We've had a few trips to Laguna Beach with Cooper and he digs it. 
He digs the water. He digs the gulls. He digs the sand. Literally.
At first he was a wee bit scared of the crashing waves. Then, he invented a game. The waves would roll in and he would run away from the shore. He played 'Catch Me If You Can,' with the ocean. 
I guess I better start saving to send this kid to surf camp. 
He also likes to run up to other people who are lounging on the beach and start shouting at them. He surprises folks with his dramatic and emphatic baby babble. 
I once heard someone say that toddlers tend to sound like little old Korean shop owners at this age.
"GAH! Koo chow wa na ba dee po po beh."
The only problem with the beach is how much sand Cooper eats. 
Wouldn't you think that after tasting just a bit of sand that my child would cease shoving it into his mouth? Nay. He kept eating it. The more I said "No," the more amusing he found the whole experience. 
Just remember, Cooper...the more sand you eat, the more sand you poop.
And that's not very fun for either of us.
Beach Baby of La-GOON-Ahhhhh
Aquarium of the Pacific
We had many adventures while daddy was away and one of them was a trip with Memere and Pepere to the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Coop LOVED it. He started by smacking on all the glass and making his usual "GA BA DA" sounds. He was into the fish. 
I have to say that I was impressed with the aquarium. The building is two floors of aquatic fun. They had a lady doing the hula. They had an actual size sculpture of a blue whale. (Way big. Way, way big.) They had a diver in a tank full of marine life that had a mic. He swam around and answered questions for the kids. 
The jellyfish were in a section with black lights so they glowed. Cooper thought they were neat. 
There's a walkway that's fully surrounded by sea lions. This one kept playing with us.
The outdoor area has a shark lagoon and a "petting" area where you can touch crabs...
and stingrays! The stingers have been removed for safety sake. 
This was such an event for Coop. He touched the stingray and then BAM!!!
The stingray jumped up out of the water and tried to climb the wall toward Cooper! I wish I got the actual "attack" on camera. This is just the aftermath. Look at my boy's profile. He's amazed! He was freaked out at first, but then went charging toward the water for more. 
You know what's funny? We go to see fish at the aquarium and my boy's FAVORITE part was the ants. They had stinging dessert fire ants in a glass enclosure and he kept touching the glass and following the ants with his finger. He likes bugs. 
There was also a bird sanctuary outside where the birds land on you and you can feed them nectar. Cooper didn't really like that part. I think he found the chirping of the birds loud and annoying. 
Is there a better way to end the day than with an ice cream sandwich? 
"This rocks! I can't believe I ate boob milk for so long! That stuff never came in chocolate or strawberry!"
My little guy is growing up big. Way, way big.
What I've Learned in Seven Years
You do not like mushrooms, quiche, avocado, pickles or coffee.
You need to hit the snooze 3 times before you even think about getting up.
The day can be made better or worse by the Red Sox, Patriots or (to a lesser degree) the Celtics.
The beard is here to stay.
You'd rather change a diaper than kill a bug.
You follow the rules.
You love language.
You love film.
You love dirty jokes.
When you sing to your son, you have one of the sweetest voices I've ever heard.
You're a great dad.
You have more courage than you think you do.
You do stressful, tedious things to help us survive.
My silly dancing makes you smile.
You make my life better.
I love you so.
Happy Anniversary.
Cooper at a Wedding
Congrats to Trista and Chris! They just took the plunge, tied the knot and made it official. It was beautiful!
Cooper dressed for the occasion, as you can see. He complained a bit in the backseat as we ventured to Newbury Park, but he seemed to be in good spirits...until we arrived.
The house was all a-buzz with eager wedding guests. As we approached, my child started freaking out! I know that kids wig from time to time, but this was heavy-duty YIKES screaming/crying. So unlike Cooper. I tried to feed him, give him something to drink, change him, give him a toy, hold him, sit him down, stroll him, dance with him--nothing was working. After about 15 minutes, I was worried we might have to go home.
But we started to play a bit in the hallway and he stopped crying. I think he saw that he was in a new place with lots to explore (and destroy) and he cheered up! Either that, or he had gas and it finally passed.
I think this picture of us wearing the same expression sums it up...
This is a look that says: "WE MISS DADDY!!!!!!"
Weddings make you think about the one you love. And having a toddler to run after all by myself made me think about how lucky I am to have a partner in parenting.
Hats off to single parents. I have no idea how you do it.
Mr. White Returns
So...there have been a lack of updates. I apologize all over the place. It's been so hectic that I need to invent a new word for hectic...it's been hecticaca.
While Jakob was away on his trip, I took Cooper to a wedding in Newbury Park and then to Kidspace Museum in Pasadena and then to Laguna Beach and then to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Um...I'm way pooped out. I'll be posting about these as soon as I sort through the digi pix.
After all that, I really could use some rest--but I have Nicole Elliott-Bays' baby shower this weekend. Then it's my seven year wedding anniversary. (Too poor for gifts or a fancy dinner. Maybe a movie?) Then more vaccinations for Cooper. Then Coop and I are trying out a music class. Then Jakob goes to Vegas. Then Alex & Edy's wedding is coming up I must finish their ketubah. All the while, I'm writing, producing and making rediculous puppets for my one-woman show in October.
I'm totally overbooked. As me and my chums say, I've Gantz'd myself. (You know I love you, Ryan.)
The good news is: Jakob came back! Yay.
I'm posting a few pictures from the White Boy Journey. I'm not adding a lot of commentary. (I GOT ENOUGH TO DO, GOSH DARN IT!) Enjoy!
Carl's Jr is called Hardees elsewhere...weird!
They couldn't find ANYTHING in Medina...except this rad mural. "Share the dream."
"Hey baby...wanna see another great work of art?" Sean says while pointing to his crotch.
This is the famous 'BUTTER BURGER' of Wisconsin. I'm having a minor heart attack just looking at it.
They actually stayed at a place with this picture on the wall. CREEPY CRAZY HAUNTED!
San Francisco's hottest spot...for the blubbery male.
Nine Days Without Daddy
Jakob leaves for the East Coast this afternoon. He'll be driving across the U.S of A. with his brother Sean. They're scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on September 1st. Then, (drum roll, please) Uncle Sean will live here! Yippity skippity yay!
NOTE: I'm going to try to get Cooper to call Sean "Uncle Silly." We'll see if it sticks.
Did I ever mention that I hate going to the movies alone? I do. It makes me sad. I feel like a little old lady and all my friends are dead. There's no one to laugh or cry with. I like having someone by my side.
I'm without my husband for the next week + two days. I have Cooper and I have planned activities with friends to avoid feeling lonely. But I know it'll creep up on me anyway.
Probably when I eat a sandwich for dinner instead of cooking, because why cook for just me?
Probably when I put Coop in his crib and he keeps asking for Da Da.
Probably when I try to sleep alone in my bed.
When it comes to Cooper's care during the week, Jakob refers to himself as "The Closer." I pitch most of the game and then Jakob comes home from work and wins it for the team by putting Coop to bed.
This week, I'm doing all nine innings every day. Hope I'm strong enough.
Keepsake Clay
Today was a doozy. A real doozy.
Not a "Doozer", mind you. Those were the little worker dudes on Fraggle Rock.
I couldn't get out of bed this morning. I didn't stay up particularly late the night before. I was just exhausted.
I found out that I was accidentally overdrawn on my bank account. (We'll not be discussing how much.) I accidentally left my iPod where Cooper could get at it. (He enjoyed chewing my ear buds!) And I accidentally ran the microwave and the air conditioner at the same time which caused a fuse to blow out.
Yick.
To cheer us both up, I decided to take out a gift that Aunt Dona and Uncle Joe had given to us for Christmas--KEEPSAKE CLAY!
It's a picture frame that's partially made of clay so you can preserve your little one's hand prints. I meant to do this with Cooper when he was 6 months old, but (as you know) Cooper and I always seem to be busy, busy, busy.
I molded the clay in my hands. I let Coop play with some. He tried to eat it, of course.
The picture on the box is of two perfect, little, adorable hand prints. Well, I must have waited too long, because my kid has HUGE hands and there's no way that he'd fit more than one hand print in the clay provided. 
THIS was the FIFTH attempt at a hand print.
My toddler wants to grab the clay and rip it apart, not carefully press his hand into it.
I kept trying to get him to make a decent print, but he didn't want to. And that's when my mind changed.
This was his hand print. It looked like Quasimodo, but it was how he wanted to do it. So...so be it. We don't need to make everything look like the example on the box.
He doesn't conform. Perfect hand prints don't say "Cooper."
I guess he's more artsy than that.
My Latest Love is 'Before Both I'm Gone' by Girl In A Coma
Have you not treated your ears to Girl In A Coma yet?
Dood...why not?
I do ridiculous dancing to this album alone in my room.
It's good stuff good.
"Cooper Isn't Here, Mrs. White"
We bought Cooper a magnet board for his room. 
The Alphabet Set only came with one "R." That's why this says "REDBUM."
Jakob HAS been trying to finish a screenplay for, like, 12 years.
But I doubt he's capable of mubder :)
Tantrum Catalysts
"Don't stand on the couch."
"No standing on the chair."
"No biting! Biting hurts!"
"You have to hold Mommy's hand."
"Please give that to Mommy."
"Say bye-bye to Daddy. He has to go to work."
"Mommy has to use the bathroom. She'll be right out."
"Don't eat paper."
Artsy Fartsy
VOILA! Coop d'artiste.
I bought some finger paints for us to try. I figured he'd just start eating them and art time would be over.
Surprisingly, he did not put them in his mouth. He put them on the paper. I could tell he liked the feeling of the paint squishing in his hands.
His work is very sensitive (like Momma's). He uses lots of purple.
As we mooshed the paint around together, I started imagining future art projects like making Halloween costumes, creating Christmas cards and teaching him how to draw just like my dad taught me.
As cheesy as it may sound, art is in my soul and I'm so excited to share it with my son.