We like to party, we like, we like to party!

It was finally time for Cooper's big birthday party. His theme was inspired by the classic Hand Hand Fingers Thumb by Al Perkins, which is Cooper's favorite book. The planning and preparations of Cooper's party rivaled Mason's first birthday party (a Go Dog Go theme) with elaborate invitations and character cutting.

The day was perfect and we were thankful to share Cooper's first birthday with our family and friends. Cooper thoroughly enjoyed his party, cupcake and presents.

Thank you to everyone who helped make his birthday so special.

Cooper's 1 Year Stats

Height: 30 inches (51st percentile)

Weight: 23 pounds (49th percentile)

Head Circumference: 19 1/4 inches (96th percentile)

# of Teeth: 9 (which includes his first molar)

Words/Sounds: Dada, Mama, Dog, Duck, Quack, Moo, Woof

Likes: Animals, food (especially blueberries), brushing teeth, playing outside, remotes, dancing, being silly (Cooper thinks he is pretty funny), anything Mason is doing

Dislikes: Not being able to play with Mom's phone, sharing toys with Mason

Happy Birthday Cooper!!!

My baby is one, how is this possible? It feels like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. I had an extra emotional week with Cooper turning one and Mason going to Kindergarten Round Up. Everything with these boys goes by so fast.

Cooper started his birthday with his friends at Anna's Bananas, which even included a pizza lunch (they have pizza every Friday, so it was not really a special occasion, but Cooper loves pizza so it was special for him) and a birthday banner compliments of his teachers.

In honor of Cooper's birthday, Corey and I took an afternoon off of work and took the boys to zoo to see the farm babies. Cooper is fascinated with animals, so we couldn't have thought of a better way to spend time with him on his birthday. The weather was perfect to explore all of the outside animals at the zoo.

Later that afternoon while reading a book, Cooper surprised us by saying "duck" and "quack" in response to a big picture. He must know he is a big boy now that he is one.

For Cooper's birthday dinner, he was treated to pancakes and blueberries, along with some whipped topping, which he enjoyed very much.

Stay tuned next week for Cooper's birthday party!

Kindergarten Round Up

Much to my dismay, Mason will be starting Kindergarten in the fall and attending Meadowview Elementary in Farmington and after much debate, he will be attending Kindergarten full day through Farmington's Kinder Journey program in lieu of the traditional half day Farmington provides.

We had the opportunity to attend Kindergarten Round Up for our first official visit to the school (other than pre-K screening). Round up was complete with a group snack, a scavenger hunt around the school and practice on a school bus. Mason had quite the swagger as he strut around the school, I am pretty sure he is excited!

Happy Easter!

Our Easter weekend was very complete with lots of Easter related activities. Mason and I colored eggs together.

We woke up Easter morning to find that the Easter Bunny had made a visit to our house and filled the boys baskets with goodies.

Not only did the Easter Bunny fill the baskets, but he also hid all the eggs we colored. Good thing Mason and Cooper were able to find them all.

We ended our day at Grandma Geralyn and Grandpa Mike's house where not only did Grandma and Grandpa have baskets for the boys, but the Easter Bunny had stopped there too. The boys had two more egg hunts to make the day complete.

Fun with Friends

Mason, Cooper and I decided to join our friends for a morning at the Como Zoo. It is amazing how our group have friends have grown so quickly throughout the years. With 4 moms and 6 kids, we made it though the zoo and got in a picnic lunch before the rain started. I think this was a great way to spend a day off of work!

Mason (4 - not sure what this face is about), Henry (3), Addie (2), Jack (see back stroller - 6 weeks),

Ava (almost 2 - 23 months) and Cooper (almost 1 - 7 days before his big birthday)

Our Little Fishy Grows Up

Mason has been in a pool since he was 9 months old (thanks mostly to Grandma Geralyn and Grandpa Mike having a pool),

Mason's First Swim 05.26.06

but we as his parents have failed to ever get him into formal swimming lessons...until now. Mason started his first swim lessons at the Wise Swim School in Apple Valley. He was very excited to start as a Mini Dolphin and had an excellent first lesson. We are very much looking forward to seeing his swimming skills grow over the next twelve weeks.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Cooper's First Haircut

After about a month of talking about it, I finally broke down and made an appointment at Kid's Hair (it's no Cool Cuts 4 Kids (shameless Regis plug), but was my only comparable option) for Cooper. I do not know why it was so hard for me to get his haircut, Mason had had 3 haircuts by the time he was Cooper's age, and he was definitely ready for a cut!

He did an amazing job for his first haircut and sat very nice most of the time. There were a couple tears with the razor and blow dryer, but besides that he was as content as can be. The finished product is...

Hawaiian Shirt Day

It was a beach week at Anna's Bananas that ended in Hawaiian Shirt Day. Luckily my mom had shirts in both the boys' sizes so I didn't even have to buy anything, which I would have, to participate in a fun day.

Love this Smile

My Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day my Little Cupids! Lots of love from Mommy and Daddy:)

Welcome Samantha!

The boys are happy to welcome their cousin Samantha MacKenzie into the Voth family. It is nice to add a girl into the mix with these two boys. We are very much looking forward to watching her grow and the fun memories to come.

Cooper "Edward" Voth

Strangely, both of Cooper's top incisors came in before his front two teeth leaving him vampire teeth for almost 2 months. I find this amusing since his mother was obsessed with the Twilight series while pregnant with him. A coincidence? I wish I had a picture of this to share, but funny how a 9 month old won't hold still and open his mouth long enough for his mom to get such picture.

Cooper's 9 Month Stats

Height: 28 1/2" (50th percentile)

Weight: 22 lbs 1 oz (69th percentile)

Head: 18 1/2" (87th percentile)

Likes: Food, Mason, remotes, standing up

Dislikes: Having to go to sleep when Mason is still awake

When I'm 18...

For sometime now, Mason has had a life plan, which goes a little something like this: "When I am 18, I am going to play for the Gophers, then, I am going to play for the Canadians," which later turned into the Washington Capitals. Mason is missing one big step to becoming a future hockey player...skating.

So we signed Mason up for group skating lessons through Farmington Park and Rec. We had tried skating the previous year on our own and got a lot of "it is too hard." We banked on him being more willing to try with a group of his peers. We were wrong. Unfortunately, Mason was the only one in the group who couldn't skate, so he was kind of left behind and very discouraged. So after only a couple of lessons, we gave up on this format, but will continue working with him on our own. It is sad to have quit something he is so passionate about, but we know he will get the hang of it eventually, it is Mason after all.

Happy 2010

We spent our New Year's Eve at the Wineberg's in honor of both New Year's and (most importantly :) ) Mandy's 30th Birthday. We had a great night with our friends and our friends' kids, who have grown in number over the years. On this New Year's, Mason is the oldest in our group and Cooper the youngest. Henry, Addie and Ava have filled in between them. In 2010, our group will welcome two new additions, which will make for an exciting spring.

Mason and Henry made it until midnight with ease and Cooper awoke just in time to join us for the ball drop.

Best wishes for the happiest 2010 from The Voths.

Merry Christmas Mason & Cooper

Mason & Cooper were thoroughly spoiled this Christmas during the six, count them six, holiday celebrations we had with all of our families. From our travels from Sartell to Red Wing, we were quite busy from the 19th to 25th of December. Despite being exhausted, it was very merry to have Cooper be able to spend his first Christmas with all sides of his family and extended family too. Mason, the seasoned pro at Christmas, had fun as well.

Cooper discovered his tongue again the day before Christmas, resulting in most of our holiday photos with his tongue out.

The result of six holiday celebrations is an obscene amount of presents my children received. It may be next Christmas before I find homes for all of these toys.

Holiday Treats from Anna's Bananas

Some of my favorite gifts have been the ones creative teachers have helped my children make over the years, and our first holiday season at Anna's Bananas was no different. I loved all the fun things the boys/teachers made for us.

Family Photo Fun

After too much thought and stress over our holiday card this year, I defaulted back to Target Portrait Studio for a family portrait session. Here is a sample of our photos: