have lots of attention.

Great-Grandpa loves babies and he was really excited to finally meet Cooper. Most of Mommy's family lives in MN which means we don't get together as often as we would like. Great-Grandpa is happy to have another little hunter join the hunting party at the shack someday.

Great-Grandma looked lovely that evening and she also enjoyed "hogging" Cooper. Great-Grandma has spoiled Cooper (and I) with many beautiful handmade sweaters and outfits. She is currently working on Cooper's baptism outfit since he will be baptized in a few weeks.

Grandma and Grandpa Jamie having a fun time with the family.

Mommy's cousin Sarah (Kristin's little sister) finally introduced us to her boyfriend Collin. He was a very nice guy and we were happy to meet the man she talks about often.

Before everyone headed out for the night, some of the girls got a quick picture together. Cooper was all tuckered out and ready for bed. He slept his first 5 hour stretch that night.

In the morning, Grandma spent time with her favorite boys before we left for home. She loved seeing Cooper smile and coo at her. He has changed so much in the past few weeks and we celebrate all the little joys he brings to our lives each day!