My baby is a year old! How did this happen?

COOPER HAD HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY! Yes, my baby turned one a week ago on January 29th. Why did I not post this blog on his birthday...or even a few days later...like so many of my "on the ball" blogging friends"? Well, lets just say that I am not "on the ball" and feel lucky that I remember my name some days. But yes, my sweet baby Cooper, my last child, has turned one. How can this be? Though I love to watch the milestones of all my kids, I have to say that Coop's one year birthday was bittersweet. He is my last baby, and he is just growing up too fast. So many times this past year I just wanted to freeze Cooper in whatever stage he was at, and just enjoy him for as long as possible. I love doing "the baby thing" and I will sadly sadly miss it. But I also love the doing "the toddler thing", so I know there is fun to come but it all just goes too fast.

Cooper's birthday was an exciting day with many fun events. The best event of all was the arrival of his Fulks grandparents in the early afternoon. We have been so excited for this visit from my parents. They are visiting all the way from Utah and will stay with us almost two weeks. How fun that they arrived on Cooper's birthday, just in time for his party. That has got to be a perfect gift for a child (for all of my children actually). Cooper didn't take long to warm up to them, and they were enchanted by all of his new and exciting baby tricks (which consist mostly of clapping, shoving food in his mouth, and climbing on everything).

We had a fun little family party for Cooper. We invited one other family over, and we just did the cake and ice-cream thing. Usually when I give my babies their cake, they just play in the frosting for a bit. Not my Cooper. He dug in immediately, shoving large pieces into his mouth, and continued this for a good 15 minutes. He must have wondered why there was a crowd of people around him laughing at every move he made. Grandpa Fulks got a kick out of the "enthusiasm" that Cooper showed in his cake eating. He truly got "into it". It was very fun to watch. Cooper got lots of fun new toys for his birthday, and it turned out to be such a fun day. We loved having family here to celebrate our sweet boy. They were here a year ago when he was born, so it was very fitting that they be here again.



As I was pondering the magnitude of my last child turning one, I kept thinking back to a year ago when Cooper was born. I had such a hard pregnancy, and a hard recovery from my 4th c-section, yet the time I had in the hospital with that precious new baby was just priceless. All those feelings came rushing back today and I can't believe how much has happened this year. It is amazing how a baby can go from a tiny and fragile little thing, to a chunky, mobile, sweet and funny little boy with his very distinct personality and sense of humor. How blessed I feel to have this boy in my life. We didn't even think we would get a 4th child and tried for a long time for Coop. There were enough problems with getting pregnant, and problems during the pregnancy, that it truly seems like a miracle that we have a healthy and beautiful baby boy. Cooper makes everyone smile. He has such an engaging grin, a darling little language of his own, and lots of "super cute" tricks up his sleeve. He loves his family and lights up when the kids come home from school, or when Dad walks in the room. He wants to be right in the middle of everything and he is so fun to play with. He has been an easy baby and a wonderful sleeper. He eats anything (and everything) that we put in front of him. He loves the water, he loves going for walks in the stroller, and he loves playing swords with his brother (he really does this...and it is so funny). Happy Birthday Cooper. We love you so much.

Here are a few photos of Cooper during this last year.