Cooper

Our little Coop was neutered on September

21st. He had internal stitches but he kept messing with the incision, so they gave him an e-collar. He had to wear it for a week!! Derek was conveniently gone for training while Coop had to wear it. He HATED it! He kept running into things...usually my legs! I had lots of cuts and bruises. We were both very glad when he was finally allowed to take it off! Cooper is growing like crazy! He weighs about 35 or 40 pounds and is quite tall. We've had a few adventures recently. It rained a few weeks ago and Coop decided he'd help us out with the yard. He came in a chocolate lab instead of a black lab!! He was also having stomach issues that weekend. We had to keep cleaning his bedding and giving him baths. I think he got 4 baths in one weekend!!! Needless to say, we're all glad that he's feeling better and it isn't muddy anymore!:)

Aggieland!

D and I went to the A&M game last weekend. D got really good seats in the Zone:) It was great having your own seat and not having to stand the whole time. We enjoyed being back in Aggieland! We got Cooper an A&M collar. It's WAY too big for him right now, but it should still fit when he's full grown!

Cooper is half way through his puppy classes. He's doing really well! Last week was very exciting because we learned how to "stay" and "come." It doesn't sound too exciting but when you have a 30 pound very excited/hyper Lab pup, come and stay are essential. He's also learning "leave it" which is VERY hard for him! He just sits and shakes because he can't get all of the treats that I put out on the floor. It's funny! When I let him get the treats, they're gone in a matter of seconds!

School is going really well! I have the smallest class...only 22 kiddos:) They are very sweet and just want to please! We get through the lessons a lot faster than last year, mainly because I know how quickly they can work. They also work faster than last year's group, so often I find myself looking for things to do to fill the class time. It's a good problem to have though. I'm excited about the possibilities!:)

Four Months Old

Cooper turned four months old on August 21st! He's getting so big and learning lots of things! He's really doing well with the transition of me going back to school. D took a few days off this week so he could spend time with Coop! I think it was really good for their relationship!:) Cooper just adores his daddy! He spent a very long day by himself today because D was at work and I had Meet the Teacher night at school! I think he's adjusting to the change pretty well!

I really enjoyed meeting all of my kiddos and their parents! They are all so very sweet and I know we're going to have a great year! My mom bought me a beautiful dress to wear so I just had to post a picture of it:) I'm looking forward to the first day of school on Monday!

Redecorating

Cooper decided the bathroom needed a little something more....

I know I'll look back and laugh, but it wasn't too funny today!:)

New Job

Derek accepted a position with Progressive in their claims department yesterday! He is so excited about the opportunities with the company! He will start training in September. Two weeks of training will be out of town...most likely Cleveland and Sacramento! I wish I could go too!! We celebrated the good news with our parents at Mercado Juarez, D's favorite restaurant!!

Cooper started losing his teeth...he's lost the front two on the top and the bottom! No wonder he can't chew his food!! We haven't found any yet, so the Puppy Tooth Fairy can't visit;)

The Crazy Month of August!

The past few weeks have been very busy for our family! We moved Court down to Austin and went to Michael's graduation the same weekend! It was the shortest graduation I have ever attended....1 hour and 15 minutes! Amazing for a college graduation! His parents threw a wonderful party for him that evening. Mom and I did some back to school shopping at the outlets in San Marcos in between graduation and the party! D and my dad took care of the little hotdogs! Poor Hol did NOT like being in the crate! Miss Abbey was very good though! Court has a nice apartment. Another dapple hotdog lives below them so Abbey has a little boyfriend! We came home Sunday evening and Cooper had dug up MoM's flower bed....he's becoming quite the little digger! At least it was the end of the season for the flowers!

Scott came to visit us on Monday! We had such a great time! We went to the mall and got some A&M shirts...we need more Aggies in the family! On Monday we celebrated my dad's birthday!! We went to the Rangers/Royals game on Wednesday night. The most excited play of the game: The Royals were batting with a runner on. The batter hits a weak ground ball and somehow ends up in a pickle running to second. Rangers don't cover well and the ball gets away. The runner already on base tries to run home and gets into another pickle. Again the Rangers don't cover well and the runner scores. At this point the batter is going for second and the catcher throws the ball toward second....NO ONE is covering and it rolls to the warning track in center. Two runners end up scoring and almost tying the game! **I'm sure I didn't tell this correctly...needless to say, the 2-8 play doesn't work so well for the Rangers!** Somehow the Rangers won 4-3 but it wasn't pretty! The best part of the evening were the dollar hotdogs!:) We also had a live Dot Race! Hopefully these teams can find some better players next season!!! I really enjoyed hanging out with Scott! It's such a blessing not only to know my second cousin but also be good friends with him! Cooper absolutely adores Scott! He kept looking around the house for Scott after he left:( D and I would love to have other visitors!:)

Cooper is still growing very quickly! He weighs 23 pounds now and is full of energy! The vet calls him the drug dog because he smells absolutely EVERYTHING! He also "buries" things around the house. Scott and I couldn't find the remote one day. Thursday, Cooper brought it to Derek like, " Look at my treasure Daddy!" Scott and I hadlooked EVERYWHERE in the living room for the remote on Wednesday! Thursday was quite an eventful day for Cooper. Before the remote incident, we had to induce vomitting for the first time! He is so good at finding things that don't belong there....and eating them! On Thursday morning he found a tack in our bedroom. D wasn't sure if he had eaten it or not, so we gave him some hydrogen peroxide. After sifting through all of Coop's breakfast, we came to the conclusion that he hadn't eaten it after all!! Somehow I know this won't be the last time we'll go through this...oh the joys of having a puppy!:) Cooper is such a smart dog! He has mastered sit, lay down, and speak. He knows lots of other things and is learning more every day! He will do ANYTHING for a treat! Puppy classes were cancelled this week so we're still working "watch me" and "check it out." It's clicker training and Cooper really responds well to it! Whenever he hears the clicker, he comes running! He learns very quickly! :) I'm excited to see what we learn next Tuesday!

I start teacher inservice on Monday. We've had a longer summer with school starting later this year. I've really enjoyed my time off, but I'm ready to start school again! We added 8 new classrooms and 3 computer labs to our building over the summer! Even with the month of daily rain, the rooms are ready! We are so excited and hope that it works for our growing population. We had 750 PreK-5th graders at Heritage last year and I'm sure we'll grow even more this year! I am in charge of the science curriculum for Heritage this year along with Safety Patrol and Student Council! It's going to be a busy year!

Our little boy!

Derek and I got Cooper on June 28th! He was only about 7 pounds of sweet lab puppy. I went to KC that weekend and left him with D. They had a good time bonding but Derek was very glad for some extra help with our new little one! He is a very healthy, happy pup. Cooper has already learned how to sit and speak. We are working on lay down. He loves walks and spending time in the backyard! I took him to the vet last Thursday and he weighed 17 pounds!!! He's growing fast! Derek and I went out of town last weekend and I swear his legs grew 2 inches. Cooper is starting to look less like a little pup and more like an adult dog. It's amazing how fast he's grown in a month!!! We start puppy classes at PetSmart on August 7th! Derek and I are so blessed to have such a wonderful little pup in our lives!

July 25, 2007