Races

A week or so ago, Alan and I found a couple of area 5Ks to run. He and Julie ran on Saturday morning:

The cheering section:

Coming into the finish:

And then I ran a 5K in Lawrence on Sunday. Cooper (and Bear) posed for a Jayhawk photo op:

Things we love

1. Driving tractors. Or any other implement. In circles around the house.

2. Spaghetti.

3. Drumming.

I found this cute little kid-sized drum set at a garage sale for cheap. I had planned to save it in the basement until Christmas. But then Grandma Carol came over to help us organize our books, which involved spending lots of time in the basement, and Cooper saw the drum set. There was no going back.

Diapers

This is Cooper's bear. It was a gift Christmas 2007 (the bear is wearing a Christmas sweater and has 2007 stitched on its foot, so I can remember!). And it's Cooper's latest obsession.
The bear sleeps with Cooper, comes downstairs for breakfast, and even wears a diaper, that we change a couple of times a day.

And speaking of diapers, these photos were on the camera when I got back from a weekend away. Alan assures me it was all Cooper's doing.

Lastly, Alan heard Cooper talking to himself in the living room and went in to discover this:

"A party!" Cooper exclaimed.

Should I (a) feel bad that this constitutes a super-exciting party at our house, or (b) be elated that Cooper's idea of a party involves calmly sitting on the couch eating imaginary food?

Music

We signed Cooper up for a toddler music class through Lawrence Parks and Rec.

This is Mr. Phil, the class leader:

At the beginning of the class, we sing a "hello" song, calling each kid by name. Cooper wasn't too thrilled that everyone was looking at him and singing his name.

And he wasn't quite yet comfortable enough to pick up the drum to play along.

But he couldn't stop talking about Mr. Phil and the guitar.

I found a child-sized guitar, minus one string and with four of the other five strings in really bad shape, at a garage sale for $2. Now we can pretend to be Mr. Phil at home!

(Mr. Phil doesn't yell when he sings. Apparently, Cooper prefers angtsy rage music. Let's hope that passes before he becomes a surly teenager.)

Easter

(That's his "cheese" face.)

At the town Easter egg hunt, Cooper voluntarily walked up to say hello to this clown.

With a balloon-bumble-bee.

An action shot:

The loot:

Spring Break: The Inside Edition

A Sack O' Green from Grandma Joan in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

A green sucker!

Playing inside Grandma Carol's shower

Putting myself in Time Out in the shower.

(Note: Just to clarify, we don't put Cooper in Time Out in the shower or with his face pressed up against the wall. This was all his idea. I promise.)


Rockin' out with Daddy and cousin Jon:

My favorite!

Spring Break: The Getting Dirty Edition

A giant hay bale:

A gardenhose and lots of dirt -- there's no possible way to stay clean!

A baby horse

Talking to another horse

Ooh... sawdust!

"Hello Goose. Come talk to Cooper."

"No Goose! Those are Cooper's goldfish."

Oops.

Spring Break: The Big Vehicle Edition

Grandpa Cecil's tractor:

Grandpa Jerry's tractor:

What are Mama and I watching??

A giant excavator!!

It was working in Aunt Julie's backyard. And I even got to stand on it!

Another tractor with a hay bale!

Family

When Grandma and Grandpa Farm (my mom's parents, who lived on a farm... duh) died, one of mom's cousins bought their house and farm. The cousin then sold the house to a woman from a nearby town, who moved it to a piece of land she owned.

When we were back home over Spring Break, we drove by the Farm House (always capital letters in my mind) at its new location. There's a semi-long story about what happened next, but the short version is that we got to go inside! The woman who now owns the house hasn't yet done anything to the inside, but she has plans to fix it up and live there soon. But for now, it looks just like it did when Grandma and Grandpa lived there! Only much, much smaller -- how on earth did we fit 11 people in there for Christmas?!

Anyway, I now have pictures of Cooper exploring the house of much-loved relatives he never got to meet. How priceless.

Here's Cooper inside the little closet up in the guest bedroom that Grandma used as her office. Yes, that's her bulletin board still nailed to the door.

And the stairs. Where my cousin Tyler and I had to sit holding hands until we stopped fighting. Where we took the Grandkid picture at Christmas some years. Next to the bannister that held our Christmas stockings.

As we walked up the stairs, the lady said, "I guess I don't have to tell you to be careful because the stairs are really narrow." No. No, you sure don't.

One of our projects over break was to help Mom and Dad repaint this sign (Top View Ranch was the name of Grandma and Grandpa's farm) and relocate it at the pasture that Mom and Dad now own.

Cooper and Prince (the dog) were not much help with this task, but they had a great time playing by the pond!

And finally, I can't resist -- a few more Zoey pictures. And then really, girl, get your own blog. You're cute enough -- you deserve one!

Here's hoping this yawn means that you're a good sleeper!