What progress!

In just a few short weeks, we went from barely putting his toes in the baby pool to swimming all over the big pool!!! We cannot believe the progress that Matt has made so far this summer in the water. He is Mr Independent now and just wants to swim around by himself!!! He is also taking swim lesson and is the only student in the class that just wears the floatie on his back and swims around by himself. BUT he still will not sit down in the bathtub.....unbelievable!!! We think we will try putting the life jacket on him in the bathtub and see if that makes a difference. Definately has us baffled!!!

Matt had his 2 year visit with our pediatrician this week....he has gained almost 4 pds and has grown 4+ inches since we have been home. He is now in the 76% for height and the 25% for weight. Dr is very pleased with his progress.

Food Ideas/Suggestions

Matthew has become quite picky with his eating habits lately. He really would live on chicken nuggets if we let him. I am trying to see if anyone out there has any ideas for new foods to try. He really will not eat any type of meats other than chicken nuggets and will sometimes eat turkey meatballs. He will eat mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and sometimes pasta and while he used to like his vegetables, has become quite picky with those as well. He will sometimes also eat cheese quesadillas or grilled cheese. Thankfully he still loves fruit and yogurt so that is a good thing!! He used to love pancakes, waffles and the toddler rice cereal in the mornings and now mostly turns his nose up at those as well. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions for our picky little boy!

Just some spur of the moment pictures

Definately have to have the camera around at all times......he is such a photogenic little boy!!!!!

1st Post Placement Visit

We had our 1st post placement visit today. Matt was a little cranky for a little bit after our social worker arrived but then began to show his true colors and that little smile that steals your heart and all was fine!! Our social worker touched on a whole bunch of different topics and was very pleased and impressed with the new and improved Cooper family. Of course at one point, the dogs were both barking, the phone was ringing and Matt was crying so she probably thought the house was a little crazy but overall I believe that her report will indicate that we have a happy happy little boy who is the perfect addition to our family. We had to give her some pictures showing different stages since we have been home and it really is amazing how much Matthew has changed in just a few short months.....lots of love plus lots of good nutrition is definately the perfect combination!!! The 1st picture was taken a few days after we arrived home in February and the 2nd picture was taken just a week or so ago.......our baby is growing right before our eyes!!! Truely amazing!!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Matthew!!!!!

What a fantastic weekend we had!!! We went to Phila, PA where our families live to celebrate Matthew's 2nd birthday with all of our friends and family!!! Matt and Mommy were scheduled to fly to PA while Daddy jumped in the car and drove so we made sure we had plenty of room to bring things back!!! As usual, the airlines do not cooperate, we were originally scheduled to fly from Huntsville to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Philadelphia arriving at approximately 3 pm on friday afternoon. But, as we all know, when flying, things don't usually happen as expected. Daddy left to start the long drive on thursday evening and Matt and Mommy woke up early on friday morning, took the puppies to the kennel and headed to the airport. When we got there, the flight to Atlanta was several hours delayed causing us to miss our connection to Phila. Fortunately, with Daddy driving, we were able to jump on a flight that took us to DC where Daddy picked us up when we arrived. Friday afternoon and even worse, a holiday weekend on Friday afternoon in the Northeast, are usually never a good combination and what should have taken us 2+ hours took us almost 5 hours in the car.......not good for poor Matt!!! We finally made it to Phila at approximately 7 pm to a house full of Cousins, Aunts, Uncles and MomMom and PopPop waiting on our arrival. Saturday was Matthew's Birthday party and he got to meet a whole bunch of family including more Aunts, Uncles, and cousins that he had not yet met!!! What fun we had!!! He was Mama's boy for the 1st few hours not wanting me out of his sight but then he realized, his cousins were alot more fun that Mama and jumped into gear running and playing with them all!!! He loved everyone singing Happy Birthday to him and clapped his hands as everyone sang!!! As you can see from the pictures, he absolutely loved his Elmo cake and made a big mess but had soooooo much fun!!!! He definately has a sweet little tooth!!! The whole weekend was filled with lots of fun and family - who could ask for more!!!! Definately a weekend no one will ever forget!!!!

A few more pics..

Family pictures

Almost all of both sides of our families have gotten to meet Matt now. Here are a few pictures with his family on his birthday.