9 months...

Dear Cooper,

You are 9...NINE months old! NINE! Seriously...you need to slow down!

You now say "uh oh," "mama" and "dada." When I come in your room to get you out of bed you say "mama mama mama!" It's a great thing to hear...it makes my morning...and mid-morning and afternoon!

You weigh about 25.6 lbs. A pound more than Carinna.
You crawl like crazy and are in to EVERYTHING!
You LOVE cords...computer cords, t.v. cords, Christmas tree cords...any cord you can get you hands on! It's frustrating!
You pull up onto your knees and now you are trying your best to stand on your feet.
You got a walker from Santa and you tear through the house on that thing like nobody's business!
You love to do the downward dog yoga pose...not sure why.
You like to do patty cake. When you "throw it in the pan" you sometimes only throw with one hand and it cracks me up.
You love to give hugs...like squeeze-so-hard-you-can't-breathe-hugs. They are awesome!
I still rock you to sleep at night...because I can't help it...but you are starting to fight it.
I have yet to find a pair of socks that will stay on your feet.
You hate real shoes!
You keep trying to hold your own bottle.
Your thighs are so fat I can't even fit my hand around them!

You love to hang out in Caden's room. If I am unable to find you I always check there first!

So, of course this month's photo shoot took place there. While posing you found something on the floor.

It went straight into your mouth.

You thought it was so funny!

And that is where it stayed the whole time!

I yanked it out...which you thought was funny.

But you grabbed it right back and stuck it in your mouth again!

Happy NINE months my little Coop!

Christmas 2011

Dear Kids,

As is our tradition, we started off the night of Christmas Eve by decorating our cookies for Santa! It is so exciting...and messy!

Carinna and Caden both picked a cookie to decorate for Santa (Cooper was already in bed).You two had icing, frosting and sprinkles to create your masterpieces for Santa!
There was much concentrating...and lots of eating of sprinkles!
The Christmas tree was Caden's cookie, the snowman was Carinna's and we picked the gingerbread man to represent Cooper's. I think they turned out fantastically! I am sure Santa has rarely seen such fine looking cookies!
Dad read the Polar Express just before we got ready for bed. Caden, you love this story...probably mostly because it centers around a train! The night before and throughout the day on Christmas Eve we read the nativity story in several different formats. This sparked many questions from Caden about how, exactly, Jesus went from Mary's tummy to the manger. I tried my best to brush over it...but Caden wanted specific answers. Dad and I were sweating it there for a while!
After dad finished reading the Polar Express we set out the cookies and milk for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer! Then it was off to bed to see what what Christmas morning would bring!
Santa went a little overboard this year on Christmas gifts! He brought some games for our family to play together. He brought Carinna a market stand, cash register, grocery bags, a puzzle and nail polish! Cooper got a walker and Caden got a Toy Story 3 play set, Cars 2 cars and a puzzle. Everyone got warm cozy jammies!
Caden and Carinna went right to playing...
but Coop didn't quite understand what was going on!
After watching you guys play for a while...
he finally went to check out his goodies!
Santa also left you lots of goodies in your stockings. Caden was a good big brother and got every one's stockings down for them!
Later we opened all of our gifts. You all helped each other and were genuinely excited to see what the other got! It was a sweet time!

Cooper still didn't really understand what was going on, but Carinna was more than happy to help him open his gifts! I am not positive he appreciated it though!
Later he snuck off and tried to eat my Peppermint Bark!
It was a good Christmas and I think you all enjoyed it very much!

I want you all to remember, though, that Christmas is about so much more than gifts...it is a time for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is an important time for us to also show the love of Christ to those around us by being generous with our "gifts" to them...whatever those things may be. You guys are so young now and it is hard to keep that greed from taking over in your minds when you think of all the countless things you want for Christmas! I hope that you will always remember to celebrate Jesus by your actions and attitudes all year long...and be especially gracious and generous at Christmas!

Merry Christmas & lots of love,
Mom

8 months...

Dear Cooper,

You are 8 months old! Wow! I keep telling you that you are my baby and must stop growing so quickly...but you just laugh at my desperate pleas!


You are growing and changing so quickly that it is hard to keep up! You have started saying "uh oh" which is just too cute. I would say that is officially your first word! Sometimes it comes out as "uh uh oh" but either way...it makes me giggle every time!
You have started eating puffs and drinking from a sippy cup. It didn't take you long to warm up to the puffs and I now find them all over the house from where they were stuck to your clothes and have eventually fallen off. I had forgotten how that happens!

In your sippy cup you just have some water. You only use a sippy while eating puffs...you still have regular bottles of milk like always. I think more than anything you enjoy chewing on the spout of your cup...I think it must feel good on your gums!
Speaking of gums...still no teeth!
You have also learned to crawl. You started out slowly...as is to be expected, but in a few days you had that knee/ hand coordination down! You are now all over the place! I had forgotten how much babies get into while crawling!
You weigh about 24.5 lbs now. Even to slightly more than Carinna. You guys are basically the same size except that her legs are longer. It is so very strange to shop for 24 month clothes for my 2 year old and 18-24 month clothes for my 8 month old!
You are still so very happy and easy! We all enjoy playing with you and making you laugh...which is very easily done! You are such a joy and we love you so much!

Happy 8 Months!!!

Fire Safety Day

Several weeks ago we attended the city's Fire Safety Day...as if we could miss it! No offense to the fine firemen of our great town...but they really need some women to get in there and organize this thing a bit better!

Anyway, this year the kids showed an interest in the obstacle course...or maybe we just forced them to do it!

First, they listened to what the fire alarm sounds like...
Then they "rescued" the girl from the burning building...
Though, I have to say, that girl needed some girlie clothes! Poor thing!


Then came crawling through the smoke and stop, drop and roll.
This was the best pose I could get of the two of them. The girl was not pleased to be wearing the coat!
Next was the horrendously long line for the slide (or escaping the burning building). Carinna wouldn't do it, but Caden was all over it. He wanted to go again and Randy and I both yelled "NO" at the same time! Did I mention the line was long??
I don't know what this part had to do with anything, but there was one of these too!
Then, of course, we had to ride the firetruck!
By that time everyone was hungry and tired...and hot.
So, we went home!

Halloween

So, the Halloween pics for this year are certainly a fail! Up until about 11 pm the night before, I was up barfing...so I was not feeling quite back to normal come trick-or-treating time! So, needless to say, I wasn't really "in" to the picture taking!

We started off our night...as is our tradition...by visiting Trunk-or-Treat at FBC. They handed out RIDICULOUS amounts of candy! Which is great...if you're a kid!

Carinna was Rapunzel from Tangled, which is her favorite movie that she would watch 10 times a day if I would let her! Caden was an Incredible...one minute he would be Dash and then the next he would be Bob...I guess it was based on his mood! Cooper was Charlie Brown. I'm not even sure why we decided to make him Charlie Brown, other than the obvious bald head...plus none of our kids even know who Charlie Brown is...but anyway, it worked well!
So here we are...the still greenish mom, Dash/Bob, Rapunzel and Charlie! The kids had a great time...and that's all that matters!

7 Months...

Dear Cooper,

Today you are 7 months old! This first year of your life is slipping by at an alarming rate! You are at the age where you change and develop so quickly that you seem like a new baby every couple of weeks!

You are beginning to sit pretty well on your own. You still don't realize exactly what is going on, so you fall backwards every once in a while...if you aren't paying attention! You scoot around on your back and tummy very well...enough to get where you want to go! If something is out of reach...you will work your way over to it in record time! Your newest trick is getting up on your hands and knees and rocking back and forth. You think it is pretty nifty to do that! It won't be long until you figure out how to crawl!
You are still eating pretty well. You have tried most everything I know to give you and so far mangoes are the only thing that may have been a problem! We will try them again in a while. You are less enthusiastic about eating than your siblings were...but you still eat most everything. The next foods we will try are broccoli & pumpkin.
Your brother and sister are still crazy about you! They fight over who gets to talk to you and play with you. It's pretty annoying! Carinna thinks she needs to mother you all the time. She would feed, diaper and dress you if I would let her! I tried to let her feed you the other day...but she shoves the spoon a bit too far down your throat...you don't like it very much! Caden has started to wrestle around with you some. You laugh and laugh at both of them...and they laugh at you, too!

You now weigh 23 lb 10 oz...officially more than your sister....and are 28 in long. You are back on the growth chart coming in at 95% for height, 97% for weight and 70% for head circumference! You wear 12-18 month clothes and size 4 0r 5 diapers. I think you have begun to slow down on growth for now. I am hoping you will make it through winter wearing the same size clothes.
You are such a good baby! You are happy and easy going. You hardly ever fuss, so when you do we know you really need something! You love to laugh and play...and be tickled. Your legs and tummy are the most ticklish! You have some separation anxiety on occasion and relish one-on-one attention from anyone!

You are a precious boy and we love you so much! We are so thankful to have you in our family!

Happy 7 months!

The way things used to be...

I used to sleep late.
We used to go to restaurants to eat.
I used to have time to myself.
I used to enjoy shopping for myself.
I used to use the bathroom without an audience.
I used to treat my dog like a child.
I used to sleep soundly without a care in the world.
I used to go to the movies and watch things not rated G.
I used to have a smaller car.
I used to have smaller hips.
I used to not deal with anyone's body fluids or byproducts except my own.

These days I am up before dawn...and sometimes a couple of times during the night. I am too afraid to venture to restaurants with 3 kids. I have 3 alternating constant companions. I rarely have time to shop for myself. I never go to the bathroom alone...except very late at night. I haven't seen a grown-up movie in ages...or even a grown-up t.v. show for that matter. I drive a mini van and spend my whole day wiping hineys, faces and noses (each with different wipes of course)!

But, the truth is...I wouldn't trade it for anything.
It's hard to imagine all the immense joy I would be missing without these guys.
What would our home be like without the belly laughs and screaming...and even the tooting? What a dull and boring life we would be leading.
No sticky hands and faces, bath tub full of toys, tiny socks on the floor...

No outdoor adventures, walking sticks, dirty boots, snail collections...
No monster trucks, trains, baby dolls, princess shoes, hair bows...
No bottles, burp rags, diapers, blankies...
No middle of the night cuddles, snuggles on the couch, tight hugs, wet kisses...
No, I don't miss the way things were...not really. The time will come again when our house is quiet...and clean. These little guys will grow up so quickly, move away and leave us behind. All this craziness is only for a season...and I am trying my best to soak it all up!