Turning 2

Cooper turned 2 last week and we had a birthday party on Saturday. Our neighbors came with their 3 little boys aged between 2 and 6. Some American friends of ours came with their 2 beautiful girls aged 3 and 5. It was a great time, and we had lots of yummy cake and fun play time. Cooper got a plasma car (after seeing my friend Mandy riding one, I couldn't resist), and all the kids thought that was really cool. Cooper liked it, but nothing beats the tractor that he got for Christmas. Well, that and the salad spinner. Yes, the salad spinner has become the toy of choice now that our little man has turned 2. He is no longer amused with the trite toys that other 2 year olds play with. Cooper knows where the salad spinner is kept, how to access it, and let me tell you, that boy can spin that spinner like no other 2 year old. And the best is that most of the time, he returns it to its drawer in the kitchen when he is done . . . unless he decides to take it upstairs to the living room.

I mentioned last post that Cooper likes to put things away, sometimes where they don't belong. We had a little mystery in our house in the last couple of weeks. Seems that somehow the little rod that feeds through the toilet paper rolls to hold it on the wall was missing. And seeing as how no besides me seems to have the ability to take off the empty cardboard roll and replace it with a new one, I honestly thought that I had somehow lost the thing. Luckily, my fears were relieved when Peter found the rod . . . in his wardrobe. Apparently if you are Cooper, the wardrobe is a perfectly logical place to store toilet paper rods.

This picture cracks me up. This is Peter's son for sure!

Cooper Can Do

I know that I haven't been the best blogger and I'm about to tell you why. Well, at least each half of the reason why. The first and foremost half is that I am lazy and a skilled procrastinator. Self proclaimed. The second half is that quite frankly, it is hard to blog about what isn't happening. You may have picked up on some of my little jokes about Cooper's development or, at times, lack thereof. While I make no bones about the fact that Cooper is quite possibly the happiest, most loving, and most adorable little guy on this planet, it is a little harder to own up that your child is . . . let's just say it . . . behind. It's something that Peter and I have watched very closely from the beginning, sometimes a little too obsessively. Now that there are books that track milestones by days, weeks, and months parents have become competitive and often base their self-worth in parenting on whether their child smiles, turns over, crawls, walks and talks before the other babies. While Peter and I have watched our friends kids move forward in giant leaps, we find ourselves making excuses and yes, occasionally stretching the truth, about Cooper's progress. And as for the mother guilt (and every mother knows exactly what I am talking about) - we won't even go there.

So moving on - Peter and I have talked to our pediatricians both in the US and here about our concerns. Our pediatrician here noted our worries and said that at Cooper's 2 year check-up he would closely examine Cooper's development and see what if anything needed to be done. Now, I am putting aside for a moment my absolute disbelief that my little munchkin is nearly 2!!!!! We'll cover that next week. At this 2 year check-up appointment they ask all sorts of questions - Can he dress himself? Can he say at least 20 words? Can he say small phrases of 3-4 words together? Can he point to parts of the body and name them? Can he stand on one foot? Can he follow short commands without hand gestures? - No, No, No, No, No, No. The verdict - definitely behind. The doctor told us that we would go through a small battery of hearing and eye tests, which both turned out fine as I expected. Then we are to go to what is called a Fruehfoerderstelle (that's a long word) which is a therapy center that does speech therapy and works on motor development and occupational therapy for kids. We had our first appointment on Tuesday where the therapist talked with Peter and I about what we see at home while Cooper played around us. Next week she will attempt to perform some diagnostic tests, but was honest to tell us that she wasn't sure that he was even ready for those, and if that is the case therapy would have to wait. I am happy to finally have some action on what we have known has been an issue for quite some time and hope that we won't have to wait any longer to start working on it and getting some help.

It is hard sometimes not to focus on what all Cooper DOESN'T do as opposed to what he DOES do. But he sure does make me smile every time I look at him. He is still the happy and healthy guy that he always is. He has learned a few new things which we are always excited about, but in the back of our minds we always have the feeling that it isn't what it should be. At 2 years, I still have never heard mama or mommy except by accident. I so can't wait for the day that he looks at me and calls "mommy".

So, in my attempt to focus for now on what he CAN do, I have created the following list entitled:

Cooper CAN DO!

1. When changing Cooper's diaper I can give him a wipe and he will attempt to wipe himself and then try to put on his own diaper.

2. He knows what a plug is and often tries to put the plug in the outlet (a slightly dangerous skill, but shows comprehension!).

3. He likes to crawl under our bed and turn off the power surge protector which means that we have to crawl under the bed each night and turn it back on to be able to use the lamps and then reset the clock . . . every night.

4. Cooper opens and closes every cabinet, door, and drawer imaginable. Even those that other kids would never notice such as pocket doors. This includes the refrigerator door.

5. And while we are on this topic, he loves to close all the doors to our wardrobe as well as his in his room. He has learned to recognize that when the door won't close something is in the way and then he moves it.

6. He also likes to put things away so that things are "in their place". His place may not coincide with our place, so our sock drawer currently holds a big red wrench, his toothpaste, the key to my jewelry box (which he locked himself), and his little snugly blanket.

7. He can climb stairs with expertise (which is a necessary skill in a house with 45 steps total).

8. He loves the vacuum cleaner and knows how to open the hatch to access the attachments.

9. He loves to climb and can get in pretty much any chair or sofa on his own. He even knows what a rocking chair is, and likes to rock himself.

10. My little man knows how to work his CD player in his room. He can turn it on, press play, skip between songs, and turn the volume up.

11. When I say, "time to brush your teeth", he climbs on his little step stool at the sink and lets me brush his teeth and then knows that afterwards it is his turn to brush his own teeth. When I am not looking, he sometimes grabs our electric toothbrush.

12. At the moment he wants to eat most things off a fork. He hasn't learned to jab his own food with accuracy yet, but he tries. He can hold the fork himself and bite the food off.

13. Cooper likes to play with those little rings that slide over a post. His is wooden and the holes on the rings are really small, so you have to get it just right. He is really good at this.

14. For a while now, Cooper checks his own temperature with the electric ear thermometer. He turns it on and sticks it in his ear. After the beep, he takes it out and looks at the display.

15. Since we went to the ear doctor 2 weeks ago for a hearing test (which he screamed through), he gives himself hearing tests at home as well. If he finds a certain computer cable of Peter's (which always seem to be laying around our house) which looks a little like the ear probe at the doctor's, he sits still and puts it in his ear, then waits a few seconds and takes it out.

16. He can instantly locate the Pringles potato chip can or the bag of gummy bears or the M&M's from the pantry. I have NO idea where he learned this, but it CERTAINLY was NOT from me!

17. He has learned to unzip his pajamas.

18. When I get him out of bed in the morning (always smiling of course), he puts his arms around my neck and gives me the tightest hug.

19. My new personal favorite: He has learned to give a kiss on the lips.

That is all for now. And in case you had any doubts about who the cutest little boy in the world is, let me just remind you.

Frohes Weinachten (Merry Christmas) 2008

This year was the first year in quite a long time that we have spent Christmas with Peter's family. Peter's parents and his sister came to our house to stay. I cooked the traditional Christmas goose (first and last time - we've got to learn how to fry a turkey like Dean Loss!!) among many other fixins.

We went to the local church in our village (and the ONLY church in our village) for a special Children's service at 4:00 pm. Then we came home and ate. As everyone was finishing dinner, I came upstairs into the living room and played the Christkind. Now, in Germany, Santa doesn't come during the night on Christmas eve. The Christkind comes while everyone is out of the room or at church and this Christkind is like one of Christ's little angels who turns on the lights on the tree (they are never lit before the Christkind comes - and many people here use real candles on the tree) and sets out the presents. The children know the Christkind has come when they hear a little bell and everyone then goes into the living room to open presents on Christmas eve.

So, this is what we did, and it was really fun. Peter's sister, Christina, played guitar and we all sang Christmas music. Cooper was mesmerized by the guitar and stood back at first, but then he wanted to strum along, too! Really adorable. I am definitely seeing some guitar lessons in the future!

It wasn't long before we had to dig in to all the presents. Here is the work of that sweet, little Christkind.

Cooper, bless his heart, FINALLY has started to understand the concept of a present and that you have to tear off the paper to find something great inside. Only problem was getting him out of the tent to get started (we gave him a good 10 minutes or more) and then once he opened a present, he wanted to play with that one for awhile and it was hard to get him to open another one. We ended up leaving several for him to open the next day cause it was just taking too long and we were already way past bedtime. Among the favorite toys was a tractor that he can sit on (and eventually learn to pedal) with a big bucket on the front that dumps, a broom that talks when you sweep, puzzles, books, and a little car that is entirely too loud - obviously the person who created that doesn't actually have kids at home!

There is just something so uplifting and joyous when you have small children around at Christmas time. It sure brings back the excitement and wonder to the holiday season and for me, it was a chance to marvel at the idea that one little baby boy was born in a barn to save the world. What Mary must have felt I just can't imagine. But I know that I felt very lucky to be a mom of the sweetest little boy and surrounded by family that love him just as much as I do!

One Sick Family

In a house with children, sometimes germs rule. We had everything all set to visit Peter's grandparents in the northern part of Germany. The trip had been scheduled since before our visit to Augusta and we knew we wanted to see them before Christmas. Peter was just loading the last bags into the car for the 7 hour drive and we had organized care for Kayla with Peter's parents. It was dinner time, so I didn't think much about it when Cooper got a little whiny. I picked him up, he laid his head on my shoulder and then there is just no way to describe in words the sound that comes from vomit hurled all over an individual's body. Hurl, splatter, chunkage, odor, sour . . . all seems to come to mind. I screamed and Peter ran upstairs to see what all the commotion was.


Cooper seemed to be just fine and even gave a little smile (devilish in my mind). Peter admitted that he had been tossing Cooper around and turning him upside down, so we thought that was the culprit. I ran to change clothes and Peter brought Cooper up to the bathroom so that I could get him cleaned up and as fresh as possible. All clean, all good and we thought we would be on our way. REPEAT! Yet again, REPEAT! Again, REPEAT! You would have thought that I would have caught on after 3 new outfits for both Cooper and me. After that, I resigned to a smelly t-shirt and Cooper stayed in a diaper wrapped in a couple of towels. Then, each time we just had to change the towel.


So, clearly a 7 hour drive was out of the question. We rescheduled with the grands and settled in for the night. Well, Peter went out to play poker with the boys, actually. Us moms sure do get the short end of the stick sometimes.

Saturday morning Cooper was all good again, but Saturday evening the stomach bug wave hit me. All I can say is violent. Then early Sunday morning Peter joined in on the festivities. Sunday afternoon, Peter and I were in dire need of a babysitter so we did the only thing we could think of to do . . . break out some of the Christmas gifts. Cooper wouldn't be able to tell anyone on Christmas morning that he had actually seen a few of these before, right?

So, here is a picture of the sick kid before the rest of us got it.

We did make it to Soltau the next weekend and had a wonderful time visiting with Peter's grandparents. They were very sweet and really seemed to enjoy their time with Cooper.

Bittersweet Returns

It's really good to no longer be living out of a suitcase. I unpacked those suckers in record time, which is a pretty significant thing since Peter and I tend to leave them out to wait for them to unpack themselves or at least until we wear everything in the suitcases till they are empty. The house wasn't quite as orderly as I'd hoped and all the plants were dead, but what can I expect with a man here by himself for 6 weeks? I've finally gotten everything cleaned up and back to normal.

I know that many of you have asked me about the flight. I am both happy and a little disappointed to announce that it actually went pretty good. Cooper slept quite a bit and when he didn't sleep he was either snacking or playing with the window shade (up, down SLAM, up, down SLAM, etc.)or kicking the seat in front of him and trying to unlatch the tray (again, woman in front of Cooper not the happiest). There were LOTS of kids on this flight. I am guessing about 10 kids under 3. It is disconcerting for us to have direct comparison of other kids' language skills with Cooper's. One German woman with a 2 year old talked with us as we were waiting to board while her son rattled on in perfect pronunciation. She asked us about Cooper and how old he was. We told her, but admitted that he didn't talk much yet. "Oh, but surely he can say several words now, right?" she insisted. "Oh, of course!" I lied, with a stiff grin. Then on the plane was another 2 year old boy. He talked about his toys and everything he recognized outside of the window, the wing, the trees, land, other planes, clouds, etc. During the flight he asked his mom about Oma. His mom explained that they would see Oma when the plane landed on the ground. Hours later, the moment the wheels touched the groud, the child threw his hands in the air and yelled "OMA!!". I am not sure that Cooper really noticed anything out the window and he may not know where his Oma is, but I can attest that my child can open and close an airplane window shade with more precision and persistence than any kid on that plane!

I do have to admit that I was a little disappointed that Peter didn't get to have the same experience as I did on the flight to the US, but I guess he needed the sleep. There are just some things that only mommies are blessed with, right?

Being settled back in here is bittersweet. I love our life here and am really enjoying this experience. But it is hard to be away from family and friends. Miss you all so much already.

Too little sand in the hour glass

While Cooper and I were in Augusta, we were constantly busy (both a good and bad thing). We had play dates, spent time with friends and family, watched Sesame Street, and thanks mostly to Ms. Daisy, my brother and sister-in-law, and my aunt we got a lot of work done. I have no idea how 7 weeks can't be enough, but it just wasn't. There were several people that we didn't get to see at all that we were really disappointed about and lots of people we only got to see once.

Peter finally joined us for the last 2 weeks, but there was a lot of conflict since pretty much every minute of each day was packed full. During his 2 weeks, we spent three days in Richmond, VA at the Weekend To Remember marriage retreat. This was really a fantastic conference that both Peter and I would recommend to anyone. My only regret would be that given all the things that we had packed into Peter's time in the US we really didn't feel that we had the time to relax and enjoy that weekend and that took away from our experience. One funny thing did come out of it, though. On the flight to Richmond, I looked down and saw that I forgot to put on my wedding rings and from that point on I knew that I would just feel really uncomfortable at a marriage conference without a wedding ring. I look while we rush through airports to see if I can find an inexpensive substitute and had no luck. When we arrived at the hotel we saw that we had a few hours to spare before the festivities began, so we headed down to the taxi stand with the intention of finding a mall or something similar to accomplish the task at hand. Here is our actual conversation with the taxi driver. Keep in mind we are in downtown Richmond, VA where there are lots of businesses and stores around.

Peter: We would like to go to a shopping area or mall. Is there something close by?
Driver: The big mall is about 45 minutes from here.
Me: We don't want to go that far. Is there a shopping area closer?
Driver: I know! I take you to Wal-Marts.
Me: Are there any nicer shops around?
Driver: You can find everything you need at the Wal-Marts. I always shop at the Wal-Marts.

After some thought, I figured that I could actually find a simple band at Wal-Mart and so we agreed and hopped in the van. The "Wal-Marts" was actually still a 25 minute drive away and we weren't convinced that this rackety van would make it that far, but we did make it and I did find a simple band. Peter and I even picked out an engagement ring knock-off to finish off the act. I was really hoping that Peter would get down on one knee and propose in the "Wal-Marts", but it didn't happen. Maybe for our 10 year anniversary?

The next weekend we went to Charleston, SC for Thanksgiving with my sister-in-law's family. We really had a great time there. We stayed in a really nice house right on the beach. Cooper got to see the ocean and walk on the beach for the first time (albeit it was pretty windy and chilly), Peter and Cooper flew a kite together, and Peter even got a few holes of golf in. April's dad brought along a little Craig Cat boat to take out into the intercoastal water areas. This little boat was great, and to give you an idea, when April and I were on the water we both said that we felt as if this little thing was the equivalent of a "golf cart". But let me tell you, it was the most amazing place to be that close to the water when we spotted a dolphin and it circled around and played right next to us. Pretty cool!

In all, Peter only had 5 days actually in Augusta and it just wasn't nearly enough time to pack everything in. So, I am really sorry to those of you that we didn't get to see much or that we didn't get to see at all. But mostly, I am sorry to Peter who just didn't get the vacation that he so desperately needed.

Pictures will be posted soon!

More Mishaps . . . From Blue Bow Ties to Big Green Boots

Can anything else happen to poor little Cooper on our trip to the US? Cooper got his stiches off (Uncle Alan did it!) on Monday morning. Monday evening he was walking around chewing on a hairbrush (yes, this is a common pasttime that Cooper seems to enjoy). He ended up falling down and Aunt April picked him up crying next to the hairbrush. He cried for a pretty long time, and I checked his face and mouth thinking that maybe he had the brush still in his mouth and hurt that. He looked fine and I didn't see anything else wrong. He wanted me to hold him the rest of the evening and I did that. He was fine in the bathtub and slept OK that night. In the morning, he woke up as usual talking to himself in his bed. I thought it a little odd that he didn't stand up, but didn't think too much of it. As always I picked him up and started the morning with a diaper change. He started crying as I lifted his feet up. After some investigation Alan and I were able to determine that he had hurt a foot. Then it became obvious that he would not put the foot on the ground and would not attempt to walk on it. I gave it a day to make sure it wasn't anything minor, and then Alan was able to get us into the doctor on Wednesday. The doctor took an x-ray and sure enough Cooper has a small fracture and required a cast. I just can't believe all this has happened. The doctor stated that some kids walk in 30 minutes and some kids walk in 3 days, but they do figure out how to walk. Well, I pretty much knew that Cooper is cautious and wouldn't fall in the 30 minute category. Now it is Saturday (3 days) and he isn't even close. Considering how long it Cooper to learn to walk in the first place and how careful he is, it could still be a while before he gets it. So, back to crawling and carrying for us.

Other than that, we are really having a wonderful time here. I am starting to feel like I am running out of time, and there are still people that we haven't seen yet.

Happy Halloween, Ya'll

Cooper sure did enjoy Halloween here in Augusta. We borrowed an adorable costume from the Pond family, and Cooper was a dragon. April and I kept trying to teach him to ROAR, but Cooper wasn't interested in that. He was full of energy all day. After his afternoon nap, I got him into his costume and we went to visit Ms. Daisy and Granny Rogers. Then we headed over to a Halloween carnival at a local church. There Cooper enjoyed jumping on inflatables, running under a big colorful parachute, playing with balls, and riding little cars. He was all tired out after that and by the time trick-or-treaters came by the house he was asleep in his bed.

If you think I look rough, you should see what I did to the other kid!!!

Well, we have had our first ever trip to the Emergency Room. Thank goodness Peter got us some insurance for foreign countries in case of emergencies while we were here. All I have to say is that he couldn’t have been in more caring hands when this occurred. We have been borrowing the most cool looking retro high chair so far. By retro, I mean this is the high chair that my sister in law, April, and her brother and sister used when they were little, so it is over 30 years old. It is still a great high chair, but lacks one new safety feature – a belt. And while some kids may not need this, Cooper definitely does. He has learned the phrase “sit down” while using this high chair because he loves to turn all around, stand up, and wiggle all around in this chair. He also loves to push with his feet against the tray, which does lock into place. Either Cooper is really strong or I didn’t have it locked in good enough, cause he kicked it right off and took a face dive to the floor. OUCH!!!

When I came in, Ms. Daisy was trying to stop the bleeding over Cooper’s left eye and calm his screams. In those situations all it takes is to be in mommy’s arms and the world is right again (motherhood is a powerful thing). After that Cooper was smiling and playing again, but he just wouldn’t let me clean off the cut. I waited a couple of hours, but it was still bleeding and after having my brother Alan who is a Physician Assistant take a look we decided to head to the ER in case stitches were needed. I’m glad we did, because that is exactly what was required. Cooper did great, and only screamed when we had to hold him down. Alan had the head, I took the arms and chest, April had a leg, and a med student had the other leg. It is really strange to watch a needle pierce your child’s face and see them sew up a cut. He got 3 stitches which I call his “blue bow ties”. Cooper looked 100% better after that, and when we got back home he was all smiles with Ms. Daisy. He went immediately to sleep when I laid him down, and I headed to Wal-Mart for a new portable high chair. (How much do I enjoy a 24 hour superstore? Immensely!)

Cooper gets mad at me when I have to clean the wound, but other than that he doesn’t even know it is there. But you can imagine the looks we get around town with his “blue bow ties” on his head. I think I have now told the story about 75 times.

Maybe this was Cooper’s way of letting me know that he wants to be Frankenstein for Halloween, what do you think?

Adventures in Augusta

We’ve been in Augusta now for three full weeks and I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by. I guess I’ll start from the top beginning with our flight over.

The flight was very, very L-O-N-G. I was really wishing that Peter had come with me. We had to go through 2 full security checks to get to the gate, which was new for me. I just love how airport employees stand around and stare at a sweating mom with a carseat strapped to her back trying to unload everything onto the x-ray belt and keep a toddler from running in every direction. You know how Cooper likes to wander. Out of the 5 airport employees standing around doing nothing at each security checkpoint, you would think that one of them could at least lift a stroller or a bag onto the belt, but apparently they are simply paid to stand there and stare. Does that come with benefits? Once we got to the gate, Cooper was really thirsty and whiny (and of course you can't take any liquids in). There were no vending machines and there was no way that I could make it into the bathrooms with a large stroller, carseat on the back, carry on suitcase, and diaper bag (plus child). So, we went to the ONE place available to buy something to drink. The lady behind the counter refused to give us tap water so I was forced to buy apple juice. 0,3 liters for nearly 5 euros (for you Americans, that is a really small cup for nearly $10)!! I snapped and pretty much went off on her, which wasn't the most Christian thing to do, but it really was ridiculous. Boarding the flight was an absolute nightmare. Imagine carrying all that stuff and Cooper (since I had to leave the stroller at the door) down a very narrow aisle bumping and scraping everything and everyone on the way. There were literally 4 stewardesses standing there watching me with horrified faces and not a single one offered to take a bag. Finally a man behind me gave me a hand. Cooper was pretty good on the flight, but DID NOT SLEEP. In spite of his usual 4 hour naps during the day and early bedtime, which was while we were still in the air with a few hours to go, he only took a small 1 hour nap. The rest of the time he wanted to stand up in his carseat (he would start whining and turning into a scream when I would try to buckle him in). I had to keep him from pulling the lady's hair in front of us (who had already indicated to her husband in German her displeasure at being seated in front of a child). Once seated, before taxi and take-off, the couple immediately reclined all the way back and Cooper started kicking her seat. She called the stewardess over and told the stewardess that she would not be able to sleep with her seat moving like that. The stewardess asked her to put her seat in the upright position for the time being anyways. Cooper really enjoyed trotting down the aisles during the flight and wouldn't eat any of the food. So he basically just snacked all day on cheese, crackers, PB&J, etc. Somewhere in the 6th hour a migraine creeped in and by the last hour it was so bad I thought I was going to puke. I was literally looking for the barf bags on the plane (they weren't there which sent me into a slight panic).

But we did make it and I am so glad that is all behind me and that Peter will be on the return flight. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that Cooper will sleep the entire length of the return flight. You know how that goes.

We are having a great time seeing friends and family. Being here makes me see what I am missing out on with everyone and makes me miss it all the more. We are having play dates with lots of friends every week, went to a pumpkin patch, spent some quality time with my Grandmother Rogers and other family, we’ve been spoiled rotten by our beloved Ms. Daisy (and I have a rounded waistline thanks to her delicious cooking), and Cooper is even attending Kindermusik again which is so great for him! But I think that by December I will be ready to get back to our house and normal routine.

I am not ready for a Bavarian winter yet, though. Peter says it might snow this week. Well, the sun is shining here and the fall weather this week has pushed us into wearing pants and long sleeves, however I still get to enjoy wearing flip flops during the day. How I hate to part with those! We still have a lot of people to see and several more weeks to enjoy. Stay tuned!