Last night

Last night I did something I never thought I would have to do..

Cooper and I went over to mom and dad's house to help shave mom's head. Not exactly your typical family dinner. Mom had heard from a friend that once her hair started falling out from the Chemo, it would be a good idea to shave her head in front of her grand kids. That way they wouldn't be afraid of Grandma with a bald head. The kids helped out for a couple of swipes with the razor before giving up playing with a box of hats and scarves mom had put together.

Cooper taking his turn. Mom isn't grimacing in this picture, she was actually telling the kids that it tickles!

Dad helping Kaylin

Me finishing shaving her head

All done

As always my mom handled what I am sure was a hard situation with grace and strength. I don't know how she remains so strong and composed through all of this. She is truly an amazing person and I don't tell her often enough how amazing she is and how much I love her.

First trip to the dentist

At the beginning of November Cooper went to the dentist for the first time, who would have thought we needed to start so early considering he only has baby teeth. Both Rob and I decided to go thinking we would both need to hold him down. we were right.. Before I get to that I have to tell you about his choice of toothbrushes. The hygienist showed him a basket of toothbrushes and told him he could pick one. He pointed at a pink one and said "I want that one!" Rob and I looked at each other and asked him if he was sure, he repeated "I want that one!" So Cooper has a pink toothbrush with bugs on it and he loves it.

Then it was time to head into the chair. He sat on my lap while the hygienist showed him all the tools and even shot water on the wall. Then it came time to lay down. I was still sitting on the chair with him, but he wanted nothing to do with it. He screamed and cried, I had to hold his hands and feet while Rob held his head still so she could clean his teeth. The hygienist asked us if we floss his teeth, really?!? I don't get my fingers near his mouth if I don't have to. I think we will wait a little while before trying to floss.

Then it was time to meet the dentist. Cooper has a little stranger anxiety, especially with men, so the poor guy had a strike against him from the start. He kind of looked like a mad scientist with wild curly hair and glasses. We really had to hold him down as he checked Cooper's teeth but he said everything looked great and reassured us it would get better each time we went. I think both of us will go again next time again just to be safe.

My Mom

For those of you who don't know my mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on October 8th. This still isn't something that is easy for me to say or to talk about. Talking and writing about it makes the reality of it sink in a little further. It's been over a month since we found out and it still doesn't seem real. The reason I am posting this now is mom has asked for prayers to help guide and carry her though this journey.

My mom being the amazing person she is, has kept an amazing attitude through all the tests, pokes and biopsies. When I went to see her on the day she was diagnosed, she hugged me and told me she was fine, I was terrified and I still am. Mom is one of the strongest women I have ever known and I know she will get through this.

Mom thankfully has great doctors and nurses on her care team including an amazing surgeon, primary doctor and an oncologist. Last Friday she had day surgery to have her port put in for her upcoming Chemo treatments and it went really well. She starts Chemo this Friday.

She created a CaringBridge site (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bonnieboie) this week in order to keep everyone updated as it's the easiest way to get information out and to make sure we don't forget anyone. I am sure she would like to hear any well wishes you might have for her on her guestbook.

Halloween fun

We had a great Halloween weekend this year. We started it out by carving pumpkins with auntie Annie. Cooper was so funny, he wouldn't touch the insides of the pumpkin, the closest I could get him to the insides was to put the seeds in the bowl. We even had a lion sighting when Cooper put on his costume.

Saturday afternoon we had a small party for the kids and Cooper had a blast with all "his girls" and my family there.

Then it was time to go trick or treating. We joined up with the Kotsmith's and Cooper had a blast running with Leah and Amanda. He didn't want to carry his treat bag so he was running around with handfuls of candy. I think he dropped more than he brought home.

Fall fun

Even though yesterday we woke up to a blanket of snow, we still wanted to celebrate fall, so today we took Cooper to Eveland Farms. We had so much fun! I am sure we will go there again next year, though probably earlier in the year so we don't have to wear winter jackets, hats and mittens.

Cooper loved the minature horses! He kept going back to them when we were trying to pick out pumpkins.

While we were on the hay ride it started to snow but we still had fun. Cooper loved seeing the cows up close.

Cars, Tattoos and big boy bed

Cooper like most boys loves cars! He can't get enough of them and he takes them everywhere, even to bed sometimes. When he first started playing with them he would line them all up and push them like a train or caravan. Now he makes the vroom vroom noise when he pushes them around. He always has at least two cars with him at all times.






When we were at the State Fair Cooper got his first temporary tattoo. He was a little scared when the guy applied it but he loved it! If you mentioned anything about a tattoo, he would point to his arm long after it had been washed off.

We got Cooper this big boy bed for his birthday. So far all he uses it for is jumping or he will lay on it when I am reading him books at bedtime. Yesterday at daycare Miss Christy moved him out of the pack'n play and on to a cot. Cooper got to pick a blanket from home to keep at daycare for awhile to help with the transition. I was nervous when I picked him up yesterday but he did great! He didn't get off the cot and actually took a nap. Hopefully this will help our transition to a big boy bed at home as well.

Swimming

Tonight I took Cooper to the YMCA for swimming lessons. I think this is his third session and it showed. He loves the water! He was so excited to get in the pool, which was thankfully warm, and loved jumping in and even going under water. Tonight with the help of a noodle and the float belt Cooper swam on his own! It's so amazing to me that he is fearless and doesn't care about his face being in the water. The goal of this class is for him to swim without me by the end of the class, wish us luck. He is a little scared of the teacher so hopefully he will warm up by the end. Keep your fingers crossed.

Gopher Game in the new stadium

Tonight we attended the first Gopher game in the new TCF stadium!

We dropped Cooper off at the Peterson's so he could have a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa. Before we headed to the game, we had to take a picture of all of us in our Gopher gear. Then Grandpa also joined the picture.

Since Rob is a student he was able to get us season tickets in the student section. We started the day out at Sally's for a cocktail and then headed to SAE to meet some of Rob's college friends.

Then it was time to head to the stadium. Because we have tickets were in the student section we had to enter in though this gate. The lines were pretty long though it was fun to watch Rob get frisked by the male security guard. :)

I was a little nervous about being the older people in the student section and was worried they would check my fake student ID. Well technically it's not fake, it's just not me (thanks again Lindsay!). We didn't have any problems and they didn't even check my id.

The stadium was amazing and you couldn't beat the views.


Thankfully the Gophers won - let's hope for a great rest of the season!

Welcome to motherhood

Both Rob and I know we have been really, really lucky with Cooper. He was a very happy baby, has always slept very well, hardly spit up and hasn't had too many sick days.


Today I got an email from daycare saying Cooper wasn't feeling well. Dang it. Last night he was coughing a little bit and had a runny nose. By the time I picked him up at 4:30 he had a fever and was coughing harder. During dinner he kept saying "mama night night", this was at 7:00. So by 7:45 we were cuddling in our bed watching a movie (his sheets were in the wash). Both of us fell asleep but I was woken up around 10:00 by gagging noises. I quickly jumped up and ran to grab a towel. Too late. It was all over our bed, Cooper and me. Thankfully Rob got home not too long after this happened so he could cuddle with Cooper and I could clean up the mess.

2 years old already?

It's hard to believe Cooper is 2. While I have been telling people he was almost two it's a little strange to think he is now officially two. We had a birthday party for him on the 29th of August at a park by our house. He loves to play at the playground so we figured it was a perfect fit. It was a little cold for being the end of August but everything turned out great.

On Cooper's actual birthday we wanted to do something special with him but decided we didn't want to be inside on a beautiful day. We ended up taking him to a park to play where he decided he likes to swing. He didn't want to get off. :) I think he was on the swing for over 25 minutes.

Last year we started a tradition where we take a family picture in front of our house next to the same tree so we see how much we have changed. Here is our picture from this year.

State Fair

For the last two years our family has gone to the State Fair. Some people might be thinking "so what?". I normally avoid large crowds and heat like the plague if I can avoid it. Plus with a baby/toddler it's always a crap shoot. This year we decided to take the day off so we could arrive early and hopefully get home by nap time. We got a little later start than we had planned but we were there by 9:30.


My parents were also at the fair so we met up with them and headed to the barns.


Cooper loved seeing the cows, sheep, pigs and horses. He even got to pet a few:







As we were leaving the barn Cooper broke loose from the hand he was holding (I can't remember who's) and started running after a cow that was being lead down the street. Kind of scary. Now I know why parent's use those backpack/leashes on toddlers in crowds.

I don't know if you know this, but Rob loves seeing the big pig. For those of you who don't go to the fair it's an absolutely huge pig that lays in his pen. Just like last year, I took a picture of Cooper and daddy in front of this poor animal.



The Miracle of Life building is one of my favorite exhibits at the fair. Cooper got to pet a baby pig that was probably only days old. We watched chickens hatch from their eggs and got to see a baby calf.



Towards the end of the day we could tell nap time was quickly approaching. We put him in the stroller with hopes he would fall asleep and he finally did. Then on the way home so did Rob.

Almost two

With Cooper's second birthday quickly approaching I figured it was time for a Cooper update.

Cooper's growing spurts seemed to have finally slowed down, he has been able to wear the same size clothes for a while now. When we went to get the mail yesterday I noticed how much he seems to have thinned out and is looking less and less like a toddler. Although still with super cute chubby cheeks.

I noticed on Monday that Cooper no longer needs to hold my hand when walking down the stairs at daycare. He also can now walk down our stairs without holding on to the railing.

He now loves to sing and he does it often. If you ask him what song he wants to sing he will tell you. If you start a different song, he will definitely let you know. When singing the ABC song he will sing A, B, P and say me. The rest of the time he will sort of hum along. He also likes Row your boat, Old McDonald (especially when Rob does the animal noises) and Twinkle Twinkle.

He is getting much better at eating. For a long time it was a fight to get him into his booster chair and we dreaded meal time. We changed is milk to 2% last month and have started limiting when he can have it. When we would to get home he would instantly ask for milk and through out the night. I was so proud of him for actually asking for something and using his big boy words, I would give it to him. Now most of the time when he asks for milk we give him juice or water (which he loves) and most nights he actually eats without a fuss. He has even crawled up onto his chair and will say eat. Monday night we had stuffed green pepper soup and he loved it, he seems to eat more if he eats what we eat. We are still working on getting him to eat fruit, watermelon seems to be his favorite right now.

He also does animal sounds that crack me up. My favorite is the owl but he will also do cow, horse, sheep, cat, dog and lion.

He loves his trike or any ride on toy. For a couple weeks when I left the house in the morning I would have to lock the door behind me because Rob would find Cooper in the garage riding his trike. At National Night Out he kept "stealing" the other kids ride on toys. Rob commented that he hopes he doesn't continue to do that 15 years from now.

His vocabulary seems to be growing almost daily and we can tell he understands what we are saying. Whether or not he listens is another story.. Here is a list of his current words/phrases: I want more, I don't know, I want that one, boot, shoe, key, apple, purple, please (which sounds like peas), over, me, home, up. He also uses dada and momma ALL THE TIME. Last night when we went to bed he had woken up and was saying momma over and over again. It took a lot for me not to go in there.

He has also has started to be a daddy's boy which makes both Rob and I happy. Check out this picture of him on the golf course, Rob is already talking about him taking lessons.

Crib

Tonight we took a part Cooper's crib. Not because we are moving him to a big boy bed or changing his room but because there was a recall on his crib. Seriously people? It's been over two years since we bought it. How sad is it that a 8 month old baby had to die before they realized they shouldn't use plastic hinges? As a parent I can't imagine what I would do if I walked into Cooper's room and saw something like this:

Visit from Texas

We were so happy that my aunt Bev, Cousin Teri and her 3 kids came to stay with us on Wednesday! It was so great to see everyone again and to finally meet Emma! The kids had so much fun playing together.

We had Kaylin spend the night on Wednesday so she could play with the kids and so it would be easier for Christy to come over for breakfast on Thursday morning. It was fun because the three youngest kids were only 7 months apart.


The boys had a lot of fun playing on the stairs and Cooper taught the Transier kids his bad habit of jumping on the furniture.

I also caught a glimpse of what it's like to have an "older" boy around. I brought out the bubble machine and Liam and Luke stood in front of the bubble maker trying to eat the bubbles. Goofy boys.

Becker's 2009

We just got back from our yearly vacation with the Peterson's at Becker's Resort. In prior years it's the hottest week of the year, this year was quite different.. We had okay weather on Sunday and Monday, meaning low 70's. We brought Cooper to the pool on Monday and he loved it. It still amazes me how fearless he is. We put a life jacket on him and he was jumping into the pool without even holding our hands. He didn't mind his face getting wet and wanted to stay in there even after his teeth started chattering.



We woke up on Tuesday to cold gloomy weather. I called my mom to see how things were at home. Mom said Grandma Gladys wasn't doing so good. So I talked my wonderful husband into taking a day trip and going to visit grandma. We left Becker's and started the three hour drive to Hallock. It was raining and windy over half of the way up there. Once we got there it was so great to see Grandma! She was doing much better and we were able to have a good visit with her. I was able to snap this picture of Cooper giving Grandma a kiss, really sweet. We ended up staying for about three hours before heading back to Becker's. We also hit horrible weather on the way back, thankfully we made it back safely about 11 hours later.

For the rest of the week we didn't see the sun again, but that didn't stop us from having a great time! Cooper had a sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin on Wednesday night and was able to spend a lot of time with them.








He also found a new favorite person, Tim's girlfriend Annie. Cooper loved her! He followed her around and I am pretty sure he drove her a little crazy.






We were also able to sneak in a little fishing. Anne and I killed the guys in our annual rock bass "tournament" Though I have to admit we had an incredible navigator.







Cooper also had a lot of fun play with Abby and hanging out at the play ground.





We had to leave Becker's early this year because we had a wedding to go to on Saturday. While it cut the week short it was kind of nice to be home for a weekend before heading back to work.