Yeah!

Hello! We are excited to post an update from the past few weeks. Cooper did not have his 6 month photos taken at the end of December because of the crazy Christmas events going on. Instead, he had them a month later and we are just posting them now. Here is Cooper's 7 month photos that were taken by Mommy's cousin, Kristin. We just love his pictures as they reflect our happy and loving little guy!

Some exciting news on my end... I have gone potty in the toilet EVERY time I have needed to go the past 3 days, no accidents! Mommy doesn't want to jinx it by saying that I am fully potty trained. I wear pull-ups just to play it safe, but my pull-ups are dry, even after nap time! I am not going #2 in the toilet yet (I conveniently go during nap or bedtime). When Mommy was cheering me on this week, I responded, "Good job eating candy, Caden!" She thought that meant I didn't quite get it, but I continued to show her otherwise. Now, my parents are sure to brush my teeth REALLY well twice a day and they hope my dentist appointment in June doesn't backfire on them :) We will keep you posted next week on my potty training development... good job, ME!

Two weeks ago, my parents finally gave in and allowed me to go up for Children's Message during our church service. I was definitely the youngest one up there, but my parents know our pastor well and knew he would love having me up there. I sat very quietly and listened to the message. Each week, they send home "the bucket" with a child who returns it with something inside. Since it was my first time at Children's Message, our pastor gave me the bucket for the week. I had so much fun playing with and in the bucket that week. My parents are reminded that the simplest things around the house make the BEST toys! I returned the bucket the following Sunday and since it was superbowl Sunday, I put my football in there!

As you know, most everyone in our family are huge Packer fans (Mommy excluded). Daddy, Cooper and I got decked out in our Packer gear for the game. Mommy made a fun dinner and we decided not to go to our neighborhood party but just stay home and watch it together. It was an exciting game... a real nail-biter! We were all excited (I think Mommy was OK with the outcome too) that the Packers won!

On Saturday, we went to Kerri's house for a pizza dinner with Kerri, Bob and Chloe. Chloe is 4 years-old and was a very good sharer. She even allowed me to blow bubbles outside with her. It was a nice day (look, no mittens!)

I must have gotten a little carried away as I gave Chloe a big hug for the camera! I also gave her a hug so that she will continue to let me come over and blow bubbles with her soon.

We decided to do something new as a family in celebration of Valentine's Day (which is tomorrow). Daddy wanted to hit the waterpark, but Mommy mentioned bowling. We called up Lily and family to see if they wanted to meet us there and they thought it sounded fun too!

We saw a boy with Down's Syndrome bowling next to us with this ramp device for his bowling ball. Mommy commented to Laurie Jo about how great it would be to have that for us kids. Well, Laurie Jo asked the owner of the bowling alley if they had more and they did! Thank goodness because sitting on the floor to push the ball would have made our game much shorter. The ramp for the ball was SO much fun and we actually bowled a full 10 frames. Lily and I even beat the grown-ups!

I am one strong guy! I carried the various bowling balls right up to the ramp to push them down. I was lucky not to drop one on my toes. I even picked up 10 pound bowling balls to set in there. My parents were surprised by my determination.

Meanwhile....Cooper was not able to bowl, so Lily kept him busy with peek-a-boo; she adores him, but she is still my girlfriend. Lily and I did well taking turns with bowling and she even allowed me to bowl a few of her frames when she got tired.

As typical 2 year olds, we started to find new ways to entertain ourselves. Lily discovered that the ball ramp was like a real slide and I discovered that the fan on the ball return was like a hairdryer. Fortunately, Lily didn't slide down the alley and I didn't get sucked into the ball return shoot.

Here is the proud bowler! I think my score at the end was in the 90's! Not bad for my first bowling experience. When I got home, I kept telling my parents, "I bowled today!" They have a feeling that I will ask to go bowling everyday. My Mom is going to dust off Grandma's bowling ball and baby blue Nike bowling shoes. Maybe if we get serious about this, I can get my own bowling set for home.

Many of you have asked if I got "back in the saddle." Just a few weeks ago, I decided that snowmobiling was fun again. I am back to asking to go on it daily. My parents can't figure out why the big switch, but they are glad to see that I am brave once again!

Today was the first day in a LONG time where the weather didn't take your breath away when you stepped outside. I even said, "the sun feels good" when we went outside this morning. This afternoon, we headed outside for snowmobiling, sledding and snowman building. Cooper loves his sled; we hope to have nice days ahead so that we can get more outside time.

We want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! We love our family and friends! We look forward to posting our next blog entry next weekend. Uncle Matt and Aunt Jill are having their wedding reception (they were married in Jamaica in December) so we will have lots of fun pictures for you to see! Have a good week!