Two Landmark Weekends in a Row!

Hello to you and yours out there. I would first like to apologize to all of my fans for my brief absence on the blog. I would like to give a good excuse, but all I can say is that I have been busy as a bee having too much fun! So much news and where in the heck should I begin? First of all, you will never believe, but I have mom all to myself. We have the best days ever. We ride my tractor, take walks, go for stroller rides, play at the playground, go for ice cream, eat candy, read loads of books, and play, play, play to our hearts' content. Isn't that wonderful music for your ears? Now, don't get me wrong, I do miss my friends, me-mom, and Ms. Michele. But luckily, we can stop by and see them too any old time we please. How about those apples?! We did just that on Monday morning and had a grand time. I jumped right in like old times and played with all of my friends. Mom and I plan to make it a weekly ritual and we are thankful Ms. Michele doesn't mind. We don't know what in the world we'd do without her! OK, more news to report...guess who came to see me this past weekend? Grammy J, Nanny, great Aunt Pat, and my cousin Skylar. Wow! We had quite a time! I seriously think I charmed to heck out of those fine ladies. We talked and strolled and even did lunch at the Buttersburg. I wooed them with my gentlemanly manners and my superb etiquette. I also showed off my tractor riding skills, my continuously expanding vocabulary, and best of all, my obsession with dum-dums. You know it was hard to let them go back to WV. They said it was especially difficult leaving yours truly, and mom tells me she can't say she blames them. Of course, they tried to take me with them, but mom put her foot down on that one. We are so thankful they made the journey and we hope they will come back asap! Until then, we'll be missing them for sure. I learned to say nanny and Sky while they were here too. One of my other new favorite words is bumblebee. I have to say I am quite the cutie when I say it. It's hard to keep up with new words these days because I am repeating absolutely everything. Oh, I almost forgot! Guess what I got this past weekend? A real big boy bed! Mom spent almost an hour and a half putting it together today only to figure out she reversed the head and foot board! Bless her heart, she was working her fingers and back to the bone! Oh well, the good news is that dad came home and got them switched around. Now all it needs are guardrails and we'll be all set. She also got my new bedding set in the mail today. It's Nemo, and I LOVE it. I wanted to climb right in, but there's no mattress yet. One step at a time. You know poor mom has been worrying herself to death about the sleeping arrangements coming up this Christmas. Dad and I try to reassure her that it will all work out fine and dandy. Guess who we got some more pictures of this weekend? My brother! Mom went back for her ultrasound and Nanny and Grammy J got to go with her. I think they all had a great time visiting him. He is so handsome and looks alot like I did at his age if you don't mind me saying so! He is still due to arrive the day after Christmas. What a present! We are all so excited to meet him. This weekend we have more adventures to look forward to. We are heading up to PA for Labor Day weekend with the Bryants and Costellos. I can't wait to ride the tractor and see my family. We know we'll have a wonderful time. More good news...cousin Cody is recovering from his MRSA infection and we are all glad to hear he is home and able to go to school. We hope his arm gets back to good as new in no time. I haven't told you yet, but we have a new cousin on the way! Cousin Stephanie is expecting and we are all anxiously awaiting her ultrasound results to find out if a baby girl or boy is coming our way in February. Congratulations to her and the Dobbins family! Well, I guess I better run, it is getting past my bedtime. Please keep your fingers crossed for my poor little legs tomorrow. I got some vaccines today and are my thighs sore?! When I got up from my nap today, I refused to walk! Luckily dad got home and got me doing some squats and deadlifts with him in the gym. Thank goodness they are feeling a little bit better! I hope you have a wonderful evening and all of your parts are feeling fine as frog hair. We sure do miss you up here in UB and wish you all of the best. Take care of yourselves and one another and do drop by if you get the notion. You're welcome any time. So much love to hold you until next time. Yours truly, Cooper B.

An Outlaw for an Outlaw

Hello to you and GUESS WHAT?! I got my very own TRACTOR named the Outlaw! Well, m&d say it is actually called a four wheeler, but in my eyes, it's the world's snappiest tractor. It is bright red with real skulls painted on the sides and it even has it's own headlights!! The first time m&d took me for a ride, I said "awesome". Now it's what we do every evening! Both m&d take turns riding me through the cornfield and the neighbor's yard. It is truly exciting. You should see me on it, I look like such a BIG boy. I try to convince m&d to let me take a turn driving, but those two are quite stingy. You would think it's their very first tractor instead of MINE. And, oh by the way, I remind them of this often, in fact, one of my most favorite new words is "mine". You may not know this, I am certainly schooling m&d on the subject, but most items in our house, including all food and beverages are indeed, mine. I have another new hang up involving water bottles. They definitely ALL belong to me without question. M&D sometimes try to sneak a drink, but to no avail, I begin stomping and grunting, and soon of course, they are forced to give me what I want. Isn't it wonderful how that works out?! I am posting some pics of me on my hog. I surely hope you enjoy them as much as I do riding! My ride also came with a matching helmet, how lucky can one boy get? More news...we are getting some visitors soon. First, Gram and Gramps B are stopping by on their way back to PA from uncle Bart's house. We can't wait to see them this weekend. Another wonderful surprise is that Grammy J may also be coming very soon to see me AND to join mom for her ultrasound. They need more pics of Baby B. and we are all quite excited at the opportunity to see him again very soon. Everyone is asking if we have a name picked out, and just to keep it juicy, I am not telling one way or the other. Besides, mom needs at least one tool in her bag to invoke the power as she did when I was born. Aunt Heather said if you name him, he will come. And so, in total desperation, about 30 minutes before I made my grand entrance, mom whispered, "we will name him Cooper". Now those of you who weren't there may not think that was a big deal, but those of us who were know that this was one of the only sentences the woman spoke in three hours. Furthermore, for those of you who know mom well, you know this is possibly the longest time frame that she has EVER been shocked and/or terrified into silence. Needless to say, it was a wild time, and we will leave the name declaring until the date of the event so that poor mom will have one last straw to grasp. Moving on to not so good news, aunt Deb has been feeling terrible, so please, keep her in your thoughts. And then on a happy note, we are quickly approaching mom's last day at work. All I can say is that it is none too soon (whatever that means). I will also add poor mom is running increasingly low in the sympathy department and both dad and I are worried she will soon start handing out prescriptions that read "sorry about your luck", "suck it up, life's rough", or "quit being a sissy and get over yourself". If you need me to spell it out, she's quite on edge to say the least. Dad tells me it is her hormones, of course, he is not brave enough to say this to her face, again, a bold statement about the bravest guy I know. Well, enough of the chit chat for now, it is bedtime you know. Please think of us as we often do of you and know we are always wishing you the best. Take good care and remember to count your blessings. Oh, and if you get the chance to come on up to UB, take it. I will take you for a ride on the Outlaw, that is, if your heart can stand the rush. Until then, I will be loving and missing you from afar, Cooper B.