Olympia

Cooper and I are spending the weekend in Olympia with our good friends: Tim, Sue, Maggie & baby Graham. It's been great to get out of the house, and Chris gets some time to himself. Cooper's been really good with the baby, which is nice to see- gentle hugs and kisses for the most part- I'm a little nervous about that for when our baby comes in May. Two big highlights: going to the gymnasium for toddler tumble time yesterday, and a big walk with two four year olds at the nearby bird refuge today. Cooper walked SO much! It's a great set up for him- a boardwalk to help him know where to go, and very few hazards to require him to hold my hand!

Cooper and Maggie probably spent 45 minutes in the pack and play, in laundry baskets playing with the laundry- remind me again- why do I buy him toys???

Graham, watching all the excitement.
Gymnastics

Nisqually Wildlife Refuge

The Koontz family chickens were another hit for Coop.

Riding the Bus

Putting Cooper on the bus to go to school may well be the strangest thing I've done yet in his life- almost as odd as when he was transported to Children's via helicopter without us. Even stranger to come back in to an empty house.

Here are a couple of pictures from the morning:

Look Out World

My big boy bed..
Yep. While I was at Nana and Pop Pop's house in San Diego, Mom and Dad got me a big boy bed (it actually takes up WAAAYYY less space than the crib!) I love it!! From the day I got home, I insisted that I get put to bed in my bed every night. I'd snuggle in with my books and animals, and mom would sit next to me on the beanbag (just picture that- at 7 1/2 months pregnant!) She'd read my books, then sing me songs 'till I fell asleep.
That was great, except that it took 30 or more minutes to actually fall asleep. If she left before I fell asleep, she'd tell me, "Stay in your bed. If you get out, you'll have to go in your crib." I'd say, "Okay," wait 'till she was out the door, and then climb right out of bed and rattle the door. As soon as Mom opened the door back up, I'd turn right around and book it for my bed! Such a fun game. So, I mostly slept in the crib this week. BUT, last night, Mom wondered what would happen if she just let me rattle the door for a while. Sure enough, after a couple of trips to and from the bed (with no intervention from Mom) I made it back to my bed, climbed in, and slept there all night! Mom and Dad were SO impressed! Of course, Mom says she's keeping the crib in my room as back up for a good long time still!

And on another note, here's my birthday playhouse. Thanks to all the grandparents, Uncle Tim & Aunt Suz, Uncle Steve & Aunt Lib, and Uncle Nate and Aunt Jen for the great birthday present- I love it!

Preschool

Yep, it's finally come- Cooper's started preschool. Today was his first day, and here he is in his spiffy first day outfit, complete with his own little backpack.

All reports are that he had a great time at school. It was particularly nice to have a long time friend, Eva, in class with him. He'd been looking a little hesitant when we first got there, and he didn't know anyone, but when Kati and Eva walked through the door, his face lit up. He wasn't too pleased with me leaving at first, but when I did finally go, he said, "Bye!"Kati and I celebrated his first day by doing NO errands, chores, or miscellany, but instead having coffee and treats in town!

He was happily eating his snack when I came back to pick him up two hours later. The highlight, however was walking out into the main school hallways right at lunchtime and seeing a hundred (I kid you not!) third graders walking to lunch with their teachers!! Everytime a class passed by us, he'd say, "Hi!" and wave to the kids, and when they'd made it into the cafeteria, he'd look at me and sign, "More!" So, of course we had to go into the cafeteria to see them all again, and then he saw them all eating, and so he wanted to get his own tray and lunch and eat with them...and, well, what's a mom to do?? He got to choose chocolate milk, carrots, an apple and french fries. Mmmmm! A few third grade girls took him under their wing, so we sat at their table and ate with the big kids. I think he was in heaven!

All and all, a successful first day.

Whatcom Center for Early Learning

I'll get a birthday post in soon, I promise. But, for now, I'm posting the link to our friend Max's blog so you can see some pictures from WCEL, where Cooper has gone to "school" since he was 6 months old. It's an amazing place, and we'll miss being there.

http://mightymaxupdate.blogspot.com/2008/03/meet-maxs-friends.html

More Vacations...

Chris and I don't know what to do with ourselves...

Cooper left town with Nana yesterday for his own little vacation to San Diego. All reports are that he is doing great- they went to the zoo today, and he was having quite the time bossing Nana and PopPop around. (Is he even going to want to come home??)

It's such a funny time right now, with a new baby coming soon, and Cooper moving so quickly into preschool. The school where I teach houses the preschool where our little group will go. He got his backpack right before he left for points south, and has been wearing it all around the house the last few days, making sure, of course that everyone noticed it. "Back...pack..."

I met with the specialists in the school district Wednesday for the "qualification" meeting. This basically says that he's delayed enough to qualify for special education preschool. Hmmmm...how does a mom think about that? On one hand, I want him not to need it, so I point out how far he's come, how much he can do, and how well he adapts. On the other hand, he does need specialized instruction, or at least extra support to continue to do as well as he's doing so far. So, do I want his scores to be low, or high???

I feel like the impact of speech delays is just becoming clear to me. Cooper's just now beginnning to put two words together- "Go cat!", or "Oooooh baby!", or his favorite, "No, that (dat)!" It's not that he's not coming along swimmingly, but it's just hard for him. It takes his little brain so much work to get the words out sounding right. I can see how, as he gets older, his delays will continue to have an increased impact on his relationships with his peers, and I'm sad for that possibility. Even in our community that is so supportive and loving, it's just different- it takes more work for kids to communicate with Coop, and to understand what he's trying to say. Blah.

So, I'm thankful for all the things that are going well, and the amazing community that we get to be a part of, and looking for the best in all of us.

I don't want to go!!!