Happy Birthday Cooper!!!

Cooper is 3 years old today! I can hardly believe it! He is just growing up so fast! Here are some fun things about Cooper at his 3rd Year Birthday!

1. Cooper IS Spiderman. I think part of him really truly believes that he is The Spiderman. He wears his costume around the house all the time, sometimes with his mask and sometimes without. He loves to jump off the 4th stair or off the ladder on the bunk bed, and when he lands, he assumes the spiderman squat and shoots out his web. He tells me that he is strong because he is spiderman, and he can jump like that because he is spiderman. Everything brave he does, is because he is spiderman. Jaxton can't stand that he says that, because he knows Cooper is not spiderman. But Cooper is pretty convinced that he is!

2. Cooper's favorite thing to eat is snacks, or sugar. He is the snack king! He will go to great means to get his hands on some kind of candy or chocolate. And I can try anything to get him to eat dinner, but all he really wants to eat are snacks!!

3. Cooper goes to Nursery at church. Just before Kaylee was born, he was loving Nursery. His favorite teacher was "Grandma Cathy," one of the Nursery workers. Over a year ago when Cooper would cry when we left him in Nursery, Grandma Cathy would take him and hold him pretty much the entire time. Eventually he realized that Nursery wasn't so bad. He still relied on Grandma Cathy but began participating and then he grew to love Nursery so much! Unfortunately, just recently Grandma Cathy got released from her nursery job, and Cooper has had a bit of a hard time adjusting without her. She was so good with him, and still today he talks about her. He would say that she is his favorite teacher. She definitely made an impact on his little life!

4. Cooper really likes karate. We watched The Karate Kid as a family recently, and he was enthralled with karate as a sport. Another time we watched The Three Ninjas as a family, and again, he was glued to the ninja's kicking and punching actions! Of course after the movies both times, he turned into the karate kid or a ninja and just ran all around the house kicking and punching in the air just like the characters in the movies. The boys have some karate outfits from their cousins and they love to dress up in them and "fight" one another. It's pretty funny when the outfits are size 8 and 10, so their sleeves and pants are rolled up 4 times to keep their hands and feet usable! Jaxton usually lets Cooper punch him down so Cooper always feels like he is winning the "battle!"

5. Cooper's favorite sports team (if you can have a favorite sports team at age 3) is the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. It is the D-League basketball team here, and since we have season tickets, we go often to watch them. Cooper loves to watch the game and eat concession popcorn. Its his favorite thing to do ever! He has made friends with the Mad Ant mascot this season and does not fear him anymore like he used to. He also loves to give high fives to the basketball players at the beginning of the 2nd half of each game!

6. Though he thinks he is Spiderman, he also believes his is a basketball player. Thus, he always has to wear basketball shorts everyday. Since it is snowing and winter here, I make him wear long pants or jeans when we leave the house of course, so he insists on wearing basketball shorts underneath his jeans. Sometimes when he is at other peoples' houses, they see him wearing 2 sets of pants and they always raise their eyebrows. But Cooper wouldn't have it any other way!

7. Cooper is cute about his nightly ritual. After jammies are on and teeth are brushed if we forget scriptures, he is sure to remind us. He also makes sure he wears big boy pants on top of his pull-up. Then we say "Cooper Prayers" and "Jaxton Prayers," their personal prayers together by each of their beds. Before leaving their room, Cooper always will say "Goodnight! I love you!" and blow 2 kisses to us from his bed. He cannot relax and cozy up in bed if we do not repeat back "Goodnight! I love you!" and blow 2 kisses back to him. If I forget, or I leave before he says it, he will start yelling it louder and louder and begin to get anxious and start to cry. So I always have to come back up the stairs to repeat back to him his phrase, "Goodnight! I love you!" It is a super cute little trademark of his own.

8. Cooper is super independent and stubborn. He always wants to do everything by himself and try to do adult things by himself. Though frustrating sometimes, it is a good quality to have. He likes to make his own toast. Jaxton would rather I just did it. Same with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He wants to spread the peanut butter and jelly. If he wants a snack that is up high in the pantry, he just pulls over a tall chair to reach it. Same with food in the fridge like yogurt. He will just get a tall chair or stool, climb all the way up on top of the freezer part to reach something. He wants to pour his own milk and applejuice, get his own plate, fork, cup, or bowl of his choice, and brush his teeth on his own. He never wants help. If its something i don't want him to do by himself, like pour milk from a full milk jug or brush his teeth at night he suggests, "together, together." So we both use our hands together and do the action together. It's a great compromise he came up with all by himself. Its another cute trademark phrase I don't want to ever forget!

9. Cooper loves swimming lessons. He is a master swimmer! His ambition and determination are in place in the pool just the same as anywhere else. But in the pool he also has joy. He just loves the anticipation of going under the water. He comes up with a huge grin after going under. His physical strength is apparent too when he swims, kicking his legs, and swimming his arms. He really does have a lot of strength. His favorite is the marshmellow stick that he can hold onto with his arms and it keeps him afloat. Then he kicks his legs and can swim across the pool with absolutely no help. He loves it! Now that he is 3 he is old enough for the preschool level classes without me in the pool with him. He will love it!

10. Just like his nightly rituals, he always makes Nate come kiss him before work. In fact, he always shows a frown when Nate is getting ready to leave and he pleads with Nate to stay home with him. Unfortunately, Nate has to work, so Cooper consents to have him leave, only on the condition that he gives him hugs and kisses before he leaves. If Nate forgets to give him kisses, he makes him come back inside to do so. It is very important to him. He loves his daddy so very much. Later, when he hears the garage overhead door opening, he will run and open the door to the garage to greet Nate when he comes home. A couple times he would go down into the garage as Nate is pulling in, just antsy with excitement. We've had to keep an eye on him and teach him to stay on the stairs platform so he doesn't get run over by Nate's truck. Even so, he is so excited when he sees his Daddy. He loves him so very much!