Hot Times in the City

Welcome back to my blog! I'm now officially 3 and a half!


Since I'm such a big boy, Mommy and Daddy decided I was grown up enough to stay up late for the Boston Fireworks Display! Unfortunaely, it didn't start until 1030, so I was a little antsy for them to get started. We didn't dare brave it all the way downtown to where the true action was happening, but instead drove up to Millenium Park in our own West Roxbury where we had a view of the downtown skyline. I liked seeing the pretty fireworks up in the sky, but as soon as the other people at the park with us started lighting up bottle rockets, I covered up my ears and demanded to go home. It was too loud! Lets just say I lasted long enough to get home and watch the rest of the display and the Boston Pops on tv. There's always next year!



We do what we can to stay cool in the summertime. We invited Mommy and Daddy's friend from medschool Sara and her daughter Ava who also live in Boston to come join us for an afternoon at the Froggy Pond. I didn't manage to get any pictures of Ava though.




Splash, splash.


A trip to the Froggy Pond wouldn't be complete without a trip on the merry-go-round, and riding on a frog too!






Trying to pose with Mommy's big belly in front of some of the big buildings at The Common. I think Mommy was about 35 weeks in this picture.


My best buddy Kaya has a big deal made about her half-birthdays, so naturally, so must I. July 9th I turned 3 1/2. Gigi and Bubba were in town for that week to help put finishing touches on baby Chocolate's room, so we went out to dinner to celebrate. We followed that up with a trip to our brand new Toys R Us and bought my first tricycle. I'm probably big enough for a real bike with training wheels, but I'm really good at the tricycle and that will work for this year.


I spend all my free time riding my bike. I can even do it with one hand.






I like to race on my bike. I'll tell you to say "On your mark, get set, go!" Then I'll say "Say go Cooper!" Not that I'm bossy or anything. And I always have to win!


Gigi is winning, but not for long!


When it's hot outside, it's also nice to read books. Our Madisonville friends the McClure's sent us up a ton of new books. We love them!!!


I still love to play at the playground.


Eating popsicles is a must during the summer heat.


Mostly, I just love to ride my bike. I go on long "walks" around the neighborhood. I'm really good at pedalling, and I don't wait for anyone (except at the stop signs).


Mommy has started up at her new job and really likes it so far. She had to have all her weekends, call, and hospital duties crammed into one week before baby Chocolate comes, and of course, the weekend she worked was also a weekend that Daddy worked. To save the day, Mimi came up for a week and helped take care of me. We went on lots of bike rides, went to the zoo with Johanna and Kaya, and watched lots of movies. We also went to dinner and a yummy restaurant that had these wiggly sticks to play with. Everyone looks cool with a mustache, don't ya think?


With just a few short weeks remaining of me being an only child, Mommy and Daddy decided that one last trip to the beach was in order. We drove up to Manchester by the Sea to our favorite New England beach for a quick day trip. It was just in the mid 70's outside which is just the right amount of heat for Mommy to handle. The water was only about 60 degrees, so I didn't swim deep enough to worry about the sharkies. I love love love the beach!!!


My little pasty chest doesn't get to much sun exposure, but today was the day. I dug, played, and cooked in the sand.




Posing with Mommy and her 37 week pregnant belly.




I took this picture of Mom and Dad. Daddy has fluffy hair.


Daddy buried me in the sand for the first time. I thought this was hilarious. Did I mention how much I love the beach?


I closed out one of my last weeks as an only child with a trip to my first ever Boston Red Sox game, but those pictures will have to wait. Mommy is 38+ weeks now and counting down the days til the baby comes.

Stay tuned, next post will likely feature my new little brother!!!

American Idol or Reject?

You be the judge...

Beach Videos

From our day at the Manchester by the Sea Singing Beach. Enjoy!

Cooper-isms

From my favorite three year old, who is apparently going on 13...

-"Leave me alone. I already know everything."

-"Cooper what are you doing?"
"Mama, don't you worry about me. You just worry about yourself."

-"When I'm really good, it's because I listened."

We Love Saturdays in Summer!

Though not officially, summer has been here for a while in Boston, and we've enjoyed lots of outdoor activities over the past month. I'm 41 months old, or not quite 3 1/2 and such the big boy. I'm still working on all my letters, but able to write some independently now, though you can't read it too well unless you know what I'm writing. I'm fascinated with what time it is and what that means. I also like to keep track of what day of the week it is. I like to "read" my books - I've memorized most of my favorite ones and I'll read them to Mommy and Daddy. I've started asking deep philosophical questions - for example, last nights series of bedtime questions, "Who made Jesus? Who made God? Where does God live? Did God make the sky? How did he make the sky? How did he reach the sky? Do I really need a brother?"


Soccer has been in full swing for the past few Saturdays.


Two Saturdays ago brought another match with the dreaded blue team. As you may recall from my last post, this team was very aggressive, knocked me down repeatedly, and wouldn't let us find the goal because all the parents were in the way. This game was no exception. One kid played with a Ziploc bag of snacks in his hand. Check out the parents in the picture - mind you, none of them belong to the Green team except for the man in the gray shirt who is one of the coaches. Plus this week, in the first 3 minutes, a fist-fight erupted between a member of our team and theirs - come one people, we're just 3!


Again, rumble with the blue team. I was a little more aggressive this week, and actually put my hands out and pushed some kids. I probably knocked this kid down. Oops.


After all the pushing and shoving in the game, I was not excited to pose for a Team Green Bean picture. Mommy took 5 different pictures of our team, and in all of them, this was the face she got. Maybe it's my game face.


This picture was seriously taken 1 minute after the team photo and notice what a difference a trophy makes. This is my first trophy. I'm a soccer star!


My bestest buddy Kaya has her annual half-birthday party in June - December birthdays are no fun! Her party was outdoors at Lars Andersen park in Brookline. There was a little wooded area near where the party was set up that we called the jungle, so Kaya and I explored all around the jungle.


Plenty of room to run!


Our buddy Arlan joined in the race!


Arlan (who was Kaya's next door neighbor until he recently moved) and I have become big buddies recently. Arlan just got a new little brother too.

Look mom! Arlan and I were exploring in the jungle and I found this can! Eew.

The Fearsome Foursome - My Brookline buddies: Kaya, Lulu, Arlan, and Me.

More soccer. I'm getting pretty good at my drills, though sometimes I get a little wobbly!

Big kick!

Dribble, dribble.

This week we played the yellow team. It was much less physical - I definitely wasn't used to that. And look, no parents all over the place. (Somebody should check the yellow kid's birth certificate though, cause he looks a lot older than 3 to me!). This was the last game of the season. A lot of the kids (myself included) thought we were going to get a trophy after this game too. After a summer break, I think I'll try fall soccer too. I'm pretty good!

Even though we've lived in Boston nearly two years, we're always looking for something new and exciting to do. This past Saturday, Mommy and I travelled an hour away to Edaville for some carnival rides. (Daddy was at work.) She didn't tell me where we were going until we got there. When we got there, there was another surprise - Thomas the Train was there for the day! I know who Thomas is but I don't really watch him so much, but I was still super excited to get to see him and get to ride on him.

We bought our tickets to ride Thomas, but until then, we tried our hands at all the carnival rides. Most of them didn't allow pregnant ladies, but luckily no one seemed to mind too much and let Mommy on. These are rides geared for preschoolers after all! First up, I rode in drums that spun around, like the teacup ride. It was awesome. Grins all around!

Next up, the airplane ride. This one I was big enough to ride with no Mommy.

There was a lever I could pull that made the plane go up in the sky. I was going the highest of al the other planes! This was super cool!

Next up - a big ole ferris wheel.

This was awesome too! I keep telling people I liked riding the parachute, but what I really mean is the ferris wheel. Mommy's big belly hardly fit behind the safety bar, and when we tried to ride it a second time later in the afternoon, they wouldn't let us. Oops.

After a quick bite to eat, it was time for our Thomas the Train ride. I chose to ride in the caboose.

The train ride was pretty cool, lasted about 20 minutes or so, and took us all around the farm/park. I really liked this part. Then, finally the train pulled back into the station.

Next up, a roller coaster I could ride by myself.

Rides with no mommy are the coolest. Look how much fun I was having.

Then, I hopped aboard a little train and rode that around a track.

No mommy!

This picture is from the Tilt-A-Whirl. This ride I called the Wiggly Ride. It was super duper fast and super duper spinny. This (along with my Thomas ride) was my favorite of the day. I was all squeals and grins from this ride.

I also rode the merry go round and a flying elephant ride that were fun. No trip to a carnival would be complete without a souvenir, so here's me with the biggest Thomas balloon I could find. I got home that day at 4 and slept clear through to the next day, but it was fun!

We sure do love summer and love eating popsicles on the front porch and playing outside. Mommy loves our indoor air conditioning window units. Speaking of Mommy, she and baby Chocolate are doing well and growing at 32 weeks. I like to feel him wiggle and I like to give him hugs and kisses. I ask every day when baby Chocolate is coming out and everyday I whine and cry when they tell me in August. My response, "But that's for too long!" I have a baby in my belly too. Her name is Ninny and she wiggles a lot. I also have an invisible friend named Spanky that makes his appearance quite frequently, but he doesn't cause any trouble. Mommy starts her new job the first week of July as a pediatrician in an office and she is really excited about that. Daddy has one more really busy month left until his much more relaxed third year of neurology residency.

We hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are!