Coop's Scoop~3 Year Edition

I've said it a thousand times, and yet I'm going to say it again:

I love this age!

I really do love this age.  Cooper at 3 might be the best age yet.  Although this past summer was super busy, it was wonderful, and every time I think back on all we did over those three months, I am amazed at how much Cooper grew and changed.  He went from still being somewhat of a toddler to a true little boy.  Karl and I have enjoyed him so much lately.  The things he says, the things he does, his imagination, his energy, how smart he is, how loving and compassionate he is.  Not a day goes by that we don't say how blessed we are to have him as our little boy.
This is going to be a hodge-podge of some of the little random things about Cooper that Karl and I want to make sure we remember about him at 3 years old.  Although the list is long, it is really just a short overview of some of the special things that stand out in our minds about our boy at 3!

Now that he is finally talking, some of our favorite things about him right now revolve around the things he says.  Cooper has a unique pronunciation for a lot of words.  Some we can figure out, some we can't, and some we don't know how he created!

• "Momen"(pronounced with a long o) = open
• "S'at?" = what's that?
• "Hoffle me" = hold me
• "Bapple juice" = apple juice
• "Hehwoh" (pronounced with a short e and long o) = hello
• "Yos" (pronounced with a short o) = yes
• Calls himself "Coo-Coo Man" (All day long I hear, "Coo-Coo Man do it!")
• Calls Karl "Daddy Man" (sometimes if Karl doesn't answer him right away, he'll call him by his name!)
• Calls me...that's right..."Mommy Man"
• When he eats something he likes, he rubs his tummy and says, "Mmmmm, Coo-Coo yuv dis!"
• Anything from the past is "dat day," as in, "Soddie (Sadie) got bit by snake dat day."  He tells everyone about Sadie getting bit by a snake.  Everyone.  It makes for a good long conversation with strangers.
• If we tell him he can't do something right now for whatever reason, he'll ask if he can do it "'morrow?" "nes (next) time?" "when I ol'er (older)?"  
• He likes to do everything "by mysevs (myself)"
• If he's scared or uncertain or just doesn't want to do something, he says, "I no fee (feel) good," with a big pouty face.
• He gives the best "bisses," which are big kisses of course!  At night when I tuck him in, he always gives me a "big huge hug and biss."  I love them.  When Karl is getting ready to leave for work, he always gives Cooper a hug and kiss goodbye, and Cooper also tells him to give Mommy one too.  
• Instead of asking if something will cut him, he asks if it will "sharp" him
• After everything he says, he says, "kay?" or "alwight?"
• If he has to leave the room to get something, he says, "Be wight back," and holds out his pointer finger to us to signal us to stay put.  
• Any time we're upset about something, he always says, "Be okay.  It be okay."  He's very sensitive and doesn't like for you to be sad or upset about anything.
• He probably asks me at least a hundred times a day, "Where Daddy go/went?  He be home weal soon?"
• He says, "I yuv you more," "I yuv you most," and sometimes even "I yuv you more most!"
• He tells me I'm too big for things all the time.  Sure knows how to make a pregnant woman feel good! :)  In all fairness, he tells Karl too!
• He loves to play hide and seek and chase, and he always yells, "'Prise!" when you find him or he finds you.  He also loves when you jump out and scare him.  The child is fearless and loves excitement!
• Sometimes when he wakes up in the morning, he'll still call me from his bed by yelling, "I yuv you, Mommy!" really loud.  When I get to his room, he's normally hiding under his covers, and I'll act like I don't know where he is.  Then he'll jump out and scream, "'Prise!"  However, most of the time now, he just comes in our room in the mornings and stands by my side of the bed.  When I open my eyes, he smiles really big and crawls in bed with me or tells me to, "Gih (short i) up now, Mommy!"

Although his speech is so cute, there are some other super cute things about him too!

• He crosses his arms over his chest when he's made or nervous and looks down.
• He LOVES Dum-Dum suckers.  I carry a bunch of them in my purse at all times!
• The boy can get crazy hyper and has insane amounts of energy!  He prefers to run instead of walk and loves to be on the go!
• He bites his nails.
• He still likes for me to kiss his boo-boos.  I love how a little kiss makes them better too.  
• He's such a healthy eater.  He loved our garden this summer and ate strawberries, tomatoes, and bell pepper straight from the plants.
• We still haven't been able to figure out if he's a lefty or righty.
• Ever since Sadie's snake bite, he has been obsessed with snakes.  I love when he puts on his cowboy boots and gets his toy shotgun to go "hunt snakes!"
• He has an amazing memory.  All the time he'll say things that we just are stunned he remembered.  On the way to school the other day, he told me about what Santa brought him for Christmas last year.  He was right too!
• He loves to snuggle at night before he goes to bed.  He always says, "Mommy, you yay (lay) wif (with) me, 'kay."  I snuggle up to him, and he'll put my arm over his chest.  What better way to end the day than that?!
• He loves to help me cook.  My dream come true! :)
• He loves airplanes and tractors right now more than anything else.
• He is noticeably very protective of me and looks out for me.  The boy takes good care of his mama.  I hope that never stops.  
• Sometimes Cooper and I go on lunch dates together.  He is always really well behaved too.  I love our special dates so much.  
• He loves to walk Karl to his truck in the mornings before work and yells, "Bye," and, "I yuv you!!!" as Karl drives off.
• He loves the Toy Story movies.  We have watched all three movies way too many times this summer!  

Speaking of Toy Story...At the end of Toy Story 3, Andy's mom walks in his packed and empty bedroom and puts her hand to her heart and gets teary-eyed as she looks around.  Andy walks up behind her and says, "It's okay, Mom," and she says something like, "It's just that I wish I could always be with you," as he hugs her.  That part of the movie brings tears to my eyes EVERY single time!  Cooper always is telling me, "It be okay, Mommy," and I can just see us in that same scenario in 15 years as he gets ready to go to college.  I already know exactly what she means too when she says she just wishes she could be with him always.  From the moment your baby is born, your whole life revolves around that sweet little life that just started.  You'll do anything in the world for them.  You love them with all that you are.  You do all that you can to raise them to be good people.  And all along, you're preparing them to leave you.  Out of every struggle I'll face as a mother, that will be the hardest.  One day Cooper will pack his room and set out to conquer the world without needing me to kiss his boo-boos and snuggle him to sleep.  As much as my heart will hurt in letting my little boy go become a man, it'll be in that moment that I'll know Karl and I did our job well.  

But for now, he's my 3 year old little boy...