Texas!

In December, Josh's brother and sister-in-law had their first baby! They just got settled in their new house, so we went to visit and of course, to meet sweet baby Andy. Gigi and Aunt JJ drove from Jackson and we had the best weekend hanging out and catching up.

Cooper absolutely loved Andy. The second we got in the car at the airport, he wanted to see him and he cried and cried when we had to make him stop looking at Andy and get into his carseat. And who could blame him?? Look at this precious baby!!

Cooper was so excited to see Gigi, and they had the best time playing in the backyard together, with the fun train Gigi brought for him, and trying on Gigi's sunglasses:

Coop loved hanging with JJ:

And had sooo much fun cooking with Yaya!

And of course, still couldn't get enough of Andy! For some reason he loved Andy's hair, and kept pointing to Andy's hair, then pulling on his own hair, somehow in disbelief that this little baby had hair just like him.

He also loved Andy's eyes:

And his mouth:

And his ear!

We had the best time in Longview, and are dying to all get together again SOON!

17 Month Photos

Our amazing nanny April took some 17 month photos of Cooper for my birthday last month, and we just love them! My favorite is the picture of Cooper and Cody:

And doesn't this last one look like a miniature Josh??

We can't believe how big our little bit is getting!

Melmo

Cooper hasn't really ever watched much Sesame Street, but has caught a few minutes here and there. So, we were surprised at how instantly and intensely he fell in love with an Elmo doll that he got for Valentine's Day!! I think the look of Elmo must appeal to toddlers, and his size and the fact that he's easy to carry around help, too. Cooper now looovveess "Melmo", and insists on eating with him, pushing him down the slide, and cuddling with him. It's even made diaper changes a little easier if there's a "Melmo" diaper involved :)

Mele Kalikimaka

Better late than never! We're finally posting about our Christmas in Maui. It was such a great trip, and Cooper had so much fun!!

He was such a trooper on our long trip from San Jose to Honolulu to Maui, which involved a 7 hour plane ride due to delays and turbulence. Josh got him a toy "Hawaiian" airplane just before we boarded, and it instantly became one of his favorites:

As soon as we got settled, Cooper found the perfect runway for his plane:

Daddy put a flower in Mommy's hair, so Cooper had to have one too.

Better than the beach, or the waves, or the sand, or the hiking...a miniature shower!! This was the hit of the trip. Cooper begged everyone to turn it on so that he could stand under it, and refused to get out of it. We had to eventually start telling him the shower went "night-night", which worked for about 15 minutes, until a poor unsuspecting stranger actually needed to USE it to rinse sand off. We swear Cooper could hear it being turned on from across the beach.

Scary shark face!

Cooper loved hanging out on the beach every morning before nap time:

And teaching all of his uncles how to dance like a chicken:

Ahhhh - another sucker to help me play with the beach shower!

Fun building sandcastles:

Plotting with his uncles!

The whole crew on Christmas Eve:

The Wright/Arnold family:

The three hour dinner at The Plantation was amazing, but Cooper didn't exactly have that kind of attention span, so mommy and daddy took turns letting him play in the hallway and keeping him from breaking the ornaments on the tree or driving off in a golf cart.

Christmas morning!!!

Christmas night!

Off on an adventure - an awesome hike at the Olivine Pools:

Let's go to the beach!!!!!!!! Cooper would shake his arm back and forth, a move he learned from his favorite Olivia book, whenever he was ready to go.

So happy in the sand!

Learning the fine art of shuffleboard:

Cooper loved hanging out with Grandma and Papa:

Last sunset of the trip!

As soon as we got home, Cooper couldn't wait to cuddle with Cody:

Sweet baby giving kisses to his doggy!