See the Photos from Anderson Cooper's PEOPLE Photoshoot with His Sons Wyatt and Benjamin (Exclusive)

Cooper co-parents his sons Wyatt, 3, and 19-month-old Sebastian with friend and former partner Benjamin Maisani

Anderson Cooper is loving being a dad of two!

In PEOPLE's cover story this week, the journalist, 56, smiles and cuddles up with his two kids, sons Wyatt Morgan, 3, and 19-month-old Sebastian Luke. In the adorable photos, Cooper smiles with his sons while sitting in the grass, giving Sebastian a sweet kiss on the cheek.

In another photo, Cooper and his friend and co-parenting partner Benjamin Maisani, 50, play with their two sons as the boys build a toy house.

Other shots show Cooper reading with Wyatt and playing with Sebastian in a toy firetruck.

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Related: Anderson Cooper on Confronting Past Loss and Finding 'Bliss' with Sons Wyatt and Sebastian (Exclusive)

“This is the best time in my life,” the CNN anchor says to PEOPLE. “There is no doubt about it.”

Cooper, who lives with Maisani and the boys in New York City as well as at their Connecticut country home, says he loves the “routine” at their house in New England.

“We have the diner we go to every morning — they like the folks who run the diner very much. And they love to swim. I love getting them ready for their afternoon nap and sitting with them and reading and then having them fall asleep in my arms. There’s nothing better,” he explains.

Cooper adds that co-parenting with Maisani, whom the journalist was in a relationship with for several years until 2018, has been “very natural." After they broke up, the two remained friends and decided to raise the boys together after Cooper welcomed them through a surrogate.

“I work nights, and so he’s there at night. And we both wake up right before they wake up, get them their milk and spend the first couple of hours of the day just us with them,” explains Cooper. “And Benjamin speaks French to them. I have no idea what they’re saying. I think they’re plotting against me.”

Cooper, who previously has gone viral for his distinct giggle, says that although his boys haven't inherited his laugh, they have their own special chuckles.

“The kids have delicious giggles, but not the same as my mom and me so far,” the journalist, 56, says in the new issue of PEOPLE.

Despite not inheriting his giggle, Cooper says he's passed down something else for his boys — his old toys.

“Just to see their relationship, it’s incredible,” he says. “I recently found wooden blocks that my brother and I played with. We drew robots on them and stuff. And so now to see Wyatt playing with those and building things, it’s crazy.”

“It’s lovely to see this cycle of life and of love and how all these things sort of repeat,” Cooper continues.

For more on Anderson Cooper, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here. 

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Read the original article on People.