Uh oh! Where’s Cooper?!

I know I’ve been slacking big time. It feels like every time I start a new blog something or someone needs my attention or the Doppler radar turns green, red, and yellow. Not going to lie, the last few weeks have been a little stressful with all the watches and warnings but the Cowleys are safe. Thanks to everyone that checked in on us. Hope all my St. Louis folks and family survived their tornados. Keep praying for the people of Moore and Oklahoma City. I can’t imagine what they went through and the road that lies ahead.

Beyond the weather, we have a lot to report. Last time we chatted, Kori enrolled herself into potty training and our 20 pounder started crawling. Well, Cooper seems to be progressing while Kori is at a stand still. Little man is into EVERYTHING. At his age, that probably won’t come as a shock to anyone but Bubba impresses me everyday with how much ground he can cover. Daily and nightly, all the drawers are open (the ones that aren’t child locked), toys are all out, there’s a sea of pots, pans, and Tupperware in the kitchen, toilet paper trails from the bathroom to the other end of the house, water is running in bath tubs, kitchen chairs pushed up against all the walls, and all the door stoppers have been removed. On good nights, Stacey and I can catch him before he decides to help himself to some dog food. Getting the cutest little personality on him though. Love that laugh…gets me every time.

On to Kori…

We can’t put her in the low maintenance category but she can entertain herself for the most part. As I mentioned before, potty training has become more of a weapon for Kori than a luxury for mom and dad. She only “has” to use the potty when we are trying to give her a bath or put her to bed. Here’s the scary thing. Kori has added the art of negotiation to her list of most marketable skills. My favorite is her attempt to convince me that she can do something or have something cause “mommy said it was ok” when I clearly heard mommy say no. I’m sure she’ll only get better at playing the game. Love our weird conversations together. She has a different favorite animal, color, and number everyday. But she’s been counting to twenty for awhile now and she’s a baller at the ABCs.

They’re both so cute and awesome. As exhausting as they can be, I couldn’t have asked for two better kiddos. Interesting thing about the two of them, at this age, is that they look exactly like I thought they would before Stacey and I had them both. Anyone else feel that way?

In the midst of all the kiddy stuff, Stacey and I will occasionally get to say hi to each other, share a glass of wine, or have a conversation without interruption. It’ll be 5 years for us in October. We’ve seen and done a lot during that time and I can’t wait to see what happens the next 5 years.

Great seeing the whole family over Memorial Day weekend. Thanks for making the trip to Grande Lake. Wish I could share the kids with you all more, but that next trip isn’t far away. Kids turn 1 and 3 in July.


 Since it's been so long since we've posted, get ready for picture overload

Best Friends

Kori being cheesy and Cooper being "Bubba"

Silly boys

Learning to fish

1st of many TPing adventures

Becoming quit the little gymnast

This girl LOVES cookies

Working hard

Fun times at the lake

Sharing a cupcake

Memorial Day

Cousin time

 

Season of Life

So before I get into it I wanted to do something I never do, recommend a book. I am about 2 chapters away from finishing the Season of Life and I can’t help but bookmark the heck out of that thing. Tons of great takeaways for any father or son. Message is mostly centered around the vision of Building Men for Others and how a real man isn’t afraid to express his emotions. Story is inspired by a former NFL player and the sudden loss of his little brother.

Funny how the older I get I find myself doing things that my younger self would laugh at: reading books that don’t have anything to do with sports or Chuck Norris jokes, tuning into the Presidential Election/Debate, somewhat craving my USA Today app, and…(hesitant to share)…about a month ago I shared vacuuming tips for a 13 floor elevator ride. I DON’T EVEN VACUUM THAT MUCH. My coworker and I vowed to never let that happen again.

Moving along, Cooper aka “Bubba” is crawling. Everyone is mobile in the Cowley house which doesn’t make life easier especially for Stacey. She’s with them all week long by herself majority of the time. I’ve lived her life for no more than a day at a time, and whew! That job ain’t no joke. Shortly after Bubba reached one milestone, he accomplished the next. He started walking moments later. Ha! No seriously, he’s been pulling himself up. Quite the motivated little nugget, huh?

Let’s NOT forget Kori and her Potty Party. You heard it here folks, KORI WENT PEE PEE IN THE POTTY!!! So what if we were the last one’s at school to do it…WE DID IT…THEN WE DID IT AGAIN…THEN WE WENT NUMBER 2 IN THE BATHTUB!!!

Can’t win them all, right?

Proud parents over here. That makes 3 milestones since our last blog. Check Mate!

“Everybody who I did not create, get out of my house right now.”

~Phil Dunphy

This girl has a MAJOR sweet tooth

1st snowday in 2 years

Kori ate the mouth (made of blueberries) before I got a picture

1st sport....Gymnastics

Coop is enjoying himself from the stands

Add caption

Loving the spring weather

Pajama party in Cooper's crib

Not so thrilled about the PINK car we put him in

family time on the trampoline

 

Merry New Year

Greetings from 2013. We hope everyone had a fun, safe, and gluttonous holiday season. I was able to reward myself with a 2 week stay-cation and 5 lbs. of extra flab to my stomach. Getting to spend all that time with the wife and kids is just what I needed. I’ll be the first to admit that the responsibilities of being “Man of the House” can really distract you from the part of the job I love the most, being Daddy and hubs when the dog and kids let me. My job has blessed me with a schedule and resources to be great in the office and at home, but I can get a little carried away at times. Stranding myself at home on my holiday island put a lot of things into perspective for me. Hope all the hard working dads out there were able to put the mobile device and PC down long enough to enjoy some time rolling around on the living room floor with their kiddos. Between the holiday themed socks to the corny commentary behind the video camera, I feel like I really geeked out this Christmas. Anyone else check out the Cee Lo Christmas on Pandora? Not too shabby.

Besides knocking out some at home projects, the break was pretty uneventful. Christmas Day we opened gifts at our place, Skyped with family (MeMaw and Sal-we), and then headed over to Nana and Poppa’s house for another round of gifts and food. Overall, I’d say the kids made out pretty good, and you won’t hear Stacey and I complaining either. Great food. Great nap. Great people. Great day. Maybe one day I’ll be blessed with spending Christmas day with both families.

I’m a little embarrassed to report our New Year’s Eve, but I get the feeling a lot of you spent it the same way, nodding off in front of the TV an hour before the ball dropped. It’s refreshing to know that some of my good buddies still have some fight in them. Got a little drunk dial at 3 a.m. Honored to still be on the list, Mike.

This year already brought us a new first. Kori got sick. I think as parents we handled it like true professionals. She was back to her terrorizing ways 12 hours later. Impressive streak for the little one (2 ½ years). I’ll digress mainly because I don’t want to jinx us like we did with the whole “…oh our kids are such great sleepers” soapbox. Good news is I can throw my alarm clock away. Most days, Kori is up at the butt crack of dawn, and Cooper’s appetite is too big to make it through the night. The lil guy is a beast, and growing in the wrong direction. I think I can speak for both Stacey and I when I say that we’ve moved past tired into delirium. Which is great cause I am way more productive when I am delirious than I am when I am tired. It just takes me a second or two to figure things out. For example, making a wrong turn but then realizing I didn’t or consistently opening up the wrong cabinet to get a coffee mug when I know exactly where they are at. Can I get an amen out there?

…just me? Ok, whatever!

Sleep or no sleep, I wouldn’t have it any other way. These two kiddies are hilarious, cute, frustrating, loud, needy, sweet, and all mine. Thanks for tuning in. Got to run! These poopy diapers won’t change themselves.


                                             Get ready for picture overload....................

We'll start with the studio christmas photos...Kori wanted no part of it and Cooper didn't have a choice

She started to warm up to the idea

He was having a good time

The ice cream bribery worked for Kori

Cheesy cousins

Trying solids for the first time

The two little bakers

Watching Finding Nemo in 3D

Princess Kori

Coop trying to crawl

Baptism day!!!

Kori hated this carseat until she discovered it can be a nice recliner while watching the iPad

 

Before Christmas Eve church service

Christmas morning

Cooper got to join in on the fun

We were all very spoiled

Happy Baby!!!

 

 

 
Look this has gotta be some kind of mistake. Our daughter is tiny, there's no way she assaulted anyone. Insulted maybe. Was the cop wearing white socks and dark shoes? Because that really sets her off.

~Phil Dunphy