Fabulousness of Fall

My bestfriend Randi came out to Utah for a nursing conference the first weekend in October so Coop and I went down to hang out with her. This was her first time meeting Cooper and we haven't seen each other in way too long, so it was the perfect chance for us to be together for a few days.

 

The first night we were there we went over to Kristen and Cam's for a yummy dinner K had prepared. It was great to see old friends and meet their babies, Randi also announced her big news at this little friend gathering, so excited for her and Chad!

 

Eight O'clock rolled around and all the little nuggets were ready for bed. We should have orchestrated this picture long before this time, but didn't and luckily we got some good ones; from left to right, Holden, Cooper, Paige, and Aria. Such sweet little babes, can't wait for baby Spears to be thrown in the mix.

Randi and I designated one of our days as a Provo day, where we enjoyed a variety of delicious food and roamed around our old stomping grounds at BYU. It's so weird to see all the little freshman, or what I assumes to be freshies, they looked SO young, has it really been four years since I graduated?! The picture above is quickly becoming the types of photos I get of Coop since he is constantly running around. He was so good, especially being toted around all day and all over, he needed to stretch his legs from sitting in the stroller.

Playing out by the WILK, running, running, and running some more.

 

Coop thoroughly enjoying his icecream and mine, of course I had to introduce him to this delicious tradition!

We tried to visit our favorite professor, Dr, Rhees, he's retired now and only comes to campus occasionally and isn't teaching until next semester, so we left him a little love note. We also did some shopping at the BYU bookstore, it was so nostalgic being back there, I do kind of miss it, weird?

 

I called my sister in-law and her husband so they could meet up and say hi for a bit, it was great to see them, as you can see, Coop was ready to keep running slash he was in major need of a nap.

Heritage Halls, where we met has been torn down and is getting replaced by some beautiful dorms, dang I wish our's would have been as nice as the ones currently going up!

One more picture Coop... He was over it by this point, but really was a good sport.

It was fun to walk around campus and reminisce of all the good times we had there. We had J-dawgs and Zupa's while we were down there; our stomaches could not have handled anymore of the places we would have liked to have gone, I think we made good choices in the ones we did choose though.

 

While we were in Salt Lake we tried this delicious little cookie shoppe that one of Randi's girlfriends had suggested, it was delicious, Coop was in heaven with all these treats he got to try.

Later that night we met up with Ry for dinner and a bit of shopping he took Coop while Randi and I went clothes shopping and came back with a ball for Coop, one of his favorite toys.

Last but not least, we enjoyed lots of fabulous shopping and had a blast spending time together! I can't wait to meet her little nugget and have Coop play with him, they will of course be bestfriends and someday be neighbors.

 

Big 27

Ry turned 27 this year!!!

 This has been a crazy year for him; enjoying the last bit of snowmobiling last winter, playing the last city league basketball that I hope he ever plays, tearing his ACL and 2 of is meniscii, having surgery, that was fun, recovery was even better, sold his snowmobiles, (i'm sure he'll buy new ones shortly,) a new dog, a new job, enjoying watching Cooper grow and develop into a toddler, bowling league, moving up to JV coach for Highland girls basketball, and most importantly being the most amazing Dad and husband I could ever imagine!!

We had a birthday dinner for him the same Sunday as Kaid's homecoming at his parents house since he was in Utah on his actual birthday. His Mom makes this special frosting that he loves and I can never get to turn out, so she made him a cake with his special frosting and after we had been up there for a while he had to head to Utah.

He and I celebrated later that week with Cafe Rio and I got him a new double ball bowling bag. Since he hurt his knee he doesn't play city league basketball and has joined a bowling league, which is every Thursday for thirty weeks, yep, thirty.

Happy Birthday babe, we love you!

15 Months Old!!!

Cooper's 15 month birthday was the day of McKaid's homecoming. It was a long and tiring day for the poor little nugget but we made it through it.

He fell asleep on his Uncle Kaid during church, (this isn't his homecoming Sunday) the week before his homecoming.

Coop's 15th month appointment went well, he was very interested in everything in the room and explored while I talked with his doctor. Dr. Fulks was very impressed with all of his words, sounds and ability to run; of course Coop got a huge bruise two days before his appointment so he looked like an abused child. The doctor assured me his kids were constantly getting bruises on their heads and that i'm not a bad mom.

Coop loves laying on Nana and snuggling her, seriously, have you seen anything this cute?!

Coop loves bathies and could spend hours in there so i've tried to become a little more creative so every bath is different, more so I don't get as bored while he's in there because he honestly could care less, as long as there's warm water. This is him playing with his colored ice, he calls "brrrrr" he also says this anytime I open the freezer.

We've tried to squeek a few more play days at the park before it starts snowing. He wanted me to keeping bouncing him and was not happy that I stopped for a photo opp, but I couldn't resist.

We try to visit Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa at least once a week; this visit Coop probably ate two cups of raspberries off of their bushes and as you can see thoroughly enjoyed reading in the sunshine.

Coop LOVES shoes, he's always going around the house trying on any shoes he can find, no matter the size.

I've had to start implementing time out because Cooper has started to push limits and see how far he can go, here's an example of what time out looks like at our house. I feel so bad, but I know i've got to do this stuff early so I don't have a little hellian later on.

As you can see, Coop loves to cuddle animals, here he is cuddling my Mom's cat, Poo, who normally doesn't let any kid touch him. He chases our cat and my parents' cat around literally screaming "meoowww meowwww" it's hilarious!

 

15 Month Facts:

• You've got 12 teeth, quite a mouthful!
• You are 21 pounds, 15th percentile, 32 inches long, 76th percentile, and your huge head is 48.5 inches in the 83rd percentile; no wonder you fall all the time, your big brained head is on a toothpick body.
• You've got quite a few bumps our your cute little head from running into things, you look down and run into things, or look up and then trip into things.
•  You are learning new words constantly and try to parrot almost everything you hear.
• You have stopped wearing footie jammies, you started pulling on them anytime I tried putting them on you, so now you have a whole new footless supply of jammies. Maybe you got your Mom and Dad's hate of wearing socks to bed?
• You love brushing your teeth and have gone through no less than seven toothbrushes.
• You have started sleeping with a pillow, you brought me a pillow laid your head on it and then pointed to your crib, and since then you've had your own pillow and sometimes curl up in a ball so you're just on the pillow.
• You also have started taking a book or two to bed with you and reading by yourself before you go to sleep and when you wake up.
• You are also obsessed with balloons, you get so excited when you see them and say "babal" anytime you see them.
• You're in love with trucks, cars, planes, trains, basically anything with wheels, wings or sirens.
• You are SO loving with little kids and have started to call all little kids "baby".

 

He's Home!!!

In all the excitement I somehome left my camera at home, so these are all phone pictures, not the greatest quality, but definitely glad I had something!

On the way to the airport to pick up McKaid!!! We were all so excited, his flight was a late one and I really didn't think Cooper would stay away, but he did.

The sign Coop made for Uncle Kaid, it's still so weird that this was there first time meeting, aside from skype on Mother's day, which I don't really think should count.

I made lots of signs and posters for his homecoming, my Mom got sick the day before he was coming home so she was not running at full compacity so I tried to help her as much as I could.

AND he's home!!! Such a happy night, he looks fabulous, has a bit of an accent and is just the best kid! He misses his mission and the people of South Africa and Namibia like crazy; i'm sure he will go back to visit one day.

Coop made it to meet his Uncle McKaid and they had an instant bond. Kaid's luggage got lost and all he had was his carry on with his church books and a cute little stuffed lion for Coop. He's such a sweet and thoughtful brother, and i'm sure the competition for the "favorite uncle" will be a life-long battle between Marcus and Kaid. Coop loves his lion, it sleeps in his crib with him now and he growls to tell us what the lion says.

First sibling picture in two years, LOVE them so much and i'm so happy we are back together and get to enjoy time with each other!!!

Roughian Marcus is still rough as ever and Kaid still mellow as ever, brothers back together, so cute!

One big happy family!

A few nights after Kaid was home we went out for pictures, stories and when his luggage finally showed up he had little presents for everyone. It's so humbling to hear how the people live down there and it truly makes me appreciate all I have and all the luxuries I enjoy in my life.

We are so happy to have our litte brother back, he's pretty well adjusted already. He's so type-A (he and I are kindred spirits,) he's already got a job, a car, and is ready to register for his sophomore year at ISU. Love him to pieces and I'm so happy that he's home, it's been a blast so far!

EISF

It's that wonderful time of year of crispy air, tiger ears, cool nights and of course, the fair!!! With Ryan's new job he wasn't able to make it up there with us, but I got to go twice, once with my parents and once with our friends. Cooper loved the discovery center, I could have bought him every single one of these toys, but resisted knowing that Christmas will come sooner than I realize.l

The kids all got there own cones from the Reed's Dairy stand, they were all in heaven; this was Cooper's first ice cream cone that he got to eat all by himself and he was focused the entire time and surprisingly, wasn't horribly messy.

Lauren had never been to the fair or had a tiger ear, I had to break that... and the verdict: she loved it. and between the two of us we polished that whole thing off!

 

The kids wandering around looking at the animals and giving each other hugs, as you can see Kolt does night like to share his sister with Cooper.

 

As i've said before, Cooper absolutely adores animals so he loved looking at all the big clydesdales, this one in particular loved him, he was laughing so hard, I wish I would have recorded it. 

Seriously...so cute, I can't even take it!

 

Showing Coop the sheep, he loved them and says "baaaa" and ever since then every time we go into CAL Ranch and he sees the stuffed mountain goat that is what comes out of his mouth the entire time we are in the store.

The horse owners were getting weights on the clydesdales and we were watching, Coop wasn't quite sure what to think when they were neighing he was a little apprehensive but "Bopa" (Coop's new name for Grandpa,) held on tight and talked to him while they were looking at the horses. Such a sweet little moment, my Dad is obsessed with Cooper man.

Of course we had to get a balloon and a feather in the commercial buildings, he was thrilled. Such a fun fair, I can't believe it's already come and gone!!!

Summer Coming to an End... and Lots of Change

This summer was a blink, I have no idea where it went, but it was a great one. August, of all the months, seemed to fly the quickest, I think because our lives were literally a whorl wind of craziness.

We enjoyed our Zoo pass a few more times and met up with our friends, the Hales, they all seem like Coop's older siblings, it's so sweet to see them play together.

 

We had some very hot days and all Cooper wanted to do is play outside, so his water table got LOTS and lots of use.

Coop "driving" with Daddy; he loves to stand at the steering wheel and pretend to drive, he is definitely 100% boy when it come to that; he's totally a planes, trains and automobiles kind of kid. He's become obsessed with a few of his books that have all of the aforementioned and anytime we see or hear a plane or helicopter he makes a surprised "O" face and points up, it's so sweet.

Ryan and I had some big decisions come up in August; Ry has been applying for lots of different jobs, he's been wanting a change of pace and just felt like it was time for a new job. He got a job offer from one of his big customers, Commander Industrial, a heavy industrial company based out of Utah to be their Field Operations Manager slash safety guy and financial guy. We were at the gym together when he got the offer and he pulled me out of my pilates class early to talk with me about it and get things figured out, we both felt really good and at peace about the decision and were excited for the new chapter in our lives. Two days later Ryan got an offer for a job he'd interviewed for earlier and really wanted, as an area manager for a furniture chain up here, when I heard this I felt sick and confused, Ry was super stressed and then we were both wondering if committing to Commander was the right decision. After a few grueling days of pros and cons list making, praying, discussing and weighing everything out for the thousandth time we finally decided Commander was the right decision and this was going to be a great change! Ry continued working at Gem State while they tried to find a new manager, all the while also trying to "dangle more carrots" for Ry to stay, but we both knew that those carrots were just empty promises, he's seen quite a few the past three years. Ryan has absolutely loved his new job; it's challenging, which he loves, he works with some fabulous people and loves what he's doing.

The only down side has been that he is in Utah three to four days a week, but I do feel like I get to see him more when he's home which totally makes up for the few days he is gone. We got his office on the other side of our house finished so he can work from home when he's in town. There's a chance that we may have to move to Utah next year sometime, but ideally we want to stay in Pocatello as long as we possibly can, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed for lots of jobs up here.

Ry played in a few more golf tournaments, he had one up in Rexburg so we decided to go along and while Ry golfed we went to the zoo and the mall. Coop loved the penguins and the tiger was growling a ton, I think he was hot, but Coop got a kick out of that and has since makes a deep growling sound when we ask what a lion or tiger says. His vocabulary is increasing quickly and his animal sounds even faster, I think it's because he loves animals so much. Every dog is "Nana" not quite sure how to fix this one, maybe he will eventually grow out of it but I think it's cute, is that bad?

 

Another morning with the water table, i'm a little concerned with what our activities are going to consist of when winter rolls around because all Cooper wants to do is play outside all day long.

I've said it before, why do I buy this little nugget toys when all he needs is Nana's toys or kennel? He loves going in and out of this thing, I have since moved it to the backhall.

Look Momma, I'm locked in, and I love it!

Fall is just around the corner which means football season, Tyler's senior season!! Coop does great when we go to the games, it could be all the Sundays that Ry snuggles up with him and watches football, but he watches the ball, points and yells.

This time of year also means volleyball season, and LONG days of sitting in gyms cheering Mareesa on. We have decided to try and make all of their home games and have done a pretty good job, sleeping nugget and all.

My little Beethoven...He loves playing the piano at Gammie and Grampy's, when he gets a little older i'm definitely putting him in piano lessons. This kid has got rhythm and loves music, maybe dance too? No, Ry would kill me;-)

 

Silly boys...Cooper has started to make the same face we see us making in the reverse camera on our phones. He is such a ham and loves the camera, LOVE my boys.