Cooper is three!

The last few weeks have been eventful for our family, most notably in the passing of my beautiful mother-in-law. As is often the case with life, interwoven with our grief have been moments of joy and celebration, as well. But as of mid-June, we now have a three-year-old!

My father-in-law, sister-in-law and Nicholas' Aunt Julie came over for a cookout for lunch. I made our favorite sourdough cinnamon rolls as a treat. We opened gifts and then we played a couple rounds of Rummikub.

And here are some of my very favorite things about three-year-old Coop:

• His "Fs" sound like "Ss", so different sounds like dissident, and funny becomes sunny
• He loves "westoration wideos" (restoration videos) of someone restoring an antique, rusty lantern, tool, drill press, wrench, etc. And we love watching videos of home/cabin construction, or anything showing the process of something being built or assembled
• Perhaps as a result of the previous point, he loves taking everything apart. And I do mean everything: patio furniture, pens, remotes, you name it. One of the most-asked questions around here is, "How does this come apart?"
• To his credit, he usually can reassemble most things (patio furniture included) without assistance
• He uses lots of technical words like "attached" and "sandblasting" (yes!)
• He loves to be my big helper in the garden. Sometimes he will just hop up, and announce that he is going to go outside and water the plants with his watering can.
• Currently plays with Legos for hours every day. They've been a big win for independent play!
• Adores his baby brother and is gradually learning how to be gentle and sweet with him
• We're potty-trained (hallelujah!)
• Loves to know the "plan for the day," so I am asked "And then what are we going to do?" about twenty times a day
• Loves to cuddle with mom and dad (especially dad) in bed
• Often says, "I like that yummy ______ (zucchini bread or food or smoothie, etc) that you made, mommy."
• He loves to eat grass-fed ground beef, sourdough waffles, homemade smoothies, roasted sweet potatoes, dairy-free yogurt, bacon, and basically any baked good I make.
• Sometimes if we're sitting together at the table, he'll look at me and say, "This is nice."
• He loves to say, "Amen!" really loud at the end of prayers

Yes, he also took apart the balance bike he got for his birthday (and then we reassembled it together ;)

Some of his favorite things to do:

• Go on walks, pull his wagon himself
• play with water (the hose, puddles, washing dishes, anything)
• Picasso tiles, Legos, and any vehicle toys
• go to the beach
• help me in the kitchen, help daddy with projects/tools or with yardwork
• visit the library
• help put groceries on the belt at the grocery checkout, naming each item as he does
• visits to the park with friends

I am often impressed at how capable our little guy is, and how sweet he is. What a joy he is to us and our family. We are so blessed to be your parents and you are God's gift to us. We love you, Cooper!