Happy 3rd Birthday

Today is Hollands Birthday. No we didnt have a party or get him a cake. Cooper did tell him over and over again happy day happy day.
We are very grateful for our dog and have enjoyed having him in our family. He is Coopers best friend and they can play together for hours, well maybe I should say Holland tolerates Cooper climbing on him, laying on him and reading to him. Holland def. thinks sometimes he is a person. He loves our couch, likes to cuddle and constantly likes to give people air licks. He loves his orange ball and water. About two weeks ago we took him to the park and he found a huge mud puddle and decided to roll in it, Cooper tried to follow him in but luckily was stopped.

WE LOVE YOU HOLLAND

Its been far to long..UPDATE

I cannot believe its almost been a year since I have done a post.

For an update of our lives.

Cooper

• He is turning two a week from tomorrow
• He keeps us on our toes as he is running and constantly going
• LOVES to read. He will get stuck on a book and that's all he wants to keep reading- currently its -Go Dog Go- his big truck books- and thank you God
• not only has a wide vocabulary already but he also repeats everything we say
• remembers peoples names
• sleeping in his big boy bed in his new big boy room (we moved him at the beginning of Feb)
• makes us laugh all day long
• even though he is all boy he still likes to have cuddle time- his new favorite thing in the morning is to cuddle in mommy and daddy's bed
• starting to really play with kids his age and to watch them play is so fun
• still a good eater but sometimes is picky( the other night he ate a plateful of broccoli and the night before Brussels sprouts)
• LOVES Holland and always wants to play catch with him
• likes to kiss mommy's belly and say hi to his baby brother (lets hope he is as excited now as when he actually comes)

Afton

• Currently almost 34 weeks pregnant with baby boy. This pregnancy has been a lot different then when I was with Cooper. I was pretty sick at the beginning and now I am dealing with gesational diabetes as well as measuring 4 weeks ahead. As of right now we have a scheduled c-section for the 21st of April but we are just hoping to get to April 6th right now. Other then being pregnant I def. have been nesting and getting the house somewhat ready for the baby.

Ryan

• At the end of January Ryan was let go from his Job. Even though its been difficult we are very blessed that he is with us right now to help me with Cooper and daily life but also just the time we all get to spend together. We have been very blessed and thankful for all the prayers during this time as Ryan is looking for another job.

So that is a quick little update about whats going on in the VP household. I am going to be better about this blog, I have to!

Here is a little peek at our little guy when he was 20 weeks. We cannot wait to meet him and to be a family of four.

Pictures.

Easter 2010

Cooper playing in his thomas train

He loves to crawl on the dishwasher-I usually never open it when he is aroundFamily outing to the ballard locks

I love my family and so grateful for our times together.

MONKEY BIRTHDAY PICTURES

I know this post is over a month late but I thought I could post some pictures from Coopers 1st birthday party. We had a great Saturday lunch with all our family and friends. Coopers Oma made an amazing spread of food {pulled pork sandwiches, salads, veggies,fruits} and we made an assortment of cupcakes.

Party Favor- Some yummy monkey munch

A very creative wrapped present

Cooper didnt dive right into his cake, his daddy did have to help him. But he loved to lick all the frosting off his hands.

Cooper helped us open his presents and wasnt always interesed in them all but he has played with most of them now.

On of our favorite gifts, was a handmade husky sweater from my "Aunt" Lynn. We are so excited for this fall and for Cooper to wear it. It will be an item passed down in our family.

Our Sweet little monkey boy. We hope you had a great first bday party!

Our little boy is 1

Yes I know this post is 2weeks late, but with all the birthday's we had and family gatherings I completely forgot to finish it.

Ryan and I cannot believe that we have a 1 year old. Looking back at this year we both have no regrets but we can only say that it has been the best year of our life. Cooper has brought so much joy, happiness and more laughter then we could have imagined into our lives. I have learned so much about selfless love, compassion, patience, and to sleep when needed. God has given me this amazing time to be with Cooper at home as well and I am so thankful.

To our Cooper James, we hope you had a great birthday and even though we want to freeze time and enjoy every moment with you we also can't wait for the next year ahead. We are excited to watch you grow, learn and take off (once this little guy starts to fully walk we are in trouble). You are so curious, always wanting to know what is going on around you but also so sweet and caring for others especially for your doggy. Words cannot describe how much we Love you and so blessed by you everyday. Thank you for being our little boy.

He woke up on his birthday happy as can be. I made him pancakes and he ate them off our "you are special plate" (a new tradition for our family). We spent the day playing as normal & getting stuff ready for his big party. Later for dinner we had just our families over for pizza and of course an ice cream cake. Ryan and I both love ice cream cake and it will forever be a family tradition in this household. He really didnt care for the ice cream that much probably cause it was so cold. We only gave him a little bit since the big cake would be at the party.