Happy 9 month birthday to my lil brother, "Coopsters!" He was supposed to have his 9-month check-up yesterday but due to a conflict with the doctor's schedule, we had to reschedule it for Monday. We will update you next blog post with his stat.'s.
By the look on Cooper's face, he must have known that Mommy forgot to put on his 9-month old t-shirt on his actual 9 month birthday. It wasn't that she didn't remember the important day, she just forgot to put the shirt on him. No one will know, except all of our faithful blog followers :) People have always warned Mommy about "those parents" who do not take photos of the second baby and don't spoil them as much. My parents make a conscious effort to not fall into that category. Which is why Mommy just ordered 150 photos online for her scrapbook weekend coming up. She is determined to START Cooper's scrapbook. Mine is all up-to-date, which just goes to show how extra special the first borns really are~ Sorry Cooper.
At 9 months, this is what Cooper is up to... he army crawls all over our house. He will do a few steps on all 4's but then does his army crawl. He is quite fast and determined as you can tell by the photo, tongue out and all.
Cooper pulls himself up on everything! It is almost a definite that he has a bruise on his face somewhere. This is where the helmet came in handy for me... head protection! He creeps along furniture once he is standing. He is doing better with pushing his walker while taking steps. He can stand, let go and transfer to something nearby. My parents are really hoping that he doesn't walk until he is at least 11 months. 
Cooper can say, "mamamamama," "dadadaddadadada," and "bababababa;" in translation this means "mama," "dada," and "bye-bye." These are the three words he knows. He makes lots of other silly babbles and sounds. He has an elephant toy that he now imitates with a high-pitch whine. It is very cute.
What do we love most about Cooper??? He is adorable, funny, smart, emotional and decisive (knows EXACTLY what he wants), and loving. He is going through a bit of separation right now. He prefers Mommy when he is tired or sad; he wakes up a few times at night just to be sure Mom or Dad are around. My parents are hoping this phase passes quickly. On top of his separation, he is sprouting 4 teeth on top and 2 more on the bottom all at the same time. This has caused fussy spells, lots of ibuprofen, and plenty of nasty diapers. Before you know it, he will be smiling with a full grill.
How am I doing you might ask? I am doing fantastic. I am such a silly boy. I like to wear sunglasses a lot (even upside down), I declare what I am up to ("I am passing gas!"), and I keep everyone laughing at my silly Cadenisms. Some of my sayings these days are, "Oh gracious!" "SERIOUSLY!!!!" and I continue to finish many words with "sters" for comic relief, "Momsters, Libsters, Grampsters." 
On Monday evening, we headed to the mall for some shopping and a quick bite. Mommy was on spring break this week, although I would call it winter break... Monday was the only nice day before we received a massive ice and snow storm. Luckily, we were safe at home this week and found ways to stay busy with projects and toys (PS Fingerpaint belongs outside on the patio table). Back to the mall....as usual, I insisted on stopping at the play area in the mall for the mechanical rides. Each ride is 75 cents each, so I usually go on 2 or 3 before my parents cut me off. The hot dog bus is the only one I allow Cooper to join me on. I take my driving role very seriously and Cooper loves being my passenger.
On Monday morning, we went to Laurie Jo's for a playdate after we went to the library. Laura joined us with her boys. Here she is juggling all three babies while my Mommy and Laurie Jo made lunch for the toddlers. Mommy thinks it is always nice to connect with other Mommy friends who are dealing with the craziness of toddler and baby life! 
Lily, Ethan and I had fun playing together and we even were allowed to sit at the kid's table for lunch that day. Don't you love my pink bib compliments of Lily!?!?
The library is a favorite activity for us. We used to go to storytime weekly, but with the gas prices going up and the 30 minutes it takes for us to drive there, we decided to make it a bi-monthly to monthly event. Library storytime ends next week until summertime; we plan to go so that I can have one more time sitting on the rug with all of the stuffed animal friends along with my buddies. I am a good listener during storytime and sometimes participate during music and movement. I am pretty shy in public, but Mommy is thankful that I am well-behaved when we are out and about.
We went to Govin's Farm for their annual lambing event. We went to Govin's last year to see the baby animals but this year was a lot more fun as I interacted more and knew what was happening. As you can guess, the tractor ride to the farm was one of my favorite events. I think I could ride a tractor all day long!
It was a muddy mess (this was prior to the ice and snow storm this week). The snow was melting and we had a beautiful day of weather to go to the farm. My parents asked if I wanted to ride the pony around the circle. I told them I did which surprised them both. I loved the pony ride!!! I told my pony to "giddy up" four times while we were riding around the circle. Daddy was a trooper as he walked in the slop just to be sure I didn't get scared.
Cooper and I were allowed to hold a lamb. At first I wasn't so sure about the lamb. In the picture below, the lamb began to run in my lap. Luckily, a farm volunteer got him to settle down so that we could pet it. Cooper was most excited about the animals as he laughed and squealed, just like the pigs. 
The chicks were my favorite animal in the barn. I love how fuzzy they are. I was able to touch their soft feathers/down. Mommy had flashbacks to the days in Kindergarten where she would hatch 20 or so chicks in an incubator. Those days are long gone thanks to salmonella fears. Anyhow, we touched the chicks and no one in our family got dangerously ill, thank the Lord!
Thanks to Heather for taking a few photos several weeks ago. Kerri, Mommy's friend who is a music teacher, is leading a toddler music class. We get together once a month to sing and move to music. There are lots of toddlers and babies in our class. Kerri is very patient with all of us! I like the songs we sing in class especially, "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" and "Ring Around the Rosies." We probably sing 25 songs a day in our house.; it sure helps that Mommy knows many songs as a teacher. My daily requests include, "Paddy Whack" (This Old Man), "Farmer in the Dell," and Uncle Kracker (that is not toddler music but Daddy's CD which I love and Mom hates).
Leave it to my Mom to have an idea in her head... she felt she was "called" to implement Toddler Sunday School at our church. We go to a Lutheran Church that offers Sunday School for kids ages 4 and up. Maybe it was due to the fact that I sit in church for an hour with my parents while eating treats non-stop, talking and distracting the poor people next to us, coloring on the offering envelopes, asking loudly to go play in the nursery, etc... Mommy finally had enough of me and she asked if she could start a toddler ministry for 2 and 3 year olds. There are 10 toddlers or so that come each week. There are two Sunday School sessions and Mommy teaches the first one and found a second teacher to lead the second one. She absolutely loves it and is having a great time finding ideas that are enjoyable for our class. Many members in our church have complimented Mommy on the program and the kids are very excited to come each week. She hopes she will find the energy and time to continue this ministry for a few more months before summer break! 
Each child will have a scrapbook with pictures of them in various places in our church. Here is a photo of Ivy and me in the chapel. We are practicing sitting in a chair and greeting each other with a handshake. In the photo below, we listened to a story about Jesus calming the sea and as part of the lesson, Mommy brought boats and a tub of water for us to play in. She can't imagine teaching toddlers on a regular basis. What a huge change from Kindergarten it is for her, surprising as that might sound.
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