The Sport Coat

Cooper got this adorable jacket (with elbow patches!!) for his birthday.  We told Coop that it was called a sport coat, so he insisted on wearing it when he went out to play tee-ball.  "And the elbow patches will help in case I fall on my elbows."  Alright, then.

And he's worn that jacket every day to school since he got it.  How cute is he:

(Showing off his new bumble bee.  But he's getting tired of me insisting on taking pictures, so I have to pretend to be taking pictures of other things...)

And at my office:

More school projects

Coop's been pretty obsessed with the Titanic for a while.  He came home from school with this drawing for his "t" page:

And then brought home this one the following day:

Coop made this frog by punching out each piece with a thumb tack, gluing them together, and labeling everything:

Lately, he's been talking a lot about volcanoes.  This was one of his before-bed projects that he taped to his bedroom door:

And some drawings from school:

He and I spent a couple of afternoons making valentines for all (24!!) of his classmates:

I bribed him with Smarties.

More birthday

We hosted a party for some family and friends on Saturday.  Cooper woke up bright and early at 7:15, ready to vacuum. 

So helpful.

Cake and candles (and festive hat!):

Some of his gifts.  Pirate paper dolls from Aunt Mary:

Turns out, he's not bad with scissors!

Pirate quilt that Aunt Kathy made with photos from Coop's time in England:

Baseball tee, bat, and balls from Grandma Joan and Grandpa Cecil:

We're signing him up for tee ball this summer, so I'm sure this will come in handy!

Brown sport coat (with elbow patches!!) from Aunt Ellen and Grandma Marlene:

It came with a snappy button-up shirt and jeans, but I couldn't talk him into trying on the whole outfit.  Yet.

Raintree Birthday

Last year, we were in England for Coop's birthday, so he missed out on celebrating at Raintree.  But this year, his birthday was last Monday, and Alan and I got to join the school festivities.

Coop and his classmates all sat in their circle and sang a couple of birthday songs.  (That's Miss Ann next to Cooper, doing sign language to the songs.)

And Coop's wearing the birthday crown he got to make that morning!

Then Cooper set out the yellow sun candle, surrounded by the months of the year.  Cooper held the globe and stood by February.  Then he walked around the sun five times.  Each trip around, Miss Ann talked about what Cooper was probably doing that year of his life (learning to sit up, learning to walk, getting ready for Raintree, going to England).

During the day, Cooper got to select two friends to help him make the Raintree birthday cake.  And then he served us all pieces of it during the ceremony.

It was sweet.  And I might have cried.  Just a little bit.


Once we left Raintree, we headed over to Walmart to pick out Coop's birthday present.  He spent all weekend building forts in the house with chairs and blankets.  He wanted to sleep with a fort over his bed, but I wouldn't let him stack chairs on top of the bed.

So we decided to pick up a tent that would fit in Coop's room:

He slept in it that night:

The Grinch Turns Five

We had a birthday party for Coop's classmates at the Lawrence Gymnastics Academy.  Coop was so excited, he stood outside waiting for his friends and telling anyone who happened to walk by that it was his birthday party.

The kids had an hour to play in here:

That's Coop leaping off the platform into the foam pit.

Ready for cake:

This may have been my favorite part -- I spent about 15 minutes reading to kids as they finished up their cake:

Success!

Extra-curricular activities

One Saturday morning, we headed up to Lawrence for Kaw Valley Eagles Day, where nature organizations had displays about area plants and wildlife.  Coop in an eagle's nest:

 And in the eagle hat he made:

The following day, we headed to the bowling alley for a classmate's birthday.

Turns out, we may need to put some more sports shows on tv.  After Coop bowled, he would wait until the machine swept away any remaining pins, and then he would turn around and proudly announce, "Hey guys!  I got a touchdown!!"

Cooper and his Daddy

Going for a run during Christmas vacation:

Coop and I actually just went down to the track (1/4 mile away) while Alan took a real (3 mile) run through town.  Coop was crushed that he couldn't go the full distance.


Playing pirate:

(Or at least one of them is.  One may be sleeping...)

Reading at bedtime:

And finally, acting in a play Cooper wrote and directed called The Wizard and the Pirate.  It may be a little difficult to hear the dialogue, but you'll get the general idea, I think:

One more: Christmas morning at our house

Cooper really enjoyed wrapping presents this year.  Lots and lots of tape.  And bows.

Christmas morning with the gifts Santa left:

Daddy got coal in his stocking, which Cooper still thinks is hilarious.

Coop and his Grinch:

Coop with the gifts from Santa -- Santa suit, Titanic model, Titanic book, misc toys and candy.

Success.

Christmas in Lyons

With cousin Vada:

Cousin Zoey couldn't make it to Lyons this year, so we Skyped with her:

The Grandkid picture:

Decorating sugar cookies:

And Coop got some great gifts.  A pirate watch, which he hasn't taken off since (except for bath time):

At home a few nights later, with watch still on.  And also sporting his new robe.  And Grinch doll.

A dinosaur model that he and Alan put together:

And some fake snow, which is actually pretty amazing.

You add water to this little pile of powder, and it fluffs up like snow.  It doesn't pack well, but it's fun to drive trucks in and bury toys under.