The Thanksgiving Day edition

A fun new game: Oh no! We've lost Cooper's hand!!

Hurray! There it is!!

Grown-up cereal (Raisin Bran) with milk for breakfast.

Trying out a bubble bath. In this photo, he's actually saying "No bubbles." Oops. Too late for that.

Another fun game: Fingers in Ears. When he first did this, I would move my mouth like I was talking but with no sound, as if Cooper's fingers in his ears muted all sound. So now Cooper sticks his fingers in his ears and then moves his own mouth up and down with no sound. It's odd, I know, but really quite cute.

And finally, nothing says "Happy Thanksgiving" like riding on a giant tortoise.

Baker athletics

Cooper first met Wowzer (Baker's wildcat mascot) back in August at a back-to-school event. He was none too thrilled and cried when Wowzer touched *my* hand. But slowly, throughout football season, he's become more and more enamored with Wowzer. We always have to find him and wave. And we played peek-a-boo from a distance. And then check this out:

Cooper gave Wowzer five!

And then he spent the rest of the football picking up trash and throwing it away.

The next time we saw Wowzer, Cooper was brave enough to move in for a hug.

And just after Alan snapped this picture, Cooper gave the sweetest smile! He loves Wowzer now!


We all went to the Baker U Ultimate Frisbee tournament one Saturday. Alan actually played (on their *varsity* team -- he's quite the big shot!), and Cooper and I just cheered the team on.

Until Cooper found this billboard with a picture of Wowzer.

This is him kissing Wowzer.


And finally, a basketball game. (Playing peek-a-boo, of course.)

We were sitting on the sidelines because painted on the wall above us was a picture of Wowzer.

Apple Orchard

Fun games

So I turn my back for a minute...

Senior picture at Baker:

Enjoying a sucker, with lots of drool:

Cooper's newest skill: He can stand inside the bathroom and pull the door completely shut behind him. (But only when he's wearing shoes, otherwise he's not tall enough.) And he could spending hours doing this:

Sharing the computer mouse with Grandma Joan's cat Sammy.

"Playing buckles." This game used to take much longer, but now he's actually figured out how to snap the buckle shut. Which ends the game pretty quickly.

Renaissance Festival

Back in October, Cooper and I joined the Lynch family for a trip to the Renaissance Festival in Kansas City. It's a giant fair devoted to the time when Lords and Ladies ruled the land and people regularly held jousts. Many people dressed in period costume. It's a fun place to just walk around and watch people, if nothing else.



But the kids seemed to like Ye Olde Petting Zoo.

Cooper and I sat and watched the elephant giving people rides. We waved to the elephant every time she walked by. And so we decided to pay $4 (a person!) and give it a go ourselves.

Can you see Cooper's face? Try this one:He was none too pleased.

Parker, on the other hand, loved it!

The boys in a Yard of Bones.

About 5 minutes after we got in the car and headed for home:

Making a democracy

Getting out the craft bucket

Our first attempt at painting didn't go so well. The "thin with water" instruction on the paint was apparently too vague for me to complete properly.


We do like playing with Play-Doh, though. Whenever I make a "snake" with the Play-Doh, he puts it over his eyes:

I'm not sure why.

Second painting attempt -- much better.

When I make balls with the Play-Doh, Cooper sticks them on his index fingers. And then thanks to Daddy's college friend Mr. Martin, Cooper proudly says "Nice balls."

We'll have to work on that before he starts preschool.

More Halloween

Our family tribute to C.S. Lewis:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.


Alan's costume, although the least understandable in isolation, was the most useful after Friday. It served as a puppet theater:

And a fun place to play with cousin Jennifer:


Cooper and I visited a pumpkin patch last week, but they had moved all the pumpkins instead already because of the night freezes.

Cooper found a basket he wanted to take home, complete with tiny fuzzy kitty:

And he didn't think it was as cool as I did, but they had a giant tank filled with corn kernels to play in!