I've been sooooo bad about updating this blog. I think there are a few reasons:

1. I'm back in graduate school so my time is limited.
2. It's really time consuming to load the photos onto the computer, then upload them to the Picasa site, then post on the blog. I wish there was an easier way!

Here are the most recent photos, by the way!

So in the last few months there has been a lot of progress and growth (umm, for all three of us!).

Cooper. Cooper's taken a few steps on his own, he's gotten a molar, he's starting to feed himself, he can say a few words, and he's a master sleeper. Wow! His development over the last few months has been amazing. Interesting to watch.

Matt: Matt is coming out of a slow season at work and he'll be getting busy starting in May. He's been working from home on Tuesdays and taking care of Cooper which has been a fun experience for both of them. He's excited to go to Oberlin in April to visit our friends, Ben and Tanya and their kids, and also to visit his Dad.

Mer: I've been busy with graduate school (yuck) and work. Trying to balance the working mom, student, wife stuff. I've started going to bed a bit later these days - around 10pm - so that's been nice.

Kitties: Yeah, they're getting older and we need to get a "senior" cat food for them. They still fight sometimes but sometimes we see them sitting close to each other and they're fine with it. Caille and Cooper like to play together and it's really cute. Trying to teach Cooper to pet and not hit.

So there's an update on our household.

We can't wait until the weather warms up even just a little (c'mon spring, seriously it's been in the 30s and that's too cold to go for a walk). The warmer weather will bring morning trips to the Magnificant Muffin (or the "Mag Muff" as we call it), visits to playgrounds (now Cooper can actually enjoy them since he can stand), walks with our friends (Alyssa, Alex, soon-to-be-mom Katie), visits to the beach (slather on that 50 SPF because that boy is WHITE), BBQs with our friends (again same bunch + Rebekah), maybe a visit to the outdoor shopping mall I've heard so much about, and lunch at the Barking Crab (sun + beer + seafood = amazing Boston).

I promise to try harder to get the blog updated. For now, enjoy!!

The Boy Turns 1

So I have to apologize for not writing for a while. It's been busy! Between our trip to Turks and Caicos for Thanksgiving to swimming lessons to getting in a car accident to eye surgery to Cooper crawling...well, there have been ups and downs. Here's it in a nutshell:

1. Cooper's making progress...though slow. We know, everyone says they develop at their own rate. Blah blah blah. He crawled at ten and a half months and he's getting close to walking. He's a little behind but that's fine. He can be a whiny but also has a great smile. We're so proud of him.
2. Total Bad Luck (TBL). I've had a string of bad luck. First it was emergency eye surgery, then a car accident, then something job-related, then a travel nightmare over the holidays with mom. Therefore, I'm expecting 2011 to be simply amazing. Thank you very much.
3. A String of Visits. It's great having friends and family visit. In the last two months, I've seen Kathy (upside down Christmas trees) and dad/Dana (thanks for the care during the eye surgery).
4. Back to School...UNFORTUNATELY. I say unfortunately because I'm not looking forward to it. Why? Doesn't Mer love to learn? Doesn't she want her beloved master's degree? She's halfway done, how's a little more learning gonna hurt? She's a good student! I'm just not into going back. Balancing my life as a wife, mother, and worker is hard enough. To add student to it...well, I'm not sure I want my life to be that busy! Seeing that I'm already heading up to bed at a "wild" 9:30pm every night (Groundhog Day style) I bet I won't have one second to watch any General Hospital. And go ahead, laugh, poor Mer won't have her GH...well that's what keeps her sane, my friends! Without it, she may fall off the deep end. We will see.
5. Cooper Turns One. While I still can't get over the fact that as a person he's already reached one, I celebrated his birthday by thinking about the day of my C-section and how crazy it was. The experience of bringing him out of my body and into this world was surreal. But amazing! I remember lots of small things: the ice at the hospital, the shock I felt when the nurse kept bringing him into my hospital room over and over again to nurse (c'mon! you need to eat AGAIN!?!), the nervousness I felt at changing my first diaper, the smell of the hospital food (actually quite good). I love my new life with Cooper and I can't believe there was a time that he wasn't around. Happy Birthday, sweetpea!

Click HERE for a bevy of fabulous recent photos.

PS: I deleted a bunch of old photo albums to make space for new ones. If there are any photos you need that aren't posted, just let me know.