Hawaiian Falls-Double Dose

This past weekend our church reserved the Hawaiian Falls waterpark for family night. We met our friends Jeremy, Shelley, and Jax there and had a great time! There were no lines or crowds. It was great! The boys had a blast!

Jax and Cooper licking the water!


Today we headed back to HF for a special playdate with Sophia and Landon. The kids must have gone down the slides 100 times! It was actually cloudy and cool, a perfect day to be outside. We sure do love our friends!

Getting ready for some water fun!

They were all very intrigued by this water station. None of them ever figured out how to turn it on! HA!

Rodeoing with MiMi and Grandad

This weekend we enjoyed a visit from MiMi and Grandad! They brought Cooper some tomato plants and flowers to plant outside his house. Let's hope he has more of a green thumb than his Mama!

MiMi and Cooper planting the plants. (She was a lot more willing to get dirty than he was, but he was more than happy to do the watering!)

On Friday night, we headed to the Ft.Worth stockyards for some rodeo fun. Cooper loved the petting zoo (of course) and all the horses walking around. The rodeo on the other hand was a different story.

We got off to a good start with a box of popcorn, a new light sword, and a great seat between MiMi and Grandad.

Grandad explaining the rodeo basics

Watching the first event, bull riding. Cooper was very intrigued, but a little overwhelmed by all this action.

However, I think it was the calf roping that really did him in. As soon as we saw that lip pucker out and he crawled into my lap and said, "Uh-oh cow," we knew our little animal lover was done. Needless to say, we made a very early exit.

So, maybe our little cowboy is still a little too young for the rodeo, but we sure did have fun in cowtown anyway. Thanks MiMi and Grandad!

Singing, Dancing, and Jumping!

Cooper has become quite the entertainer lately. Here are a few of his newest tricks!
Singing "Old MacDonald" with guitar in hand, of course!

Jumping up off the ground! You can tell he thinks he is jumping really high. This cracks me up!

He has also developed a true love for bounce houses. This is a little bouncing from Toddler Time this week.

Dallas Aquarium

This weekend we took a little family trip to the Dallas Aquarium! It was amazing and VERY crowded! We had a great time looking at all the animals (in the air conditioning!)

Our favorite part was the shark tunnel. It was so neat to watch all the sharks, stingrays, and turtles swim all around us. This is how Cooper felt about it...

Watching the penguins

Grandmommy's Visit

This week my mom made her yearly week long visit. This tradition started when I was teaching. We would spend most of our time decorating my classroom and getting ready for the school year. While I have many good memories of those times, I very much enjoy getting to shop, relax, and visit during her trips now! Cooper loved having Grandmommy here for a week too! They read an endless amount of books, played, sang, cooked, and played some more! She also got to come with us to Cooper's Stretch and Grow class, toddler time, and the library! Mom even kept Cooper so that Chad and I could have a night out for our anniversary! Thanks Grandmommy for all your help this week! You are such a great guest, and so easy to please!

Cooper being such a good listener during Stretch and Grow.

Reading with Grandmommy

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th a day early with our friends the Jacksons! We had a great time just visiting, letting the kids play and swim, and watching the fireworks!


Cooper, Jax, and Jake in the pool







Jax and Cooper having a serious discussion

Exploring Daddy's toolbox while waiting for the fireworks to begin

2 Year Stats

At 2 years old, Cooper weighs 30lbs and is 35 1/2 inches tall. He is in the 75% in height, weight, and head size!

Cooper loves all things that can be driven, animals, tools, Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse, and still loves "cooking". He continues to love books. He is especially into Dr. Seuss and all the If You Give a ____ a _____ books. He also has a new love for singing. He loves to sing "Old MacDonald" and "The Alphabet Song" most!

Cooper is talking really well now. He can combine words, but is not quite saying full sentences yet. Some of my favorite phrases he says often are, "Hurry, hurry, hurry!" "Let's go Mama!" and "Cooper's turn." He knows his letters and sounds pretty consistently. He does get a few mixed up every now and then. He is not nearly as interested in numbers as he is letters, but can count to 10 sometimes. He is still in his crib, and we have not begun the potty training process yet. I'm thinking both of these transitions are coming soon. Yikes!

Here is a little video of Cooper's letter song. (Thanks Letter Factory!)

Cooper will eat most anything, but loves milk, spaghetti, tacos, guacamole, watermelon, and of course ice cream!

I love Cooper at this age! It is so fun to hear him talk and not have to guess what he is thinking. He is so much fun to play with, and has such an imagination.

The After Party

After the farm, the family came back to our house for hot dogs, banana pudding, and more presents.
Cooper opening his new tools from MiMi and Grandad. He is so excited to be just like Handy Manny!

He even got to try them out while helping Grandad fix Daddy's fan.

Taking a spin on his new "bike" from Grandmommy and Papa!

PaPa and Grandmommy enjoying some AC and banana pudding.

Showing sweet Madie his new house! MiMi was such a trooper, and wins the award for lasting inside the house the longest!

One tired birthday boy!

Barnyard Bash

This year we had Cooper's party at Country Critter's Farm. It was EXTREMELY hot, but he got to do all the things he had been looking forward to. So, I guess we will call it a success. There were definitely a lot of red faced little ones that day!

My friend Alexis painted these overalls for Cooper to wear. She did an amazing job. They were adorable.

My friend, Sara, made these precious cupcakes. They were my favorite part of the party! Cooper was so excited about his "horsey cupcake"!

The party favors! They were mason jars filled with "homemade chicken feed" (chocolate graham crackers and gummy worms!) The balloons and wind were not a good mix. Thankfully my parents and Mike had the patience to untangle them numerous times!

Cooper's favorite part, brushing the goats!

Riding the "train" with the big boys!

The hayride!

There was also a ponyride, but Cooper decided not to participate. ;)

Driving the tractors!

Talking to the cats!

Cooper loved having the birthday song sung to him, and even blew out his candle. Thanks to Uncle Case for keeping it burning long enough!

Opening presents!

Thanks everyone for enduring the heat! Next year we promise air conditioning. Well, unless Cooper decides otherwise!