Cookie is officially Cooper's favorite word! He said it multiple times over the weekend, usually when it was appropriate. Today we were watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Cooper was cuddled up close with me. I wasn't really paying attention, I had seen that episode before. All of the sudden Cooper said "cookie", I was very confused why he would say that. Then I realized Minnie was holding a plate of cookies and they were looking for the cookie jar. I really need to stop second guessing this kid, he knows what he is talking about :) I wonder if there are other words he uses regularly and we just don't recognize them?

Tommorow I am taking Quinn to Annapolis to see the Orthodist. He has outgrown his sure steps and I am anxious to hear what they have to say now that he is walking. Before they just had to guess at what he needed because they couldn't watch him walk. Whatever it is I hope he doesn't mind it too much, he is not the same easy-going guy he was a year ago!

Oook-Eeee!

I gave Cooper a cookie after dinner tonight and he got all excited and started running around yelling what I thought was the word "eat", but Matt pointed out that it actually sounded more like "cookie"! Well, it sounded like "oook-eeee", but that is close enough for me!

Good job Cooper! Keep those words coming!

Thankful

This Thanksgiving Quinn and Cooper wanted to share with the world what they are thankful for. Here are their lists....

Top Ten Things Quinn is Thankful for.....

10. The Wiggles-They rock!
9. Gerber's Baby Cereal-still Quinn's favorite food four years later!
8. Chewy Tubes- sometimes you just need to chew on something.
7. Windy Days- Quinn loves the feel of wind on his tounge.
6. Snacktime- His favorite time of day, which lately has been all day...everyday.
5. Hand Rubs- Want to make Quinn happy? Rub the palm of his hand :)
4. School- This includes the bus ride, Ms. Carol, and Ms. Ronnie, Quinn loves it all!
3. Grandparents- We are all so thankful for all the Grandmas and Grandpas in our life.
2. Mommy and Daddy- Quinn seems pretty happy with his parental picks.
1. Best Friends- Grandpa Don, this means you!

Top Ten Things Cooper is Thankful for....

10. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse- Cooper loves Mickey and his friends!
9. Snack Cups- These make it possible for Cooper to snack all over the house, just like he likes!
8. Grandma Donna's Cookies- This is a new obsession, but he is definately thankful for them.
7. Portia- Cooper thinks his doggie is the best toy ever, Portia disagrees.
6. Baby Einstein DVDs- a.k.a baby prozac, they calm Cooper down when he gets upset.
5. Blankets- Cooper loves all kinds of blankets, but he is especially thankful for his blankie.
4. School- Cooper loves school even more than Quinn does, if that is even possible!
3. Granparents- Cooper is thankful for all of his grandparents and all that they do for him.
3a. Grandpa Don- Yes, he gets an honerable mention here too, he is the baby whisperer!
2. Daddy's Shoulders- Thankful for taking daily rides over 6' up in the air? You betcha!
1. Mommy's Cuddles- Mommy is thankful for this one too!

We are all mostly feeling better. Cooper still has a runny nose and a scratchy voice (which sounds really funny since he doesn't speak real words). He had an okay day at school today. Quinn had the day off and he stayed home with me. I think he really enjoyed being an only child for the day. He was even well behaved, didn't try to climb on the table once! He did spit up many many times, but that isn't his fault.

Cooper did a funny thing tonight. He was chasing Portia around the house and trying to touch her with one of his flashcards. Guess which card it was? Yup, it was the dog card. I guess that is Cooper's idea of "extreme matching". Portia did not enjoy that game one bit!

It is a crazy life.....

Sick....

sick....

sick....

sick.

No school for us tommorow! Both boys are not feeling well, as you can see from the pictures. I even had to go pick Cooper up from school early today! He has a fever which is pretty unusual, and he is completely miserable.

Cooper must have walked up and down the steps to the playroom today at least 200 times. What a goof! Where does he get his energy and can I borrow some???

Quinn has a cold and we aren't sure he is going to school tommorow. He is not feeling like himself, he barely even climbed up on the dining room table all weekend! He is sick, but it isn't nearly as bad as before he got his adenoids out.

Off to bed, another busy week ahead!

Tonight, after the kids went to bed, we watched The Happening. Yes, it is another scary M. Night Shyamalan, but this one stood out. Why? Because part of it was filmed at my middle school!!! I knew the movie was filmed in Philadelphia, but I didn't realize it was filmed at J.R. Masterman! Of course, in the movie they called the school "Philadelphia High School"...umm yeah, like Philadelphia only has one high school. But anyway, Marky Mark (I mean Mark Walhberg) was a science teacher, teaching class in the science lab. The camera panned to look out the window and that view I recognized, all I ever did in science class was look out the window. I told Matt, that is my middle school! My husband humored me but said "Don't you think that a lot of schools in Philadelphia look like that?" No, they don't that school is very unique and I was sure of it, I was right! Here is a picture of Shymalan, Mark Walhberg, and John Leguizamo standing in front of the school.

How exciting, and by the way, the only reason to watch this movie it kind of sucked. Oh well.

The meeting at Cooper's school went well. His head therapist showed me his schedule and she feels he is on track to be labeling objects with actual verbal words by March, if not sooner! Yipee! I finally discovered the secret to his weird running in circles, throwing himself on the floor, and laughing behavior. Apparently, this is how the teachers at his school demonstrate Ring-A-Round-The-Rosie! His teacher was really surprised and impressed that he took that home and imitated it after the fact!

Tonight we also had a really nice moment. Grandma Berta was leaving to go home and she said "Bye, Cooper" like she always does. Well, usually he pretty much ignores her, but today he got up from the sofa, ran into the kitchen to get her and pulled her back into the living room! He wanted her to play with him some more before she left! How sweet is that? Very Sweet! And so good developmentally too!

I know, I haven't updated in forever, but we've been busy!

Cooper is doing great at school. His eye contact has greatly improved, he pops out with a word every now and then, and he is just generally really happy. I have a meeting there tommorow so I should have more details soon. He recently discovered that Portia is the best toy in our house, Portia is not thrilled by this discovery, but she is dealing. Cooper runs after her, laughing the whole time, then when he catches her he pets her nicely (she still growls at him though). I bought a cute book the other day, Dog Food, it is a board book with pictures of dogs made out of fruits and vegetables. I thought Quinn would like it, but it turns out that Cooper really loves it and he actually wants me to look at it with him. This is great, since he never used to sit and let me look at books with him. Good Job, Cooper.

Quinn is doing good too. I went and visited him at school the other day. I told his teacher how he has been having behavior problems at home, but she said he didn't there. Then she told me how he pulls all the papers off the wall and constantly trys to climb into the toilet. Umm, I guess we have different definitions of behavior problems :) He used two talking buttons to request either "crackers" or "juice" at snack. I also suggested a "Hi" and "Bye" button so they will be starting that too. He did pretty well with the snack requesting. We are at a bit of a standstill developmentally, but he is happy and doing well, so for now we will just be patient.

We went to Philadelphia this weekend to visit with family and discovered two things. 1) Cooper is now coloring with crayons instead of just playing with them! 2) He eats pineapple! I am going to work on eating the pineapple with a spoon...we will see.

You know I hate to admit it, but my mother in law was right. I think Cooper is definately saying "I eat". You have to really listen (and use your imagination), but he is saying it. Yesterday I was trying to open up a bottle of gummy vitamins and he really wanted one. I was having trouble and he got impatient and said "I EAT!". Today I was sitting in the dining room and he came over, placed his empty snack cup on the counter and said casually "I eat..." Does "I eat." count as a sentence, my husband thinks it does, but I disagree. In other word news, we were watching Baby McDonald for the millionth time today and I pointed out the cow and said "Cow". Cooper looked at it and said "Oww". He did the same exact thing with no prompting while we were watching the DVD for the million and one time tonight.

Today Cooper had his first day in his regular class. He did really well and apparently really liked it. Not sure what they did to him (maybe too many games of ring-a-round the rosey) but all night he kept running in circles, falling down, and laughing. Weird, but very cute.

Halloween Pictures

It's Dr. Quinn, Medicine Man!

Cooper dressed up as train engineer.

Cutest. Doctor. Ever.

Cooper decided Grandpa Don should wear the hat!

Isn't he the cutest train engineer ever??