Happy Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year and had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday with family and friends.  The week prior Cooper had Thanksgiving Feast at school, so he kept asking, "Is today Thanksgiving Feast?" as we celebrated with our families.  We traveled to IA on Wednesday and had so much fun with the Caruth/Staples clan on Thursday.  The boys had a great time playing with their cousins and seeing their Grand/Great Grandparents.  Owen, Gavin and Cooper had a sleepover in the basement both nights and it was a surprising success!  We headed home on Friday and spent the rest of the weekend getting our house transformed into Christmas!

I must have lost my mind because we decided to put up two Christmas trees this year.  Considering we have a toddler who has the nickname, WOMD (Weapon Of Mass Destruction) because he likes to tear apart everything he sees, we'll see how long the trees stay as they are today.  Both boys love looking at the trees and Cooper was thrilled to discover this morning that or Elf On The Shelf Frederick has returned.

Prior to Thanksgiving we spent a fun morning taking the boys bowling for the first time with their friends.  Both boys had a great time and we will definitely be breaking out our bowling shoes again soon.

Drew is now 15 months old and has made fantastic improvement in his walking abilities.  Although not yet his preferred method of transportation just over the weekend he has started making great strides, literally.  He will now take steps on his own at times without us even trying to coax him towards us.  I know he will be running after Cooper in no time.

Both boys LOVED the pie!  Drew above enjoying some with Daddy and Cooper below patiently waiting for his piece to get served.

Drew was thrilled to be hanging out with the Big Boys at Grandma and Grandpas.

 Just a recent pic that I wanted to include of Drew helping himself in the fridge.  We have the exact same pictures of Cooper at close to the same age.

Striking a pose for the camera :)

Our first real Christmas tree!

Happy Halloween!

   We had a fun-filled Halloween.  Jennon's office had a great party this afternoon with games, crafts and lots of candy.  The boys had a blast.  Quick photo shoot with Owen and Gavin and then off for some trick or treating in our neighborhood.  Cooper continues to be super surprised and excited when he actually gets candy at every house ; )

The boys had a fun-filled Halloween.  Jennon's office had a great party this afternoon with games, crafts and lots of candy.  The boys had a blast.  Quick photo shoot with Owen and Gavin and then off for some trick or treating in our neighborhood.  Cooper continues be super surprised and excited when he actually gets candy at every house ; )

Fall fun and LOTS of pics

   We have been thoroughly enjoying fall thus far.  Lots of fun outside at apple orchards, pumpkin patches, collecting leaves, hay/wagon/train rides, and carmel apples!
   Drew is doing really well and making some great improvement adjusting to his, "school environments," on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.  His vocabulary continues to grow each day and although not yet walking he spends a lot of time walking along furniture and behind his push toys.  Climbing the stairs is still a great past time as well.  He is quite the snuggle bug and we often spend the first 20 minutes of each morning cuddling once Drew has woken up.  We both like to ease into the day ;)
  Cooper is doing great too and loving preschool.  I am so impressed with his school, the administrators and teachers have all been fantastic.  Cooper comes home each day happy to   share what he did at school with his friends.  He can also recite the pledge of allegiance!  He gets a little tripped up at the "indivisible" part and usually says "invisible," but it sounds absolutely adorable hearing it from his sweet little voice.

1st Day of School

The boys both had their first days of school last week.  Cooper started preschool at Wooddale Church on Monday and Drew went to ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) on Tuesday.  Monday went really well.  Although on the way to school Cooper said he didn't really want to go the second we walked in the door he jumped right in playing with the other kids.  He seems to be enjoying himself and the teachers, Mrs. Cindy and Mrs. Lisa, both seem really great.  Whenever I ask him what he did at school he replies, "I played with cars."  According to the notes I get each day from the teachers he does a little bit more than that ; )
Drew and I will be going to ECFE together on Tuesday mornings while Cooper is at preschool.  We are together for the first half of class, then I go to another room that is still connected by an open door for the second half.  We have the same teachers as when Cooper and I did this class together when he was one, so it is really nice to be familiar with everyone.  Drew is struggling a bit with separating so this was a bit of a challenge.  Quite a few tears were shed while I was in the other room but Ms. Laurie gave him a lot of snuggles and found some new toys that kept is attention for a few long stretches.  It is a terrible feeling hearing the poor little guy crying but I am doing my best to stay in the other room with the other parents and our parent educator.  I know this is important for his social development and really hope he starts to adjust sooner rather than later.  Drew seems so much younger to me than Cooper did when he attended this class.  He isn't walking yet and doesn't have as many teeth which I think has something to do with it.  I love the picture of him sitting at the little tiny table in the little kiddie chairs, so cute!!  He loved looking around the table and seeing all of the other friends his size.

He is obsessed with walking along the furniture and has started standing completely on his own for a few seconds at a time.  His vocabulary is also starting to grow.  Just this weekend alone he said, "cool, Cooper, milk, echo, and more."  He has also become much more opinionated at meal time and will definitely let us know when he needs something.  I will take my best guess at what he wants and ask if he wants whatever it is I'm holding.  He often replies with a loud yes and a big enthusiastic head nod.  

Cooper has also started soccer through the YMCA.  We have two games under our belt and he seems to be enjoying it.  He had a lot of fun playing goalie but unfortunately forgot to quit using his hands once he was playing a new position.  I just bought him a new soccer ball today and he had a lot of fun practicing in the backyard with Jennon this afternoon.  We are continuing to enjoy perfect weather so have been putting in a lot of time on the swing set and bike rides with the burley.

End of Summer

We had a fun Labor Day weekend.  We have had an amazing, fun-filled summer, but I am honestly looking forward to fall and all that it will bring.  Cooper and Gavin had their last t-ball game on Thursday and were both thrilled to receive gold medals.  It was a fun season and we are looking forward to soccer starting soon.  We had fun at the Como Zoo on Saturday and wrapped up Monday with some quality time in the sprinkler.  Drew was in HEAVEN playing with the water as it sprayed out!  Drew also took his first burley ride!  The boys were a little fidgety with each other at first but once Jennon got moving they had a great time.  Cooper found it so relaxing he fell asleep!