handy manny

On Friday mornings (my mom's day off of work) she goes grocery shopping. This morning she took Mercedes and Cooper with her, while I worked very hard at packing (actually I slept in, and yes - I do feel guilty).

They returned home with a very excited Cooper carrying a (cheap) toy tool belt and safety helmet. He'd talked my mom into buying it for him, "for the drive to Washington." My mom's condition was that she'd wrap it as soon as they got home, and he could open it during our trip next week.

The thing is, Cooper doesn't honor conditions. He's a three-year-old. If he wants something, he always finds a way to get it. He must have the most grating whine. Ever. If you've heard it, you know what I'm talking about. He also likes to scream. And he's stubborn. Much more stubborn than me. He's what the professionals call, "a strong-willed child," something that will be an asset later in life.

Sleep is the only time that Coop is quiet.

So my first thought was, "yeah right. I bet he'll have that open within the half hour."

And he did.

See? It's a talent. He uses this to get what he wants.


Oh, Grandma tried her best. She let Cooper try to wrap it with her. She was so patient with him. But soon enough, he was locked in his room and had hidden the newest toy.

He uses this tool A LOT. We have a whole collection of these photos.

Grandma gave in. (I think that she lasted longer than I would have).

For the rest of the day, Cooper demanded to be called "Handy Manny." His helmet and tool belt were glued on to his person. When we ran errands and I called into the backseat, "how are you doing, Cooper?" His response was an immediate: "I'm NOT Cooper! I'm Handy Manny!!!"

He helped me to carry boxes into the UPS store. We then pretended that Target was a "warehouse" and spent a lot of time playing with Buzz, Thomas, Barbie, and dinosaurs. We picked out two new DS games for our extremely long drive to the great state of Washington.

I had a lot of fun; just me and the Coop.

Oh wait - I mean: just me and the Handy Manny.

By the way, he makes a super-cute Handy Manny.
Too bad my camera is already packed.