New friend, with matching pacifier:

New hat (and cousin Jennifer with new hair-do):

We're working on sitting up. It's not entirely pleasant. Clearly Coop's my kid -- why stand when you can sit; why sit when you can lay down.

Ok, so standing seems to be a bit more fun than sitting:

And we've relocated bathtime to the upstairs bathroom. In the big tub. (With a little tub inside it, still.)

Cooper's final moments as a vegetarian

To prep him for carnivore-ism, we gave him animal toys to chew on: crinkle-tail fish, a bear, and the always-yummy rubber chicken.




And then we started in with vegetable beef puree.




Cooper eats most anything, so I can't say for sure that he loved meat more than anything else, but I will say that it was one of the few foods that didn't cause a bitter grimace upon first taste.




A satisfied customer.

We're famous!

Our picture is on the internet, and not just because I keep slapping them up here!

A few weeks before Cooper was born, Alan and I had a maternity photo session. Admittedly, it was mostly (entirely) for me, and I loved every minute of it. I would highly recommend a professional photo shoot for any pregnant woman because, when you're 8-months pregnant, you need someone telling you that you have nice cheekbones.

Before we left Illinois, we returned to the same photographer (Laura), this time with Coop on the outside. And again, we were so pleased with the process and results. We're currently in negotiations to have Laura come out to Kansas for Cooper's first birthday -- her husband was excited to hear how close we live to Cabela's, so it may actually happen!

Anyway, Laura has just recently updated her website, and she's included some pictures of Alan and I during the maternity shoot, some pictures of Cooper, and a few of our little family. And if you're bored, you should browse around the rest of her site. She's really quite good.

Happy Half-Birthday, Little Man.

Mama loves you.

Note: I just now realized that Coop's naked in 3/4 of these photos. He really does have clothes. I promise. Lots of cutes ones even.

A conversation about Daddy

"Where's Daddy?"

"Africa? Where's that??"

"Oh man, that's really far away! I miss Daddy!"


"Even exersaucing isn't fun without Daddy."


"Hurry home -- she's dressing me in seersucker."


"And Uncle David is making me nap with a Barbie."

"Mama, do you have an old, funny-looking picture of Daddy to post so he sees it when he checks the website from the Johannesburg airport today on his way home?"

.

Why yes, Coop. I sure do.

P.S. Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Tastes like chicken

Prunes

More family!

This week, we drove down to Iola, which is way closer to Baldwin than I ever thought, to see Alan's grandmother Margaret and introduce Cooper to her.

Whew... lots of color in that picture! :)

And last weekend, we drove to Lyons to see some of my relatives, including...

Aunt Kathy


My cousin's daughter Morgan. She's 2 1/2, and going to be a big sister in six months. So snuggling next to Cooper was good practice for her.

And Cooper got to meet the Neufeld side of the family too.

Grandma Marlene

And Ellen and Kent

We also got to meet my sister Kelly's golden retriever Duke. Duke's very friendly and licky, and coincidentally, he's the same age as Cooper.

Breakthrough!

Cooper's first tooth!

A close-up, if you don't believe me:

This past weekend, Cooper met a bunch of my relatives. I've got pictures coming soon. Until then, enjoy these random shots from this last week.

A whole new world

We're getting settled into our new digs in Kansas. Still tons of boxes to unpack, but with major furniture in place and a fresh coat of paint on the walls, it's starting to feel like home.

Cooper never seems to slow down. Here are the newest things he's doing just this week:

1. Chewing on my hand. I'm expecting teeth soon, but who knows...

2. Finding and holding on to his feet (or at least his right foot).

3. Growing more -- this is the 22-week alligator picture in Cooper's new room. And yes, the carpet is pink. We can only afford so many remodeling projects at one time. But we're taking up a collection to de-girl Coop's room.

4. Sucking in his bottom lip. This is actually new today, and already I've taken a couple of pictures of this face.

5. Petting Mikey, who apparently is so starved for attention that he'll endure some grabbing and pulling.

6. Eating in his high chair. This was his first taste of squash. Yum!

We're packing up...

We've been to Kansas to close on the new house. We're back in Illinois for a few days packing up and finishing some last-minute projects. The movers arrive Thursday to pack the rest of our stuff, and they'll load the truck on Friday. And then we're outta here.

Hard telling when we'll have the computer out and our internet up and running, so I thought I should post a few pictures now. Enjoy....

I'm not sure why Alan and Cooper are always smiling, and Coop and I apparently spend our time passed out on the couch.

P.S. Anyone want to buy a house in Tuscola?