Starting him out young

Cooper has really started noticing girls recently. I don't know how or why, but when he sees a little girl close to his age, he tries to go kiss them. Yesterday we were at the ball fields watching Matt play, when Cooper leaned in to baby Jessie (the little girl in the picture) for a hug and kiss. He didn't even ask! He just went straight for first base! And then tonight we were at the ball fields again, and he was all over a different little girl! He is very friendly and never meets a stranger. I know that it's cute right now, but later on, we are going to have to have a talk! :)
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MOM-cation

This past weekend, my mom, sister, and I headed to Orange Beach, AL for some quality time away from our kiddos. We left Thursday morning and didn't get back until Sunday afternoon. It was nice to be able to lay on the beach, swim in the pool, and read whenever I wanted! We did some shopping, lots of eating, and went to see a movie (The Help - so good!). My favorite part of the whole trip actually happened about an hour out of the beach. On Friday, we drove to Fairhope, AL. It is a quaint little town with all sorts of cute shops. We probably could have spent all weekend there if we had known what it was going to be like. The picture is of me in the "French Quarter" in downtown Fairhope. Such a neat place! As we were leaving, we drove by the pier to have a look. While we were there, some people were throwing nets out in the water. At first we thought they were fishermen, but then this lady with her child showed up and started doing it. They were catching shrimp and putting it in a bucket. We jumped out to get a look and almost stepped on several crabs as they were scurrying about. It was so weird to just see these people walk up and fish like that! Definitely not something you see in Auburn! It was a good weekend, but I was ready to be home to see Matt and Cooper. Matt did such an awesome job taking care of Cooper. It is not easy doing it all by yourself without any relief. He is the BEST!!
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First Day of School - sort of

Today, we took Cooper to a Mother's Day Out program at a local Methodist church. The program allows you to pay per day and is first come first serve. We got there at 8:40 even though it didn't start until 9:00 because we weren't sure of how many people would be there. Well I'm glad we got there when we did, because when I signed in, he was 8 out of the 10 they allow in his class! The program is very popular and was packed by 9:00! We took Cooper in and I wasn't surprised when he just walked in to his classroom and started playing. No crying or anything! That helped my nerves because I was already anxious about not knowing anyone there. We stuck around just a minute or two to introduce ourselves to the teacher, and then we left. Cooper didn't even seem to care that we weren't there. He was too busy playing with a dog that he found.

The program lasts from 9 till 12, so I was able to get a lot accomplished. I went to a doctor's appointment, and then went home to clean. I was able to dust all 4 of our fans which probably hadn't been dusted in years! And then I vacuumed and swept. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I put off vacuuming as long as I can, so we I get around to doing it, it is a major task!

After I was done cleaning, I went and picked Cooper up. His teacher said he was such a well natured child. She said that he went around kissing all his classmates. Cooper was so happy to see me and looked like he had a great time! We will definitely be using that program again!

After "school", we went to eat lunch and then headed home. Poor baby was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as he got in the car. That is what I call a good day at school! :)
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That's what little boys are made of

Today I took Cooper to an awesome park in town. It is so awesome that it is called Hickory Dickory Park. They have a great playground that is divided for small children and older children. It is decked out in playground equipment. Since school just started for Auburn on Wednesday, we had the park to ourselves. Cooper could literally play on anything he wanted. But what did he choose to play with? The mulch! What is it about little boys? They LOVE to play with sticks, dirt, rocks, grass, insects, etc. when they have all these toys to play with! Oh well! I guess that's one of the reasons boys are cheaper? :)
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Do you like hotdogs?

A couple of days ago, I made hotdogs for Cooper and let him dip the hotdog into ketchup and mustard all by himself. As you can see, he definitely had fun! It was hard for me to sit back and let him make such a mess, but that is the cost of making him independent. :)