Happy Birthday Cooper!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COOPER!  Cooper is 5!  Now I can't hardly believe that either!!  He is growing up so fast too!!  Here are some fun things about Cooper at 5 years old:

1.  Cooper is learning to read!  He has started our lesson book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and he is already halfway through that thing.  He is grasping the concepts, the rules, the sounds and he is sounding out words!  It amazes me to watch a child grasp how to sound out words and actually read.  It's so much fun for me as a mom to see that!  In his reading lesson, he is so comical!  He will carefully sound out a word, and when he figures out what that word is, he often will either make a sentence out of it to clarify what the word was, or he will jump up and act out the word.  For example, the other day, one of his words was COPS.  He slowly sounded out each sound and when he figured out the word, he jumped up and ran around the room in circles yelling "The cops are coming, they're going to get me and take me to jail....ahhhhh...the cops are coming....!"  Then he runs back to his spot, sits down and goes on to the next word.  Its awfully cute.  He is so animated!!

2. Cooper is very very organized and prefers things to be clean.  His clothes drawers are immaculate.  He makes sure that every item of clothes is folded neatly in piles in each drawer.  He gets very upset if I go through his drawer looking for something and mess up a folded shirt.  He puts away his own laundry but takes his time doing so to make sure everything is folded and put in the right place.  He loves his room to be clean and tidy, and often will take on Jaxton's half of the room just so it can be clean.  Picking up toys and cleaning up are some of Cooper's strengths.  He is so good at it and he prefers things that way!  Cute boy!  That trait will be a great one to have throughout his life!

3. Cooper's favorite food these days is Chicken Noodle Soup, of all things!  He would eat chicken noodle soup for every meal, every day, if I would make it for him.  He loves it!  He will eat everything in it, including the celery, carrots, and he drinks the broth.  He loves rice krispies and honey nut cheerios for breakfast, and he loves velveeta cheese mixed into his eggs.  Of course he has a sweet tooth and loves to eat any and all kinds of chocolate!!

4. Cooper's favorite activity lately is playing the Wii.  He gets very limited time to play it at our house.  Usually playing the wii is a privilege the kids earn once every task on their charts have been completed.  It is a great motivator for him to complete all his responsibilities.  Cooper has passion about things he loves.  When he gets into a game on the wii, he gets so very passionate.  I will see him playing and see his little cheeks turning rosy red.  Sometimes he starts to sweat, and his cheeks get redder.  He gets soooo passionate and into his game that its almost scary!  Another reason we limit their play time!  Its pretty funny to see him so passionate about winning or earning points!  I'm glad he likes his gift from Santa!

5. We started the boys having "jobs" at Simplx.  They have different tasks that they are responsible for in the Simplx office.  Cooper's job is to break down boxes that come with equipment in them.  He pulls the tape off, breaks them down, and takes them up to the recoiling bin.  It's hard work for a little guy, ut again, he does this with passion.  He loves to feel needed and be given responsibility.  And he does a phenomenal job at what he is assigned.

6. Cooper has  a very complex mind.  He has questions sometimes that are so deep and complex and adult!  One time he asked me why Adam and Eve ate the fruit when Heavenly Father had told them not to.  That's a deep question for a 5 year old.  Another time, he asked about death, about what it would be like after we die and what kinds of things we would have.   Such deep thoughts!

7.  Cooper is also a very thoughtful boy.  He is always thinking about others and offering to share.  When he took a field trip the Country Kitchen and made a bunch of fun yummy treats, he quickly divided them up so everyone in our family could have one of his treats, leaving him with only one.  He is always so thoughtful and kind.

8. Cooper has recently started on a basketball league.  If you've ever seen a kid hustle, Cooper is a hustler.  He is darting up and down the court following that ball, getting right into the action.  He is little, and can't quite make a basket yet since the baskets are so high, but he has more energy and excitement than the whole team combined!! It is so fun to see his passion come through...the same passion for ball that he had at less than 1 years old!  

9. Cooper is doing Tae Kwon Do.  He is really good at it.  He shows power and strength in each of his self defense moves he performs.  And he has memorized several choreographed sequences of moves.  His "Hiyyyyaaa!" is powerful and loud.  He really has become great at Tae Kwon Do.

10. Cooper's good friends these days are Cameron Stump and Gabe Gregory.  He also talks about the kids in his preschool class.  He claims his favorite girl-friend is Chayla, an 8 year old girl from primary who he just absolutely adores.  It's awfully cute.  He says that she is the one he will marry one day!  

We love you Cooper!  We are so excited that you are five!!

Grandma in Utah sent him a marble set, Grandma in Kendallville gave him a race track and a cool spiderman cake.  And from us, he asked for 2 costumes: the Black Spiderman & the Blue Spiderman!