Cooper and I had a big time the last week and a half! I had been really looking forward to our trip but also halfway dreading it because I was unsure about how he was going to sleep. (We have gotten very little sleep on our last few travels.) Well I'm happy to report that Cooper slept like a champ every single night! Even when he had to sleep in the same room with me. So are you wondering what the trick was?? It is this lovely number:

My friend Dawn suggested this little foam sofa that flips out into like a padded sleeping-bag thing. I hated to shell out money for this tacky, cheapo, polyester thing, but given how much more sleep I got I'd pay about three times this much!
So I've been trying to figure out how to approach this post, since it could easily get waaaaaay too long. I guess I'll do super short recaps of the highlights and try to keep it to a picture or two of each. I'll try not to get too carried away but I can't promise anything....
What prompted the trip was my cousin Sean getting married in Daytona Beach. Our mothers are cousins, but I don't get to see that side of the family very often. It was so great to visit with them and have them meet Cooper!
With my cousins Stefanie and Tracy, who I never see but totally adore!

After the wedding we headed down to my mom's house for a whole week. Of course it flew by, but we managed to pack lots of fun into those seven days. First a breakfast with Robin before she left town, and then some beach fun.



On Tuesday my dad came up to hang out with us (he has the pictures on his camera) while my mom worked. The next day was another treat, a chance to hang out with Kimber, one of my childhood best friends. We lost touch sometime in high school, but reconnected fairly recently through Facebook of course! She has a little girl who is just a bit younger than Cooper, and I was excited to meet the little one! We had planned to go to the beach but it was a bit of a chilly morning so we went to this indoor play gym place. It was wonderful to catch up with her...can I just say that even as I five year old, I knew how to pick my friends? :-)
Me and Coop with Kimber and Alex

Toward the end of the week we had another unexpected highlight! I got an email from my dear friend Deb, who lives in Washington DC, mentioning that she was headed down to South Florida for her sister-in-law's wedding that weekend. She had no idea that I was down there too! So on Friday morning I was able to kidnap Deb and baby Madeline for a little trip to a beach park that was literally five minutes from their hotel. I think that morning was my favorite part of the trip. An unexpected hour just to visit with one of my favorite people, some baby snuggles, quality time with my mom, and a perfect place for Cooper to play in the water. It was perfection.



I think I got all the major highlights! There was lots of other fun stuff....a morning at the pool, some shopping, a rare nap for momma (come on, that's big news!) Cooper was super attached to grams the whole time, which is fun to see and also gave me the chance to actually read a book. :-) Another highlight of this trip was that it was the first one in which I didn't have to bring diapers! Yes, Cooper is officially wearing underwear! Even for naps and usually bedtime too! Potty training has been surprisingly easy and stress-free. I am so proud of my little man for being fully out of diapers by 27 months! Whoo-hoo!!
Well, I think I did a decent job at keeping my recap as short as possible. I'm sure I'll put a bunch more pictures on facebook in the next few days. :-) Next up.....DIsney!!!