Our little Cooper is 2 years old today!  What a special day and we are feeling so happy and proud to be the parents of this little guy.

Stats:

Height – 37.5″ (99%)

Weight – 34 lbs (96%)’

Head Circumference – 20.5″ (99%)

Developments:

• Cooper is talking up a storm.  He will attempt to repeat anything you say and is now speaking in phrases pretty consistently.  When being asked a question he will sometimes grunt a response, but if you ask “yes” or “no” he will clearly say “yes”.  One of the cutest sayings he has picked up is “bless you (name)” when someone sneezes or coughs.  He is turning into our little parrot which really makes you think about every word that comes out of your mouth.
• He loves to entertain/run around the house saying “watch a Nicholas” or asking whoever is in the room to watch him.  When we are out in public he doesn’t talk very much and prefers to stick closer to familiar people.
• In a park he is now loving the swing and can spend a lot of time getting pushed in one.  He continuously talks about taking turns and needs gentle reminders when we are out with others to share.

• It looks like his top two year molars are through now.  The doctor continues to tell us to not worry about his Keratosis pilaris, a red bumpy rash on his arms and legs and with age it will just be on the back of his arms.  It is rarely seen on his face now.
• Cooper primarily uses his left hand when eating with a utensil and kicks with his right foot.  The jury is still out on if these preferences will stick or this is just a phase.
• He wears 2T clothes, but many of the tops are looking pretty short on him.  He is in size 5 diapers, with an overnight diaper and insert to keep him dry overnight.  He wears a size 7 shoe and can put on some pairs himself.
• He loves his little brother very much and gives him lots of hugs and kisses all day long.  One of his favorite parts of the day is after a nap when Nicholas joins him in his crib.

• Personality – Cooper loves to smile and make others smile by being silly.  He gets concerned when he hears another child crying and is very empathetic with his friends.  He continues to be a go with the flow kiddo, trying new activities, food and schedules.  We keep to a pretty good routine each day, but when the timing, activity, or people are new or different it doesn’t bother him.

Routine:

Cooper wakes up around 6am and goes to bed around 7pm.  There are many nights where we here him still talking and singing an hour or more after we put him in bed.  In the morning after giving Nicholas a kiss we do a diaper change and head down for breakfast.  He spends 30-60 minutes in his crib before we head out for the day so Mama can shower and feed Nicholas.  We make plans for play dates or to run errands around 10am each day.  Lunch takes at least 30 minutes to eat and is followed by a 2-3 hour nap until he gets woken up at 4pm.  Daddy usually comes home shortly after nap followed by dinner around 5:3opm.  After some post dinner playing, bath time with Daddy is at 6:30pm followed by a sippy cup of milk , brushing teeth and bed time stories.

Doctor Appointment Updates:  The doctor suggested dropping the sippy cup of milk before bed.  In typical Cooper fashion he adjusted very quickly without complaints to losing this part of his routine and he only asked for it a couple of times.  He also heard what could be misidentified as a heart murmur, but is really a vibration of the artery known as a “venous hum” which is common in children and nothing to worry about.  He was surprised at how top of the charts Cooper is at in his growth and asked us again when we each thinned out as toddlers.  According to our parents the magic age is by 3 so we have a year to see if his top of the chart growth starts to slow a little.  Before the appointment Cooper was saying Dr. Nakahara, but when it came time to show the doctor he could say his name he became shy.  A couple of weeks later when we went back for Nicholas’ appointment Cooper proudly shared that he could say his name with him.