Janessa and I had a fun game of Scrabble on Friday night. For some reason, she didn't seem to think that this word counted, no matter how hard I tried to convince her... She ended up kicking my butt (as always).

For Halloween, Cooper dressed up as a dog, and Mama dressed up as a cat. We tried to talk Eric into dressing up as a mouse, but he didn't go for it. Instead, he wore a simple orange t-shirt that said, "This is my Halloween Costume." We went to our ward trunk or treat and had a good time. Cooper caught on very quickly and opened his bag at each stop and signed "Thank you" after candy was placed in his bag. We think he will forever equate his dog costume with getting lots of candy. He had a blast.

Good Evening, this is Cooper Johnson reporting live from the Johnson home. Though it may look like any other ordinary day, life in the Johnson home is going to be changing quite soon. Today, the Johnsons learned that their next baby, which is due in March, is going to be a girl! They are quite pleased with the news and are already discussing names for their soon to be daughter. As for me, I am completely oblivious to what's going on so I will just continue to play with my maracas and enjoy being a boy. This is Cooper Johnson reporting live... Good night.

It seems that the one year mark for Cooper sparked a strong desire to be more independant. Cooper has begun to show a more stubborn side of him that firmly states, "I can do it myself, thank you." He shows off his independance often by refusing to hold my hand when walking anywhere, insisting to swim alone in the baby pool, eating with his own spoon, combing his own hair, and brushing his own teeth (as seen here). Mom and Dad have mixed emotions about this growing independance but realize that it is all part of raising a growing boy. I suppose we just never thought he would "grow up" so fast!

Cooper is learning to feed himself with a spoon. He has a blast doing it too. As you can see from the picture, he is very thorough in his mess making while eating. Mom has to make sure that she has plenty of time and a clean pair of clothes on hand when she gives him the go-ahead with his eating independence. It sure is a lot of fun, but BOY what a mess it makes!