Time is passing

Alex is now 3.5 months old and doing great. He has found his hands and they are normally in his mouth. He is great at assisted standing and sitting. He has all kinds of sounds. Goo, hoo, oooh and ahhh. Bouncing in the bath is his favorite activity. His friends Elliott (Zoe's brother) and Maude (Max's sister) were born at the end of November. So they are only a couple of months be hind him. Max had his second birthday right after Christmas. We got to see him open on present. Nathan helped with the rest. Alex loves to be held when awake. As soon as he is sleeping he wants to be put down in a quiet place. As far as sleep he does ok. Currently he is sleeping from 9pm-1am and then up again at 4 and 6 or 7. This would be fine with me but Nathan has been getting up at 3. Make for a long morning.

Nathan at 2 years and 5 months is doing well also. He speaks to us in full sentences that are usually understood. He can tell us his favorite knock knock jokes. (knock, knock, who's there, impatient cow, moo and butter nut, butter nut tell you) He tells me that I have great ideas. This week when I went to pick him up at Gramies he told me that he lives there now and didn't want to go home with me. I have started to let him wear his Cars and Thomas underwear when we are home. More often than not that leads to an accident. No rush at this point. Nathan is still napping in the afternoon. In the past 3 months they have gone from 2-3 hour naps to 1-2 hour naps.

This past weekend we took the boys Skating with the Zoe family. Nathan wasn't in the mood but did great walking on the skates and seemed to have a little fun going around the ice with dad.

Paul is working hard at his job. They have made some changes at work and he is now in charge of operations and development. They are still working on a title.

I am still at home with the boys. Currently I am working on photo books for 2007-2009. I am also working on finding a preschool for next year. Not a fun task at all.

We are all looking forward to a trip to Vancouver (sans Nathan) for the Olympics in Feb and a trip to Maui in mid April with the Zoe/Elliott family.

The Cooley's make it into November

In the spirit of newborns arrivals life has been a little less planned and a little more hectic. One might say we have currently it all under control, but that changes day-to-day or night-to-night. However, on the average we all are currently above water.

Alex has been doing well though; gaining weight, growing, eating, and sleeping.

Nathan is a sponge. He is learning everything and anything. The explosion of words, sentences and thoughts has really begun in full force. His imagination really has kicked in and he trains, planes, and cars have places to go.

As a parent, the little things are really the highlights: a middle of the night kiss on the forehead from Nathan while snuggling him back to sleep, a toothless grin from Alex while singing to him, measuring tape races with Nathan on the kitchen floor, Alex sleeping on your chest.

We had a professional take several (70ish) photos of us when Alex was 17 days old, here are some of the highlights:

Alex 9 days old, Nathan 25th Month

Nathan is adjusting to being a big brother. He seems to love Alex but does not understand how fragile a baby is. At this point I don't feel like I can leave them in a room together alone. Nathan has explored Alex's eye with his finger and tries to pick him up when I am not looking. Nathan has also been getting his 2 year molars for the past month. So it doesn't help that he isn't feeling that great these days. Nathan has also taken to fake crying to get my attention. I am trying to ignore it with the hopes it will go away with extra attention. Nathan is expressing himself more and more with words. He picks up everything we say. His new phrase when Paul leaves the house is "see you tomorrow" He got that from me when he stayed with my parents for 2 nights. Pretty sure he doesn't get what tomorrow is yet. Nathan can nearly count to 10. He knows most of his colors. Can identify most letters and numbers by name. And knows the names for most of the basic shapes. Nathan is sleeping well in his new room. He loves his trains and tractors. He is getting pretty good at golf too.

Alex has been a joy to have at home. I think part he is an "easy" baby and part that Paul and I are experienced parents with less worry this time around. Alex right now only seems to cry during diaper changes or if he has been waiting a bit to long for a feeding. For the first 3 nights at home he was doing two 4 hour sleeps at night. This was not true for the last 2 nights were we were up every 2 or 3 hours. Despite this I am feeling rested during the day. Alex is lifting his head, is awake for a few hours a day,and sleeps though the noise of Nathan with ease. Alex left the hospital at weight of 7lbs 10oz. On day 5 he had gained 4 oz. He goes in early next week for another checkup.

Family and friends have been great with helping me out. Paul went back to work on Wednesday. I have had lots great dinners and free babysitting. The hardest part of the week is resting. Being on pain pills makes me think I can resume normal activities, when I really can't. Today I did venture out of the house with both the kids. Nathan went to Willow's house and I went to the doctor for a quick check up. Only took me 3 hours to prep and be out the door. I forgot my pain pills and was hurting pretty bad by the time I got home. Alex did great in the car ride. Slept the whole time.

Baby and the two year old.

Baby number two is growing right along and doing great. I am getting lots of kicks these days and that just makes me smile... unless I am sleeping. Baby #2 is 30 weeks tomorrow. That means that I have about 7 or 8 weeks until induction day or sooner if baby wants to be early. This pregnancy is flying by. We have a list of names but nothing solid yet. I wish we could decide on something early but I am sure we will be scrambling at the hospital for a good name.


Nathan is a joy. He is nearly 2 years old now. Where did the time go? He is saying lots and lots of words these days. His sentences are made up of 2 or 3 words too. He likes to tell me about everything he sees, does or wants. "see it", "mommies phone", "more tractors", "help me", "me turn", "playground", "hot mama" are common phrases this past week. He is an expert on his trike and will be getting a balance bike for his birthday. I am excited for him to try it out. He eats nearly everything but crunchy veggies and he is starting to get better at it. Last night he tried shrimp and squid for the first time. He was loving the squid. Tonight his big boy bed will show up and tomorrow I hope to try his first nap in it. Not sure I am ready for him to move from the crib as he is so good at going to bed these days. Yesterday we went to our Monday playgroup at Idlewood Beach in Redmond. 4 pregnant moms, 2 moms that were not, 6 two year olds and 1 five month old. Nathan loved the baby and was checking on her in her car seat. It really was a wonderful way to spend a hot morning. We got a great place in the shade, Nathan saw Zoe for the first time in a couple weeks, the kids played with the buckets and I got to hold the baby.

Baby number two. Week 22.

Baby number two, the youngest is already being left out. Here I had this great diary of my first pregnancy and I have no record of this one.

Lets start back in January. We found out the day before we were going to Hawaii that I was pregnant. Pretty exciting for us as we just started to try. I never thought it would happen that fast. I made my first doctors appointment while we were in Hawaii and they scheduled me an ultrasound for 9 weeks. So I saw the heartbeat really early and was excited to know that things were going well. About a month later I became tired and sick. Very hard when you have a little one to watch after. That lasted for about a month and a half. Then one day I woke up and had all kinds of energy to get the back yard done. During the height of the sickness I went in for another ultrasound (14 weeks) for genetic testing. Things came back great with even better results than we had with Nathan. It also came back that baby number 2 is probably a boy. I had another ultrasound at 20 weeks and yes it was a boy and he was growing right on target with Nathan. At 21 weeks (last week) I had another monthly doctors visit and everything is great but I might need a c-section due to complications with Nathan's birth. His shoulder got stuck, this happen is less than 1% of vaginal births. So we are waiting until 36 week ultrasound to make the call on if we are going to do a c-section. I don't want one. The recovery for me sound really bad but on the flip side it is more risky for baby to deliver normal.

As far as cravings... anything sweet. Pastry has been my number one go to food and the weight is packing on with this one. I am up 15lbs already. Where with Nathan I probably was only up 7 lbs at this point.

Well that is baby #2 in a nut shell. We are very excited to meet him and have lots to do to get ready. We need to clean the office so the spare bed can be moved, then we need to sell lots of junk that is in the spare room and we need to move most of books to under the house. Lets hope for a sleeper!

Nearly 2 years or 22 months

If yesterday is the gauge on how my days will be for the next while I am in for a ride. We had 3 or 4 major melt downs during the day. One of which last 45 minutes on the kitchen floor that involved him screaming "down" while I held him and then followed by him trying to climb me. Dad came home during the ordeal and he wanted nothing to do with him. Another one was while we were getting dressed at the pool, looking back I think he wanted to take a longer shower. At the time I was set on getting him feed and home for nap, a combo that probably didn't help any. So I think part of the language explosion that we have had over the past 2 weeks is his understanding that he has free will and is going to make sure I know about it.

Morning break is over. Got to go grab him out of the crib and hope for a better day today.

Toddler Translation at 21 Months

A friend of Paul's that is a writer by trade did a list of his toddler words translated. http://papaharry.wordpress.com/2009/05/06/day-306-simone-english-dictionary-in-progress/

I am going to take a stab at it.

bup = up
dow = down or up
how (while wildly raising hand) = help
dat way = that way
tank u = thank you
plee = please
wi oh - Willow
we-al = wheel
outsigh or just sigh = outside
wowid = window
chew = shoes
turt-tle(whispered) = turtle
see we = Sea Weed (the name of the turtle)
daritis = there it is
wha tha = what is that
bar or tar = car
no = nose
cear = star
blahe = balloon
diba diba dib= dip

Words that sound more or less correct.
ball
more
tail (on cat or airplane)
no
Zoe
bye
hi
daddy
mama
nana

Some of our week.

Nathan 19/20 Month pictures

Nathan 19 Months

Nathan turned 19 months almost a month ago now so this really should be Nathan 20 months. Time seems to be going by fast. In his 19 month Nathan is learning the skill of language very quickly. "It is ok", "There it is", "I did it", "I see it" are common sayings that are heard in the house. He is learning how to copy you when you say a word. This week I heard "kitty" and "slide" added. He also babbles. He is always talking while playing, riding in the car or walking. Paul likes to make up what he is saying... sometimes I think he is right. It truly is amazing to see and hear. Another skill he has learned is climbing. Coffee tables and bar stools are no match, I think he would love to learn how to get into his high chair.

Nathan is loving his friends. He has a great time playing with Zoe. At bed time the love to run around and chase each other. Zoe has a great new house that they can run in circles. Yesterday Nathan was in his first parade with the Woodinville toddler group. He and Willow got to sit back in the wagon and watch the rain and wave at their fans. I do think Nathan was more excited about dragging the pin wheel on the ground.

Nathans favorite things to do are play basketball at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He gets really excited at the words we are going to Grandmas. He also loves his Brio train set and has found that the window makes a perfect track for his cars. "Choo Choo" can be heard all day from him. Another favorite activity is Remote control helicopter and truck with daddy.

Last month Nathan did his second visit with Children's hospital. He is a control subject for plagiocephaly study aka head shape. He went at 6 months, 18 months and will have one more visit at 3 years old. They test to see if he is learning at the correct age. So far he has been within normal ranges for his age. Of course we think he is above average. Here is his 3D image from the study.

1.5 years

Can you believe it I am 1.5 years and for my 1/2 birthday my parents took me too Hawaii. I can only hope they take me again when I can remember it for a life time. Mom and dad had a wonderful time with me despite the 3 days of rain, allergic reaction to sunscreen, the break in and the power outage. I learned some new signs on the trip like Whale.

Here is some pictures from my last month.... can you tell what ones are in Hawaii?

Pictures for Month 16

I am 17 months now. My 16 month was filled with eating a band-aid, snow and presents. I love them all, just don't take me sledding.

Snowpocalpyse 2008

Guessing we got another 5 or 6 inches today. Enjoy the pictures.




Update: Here is the total for our house......
9inches

Another 3 days stuck at home?

There is a snow/wind storm coming our way and I am not too happy about it. I truly hope the power stays on because we have no heat if it goes out. Our dinky little fireplace hardly will make a dent in the 25 degree highs that are expected for the next few days.

Nathan and I have cabin fever, we were both excited for our little outing to get pizza and to stock up on supplies for the weekend. We will not run out of food this weekend. We both might have to talk the driver into a latte or something so we can have one last outing before we are stuck.

Nathan is doing well. He understands so much. I never knew that at 16 month old would know how to find the little car or the red car. I never knew that when you said bath time at this age that they would go running for the bathroom and try to jump in the tub. I love that he gets excited about airplanes, lights, baths, eating, and outside. It is great that he will sit still for me when I put on his shoes to go outside. It is interesting that he is starting to undress himself. I am less excited that he thinks it is fun to hit me, pull my hair, stuff his mouth, bonk heads or gets so frustrated when he tries to get on the couch. Right now he is working on climbing... well he does have to keep up with Zoe.

Wishing Santa would let me go....

Nathan Turns 16 Months

Here we go; another month and so much to do as a little boy...

Sunriver, OR

We are having the most wonderful time here in Sunriver. Too bad there isn't any snow for skiing or we would be out on the ski hill. Today Paul and I have Zoe and Nathan. We took a peak at the local live dessert museum. The kids have fun with the chickens, rosters, cats and birds. Yesterday Reid and Laura took the kids for a nature walk in the lava field. Here are some pictures from the trip so far.

Well this Thanksgiving I will be eating turkey and cranberry sauce. I can hardly wait. I have learned to tug at moms leg all day. Mom thinks it is because I am sick or maybe teething. Mom took me to the doctor last week. They did blood test to look for iron. And I got two shots. I have to go back in 30 days for another booster of the flu shot. I am just glad we don't have to do another blood test. I am not into someone holding me down. I am only 23lbs and 32inches. Doctor says I am on target with development. Right now my favorite word is "bye". I say bye to things that I step on, balloons that I hide, cars that go by and even the people at the grocery store. My favorite sign is banana, I do believe that it means give me that food (not just bananas) you have or I will start crying. I have started to have fits too. This way mom will sometimes give me back the item she has taken from me. I have also decided that I will nap at random during the day. Some days I want to nap at 9:00 and others not until 11. I hope this is driving mom crazy.

Nathan turns 15 months

Nathan, how does it feel to be 15 months?

"Well, dad, I can certainly walk steadily. Really, I can almost run. I know much more than I did last month. I have learned a number of animal sounds -- dogs, cats, cows, bears, lions. I know where outside is and I love it there! Why can I not spend all day there? I've got some new words: 'there it is', 'down', 'outside'. I like the song ring-around-the-rosie because I love to all fall down. I also like to play with Zoe, she is so much fun and we can get really silly together when we are both tired. What do I do for fun? Every Monday, I go to Toddler Group and learn more things with a little playing here and there. Another thing that is fun is music. When I hear music I've got to sway and dance! For next month? Who knows, maybe I'll start learning Latin."

Paul's Bicycle Commute (Kenmore to Bellevue)

A world of technology opportunities enables a mobile phone (iPhone) with GPS capabilities to sit in my back pack and track my ride to and from work on a rainy Nov. 3, 2008. The wonders never cease.

From the site MapMyRide, it all gets overlayed on a Google map for you to see.

Christmas lamb

We bought our 1/2 of lamb today.

Brian wrote up the steps that we take to make it:
at this link

Dance Party

Oct Rain.. check out my boots!!

Nathan turns 14 months

From learning to walk to walking like a champ. Mobility is now Nathan's middle name. He loves this new found freedom. "Na, Na, Fa, Da, Ya!", as he clutches a toy at walks around the house.

A late September vacation at Cannon beach was great. Sand, Surf, and seagulls are a 1-years favorite things. Funny how you cannot wash sand out of your mouth with more sand, isn't it Nathan? Nathan is a great little comedian, at dinner in Cannon Beach you had mom and dad in tears laughing with you.

Thursday Freakout

Paul and I were planning on a nice quite time at home on Thursday. Well Nathan had other plans. It is 6pm and Nathan is hungry again after eating dinner at 5. So I sit him up in his high chair and grab him some dessert, while we wait for Paul to come home. A frozen OJ/water Popsicle and some watermelon. Oh does he love watermelon. Well this watermelon is a bit firm so I cut it up into bites for him, most days he gets a slice to munch on. He eats almost all of it and only has 3 chunks left plus a huge mouthful. I see the choking face and think he will clear it as he made that face of I have swallowed too much before. But this time no noise. My heart sinks and breath quickens. OK I know what to do. Calm comes over me when he coughs and out comes some watermelon bits. I think great he will be fine... Ah no I am wrong.. He is wheezy and is having a hard time breathing. So I grab Nathan and the phone and dail 911. I can feel myself breathing hard. I can feel Nathan's breath going in and out. I can hear it. I am happy he has air but concerned as he is working hard for it. 911 transfers me quickly to the right line. I am happy I can remember my Nathan's age, our phone number and address. I am glad the firehouse is only a 1/2 mile away. I can only hear my breath and his... then I hear the garage and the aid car in the distance. Paul is home.. things are getting better. My breath slows. Nathan is breathing better. Happy tears are in my eyes. Paul comes into the room and I ask him to flag down the aid car. They come in and can hear something in his wind pipe and Brent thinks we should go to the ER. The other guy asks to look at what Nathan was eating. It is important to them that I know what he was eating. I am happy I know what he was eating, that I was sitting with him and not in the garage getting a can of something for dinner, not in the bathroom. I am happy that I was sitting with him.

Well we had our aid car ride with the paramedics. Nathan is so unhappy, he doesn't want them to touch him. He doesn't want to sit on my lap. He doesn't want to be there. He isn't his normal self, I can tell he is still uncomfortable. Brent tells me his color is good and he is getting lots of air. That helps the 15 min ride go faster. We talk about his kids... he has a 19 year old and a 6 month old. They had tried for #2 for a long time and were not expecting another. I am wondering why they are not going on the freeway. I guess because Nathan isn't buckled in. We get to the ER and find our room. The doctor looks at him and says he can't hear any problems. I am sure he is still wheezy. Since the paramedic said he heard something in his windpipe they want to do a x-ray. Then we wait and wait. We go back in to a darkened room, sit a very sleepy boy on a chair and put on our lead vests. They take the pictures and then we head back to our room. Nathan has returned to his normal self and I feel like he is not wheezy now. Then we wait. The doctor comes in and says there is no seeds in his lungs, any watermelon meat will be fine in there. It is 8:45 and and they let us go home. Two of our friends had choking issues the same night but didn't go to the ER. Paul is a rock under pressure. Nathan is a trooper. They are my boys.

Adding to vocabulary nearly 14months

Words:
Light
ba (balloon, ball, bird)
fa (fan)
da or dad (dad)
was dat (whats that)
weeeee (having fun going down a slide/in a swing/or just walking around)
shoes
Umbra (umbrella)
off (light)
nanananana (no clue what this means but he walks around saying this all day)

Sounds:
ffff (woof) dog
baaaow (meow) cat
aaaa (moo) cow
sssss for snake

Signs:
light
more
eat
finished (rip off bib)
bird
duck
airplane
kitty
puppy
bye bye
hot
shoes

Actions on command or seeing something:
high five
how big is Nathan "so big"
sniff flower

Cannon Beach Day 3

Oh we had a blast today.. here is a movie that proves it.

Cannon Beach Day 2

Cannon Beach

We are at the ocean and having a great time. Nathan is growing and "talking" more. He has added nana nana nana to his list of words. I have no idea what it means.

He went potty on his potty the other day when I sat him on it. I think it was a fluke but I was still doing the happy potty dance with a couple of high fives.

He loves fish, he can find them in the strangest places. We were sitting at a coffee shop yesterday and he starts signing fish or airplane. The door handle was a fish.

Today we are on a mission to find Paul a sweater and Nathan a kite. I am guessing it won't be that hard.

Zoe is back in town..

Better watch out Zoe is back in town. Nathan got to go swimming with her yesterday and tonight they are going for a bike ride and a picnic at Green Lake. Welcome back Zoe.. we missed you.

Nathan Turns 13 months

OK I have to stop saying Nathan is a year old now. Here is an update on his development. He is 22lbs, 30 inches long and has a head size of 18.5. He doctor was pleased at his progress and says that he does not have any signs of autism. He looks at me for confirmation and is very interactive with her. We went ahead and did the MMR shot that is so controversial right now. We feel it is best for him to be protected. With the measles outbreak in Seattle a few months ago I am happy that he has got some defense against it now.


On to how smart our child is. He can answer simple questions now. "What does the puppy say?" He says "fffff fffff ffff" (aka woof).

Words:
Light
ba (balloon, ball)
fa (fan)
ffff (woof)
da or dad (dad)
was dat (whats that)
weeeee (having fun going down a slide/in a swing/or just walking around)

Signs:
light
more
eat
finished
bird
airplane
kitty
puppy
bye bye
high five
how big is Nathan "so big"
hot


He can drink from a straw, he can blow in instruments, he pretty much has stopped crawling around and walks everywhere with out trouble. At our doctors appointment he was getting up without pulling him self up. He understand all of his toys and what to do with them. You push a car, you put a block in this hole, you turn on this toy here. He can identify objects in books with real life. He knows the picture of a bird/dog/cat/balloon and will point or sign the object to me when asked.

At one year we stopped going to parent/baby class at the hospital and we will start up at Woodinville Toddler group in the next couple of weeks. We are also going to start swimming lessons next week.

Sesame Street

I have been enjoying a bit of Sesame Street with Nathan. Here are some of my favorites from the show.

Nathan's First Year

Laura worked hard last month to view all of the media we've taken of Nathan. After browsing through the thousands of photos and hundreds of minutes of videos, in the end she compiled this video of moments of his first 12 months.

This was the movie playing at his birthday party. Enjoy.

1 Year 1 week

Not sure we will be doing weekly updates this year but we will do our best to do monthly ones. Here is some pictures from the party. We only had 4 accidents with the kids, all had lots of tears. 3 drew blood. Note to self: buy a first aid kit to have on site during crazy first birthday parties.

So moms out there will understand how important naps are at this age. I was so worried he would be sleeping or grumpy during the party. I seemed to time everything perfect. He woke up 10 minutes before the party started and had a good 3 or 4 hours of party time.

Nathan is taking lots of steps now but still isn't very good at it. He did a good 2 feet of walking on his own today. That kid is fearless.

Addicted?? Maybe..

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Gas

Well I wanted to document how much gas is this year. We paid $3.91 per gallon with our 20 cent discount. Grand total for filling up my car.... $41.57 for 10.6 gallons.

I'm One... oh it is so much fun!

Happy Birthday Nathan!!


Well for my birthday I got a cold and a swing. The swing is what I was asking for, the cold just came up on me in the middle of the night. My big party is next week so we will see what else the parents got me. I am hoping for some Little People but you know I forgot to ask for it.

Nathan Week 51

Mobility is my middle name and trying to walk is my new game. I've been lunging myself between objects that are upright and taking a few steps in between. A tumble here and there, but for the most part been doing pretty well. I am practicing up for my 1st birthday!

I am really getting to understand the words my parents are saying. I know when they tell me to take things out of my mouth. However, I might not alway listen. I've been using a little more sign language such as airplane, 'more' food please, maybe even fish.

I really babble when I am in a good mood. I know how to sleep through the night, but like a little comfort now and again.

My mom and dad really figured out this week why mom couldn't get enough watermelon while she was pregnant with me. It was me making the request from within the belly.

11 Month video

Week 50

Oh no.. 2 weeks until he is no longer zero. 3 weeks until the party.

Nathan had his first trip to the zoo. I believe he really liked the birds, hippos and the butterflies. Not 100% sure as he replies "da" when I ask. Maybe he thinks dad is part of the zoo? Nathan is starting to take steps from one thing to another. He will let go for seconds at a time and if you are waiting for him he will fling himself at you. I think he will be walking right around his party. Nathans favorite play time activity these days is pushing his cars around making noise, walking around touching the walls and anyone else that will take him for a spin, and he loves to pull things out and put them back in. This morning he had a measuring cup with his first lunch and was putting his food from his plate into the cup and then eating it. He has also emptied the folded laundry numerous times today and it is only 11am.

Let see we are still attending parent/child class. Our friends are slowly moving on. They kick you out at 1 year old and Nathan is the youngest in the group that I hang out with. Toddler group in Woodinville starts up in September. So we will have a short break from classes.

Hope to see all of you at the party... if you didn't get an invite and want to come let me know and I will send one over to you. The big day is August 10th.

Week 49

Back to normal here. As normal as it gets with a child in tow.

I am now able to brush my teeth. Mom says, "Brush Your teeth" and I try to move my toothbrush like my mom and dad do. If only I could walk, then I could catch those cats. I sure love it when mom and dad are willing to help me walk around the house; smiles and giggles galore. My bedtime is about 7 PM. I wake up somewhere between 5:30 and 7 AM - typically I fall in the earlier more frequently. One day it might be fun if I wake up happy, I guess that this the problem with sleeping for 11 hours, one gets hungry.

I went with my friends to a park (Ferrell McWhirter) with a little farm, so I got to see some farm animals. Oink, Oink says the pigs.

Week 48

What a week. Vacation time for the family. Destination: Vanderhoof. Nana and Grandpa Cooley's house, so much to see, do, and learn! I love my grandparents they are so fun and I got to hang out a bit with all of them. The second destination was the cabin.

In terms of what did I learn to do this week: Started walking with one hand of help, accidentally standing when I don't realize I am not holding something, drinking from a sippy cup by myself, learned to love a cuckoo clock, used a straw, could wave bye-bye, hugs toys when parents call the toy nice - "what a nice bear", "what a nice ball", mimics coughing with a fake cough.

My parents made a made a commitment to raise me according to God's Word and God's ways. I was dedicated at NCC, the church my dad attended while growing up. Great!

I am very patient with the 4 days of driving over this vacation. However about 4 or 5 hours into driving I get pretty bored. I love that mom comes and visits me in the back seat. She just cracks me up with her puppet shows.

I am on my way to only two naps a day and I still get up a least once in the night.

It was my first Canada day and July 4th celebration. However, I really don't celebrate that much. I saw my first fireworks and it didn't overwhelm me with excitement, but I was interested in watching.

One month till my first birthday, where did the time go?

There are tons of photos to see this week.

Week 47

We are a little behind, it turns out we were on vacation. Yes, by the time Week 47 ended Nathan, Laura, and Paul were in Vanderhoof!

On Saturday a friend of Nathan's had a first birthday, so Nathan went to his very first birthday party. He got to socialize with his friends. However, socialize for a 11 month old appears to be give and take toys back and forth with an occasional pause for hair pulling.

This week was a busy one getting everything sorted out and ready to go on vacation. Nathan's parents were busy with that. What little spare time they did have was spent playing with a new digital SLR camera; you be the judge -- some of the pictures below were taken with a better camera. :)

Week 46

Happy Fathers day dad. Mom was acting silly all week. Her employer laid her off and she was dancing around the room like she won the lottery. Thanks mom for staying home with me.

Here is some pictures the folks took, I had a fun week.

~Nathan

Week 45

I am sure I am starting to repeat myself but here goes this weeks post. Nathan goes around saying Da da dad at everything all the time. My reply is still Ma ma ma. No luck. He has ga, va, da, fa, ha, ah/ in his baby babble. He says light at least once a day. He loves to stand in the fridge, pull the cats tail and scream in delight at the cats. He can be placed in his crib for naps and will cry for less than 1 minute after I leave. Then he will ether play or lay down and sleep. He still cries when he wakes and screams (not happy) when you enter the room. He thinks the cats are so funny, especially when he is attacking them with a toy. He thinks it is funny when he crawls away from me and I pull him back by the his legs. He is reaching more things these days. Laptops that could be safely stored at the back of the couch are now in reach. He can reach higher in the fridge and split soy sauce all over the floor this week. He loves to eat dirt from the house plants and any kind of paper. Getting the mail is the best time of day. I pull out all the recycle paper and we play on the floor tearing it and eating it. Nathan got his first case of diaper rash due to what we think is teething... but there is no tooth so maybe he was just sick. So hard to tell.

This past week we went to the U of W for yet another study. This one wasn't very exciting so I will spare you the details. We are still attending parent/child class, this is my weekly sanity check. It is getting hard to do too much due to all his naps. He is one of the few in my class that is still doing 3 naps a day. I can get out of the house once a day for two trips and that is about it.

Happy Fathers Day

Week 44

As shocking as it may sound, teething is no fun. This week Nathan has had some tough days. Subsequently his mom had some rough days! There was no pleasing a boy in pain. Running noses and tears and waking up several times in the night is a good summary.

Nathan also got to go to Anthonys for Grandma's birthday. That was fun for everyone, but a little less fun for mom because she had a little handful of joy to entertain.

Nathan's trips to photographers

A couple of weekends ago some photos were scanned into digital format.

We share them here:

Great-Grandfather's insight into the US Northwest

For something a little different.

The below contains a little insight about Seattle and Portland in a letter my Great-Grandfather (Harvey Williams Cooley) sent to his older sister Mattie Cooley almost 100 years ago. Apparently I've discovered it is not entirely true given my current location. :-)

This was a particularly relevant letter that got scanned by my dad as he went through many historical Cooley documents in the recent past.

Coquille, OR.
July 16, 1908
Dear Sis,

Yours of July 10 received and contents noted; was very glad to learn of Rollies' [Roland Cooley] information. He wants to remember the old adage to the effect that all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Lying around in bed is about the hardest work I ever did. If I were I would certainly want to release myself some.

Give my regards to Aunt C and H.J and family though I suppose the latter will have left by this time.

If you will take occasion to note there are no heat prostrations [heat stroke] recorded in the West. And you can go to the mountains if you want when you get there although I support Geo will want to get action on himself.

I received an epistle from from H.G dated July 8 containing the startling information generally enclosed in one of his letters. H. G is all right and he sent me some advise if follow out will certainly get the gravy for anyone.

He appears to be laboring under the delusion that Seattle is the coming city of the coast when any Oregonian can you that the proud distinction is held by Portland. I also suspect him of a strong leaning toward Repulicanism. Which indiscretion on the part of the public is I believe about to culminate into another national disaster, namely the election of one W. H Taft.

You don't want to worry about George, a little work will do him good. Bill out to be in Ore. he could put his horses in the pasture the year round.

Was very glad to hear from John Baker. I am something of a Hobo myself. You want to look into Bill Brown as will undoubtedly be able to tell you some history.

I have received the Trib regularly but would not miss it and have tied my affection to the chariot wheels of the Oregon Journal which is an independent sheet with a strong democratic leaning.

My appetite still continues robust and I must say Good Bye.

Your Bro,

H. W. Cooley

P.S Tell Cliff is about due to answer a letter

Week 43

Week 43, come and gone. In the past week Nathan has been trying to articulate a few more sounds. Mom understands him when he says "light" or "kitty", but dad is still a bit slow on the hearing of those words. Maybe he isn't listening close enough.

Nathan is continuing to be a hungry boy. Eat, Eat, Eat. 63.23% of his mom's time in the day seems to be feeding him. The left over time is spend cleaning up :-)

It was a long weekend, Memorial day, and the Cooley family spent it at the cabin. More fun in the sun. It was actually sunny on a long weekend, handy isn't it? Nathan got to ride around the lake in his bike trailer with mom, bestafar, and dad.

Week 42

This week was daunting to post as there were so many photos to pick from.

In Seattle the weekend turned out to be super warm and we all went up to the cabin! Fun, Fun, Fun. Nathan loved the cabin. More corners to explore and keep his mom and dad on their toes.

Nathan is working on his balance this week. There is much more work to be done there, but he is doing pretty good.

Here are 2% of the photos we took in Week 42...

Spring Summer

Week 41

Busy week, here are some pictures from last week.

Nathan is saying dadada dada dad daaad dada and many more combinations of dad. All I can say back to him is mama ma ma mama ma mom. It isn't working.

Happy Mothers Day

40 Weeks

The big 40. 40 weeks that is.

If you are following are blog you know Nathan knows the word light but we have a new development this week, he can sign the word light. Paul and I discovered that tonight. The conversation went something like this.

Nathan looks at up at light and does the sign.
I look at Paul and ask "Did he just sign light?"
Paul answers "I don't know, try it again".
So I turn on the light and Nathan does the sign.
Paul and I look at each other. Hmmm
Paul says "Try again"
I say were is the light? Nathan looks at light and his hand goes up and he signs it.
Can you tell I am excited??

What I don't get is I have been doing the sign for kitty since he was born, we just learned the word light last week and I just started the sign for light this week. Strange. So he has two signs, milk and light.

He has lots of babble this week. ba ba ba and va va va. No ma ma or da da yet.

What else is he doing... eating. This kid has discover the wonderful love for bread and food in general. He is feeding himself finger food... I should say shoveling food in his mouth, using both hands. Things he gets are brown rice, cheese, bits of fruits, veggies, beans, pasta, chicken and bread. If I had to say what Nathans favorite foods are apple/pear sauce, avocado, and chicken. His top two hands down are yogurt and bread.

Nathan has also learned how to have a tantrum when I take away something he can't have. Paper and bread causing the biggest fuss.

Week 39

Lots of activity this week and this week we've managed to capture a lot of photos of this activity. For instance Nathan went on his first bike ride with Mom and Dad. He, of course, hung out in his bike trailer. He was making a concerted effort to sleep, however the bumps seemed to disagree with him. Plus it was another week of Nathan being sick, sleeping more, and generally less happy with his day-to-day life.

Laura also started helping her dad's company by doing some testing of their products. Those couple of days were ultra-busy as she spends the morning getting Nathan ready to go to Grandmas then the afternoon working, then the evening looking after the two babies (one big and one little).

Nathan is starting to have an inkling of an idea about some of the words that his parents use. Such as kitty, light, bird, and halcyon. OK, so maybe not the last word (means peaceful/happy).

Nathan also got his first haircut this week. Fun? Not for him.

Week 38

This week was filled with Nathan catching a cold. He had a fever for the end part of the week. He even missed mom's group this week. Sleep has been on Nathan's highest objective. Definitely, a hard week for Nathan. In spite of the cold, He has been a trooper!

Last weekend was pretty amusing down here. Snow was amusing, at least for awhile.

When Nathan was awake last week, he was babble boy. Yap, yap, yap.

Oh yes, we went to get an MRI, but alas the machine was so loud that Nathan was startled when it started up; thus, ruining the images. It would be a lucky day when they get a successful MRI of a baby given that noise.