Grandparents, Parks, Beaches, and the Emu

Hi! It's me, Cooper. Welcome back to my blog. I'm now seventeen months old and I had quite a busy month. I'm learning more and more each day. I've added lots of new words to my vocabulary including bubbles, Papaw, Elmo (Melmo), bath, uh-oh, hello, bus, and a few others. My favorite words are still Mama, Dada, bye bye, and more! I run really fast and my hair is getting curlier and longer.

Memorial Day weekend, Grammy and Grandpa Bolton came to Philadelphia for a visit. We went to see the Arboretum. We got there near closing time so we only got to see a few things. This was the Rose Garden.

I got into the gardening spirit and moved the mulch where I thought it should go.

There was a neat fountain that I wanted to go swimming in, but Daddy wouldn't let me.

So I made him chase me instead...

They also had a Train Garden.

Mommy pointed out all the different trains. There were tons of them! Choo choo!

Then it was time to say goodbye. I had a nice visit with Grammy and Grandpa.

I was sad after they left, so Mommy and I went to the park to blow bubbles. I love bubbles! I try to blow them myself, but it never works out.

I like to put the phone up to my ear and say hello. Nobody can talk to me anymore on this phone because Mommy put Daddy's phone in the washing machine. Uh-oh!

Mimi and Papaw came to visit the next weekend. I'm cheesing for the camera. I learned how to say Papaw just in time for their visit!

Mimi and Papaw took me to the park while Mommy and Daddy were at work.

Can you find me? I'm behind this goat.

I still love cars. Papaw brought me all sorts of little cars that I like to carry around at all times. You have to be careful in the park though because you might have a wreck.

These cars come in handy when trying to pick up the ladies at the park.

Mommy and Daddy graduated from their residencies this month. Mommy and Daddy have completed the exact same rotations and worked the exact same hours, but look - Daddy got a real graduation/completion certificate and Mommy got a participation certificate. How silly!

I told you I love all my cars!

One day, Mommy played hookie from work and she and Mimi took me to the beach at Ocean City. It had been warm all week, but not that day, and our first stop on the Boardwalk was buying sweatshirts.

Last time I went to the beach I was little and afraid of the ocean. This time, I pointed to it and yelled "More!" as the waves came over my feet. The water was about 50 degrees so a little cold for swimming, but I sure wanted to swim!

I also really liked building stuff in the sand.

And eating the sand.

Mimi, Mommy, and Daddy like to keep me busy so I go to the park a lot. I love it!

I'm the king of the park. None shall pass.

Weeee! Push faster Mimi!

Happy Father's Day to everyone! Daddy's shirt still doesn't fit yet.

And now for some video! I've started doing some motions to songs when you sing them. This first one is The Wiggles "Move Like an Emu Moves." I like to put my beak up in the air just like the emu. Enjoy Mommy's singing. American Idol, watch out.

This next video is me jumping and up and down on my bed dancing to Justin Timberlake while Mommy and Daddy are packing up my room.

Well, that's all from Philly. We've closed on the house in Boston and we're moving up on Saturday June 21. Stay tuned! Bye bye.

The Bolton's House: The Before

Hi - it's Allison. I hijacked Cooper's blog to bring you pictures of our new home. Welcome to Lasell Street! We closed June 7th, so we're officially home owners. We'll be moving in the next couple of weeks, and are spending our next few weekends getting the house ready.

Here's our house, complete with the Camry and the Accord in the driveway. It needs a new coat of paint and some landscape work, but it's ours!

This is the view from Cooper's room upstairs into our backyard. Again, needs some landscape help, but it's a nice place to run and play.

Cooper greets you as you walk into the front door at our sunroom - a little paint, removal of old ugly rugs and light fixtures, and the addition of some plants should do the trick.

The front hallway.

The living room...

The dining room, complete with ugly rug...

The beautiful dining room fixture.

The kitchen in all its glory with copper backsplash, white laminate counters with gold flecks, white shiny wallpaper...

The bathroom

Master bedroom...

The Den/Fourth bedroom...

The green shag carpet on the way upstairs...

The upstairs landing...

Cooper's new room...

The guestroom...

Cooper and Jeff picking out paint colors and supplies at The Home Depot.

Celebrating our new home with a fancy plate of mac-n-cheese...

Heavy on the cheese...

So these are the before pictures. Stay tuned for the afters, though it'll be a while on the kitchen. We're removing wallpaper, painting every room, installing carpet upstairs, and getting new appliances before we move in.

Cooper will be back to post on his blog later on! Take care!