Another trip to the zoo

One of our favorite tourist attractions to take Cooper to is the zoo. He's been to three different zoos (Naples, FL, and Los Angeles and San Diego, CA) and to the L.A. Zoo three times - so five times in less than two years. Cooper loves animals, but he loves water and fish even more (he's been to two different aquariums plus Sea World). So today at the L.A. Zoo his favorite "exhibit" was....a waterfall. LOL Don't get me wrong - he enjoyed seeing the gorilla (he LOVES monkeys) and the giraffes (especially the baby one that kept stretching his neck toward us as we stood watching), but he goes cookoo over waterfalls and other water features everywhere we go. It will not surprise me if we find him pursuing hobbies and/or a career involving water (swimming, boating, fishing, oceanography, etc.).

It was a beautiful day in L.A. - about 68 degrees and sunny. It felt good to walk around and take in the fresh air (well, maybe not the air surrounding the flamingo exhibit - stinky!). Cooper was thrilled when I took him out of the stroller and put his little monkey harness/leash thing on him and let him walk and run around. He really likes his new monkey harness which is a relief because he wasn't too fond of the plain backpack version we had tried with him previously. When he wasn't wearing the monkey one, he was hugging it in the stroller as we walked around enjoying the sites and sounds at the zoo.

Cooper and his monkey :)

Cooper and Grandma

Cooper admiring the waterfall

19 months now. Eye teeth. Finally.

Cooper turned 19 months old on the 21st. The months are flying by and he's such a little man, amazing us all the time with the new words, signs, and personality he demonstrates. The latest sign is "thank you" (so we have "please" and "thank you" as a nice set now) :). He has started saying the words while signing now too which is great. I love how he says "please" - it sounds like "peas".

Night time had deteriorated again around these parts these past two weeks. Cooper's gums over the upper eye teeth have been swollen for nearly two months but with no action so I didn't even consider that as a possible cause of the crazy night business (defiance at its best, with a side of puke). The night before last was HORRENDOUS. Cooper was angry and distraught about being in bed. He got so worked up he threw up all over the crib (again - this being 4th time in 3 weeks). Rehydrated him and put him back to bed and the screaming resumed. I finally went and laid on the floor next to his crib and then he calmed down. He laid down and stared at me - for like 30 minutes or longer. I would sit up every 10 minutes hoping to find him asleep so I could leave the room and there he was laying there quietly and looking at me. He knew I wanted to leave the room so he'd start whining. I laid back down and fell asleep. When I woke up (probably 45 minutes later) he was asleep so I was able to go to bed. He was up every couple of hours though (not unlike every night the past couple of weeks).

Yesterday he was so exhausted from being up so much the night before and all the drama that he had a 2.5 hour nap. After that, everything seemed (and was) better. Happier, more relaxed, ate better, and even asked to go to bed. When I took him up and brushed his teeth I found that the tips of his upper eye teeth finally poked through. That gave me hope that things would settle down a bit (the hard part for those teeth was finally over). And, once he was in bed he stayed there quietly and calmly, only waking once during the night. Phew!

Hopefully we'll have a lengthy pause between these teeth and the next set due to emerge.

Dedicated

On January 10, 2010 (my birthday), Cooper Mitchell Olsen was dedicated to God at our church. It was a beautiful day in so many ways. Grandma Olsen and Grandma Punty were on hand, along with Aunt Dottie and Uncle Bob too. After the service we enjoyed a visit here at the house.

Pics to be posted shortly.

Grandma is coming! Grandma is coming!

Woo hoo! She'll be here in less than 24 hours :)

Cooper's Christmas - photos

Cooper finally got to open his Christmas presents this week and he sure had a blast. Here are a few pictures of Cooper of him enjoying his new toys.

The next morning he wouldn't go ANYWHERE without his new guitar...

Happy 18 Months, Cooper!

Wow!! A year and a half old already! What a precious gift you are to us, Cooper. We love you so so much!

"Eyelulu"

There is NOTHING better in this world than hearing your child tell you they love you - especially that very first time. About a week ago I told Cooper I loved him (as I do probably 100 times a day), and he looked me in the eye and said "eyelulu". My heart just melted.

Lately whenever I tell him I love him he stops what he's doing, walks over to me, puckers up and leans in for a kiss! Seriously - this kid is one heck of a cuddler lover boy and I am sooooo grateful for that. :) Sometimes, as he's leaning in he makes this little mmmmmm sound while puckering up for his kiss. So freakin' cute!!!

Cooper do, eyelulu!