Cooper John and Elia Jane

It has been a long time!

2009-10-09T22:36:00.003-05:00

Wow, I can't believe how time goes by. The last time I logged in, I think there was still snow on the ground. Now, mom and dad say that there may be snow tomorrow. There has been a lot going on but I won't get into everything today. Maybe in the next entry. For now, I started school a couple weeks ago, I go on Monday and Wednesday mornings. The yellow school bus comes to my house, takes me to school, and then either drops me off at grandma's or at my daycare. Elia is now one and is walking around the house. For some reason she likes my room. "Hey mom, when can I have a lock on my door? Dad told me never, but I thought I would ask you."

Okay, last weekend We went to Minnesota Harvest to pick apples. Boy was it muddy, but as you can see from the pictures, we found a bunch of good ones. We then went to pick out our pumpkins, I had more fun climbing on all of the pumpkins, but I did find mine to take home. Here are some pictures. Have a wonderful day. Cooper

Children's Museum

2009-04-07T23:10:00.002-05:00

Last year Grammy and Grampy gave me some Christmas money towards a familiy pass to the Children's Museum in St. Paul. We have had so much fun using it over the past year. The last time we went they had a whole display set up about Clifford. He is my favorite, I have a Clifford I sleep with every night. But there is much more to do besides look at Clifford. Here are some pictures of our recent trip.

Cooper

Grandpa's Shirt

2009-04-07T22:52:00.005-05:00

Every year, I put on one of my Grandpa's shirts and Mom and Dad take pictures of me. I wish my Grandpa was here to see how I am growing into his shirt. I hear that my mom's dad was quite a guy and would love to have been here to play with me and Elia. I know one day we will get to play with him!

Be back soon to update you on more of the things I have done over the past 4 months.

Cooper

The Last 4 Months: First stop 3 year old soccer

2009-04-07T22:28:00.002-05:00

My next few entries will get you all caught up to speed. Have you ever seen 3 year olds play soccer? I loved my time playing soccer, except the 9 am games. My first day at soccer, I was a little upset because there were too many people. But I realized that soon, most of the 3 year olds would start to cry and go sit on the sidelines. I even had some of those times. But over all, I think the soccer league was fun for my first team sport. Check out the pictures. And yes I did score goals. In fact I scored 3 goals in the last game of the season.

Cooper

Finally allowed back on the computer!

2009-04-07T22:06:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been 4 months since I have been able to blog. I guess when you get almost potty trained Mom and Dad let you start blogging again. So here we go. A lot has happened over the past 4 months. Elia is getting bigger and bigger and now she tries to keep up with me as I run around the house. It makes it a little harder for me, because I can't leave my toys out. The other day I left a Curious George puzzle out and Elia started to put it together with her teeth. I guess she doesn't understand that she has to use her fingers. But all in all, I love being a big brother. Every morning I have to see where Elia is and I love giving her hugs and last week we actually had our first brother / sister wrestling match. Here are some pictures taken over the past few months to help catch everyone up.

Love to all,
Cooper

Merry Everything (and Happy Always!)

2008-12-27T18:43:00.003-06:00

Here's this year's holiday letter and picture. Happy Holidays Everyone!
So I’ve fallen asleep on the couch again. My husband is still sleeping on the sectional next to me. His open-mouth breathing/snoring smells of dinner, the first one we’ve had together as a family in probably a couple of weeks. The last thing I remember was sitting down to write the Christmas letter. My husband, good man that he is, no make that great man that he is, has put both children to bed and has come downstairs to stay with me until I wake up. Now it’s quite late in the night, Law & Order is playing on the TV and I’ve found a bowl of ice cream. Just like last year’s letter.
But I can’t help but think about all the things I didn’t know last year when I stayed up to write our Christmas letter. I didn’t know that we were pregnant with our little girl, my mom would be diagnosed with breast cancer or that Chris would be forced to go through months of job transitions. I didn’t know that two children that look so much alike as infants would have completely different poos, that going back to work after maternity leave would ever be such a struggle or that I would ever find anyone I would trust to leave our kids with besides their grandmother down the street. I didn’t know that 38 is the year when you officially become your mother or that an extra can of Diet Dew and coat of mascara could no longer cover up a missed night of sleep. I certainly wouldn’t have thought that I would be the last of my oldest and dearest friends to succumb to Facebook (well, not quite yet) or how horrible I would be at returning email and phone calls to those I care about the most. I didn’t know that two children is so much harder and better than you ever think it will be or how arrogant and naive I was to think I could handle it.
I didn’t know that Cooper would be a songwriter (His two favorites: “No Hold Baby Elia” and “Broken Candy Cane”) or at two (now three) years old he would wake up in the middle of the night to sneak online! I didn’t know that in his mind: Santa, Grammy and Grampy, Jesus and Uncle Jarret are all “too far away” or that he would try to call his Grandpa Cooper on the phone. I didn’t know that watching my children sleep could move me to tears or having “Dance Party” with the neighbor girls would be one of my favorite things to do. I didn’t know how little there is to see from one end of South Dakota to the other nor how much Cooper would enjoy visiting “The Guys” a.k.a. Mt. Rushmore. I didn’t know how much I would rely on my coworkers at school to get me through my pregnancy and how incredibly stupid it would be to try to start the school year, set-up the classroom and do initial parent conferences with a full-term belly. It’s no wonder Elia Jane came a day early during my first week of classes. You should see her smile. Really, it’s life-changing.
So now with the ice cream gone and Law & Order over I know there’s a list on the counter 3 pages long of things I want to over accomplish this holiday season and how really trivial all of it really is. No matter what next year holds I think as long as there are two kids sleeping upstairs, my husband snoring on the couch beside me and a Law & Order playing on the TV, everything will be okay and is just enough just as it is. And a bowl of ice cream wouldn’t hurt either.

one,two, THREE

2008-12-21T03:08:00.003-06:00

I am now 3 years old. Once I get the habit of showing people 2 fingers for how old I am, I now have to add a 3rd finger. My family got together to have a birthday party for me. I had so much fun seeing everyone,eating cake and getting some pretty cool gifts from everyone. Unfortuneaty mom and dad and to go buy stock in batteries. One of my cook presents was a digital camera, so soon you will see pictures from my point of view and not always mom and dads. Now that I am 3 it is time to look ahead to the next big event Christmas. Stay tuned because you will soon meet "Buddy the Elf". He comes out soon to watch everything I do and then reports back to Santa every night. But you will find out more in my next blog.

Love to all, Cooper

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-12-12T00:38:00.003-06:00

It has been awhile since my last entry. Here is the scoop, being a big brother is hard work. I now have to share with my little sister. It is kind of tough because my mom and dad have to share their attention between Elia and myself. Since my last blog, I went trick or treating, and had a wonderful time. I have also have gone swimming at my dads new work. Mom went back to work last week and this week we started short term day-care. Okay to catch you up on the last couple months here are som new pictures.

Cooper

Cooper's Singing Debut

2008-10-28T15:22:00.003-05:00

The other day, I was sitting on the couch with baby Elia singing to her and dad pulled out the camera. Enjoy my rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

OMG! APPLE HEAVEN

2008-10-26T15:32:00.007-05:00

If anyone knows me, they know that I love apples. I could eat 3 or 4 apples a day if my mom and dad would let me. In fact I love it when I open the refrigerator door, the apples are at a place where I can get them without any help. When I was little, mom and dad would have to cut them up, now I can eat them all by myself.

A couple of weeks ago, mom and dad said that we were going to take a little trip to the orchard. I didn't know what an orchard was, but I got ready, mom and dad got Elia ready and off we went. We drove to Minnesota Harvest in Jordan, and we were not the only ones who decided to go to the orchard that day it was really busy there.

Once at the orchard, we went to look at the horses, boy they are a lot bigger than on TV. We then went to stand in line to take a wagon ride. The wagon took us back by all kinds of trees. Guess what was on the trees? APPLES!!! We got off the wagon and started walking down the rows of apple trees. Then dad started taking apples off the trees and put them in a bag. Dad told me I could go take apples also, so off I went to find a tree with apples I could reach. I found a lot of apples to pick. Then, dad said I could eat an apple. I looked at him and I didn't believe him. Finally, I took a bite, then another and another and soon my apple was gone. Then guess what? Dad said, I could have another apple. Soon the wagon came returned and we had to head back to the orchard store to buy the big bag of apples we had picked.

We finally left the orchard and mom and dad said we were going to go find pumpkins. Here are some pictures of my day picking apples and pumpkins.

Love to all,
Cooper

Thanks Friend!!!

2008-10-09T22:09:00.004-05:00

A Couple of weeks ago a friend of my dad's came over to take pictures of baby Elia. Ben Dodds is the Area Director for Young Life, but he is also an awesome photographer. He did a great job of taking pictures of Elia. Here is his website, if you are looking at getting any pictures taken, my dad would highly recommend him and so would I. (and while I am at it hi Sutton and Shaeffer)
Check out his website at: http://www.bdphotography.blogspot.com/

Peace!

Friends Visit My Little Sister

2008-09-25T16:37:00.003-05:00

Elia is born and soon people are everywhere. "Let me hold her, let me hold her." As Charlie Brown says "GOOD GRIEF." Okay she is pretty cute and easy to snuggle with. So here are some pictures of our friends with Elia Jane.

Love to you all,
Cooper

I am now a BIG brother!

2008-09-19T22:50:00.004-05:00

As you can tell over the past few months I have mentioned that I have a little sister on the way. I have changed rooms, moved into a big boy bed and now as of September 11, 2008 at 7:01pm, I became a big brother. That is right, Elia (pronounced L-EE-Ah) Jane, became my little sister. The first time I saw her I was so excited, I had to hold her and grab the stethoscope and check for her pulse. I admit it was a hard 4 days while mom and dad were in the hospital, but thanks to friends and family like Lori, Scott, Linda, Kori, Zach, Grandma, Auntie Dana, Uncle Perry, and Grammy and Grampy i survived. Baby Elia came home Sunday and life began as a family with one more. Baby Elia, eats, sleeps, eats, sleeps, eats, goes to the bathroom, eats...... you get the point. I have to say I am a pretty good big brother. I know I have to work at it a little it more, but I think I am doing a pretty good job. So with this entry my blog name will stay the same, but It will be about me and my little sister. Here are some pictures.

Love Cooper

My New Room!!!!

2008-08-27T22:39:00.003-05:00

Okay a month ago, I wrote that I would be putting pictures on my blog about my new room. Well dad was slacking and finally got around to taking pictures for me. (he won't let me touch his camera) So here are pictures of my new room. With my baby sister on the way, mom and dad thought it would be cool to give me a brand new big boy room. So little sister will get my old room and I get my BLUE room.

Here is a little tour of my room. First off, I got this cool loft bed. Can you believe a 2 1/2 year old with a loft, I am just like the college kids and I bet my room is twice as big as those North Central Dorm rooms. My loft has a play area underneath were I have a bean bag and big chalkboard. Across from my bed is a storage unit for all my toys, stereo, night light and pictures. Then mom being the cool teacher she is, put a craft corner in for me, with crayons and pencils. Mom said when I get older she will put markers out for me. And finally my name is above the closet. Well enjoy the pictures everyone.

Love Cooper

Vacation To South Dakota

2008-08-21T22:31:00.007-05:00

Last weekend, Mom, Dad and I took a vacation to South Dakota. Dad volunteers for the Arthritis Foundation and they had him go to Rapid City to teach a workshop and Mom and I decided to go with. We hopped in the car Friday morning and off we went. Instead of driving all the way to Rapid City we drove to Sioux Falls and spent the night at a hotel. I went swimming with dad and tried to do my best Michael Phelps, but I have a long way to go.

The next morning we got up and went to the local zoo, I saw lots of relatives, I mean animals. My favorites were the giraffe with his long tongue, the smelly monkeys and the goats which ate out of my hand. After a few hours at the zoo, I was pooped and we got back in the car and started towards Rapid City. I had just fallen asleep when the car stopped and mom and dad pulled me out to go show me the "Corn Palace" yep a palace made out of corn, what were mom and dad thinking? But I guess my dad went there when he was little so we had to stop.

Once back in the car, mom and I fell asleep while dad counted Wall Drug billboards, I think he got to 138 before we actually got to Wall, South Dakota and started walking through all the shops which make up that tourist stop. I am two and a half do my parents actually think I will walk through stores without touching anything?

After leaving Wall Drug, we drove another hour before reaching Rapid City and our hotel. Dad and I went swimming and then it was time for bed, since dad had his training the next day.

I could go on and on, but check out the pictures and you can tell what we did for the rest of the trip. If you have any questions, just write a comment and I will answer them all.

Love to all,
Cooper

4th of July Weekend

2008-07-21T22:50:00.003-05:00

For the 4th of July weekend, Mom, Dad, Grandma and I hopped in the car and drove down to Tama, Iowa for a family reunion. The ride was pretty cool, because grandma was sitting next to me and I had the DVD Player in front of me. After 4 hours in the car we made it to Tama just as the sun was setting. Soon I was in the house with a number of family members and Uncle Jarret. Before I knew it, I had to go to bed, but not before playing with Darby and Lane. I could go on and on about all the fun I had that weekend but I would be here a long time. So instead here are some pictures of us outside playing in the water. I can't wait to see everyone again!!

Love Cooper

Cooper Finishes Hope Walks (Ok Hope Runs)

2008-07-01T22:45:00.003-05:00

Compared to last year, it was a beautiful day to be at Normandale Lake. This was my second year participating in Hope Walks, and as you can see I had a blast. At about 10:30am, we all lined up to start off on the 1.9 mile walk around Normandale lake. Off I went and mom and dad had a hard time keeping up with me. (I guess that is what happens when you get old) The only time I took a break was to eat snacks, thanks to mama for packing all the good stuff for my big day. Many times the walk turned into a run and when I saw the finish line and all the people cheering I just had to run even though, I was a little tired (but don't tell mom and dad). Once finished we found our blanket and sat down for the outdoor worship service. However, I was bored and found the baby swimming pool filled with ice and pop to be my favorite spot to hang out. Thanks to all of you who sponsored me in my second charity walk, once again it was a great experience. Hey stay tuned, you will see my new bedroom in the next blog.
Cooper John

Cooper Walks & Rides for Hope Walks

2008-06-04T22:13:00.005-05:00

Last June Cooper completed his first charity walk. He along with other children from the Upper Room community and Christ Presbyterian Church raised over $25,000 for HEAL Africa and Global Strategies for HIV Prevention in the support of orphans and vulnerable children in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. - Can you help him do it again? He (along with his mom and dad, Erin & Chris Kost, and his faithful stroller) will set out again on Sunday, June 29th to complete the 1.9 mile walk around Normandale Lake to raise awareness and to help others. - Why Hope Walks? Because it's children helping children and we want Cooper to learn that caring for others does not stop at the edge of your neighborhood, your socio-economic class, your nation or your comfort zone. - Those who live in resource rich countries benefit from the remarkable scientific advances in HIV. With over 20 drugs to treat HIV infection, the lives of those who are infected have been extended for several decades; with knowledge of how to prevent all means of HIV transmission, new HIV infections have decreased significantly. Not so for those in resource poor countries -- especially for children. Never before have so many children been orphaned by a single disease. 30% of children under the age of 15 will become orphans by 2010 in 11 African countries. Hope Walks provides education of all ages, preschool through adults, to learn how to help orphans and vulnerable children in the world who daily struggle to live and grow. - Please help us teach Cooper how to help others. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support! Chris, Erin & Cooper Kost

To find out more information you can go to http://www.active.com/donate/hopewalksminneapolis/Kostfamily

Playing In The Puddles!

2008-05-31T22:16:00.003-05:00

I was outside playing with mom and dad, when the thunderstorm started. I stood in the garage watching the rain fall. Every once in awhile I would run out and then the thunder would scare me and back to the garage I ran. Soon the rain stopped and it was time to play in the puddles. I started with the puddle in the driveway but soon dad found one over the man hole cover. Check out the video and see how I got all wet.

Time for the playground!

2008-05-17T22:46:00.002-05:00

Okay after two days of going to garage sale after garage sale, I told mom and dad that I needed some outdoor play time. We went to the playground, but not any little kid playground, this was for big kids, at least 3rd or 4th grade. As soon as dad stopped the car and unbuckled me from the car seat I was off and running. I headed staight to the big playground system. For the next 30 minutes, I climbed up stairs, ladders and a climbing wall. I went down little slides, zig-zag slides, curvy slides and played on the monnkey bars. Good thing Grandma, Grammy and Grampy weren't there they would have been worried that I was going to fall. Here are some pictures of me at the playgound.

I'm a big boy now! okay almost

2008-05-02T22:50:00.003-05:00

This week I started using my little potty chair, plus I got to start wearing big boy pull up pants. I have two different styles. I have cars pull-ups and Diego pull-ups. I can't believe that dad took pictures of me sitting on my little chair. oh boy, here they are.

I am going to have a little sister!!

2008-05-02T22:43:00.004-05:00

I found out the other day that I am going to have a little sister. In fact mom and dad even got new pictures for me to see. Mommy and Daddy are now busy trying to pick a name for her and mom is already busy looking for little girl clothes. On the other hand dad is already wondering how he is going to dress a little girl. With me all he as to do is pick a t-shirt, jeans and socks and we are good to go. Do you know how many different types of jeans, tights, frilly things a little girl has? Oh well that is 5 months away. In the mean time here are a couple pictures of my little sister.

HAPPY EASTER!!

2008-03-22T23:15:00.003-05:00

What started out as mom and I playing in the snow, turned into Mom, Dad and I (well mostly mom) making an Easter Snow Bunny. The weather was so nice and the snow was great for packing and here is a picture of the end result. Hopefully it won't melt before Easter Sunday is over.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

My Little Brother or Sister

2008-03-19T22:04:00.003-05:00

Okay, I find out the other day that I am going to be a big brother and my mom and dad showed me some pictures. At least they are on picture paper, they don't look anything like pictures I have seen in the past. I guess, I will take my mom and dads word for it that in September there will be another person in our house. Here are the pictures mom and dad showed me. Maybe you can figure out where my siblings hands, toes, head and anything else is located.

Finally, time to play in the snow!

2008-02-17T23:26:00.002-06:00

February 16th and I was finally able to go outside and play. It has been so cold outside the past couple of months that I have not been able to go outside and play. However yesterday, dad and I went out to play in the snow. Dad had to shovel the driveway so I took a bucket and a sand shovel and started filling my bucket. After awhile I decided to see how good snow tastes. Take a look at these pictures. I am going to take a line from Linus Van Pelt from Peanuts "mmmm needs sugar". I had a great time outside and I can't wait to get back out and play some more. Cooper

Cooper's Secret

2008-02-17T23:10:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day. My mommy and I made valentines for family and friends. I had a blast with paint, markers and cutting out hearts. However, the biggest thing about my valentines were the pictures of me. Here are the two pictures that were on my valentine cards. As you can see, I am going to be a big brother. My mommy and daddy told me that my little brother or sister will be coming to our house in September. Grandma, Grammy and Grampy are all excitied along with mom and dad. Stay tuned for more information. Love you all!! Cooper

Grandpa's Shirt

2008-01-20T15:40:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone, here are my most recent pictures. I am wearing Grandpa's big shirt. My grampy lives close and even though I don't get to see him as much as I would like, he still chases and plays with me. I am lucky to have my dad's dad so close to me. My dad never had his grandparents close to him and my Grammy, Grampy and Grandma live close by and I have fun playing with them and letting them see me grow up. Unfortunately I was never able to meet my mommy's dad, and get to play with him. But I know he is watching me grow up from his great seat in Heaven. So once a year I put on my Grandpa's big Garst shirt and have my pictures taken, just a way to have some memories. As you can see, I look pretty dang cute in it. Have a wonderful day everyone!! Love you all Cooper

Christmas part 2

2008-01-14T22:53:00.000-06:00

After Christmas at my house with Grandma (did you like the picture of me and her in the sled?) and Uncle Jarret, it was off to Grammy and Grampy's place. There waiting for us was Grammy, Grampy, cousin Jena, Uncle BJ, Auntie Michelle, Auntie Dana and Uncle Perry and of course all the food we could eat. But I wasn't too much in for eating, I saw a tree full of presents. I knew right away which presents were mine, because they were wrapped in Thomas the Tank Engine wrapping paper. Lets just say this was a musical Christmas. I got a recorder, a drum set with different instruments inside. So know I have my own drum, keyboard, recorder and guitar and if that isn't enough I get up on my little table and sing to whoever is in the room. You don't get to see the picture of me signing in just my diaper. Oh did I forget to tell you that my girlfriends came over and gave me a Bob the Builder video. It is so rough being 2!!

Dad has been slacking!!

2008-01-14T22:09:00.000-06:00

The Holidays have come and gone and a lot of you have no idea what I have been up to. Yes my dad has been slacking and has not given me access to the Internet. Since my last entry, a lot of things have happened. The biggest was Christmas. I really figured it out this year. Christmas started with Mom,Dad and I going out to the tree farm to cut down a Christmas tree. Once we found one, dad tied to the top of the car and we were on our way home. Soon I had a Christmas tree that smelled so nice. That tree lasted 2 weeks and then dad had to take it back because all the needles were falling out. All I knew is that I took a nap and when I woke up I had a new tree in the corner. We soon decorated the house and Mom pulled out the Peanuts Characters and I learned a little more about Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus and everyone else. I also had fun watching some Christmas videos on TV. I watch Charlie Brown, Frosty and Santa Claus is Coming to town. Soon Uncle Jarrett flew in from San Fransisco and I was lucky, he almost didn't come because he was sick, but he came out anyway to see all of us. THANK YOU!! Christmas was almost here we started by going to the nursing home to see Auntie Ann, and getting yelled at for taking my new popping lawnmower down the nursing home hallway. You know what, I don't care what people said, I was still cute running up and down the hall with my lawnmower that Auntie Ann gave me for Christmas. You know what? They could get upset with Mom and me, but I still looked cute.

When we got home, I put cookies out for Santa and I also wrote him and Santa Mouse a note. And off to bed I went. The next morning Dad had to wake me up, let me tell you next year I will wake him up. Down stairs we went to look at the cookies. The cookies were gone and there was a note. Santa wrote that he borrowed a sippy cup to get some milk and hopefully I was okay with that. After, I looked at the cookies dad put me down and told me to go look at the Christmas tree. I ran over there and I saw all kinds of presents and a big red sled. Here are some pictures from our Christmas tree hunting until Christmas morning.

I've been Elfed!

2007-12-07T22:54:00.000-06:00

Okay if you haven't found this site yet, it is pretty neat and simple to use. You can google the phrase "I've been Elfed". The picture doesn't show up, but if you click on the red X then it will take you to the site. These are all pictures of me, just taken at different times over the last couple months. You can elf yourself at www.elfyourself.com, it is really easy to do. If it doesn't play just click on this link: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1232975290

I am TWO!!

2007-12-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

I have finally made that big milestone. No more 18 months, 22 months, 23 months etc. I am now 2 years old. The snow storm could not keep family and friends from coming to my house for my Birthday party. Everyone was able to make it except the Nybergs and they couldn't make it because they were sick. Everyone else made the trek through the snow to celebrate with me. Mom did a awesome job getting everything ready. She made a pasta bar with different meats and sauces. She also bought cupcakes to go along with the theme of my party, Ba Ball. Here are some pictures. Sorry Uncle Jarret you couldn't make it, but thanks for the shoes!!

Thanksgiving Day

2007-11-28T23:17:00.000-06:00

It was a busy but fun Thanksgiving day for me and my family. I surprised mom and dad, because I only had a 30 minute nap. First we went to go see Auntie Ann and Grandma. We had Turkey dinner with Ann and Grandma then a quick trip home to take a little nap. Before I knew it we were on our way to Auntie Dana and Uncle Perry's house for family dinner on Dad's side. I had a blast playing with my cousin Jenna and hopefully I didn't traumatize Pepper the cat too much.

My Summer Vacation

2007-11-28T22:57:00.000-06:00

It is 13 degrees outside and winter will soon be here. It is supposed to snow this weekend and hopefully mom and dad got me a sled for my birthday. But before winter gets here I want to add a posting about my summer vacation. I don't get to see my uncle Jarret very often so this summer Mom, Dad, Grandma and I went to San Fransisco. It was my first plane ride and mom and dad were happy I slept through most of it. We had a wonderful time with Uncle Jarret. We went to this big park and I played on all the big slides, then we went to the ocean, the wharf, saw trolley cars, went across the big bridge and even picked up a friend of my Uncle's and we tried to find a Chinese restaurant. Probably the most fun was running around Uncle Jarret's home and playing roller chair boot bowling. Ask me later about that. Here are a couple of pictures from my trip.

Workout at ACCUA

2007-11-28T22:41:00.000-06:00

The other day Mom, Dad and I went to ACCUA to workout. ACCUA is where dad works and recently they were featured on two TV stations. If you want to watch, here are the links. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LZrmKfdvyw and the second one is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stLndYjrlmY. I go to ACCUA on a regular basis and play on the equipment but this time I was able to get into the pool. Unfortunately there are no pictures of me in the pool because we were all in the pool. I was a little scared in the beginning but soon I was having a blast. After the pool I went out and tackled the punching bag.

Grammy and Me

2007-11-20T23:03:00.000-06:00

The other night, Mom had conferences, Dad was at work and Grandma had to be with Auntie Ann. So Grammy came over to watch me. As Grandma left, Grammy came in. It was my turn to show Grammy everything I can do. However eating was not one of those. I didn't want to eat dinner, but I did show Grammy how I can drum on my make shift drum and chair. It was great to see Grammy, Thanks for coming over to watch and play with me. Here are a couple of pictures.

Sporting My Tatts!

2007-11-07T21:17:00.000-06:00

See what too much Halloween candy does to an almost two year old? Cooper received some "Cars" tattoos for Halloween and one day we gave him one on both arms. This made Cooper so happy he went dancing around the house. We tried to get him to show his new tatts and here are the pictures. I also included a picture of Cooper and Erin, playing fort with the blanket.

Date Night

2007-11-06T22:42:00.000-06:00

Guess what? Mom and Dad went on a date the other night and they left me home alone. Okay the truth is Mom and Dad went out to dinner and then went to see a movie. It was the first movie they have seen in over 2 years. Figure that, I turn 2 at the end of November. So Mom and Dad left, before I woke up from my nap, and guess who is in my house when I woke up? Auntie Dana and Uncle Perry. Yep Mom and Dad left me with my aunt and uncle, I was wondering what I could get away with. Maybe and extra glass of juice, or some halloween candy or maybe one of my Dad's cans of Mountain Dew. But after eating a snack, Dana and Perry got me ready to leave, out the door we went and into my car seat which, by now was in Dana's car. I had no idea where these two were taking me. All I knew is that I was in a different car, without my parents (I was being kidnapped, knowing that I would be brought home). After about 15 minutes of driving we stopped and out of the car I went. As you can see, I was at Chuck E Cheeses. One problem, what the heck is Chuck E. Cheeses.

My question was answered in a matter of minutes, because once inside, I was in heaven. Over the next two hours, I played games, rode rides, ate pizza (2 pieces) and tried to drink Uncle Perry's pop. But there were two cool things about Chuck E. Cheeses, first there is this big furry rodent (either a mouse or a rat) walking around shaking hands with everyone. Either auntie Dana or Uncle Perry got a picture. However the coolest thing about Chuck E. Cheeses is that when you play a game you get tickets. Boy did we get tickets. I got so many tickets that I was able to cash them in for a lot of cushy balls to play with. Once, I picked out my prizes it was time to leave. We raced home and got home just in time because mom and dad drove in, right when I was getting my PJ's on.

Once mom and dad got home, I was able to show them all the balls we won. Soon balls were flying all over the living room, which made me giggle and giggle and giggle some more. Well after such a busy night it was time for me to go to bed. So after a couple of pictures I took my new football and went to bed. Check out the pictures of my night.

Thanks Auntie Dana and Uncle Perry for a fun night!!

The Chick Magnet

2007-10-31T21:41:00.000-05:00

Last year Cooper was the Hockey Monkey and this year we wanted to try to top the previous year. So we started to think about costumes. We had picked up a chicken costume earlier in the year but we were not quite sure we were 100% sure of the costume. That was until we came up with an addition to the chicken costume.

You see we live in a neighborhood with a lot of girls and Cooper has already made friends with most of them. In fact the girls come to our house and ask if Cooper can come out and play. A couple of weeks ago, Cooper and I were out in the front yard and the school bus came by and the windows were down. All of the sudden we heard "COOPER" coming from the bus. It was a bunch of the neighborhood girls yelling at Cooper. Cooper just looked up at me and smiled. The big yellow bus was talking to him. Because of this we came up with the additional item to Cooper's Halloween costume, a magnet.

Yep, as you can see Cooper went trick or treating for the first time as a "Chick-Magnet" We started by going to see Auntie Ann at Friendship Village. Cooper has been there many times to see his aunt but as we walked in the doors, we realized it was just a little different. Residents were scattered up and down the hallways with bowls of candy. Cooper knew right what to do. He walked up to each resident and waited for the resident to lower the bowl to him. Once in a while he would get a little impatient and not wait for the other kids to finish picking their candy but over all he did great. We made it half way around the nursing home and there was auntie Ann waiting to eat dinner. Cooper went right up to show her his costume. After taking some pictures Cooper was ready to go look for more candy. So off he went down the other hallways to fill his plastic pumpkin (no not Harold). Soon Cooper was done, we said our goodbyes to Grandma and Auntie Ann and off we went to trick or treat in our neighborhood.

Once we got home, we were off. The first place Cooper wanted to go was over to Kelsey and Mckenzie's home to see a couple of his favorite neighbors. This was Cooper's first Trick or Treat house. Cooper on his own walked up to the door and even though he couldn't say the words, he knew what to do. He picked a Hershey candy bar and put it right into his bucket. After a couple of pictures he was off to other neighbors homes to fill his bucket. And fill his bucket he did. Cooper had a blast going door to door, so much fun he didn't want to go home. However, soon we got him home and he decided that he wanted to hand out candy. Thanks to many patient kids, Cooper was able to put candy in many kids bags that came to our house. Over all Cooper had a fun night. He was only scared once and that was when an adult was wearing a scream costume. Now we have to watch out because the pumpkin with his candy is on the fridge and knowing Cooper he will try to find a way to climb up and get it.

Enjoy the pictures, the kids in the pictures are some of the neighbor kids Cooper plays with. Enjoy!!

A Walk In The Park

2007-10-29T21:52:00.000-05:00

Today Dad and I went to the park. As you can see it was a beautiful sunny day. I love being outside, and going to the park is always a ton of fun. When we drove into the parking lot and I saw all the slides, I squealed. Dad got out of the car and walked around and opened my door. I was already trying to get out of my car seat. Dad unbuckled me and off I went running to the slides. Not the little slide but the biggest slide of all. You see when it comes to slides, I like to climb up the tallest one and then slide down on my belly. After sliding a dozen or so times, I heard a noise in the distance. I waited for dad and we walked towards the noise. As we got closer, I figured out what it was. Right away, I started to say quack, quack, quack. Yep ducks and lots of them. We walked down the path to a little lagoon branching off from the river. I walked across the little wooden bridge, not by myself, but I waited for dad and I needed to hold his hand.

Once across the bridge, I noticed something else. I saw another Cooper, however he was flat and on the ground. Dad soon told me that this was my shadow. I just stood and looked at my shadow on the ground and watched how it moved when I moved. Soon we started walking down a leaf covered pathway and being the little boy I am, I had to drag my feet through all the leaves. Dad actually let me walk all by myself. As I walked down the path I kept looking around at all the trees and once in a while I would tell dad to look up, at the geese flying by.

Within minutes I found a stick. Soon I was dragging it through the leaves banging on trees and waving it in the air. One stick wasn't enough, soon I had two sticks. Well Dad and I kept walking and soon I ran up to him and asked him to pick me up because I was tired. So Dad walked the last part of the trail with me on his shoulders. Once back in the park, we walked down to the lagoon and walked out on the dock. There were ducks and geese everywhere I looked. Soon though Dad made me leave and I was not happy about it. I tried to lay on the dock but that didn't work. Soon I was carried away, not by my choice. Once far enough from the dock, Dad put me down and we finished our walk by dragging our feet through the leaves back to the car. Enjoy the pictures everyone!!

Harold

2007-10-23T21:34:00.000-05:00

We have a new friend in the Kost household. Although he will only be around for a short period of time, he has brought some excitement into the house. However two nights ago we ran into a small problem. We didn't have a problem, but Harold did and Cooper let us know about it. Okay, who is Harold and what was his problem? Well lets go back to last fall, When we took Cooper to a local apple orchard. It was at the orchard when Cooper was introduced to the pumpkin. It was round and so it must be a ball. Erin and I took numerous pictures of Cooper playing, staring and patting pumpkins. That was last year, two weeks ago we went to the same orchard and once again there were pumpkins, and apples, horses and apples, a tractor ride and apples (do you get the picture). Even though there were lots and lots of apples, the pumpkins got Cooper's attention. We didn't find any pumpkins we liked at the orchard so we went to another place to look for pumpkins. I wanted to find a pumpkin patch to let Cooper run through but we found a place off 169 in Jordon with rows and rows of pumpkins. Some of the pictures below are from that patch.

Okay so back to Harold. Cooper loves pumpkins, I think it is because he thinks it is a ball. So after picking our pumpkins and letting Cooper pull the wagon back up to the building to pay for them, we went home and put the pumpkins on our step. Cooper actually wanted to carry each pumpkin, however that wasn't going to happen. Where does Harold fit into the blog? I came home a couple of days later and was told that Cooper wanted to show me something in the closet. Cooper grabbed my finger and led me over to the coat closet and as I opened the door, there sitting on the floor was a hollow plastic pumpkin with a face carved into it and a power cord coming out the back. This is Harold, a plastic pumpkin that lights up. This is what brings more excitement into the house. At first Cooper was scared of Harold and he would come and either grab my finger or Erin's and walk us over to pumpkin. He would not get close to Harold but wanted us to touch Harold. Well after a couple of days, Cooper's new friend was Harold the pumpkin. If he is not plugged in when the sun went down, he comes over to us and wants us to plug him in. It has gotten to the point now that he will want Erin and I to come and sit in the dark living room and watch Harold. This was until 2 days ago when the light burnt out. So for the last two days Cooper was walking around with hands up in the air blabbering about Harold. Well as of tonight Harold was back on and as Cooper was on his way to bed he blew lots of kisses to Harold. As I sit here it makes me realize that sometimes we get too consumed with the business of life and don't take time to play with the little things in life, like light up Harold Pumpkins!! Here are some new pictures and of course a picture of Harold. As you can see Harold looks a little freaky for a pumpkin. But at night he looks pretty cool.

The First Cooper John Entry

2007-10-22T23:07:00.000-05:00

Well this has been long time coming. I originally wanted to get a blog started many months ago, but never got around to it. Now with Cooper growing up and friends and family scattered all across the U.S. I figured I would take a few minutes to get a site up and running. Cooper is now 22 months and soon his 2nd birthday will be here. I can't believe he is almost 2, but then again I can't believe life without him. People who know me will say that I don't say very much so if you get more than a paragraph from me that will be something. But what you will get are lots of pictures and even some video from time to time. With friends in Seattle, Illinois and scattered around we hope this will help you watch Cooper grow. For family in California, Wisconsin, Iowa and other states we wish the same. Below are some pictures from our recent trip to Grand Rapids Minnesota. I went there to teach a workshop and brought Cooper and Erin along. The pictures were taken at the childrens museum, Judy Garlands birth place and a local pumpkin patch. Oh yeah, at the pumpkin patch they had a petting farm and we gave Cooper food to give to the goats, but Cooper ate it instead. I wish I would have had pictures of that. Enjoy the pictures and feel free to comment often.