The Birthday Party

Spoiled? Not our Andy! Well...maybe just a little.

There was no shortage of gifts at Andy's second birthday party. The party started by putting together the table and chairs from Grandpa Neil and Grandma Sherry. His friend, Clancy, helped him break it in.

Next we moved on to Grandma Linda and Grandpa Mex's gifts. This took awhile since there were so many great toys and we had to play with each one before we could move on to the next gift!

Grandma Faye and Ron's gifts were also a big hit! You can't go wrong with a big dump truck and Andy. Next to trains, trucks are his favorite.

To cap off our "choo choo" day, we gave Andy a small Thomas the Tank Engine set. He was so excited, he couldn't put the train down long enough to open his other gifts! He now starts everyday saying "see choo choo" and ends each day crying for his "choo choo" with hours of "choo choo" playing with mom and dad in between.

The grand finale was a "choo choo" cake. I can't tell which he enjoyed more, the cake or the toy train on top!

As you can imagine, he was pretty tuckered out by the end of the day. However, a full day and getting to bed late did not stop him from waking up at 7am the next morning asking for his "choo choo". We could barely tear him away to eat breakfast!

Andy's Second Birthday

December 14th will go down as the best day in Andy's life (up to this point). The day was a "choo choo" extravaganza! We started the day with a trip to Union Station to see the huge model train display. Andy spent approximately two hours watching the trains (for a two year old, that's a long time to do anything).

He even got to ride a train around the Christmas tree. He was pretty excited to ride the train until it actually started, then he just cried for mommy and daddy. Oh well, he wasn't the only little boy crying.

Next, we headed over to Crown Center to eat at Fritz's. The inside of the restaurant looks like the inside of a train car. After ordering your food by phone, the food is delivered by a train that passes overhead. Andy got pretty excited every time the whistle blew and the trains chugged around the restaurant.

All of this excitement was enough to put him to sleep before we left the parking lot on the way home. Stay tuned for more birthday fun!

The Christmas Bell

Last week, Linda brought us this silver bell ornament from Scott's first Christmas. Andy has become quite fascinated with ringing the bell. He would also like to show you our Christmas stockings.

The Christmas Tree

We finally put up the Christmas tree yesterday. Now, we spend our day trying to keep Andy from pulling off ornaments and knocking the tree over. We will be lucky if we make it through the season without a concussion from the falling stocking hangers. Needless to say, he is pretty excited by all of the Christmas decorations and lights that have popped up around our house over the weekend.

More Halloween fun

I finally updated our Halloween pictures tonight (here). The week of Halloween was filled with several fun activities, including music class, pumpkin carving, and the annual neighborhood Halloween night party. After the party, Cori and Andy went trick-or-treating at 3-4 of our immediate neighbors' homes. Both had a great time. However, things we have to work on with Andy next year include 1) only taking one treat per house and 2) not just walking into other people's homes when they open the door.

Getting ready for Halloween

Last weekend was full of Halloween related activities. First, on Friday night we joined another family for the Night of the Living Farm at Overland Park's Deanna Rose Farmstead, complete with a "scary" hayride, carnival games, and music (Andy's favorite).

On Saturday, we headed south to the Powell Pumpkin Patch near Louisburg. Andy was his usual helpful self, picking out and then carrying the pumpkins, pushing (and riding in) the cart, etc. He particulary enjoyed the baby pumpkins.

More pictures are available by clicking here. We are trying to get a good picture of Andy in his new lion costume. However, this is proving to be quite difficult, as he is only willing to wear it for about 5 seconds (he prefers that his stuffed animals wear it instead).

Cousins

Over the weekend, Andy met his cousin Abby for the first time. He was quite taken with her. He was all hugs and kisses and even shared his stuffed "friends" with her.

Saturday Morning Waffles

Most Saturday mornings, the 3 of us sit down for homemade waffles (Grandpa Kolder's recipe). This past Saturday, Andy was kind enough to share his breakfast with his two best friends, Puppy and Bedtime Bear.

Both still reek of maple syrup as a result.

Summer/Fall 2007

It was an eventful summer for the Coopers. The highlight of the summer was the purchase of bikes and a trailer for Andy. We have a hard time getting the helmet away from the little guy!

Currently, Andy is getting into college football. He loves to yell "GO" at the guys in helmets on the TV. Andy has even made the trip to Manhattan this fall to cheer on the Cats. The band at halftime was by far his favorite part. He was requesting "more" as they marched off the field.

Our days are filled with trips to the park, playdates and music class. Andy loves to "dig dig dig" in the sandbox and play with his trucks. "Truck" and "choo choo" are the two words currently heard most often around the Cooper house.