Random And The Ross Family

Been a bit busy as of late, and hard to get online and keep the blog as up to date as we used to do! Worry not, Maria isn't doing as many hours as usual over the summer. Expect total inundation of posts. That's a promise.

Lori has been traveling quite a bit lately. Los Angeles and Las Vegas and Nashville and more. Maria has been trying to spend as much quality time with Cooper as she can, but the kid is definitely happiest when his Mom and his Mommy are both with him at the same time. He totally has us wrapped around his little finger. A done deal. Although, Maria is so much more of 'The Enforcer' than Lori even dares to be!

Some random tidbits:
Cooper's new favorite snack is Smart Pop microwave popcorn. He is getting taller, and we know this bec he is able to stand and balance on his SKUUT bike a bit better. He is becoming more assertive with his specific directions of "sit down" and "come please" and "wait here" and "don't do that". Cooper knows that 'I Love You, a Bushel and a Peck' is the song that his Grandma sings to him. The kid is constantly trying to feed his plastic dinosaurs from his juice cup. He is crazy about his cousin Carter. And the book, 'We're Going On A Bear Hunt' needs to be read and then repeated at least three times at each sitting.

Maria and Cooper have been fighting an annoying little cold that has them both coughing pretty regularly. We had plans to see Noreen, Tony, and the kids for dinner on Saturday night - and we wavered back and forth on whether we should bring Cooper if he was sick. He woke up from his nap and looked as if he could handle the outing - and we are so happy we went. We miss the Rosses so much!

Lots of catching up was had as Cooper played with Daniel and kept tabs on the comings/goings of their cat Sage. Can we say again how we need more Noreen time? Not enough hours in the day to fully get updated on everything. Maria and Lori tag'teamed during dinner since Cooper wanted to be downstairs in the Man Cave and check out the weights, Call of Duty, legos, a guitar, a punching bag, and the pool table. The testosterone was definitely flowing!

After an amazing Italian dinner, yet more bottles of wine were consumed as Tony volunteered to clean up the kitchen. Don't feel bad for him - Tony had an apprentice that just wouldn't leave his side.

Home through the pouring rain and flooded streets that evening. Can't wait to hang with the Ross Family again! And soon! But can we tell you the best thing? The absolute best treat of all? We had NOTHING to do on Sunday. Nothing. Nada. WooHoo! No where to be and no where to go. Finally! It has been months since we had a day like that.

Decided to hang out a bit in the morning, and then head to the 11am service. Cooper loves his time in the nursery with all the toys and the kids. The weather was on our side, so we grabbed brunch on the Upper Westside. Cooper fell asleep for two solid hours in the stroller as we walked down Columbus and then through Central Park to the Eastside.

Gorgeous gorgeous day.