Drawing

The picture on the left is what Cooper drew recently. This is Cooper, the bottom circle is his belly button and the top is his special spot. The picture on the right Cooper also drew and Sharon helped finish with the eye and other effects.

One year photos

I finally finished Cooper's photo frame of his first year.

Third Week of Preschool

It was my day to parent help at Cooper's preschool today. Cooper woke up and the first thing he asked, "is it your day to wear the blue mask at preschool Mommy?" Parent helpers wear a blue apron and he has been asking me for two weeks when it will be my turn. He was so excited to have me there and help us set up the school this morning.
As a parent helper you are basically a teacher that day. Everyday there are three parent helpers and Teacher Anette. Right now we have one extra in the class to learn the ropes with their mentor family. We rotate positions so I helped in the morning with the art project and finished the day outside.
I had a lot of fun watching how the day goes and watching Cooper. He didn't hang out near me the whole day but did spend some time with me doing art and playing outside. I was impressed with his independence, I wasn't sure how he would be.
Cooper got to wear a blue apron also because his mom was a parent helper and he was super excited about that too.
It was a great day, I loved being there!


Here's a picture of Cooper this afternoon after his haircut.

Steam Train

Sunday we went up to Washington and took a steam train ride. It was a fun outing, Cooper loved the train, brought his train hat too. The weather was hot and sunny and we had a nice breeze coming in through thewindow (Cooper wanted to sit inside). The train ride was about an hour roundtrip.

Here is a video I took with Sharon and Cooper talking and the train whistle in the background.

The Beach

Libby and I took the kids and dogs to a nice beach on the river last Friday. The kids had a great time playing in the water, splashing, swimming, running, and playing in the sand. Luke and Riley also had a blast playing together on the beach, running like crazy dogs and cooling off in the water. They took a nice shaded nap after playing for an hour.

 Larkin having a timeout and then choosing to stay on the beach and talk/play by herself.

First Day of Preschool

Here he is ready for his first day of preschool.





He had a great day, played outside, did some paint and play-doh. We took him for ice cream when we picked him up.
Sharon and I did pretty well too, only a few tears when we left!

More Camping

Labor Day weekend we camped with our friends Pam and Julie and Dory at Paradise Creek in the Gifford Pinchot Forest, outside of Carson, WA. Sharon and I haven't been to this campground since 2004, so it was nice to be back. Our site was right on the creek so Cooper asked Dory and Pam to go to the creek and collect rocks or play with him.

It was Dory's birthday weekend and we celebrated each night he was there. Holly and Angie came up Sunday evening to celebrate as a surprise too. Sunday we took a day trip to the Swift Reservoir to do some fishing. It was a great afternoon of catching frogs, tadpoles, seeing dragonflies and butterflies and little fish. We also got attacked by mosquitos, I am still itching!! Cooper had a blast, it was a hot day and the water felt great. No fish were caught but the fisherwomen/men had fun trying. Cooper got really good at catching the frogs and tadpoles, they were everywhere. By the end he told Sharon that she couldn't catch the frogs, only he could.

We ate really well, really well. It was our first time camping with Julie and Pam and their first time camping as a couple. We truly enjoyed camping with them, it was a great weekend. Oh one last thing, Cooper had his first crash on his Skuut bike. He went super fast down a big hill and wiped out at the end. It caused a lot of tears and some blood but he is okay. His helmet protected him from major damage. By the end of the night he would look at his leg and whimper, he is so funny.

Camping Trip to Lakeside

We had a great trip to the coast the weekend before Labor Day. Libby and Jaime have the ability to reserve a campground through Jaime's work and invite friends to camp. This place was awesome. Quiet, hook-ups for our trailer, kitchen, showers, bathroom, beach and playground. Cooper had so much fun playing with all the kids and running around. We stayed an extra day we were having so much fun. Sharon and Cooper went kayaking one afternoon. I went kayaking with Emory and Libby also. We took a day trip to Bandon, OR. Cooper played on the beach a lot and generally ran around a lot.

The weather was gorgeous! I haven't been to the sand dunes area of the Oregon Coast in 11 or more years. It was awesome! We had a great trip.

More Swim Pictures

I took a few more pictures on his second to last day of swim class. He was super chatty with the teacher, Otter. He is doing really well with the classes and we signed him up for more in the fall.

Otter taught the kids about being safe in the water, they practiced with the flotation devices for awhile then did some more floating.