One

Dear Cooper,

The day has come...you are now ONE year old. Today is both happy and sad for me! I am sad that this is probably the last first birthday we will celebrate in our family...until there are grandchildren...and that we have already sped right through your infancy at an alarming rate! But I am so happy to be able to celebrate you!

I love First Birthday Parties! Like everything else this past year, it's another opportunity to experience something new with you! Tomorrow, at your party, we will watch you experience cake for the first time...and I have a feeling you are going to LOVE cake...opening gifts, being showered with affection...YOU will be the center of attention! We get to spend the next two days celebrating everything about you and this first year of your life!

This past month you have gotten two more teeth (the uppers)! They are barely in, but when you laugh we can see the little nubbins! You now weigh 26 lbs (95%)...down a little from your last doctor visit! You are also 95% for height and 70% for head circumference.

You still wear size 5 diapers and 18 month- 2T clothes. You are a big guy and we love you for it!

You say:
-Mama
-Dada
-Baba (brother)
-Thhh (sister)
-DA (BOO)
-Uh oh or uh uh oh
-nana (banana)
-HI!
-Yeah


Just like your brother and sister, you have really started walking over the week before your birthday! You have become more confident of yourself and your ability to walk and you are losing your fear!

So...what to say about your first year? There are so many things I want to talk about in this letter (which may or may not be interesting) because I am so afraid of forgetting all the little things about your babyhood that make us laugh constantly!

I so look forward to experiencing the changes in life that will come as we enter each new season with you and your siblings. I look forward to the days when there will be no naps, diapers, sippy cups and carseats! But I am trying my best to savor every minute of this season we are in! I know that I will miss it more than words can say...and already there are so many things I miss. So here are some things I want to remember about you:

-You were born at 37 weeks and 0 days (that in itself is a long story). The nurse said you had signs of prematurity so we worried a little about your health and nutrition. You were quite jaundiced and we had to go back to the hospital several times in the days after your birth to have your levels checked! On the "make it or break it" day (the day that would determine if you had to be admitted back to the hospital) I felt confident that I had done everything in my power to make you well. I remember saying that if you had to stay then it was what was best for you because there was nothing more I could do. But...you were MUCH better and you came home with us! Also because of all of this...you nursed longer than your siblings (I know that will totally embarrass you some day).


-Just before we were getting ready to take you home after you were born, you peed all over your outfit! It was the nurses fault...she failed to cover your hiney as she checked you! I was so frustrated. I had to scrounge around for something for you to wear! It was the most pitiful coming home outfit ever.





-You are so easy going. You always have been. I'm not totally sure if it's truly your personality because lately you have learned to throw a fit...so we shall see! But honestly, you are still pretty easy to manage!




-Like I said, you have started having tantrums...and they are hilarious! I never quite know or understand what sets you off. It is never anything that is obvious...to me, anyway. But you throw yourself onto your belly and jerk your arms and legs straight out from your body. You will fuss and whine then jerk your limbs again. This gets repeated several times. I usually just walk away...laughing. You have to understand that you are #3 and I have seen it all before...you drama doesn't phase me!


-Your brother and sister think you are SO funny. Especially Caden. Carinna spends much of the time trying to mother you (and I have a feeling that may never change) and you get pretty frustrated with her (that, also, may never change). But Caden takes pure delight in your antics. This morning you stole a bottle nipple out of the drawer and walked around the house with it in your mouth. Caden fell over laughing at you...but you maintained this look of pure innocence and confusion about what was so funny! You really entertain us!




-At 12 months, I still rock you to sleep. (Gasp!) I never would have done that with your siblings...but with you I can't bring myself to stop because I know that soon you won't even want me to hold you!



-You still love to make your scrunchy face! It cracks people up all the time! You laugh as you make the face and no one can resist laughing with you...and at you!









This next year is going to be an exciting time as we watch you grow and change even more! We will start to really learn your personality and hear your thoughts as you learn to speak. Never again will you be this squishy little baby! I will miss this, but I can't wait to see what the future holds for you! May you always make people laugh, always be rough and tumble, always be affectionate and always remember you are dearly loved. May you learn to be compassionate, grow to fight for justice, rise above pressure from your peers and love God with all of your heart.

Happy Birthday my little Coop!