A Ben Quickie!

For the past two days, I've been laying on my back sick as a dog with a horrible cold. Caleb and Ben have been sick too. So while Daddy is gone to work we lay at home waiting for his return and mad nursing skills, just doing our best to fend for sniffling ourselves.
We have all learned a few adaptations of normal life. I have adapted to low light, kid shows 24-7 and how to nurse laying down while holding a huge almost three year old too. Caleb has scaled every counter for snacks, drinks and entertainment. He terrorized every pillow in the house. Many a pillow died this week! Spills, mess and mass destruction were common place in our house, thanks to Caleb's curiosity. Ben on the otherhand was his usual angel self. Seriously, he is my gift from God. Other than needing a few extra feedings he's continued to be very happy dispite his runny nose, fevers and lack of an able Mother. Poor little guy. Yesterday, I was laying on the couch while Caleb was in his room napping and Ben was on the floor simply playing by himself - or so I thought. The phone rang so I peeled myself from my sick bed to grab it before it went to voice mail and began talking with Mark who was shortly on his way home to help. Relieved, I began relating the days events and reporting on each child's health and whereabouts. That's when I noticed Ben. He has been army crawling for over a month now and get's better every day. He even stands and holds onto things for long periods of time if assisted in getting into the upright position. He is growing up SO fast! Ben has gotten himself into tight spaces (under the exersaucer) lately and this time it was beyond belief. He was sitting in the bouncy seat, facing front, but not buckled, kicking the hanging toys. This may seem normal, but I didn't put him there!! He got up there all by himself. It totally caught me off guard. It cracked me and Mark (on the phone) up. And boy, was Ben proud of himself! It's one thing to be sick with little ones but to all be sick at the same time is a whole other story, watch out, you never know what little ones will do while you're all convalescing.

6 months of blissful BEN-ness

Tomorrow our baby Benjamin turns 6 months old. HOW CAN IT BE? He's growing up so fast, it makes me sad. I love being his Mommy. He is such a joy! Being his mother is the best job in the world. He has made me fall in love with motherhood all over again.
Lately he's been scooting around the floor. Rolling and army crawling everywhere he goes. We went to a baby play date recently and he was the oldest baby there by only a few days, but developmentally he was leaps and bounds above the rest. He was scrambling for the bag and bowl of snacks on the floor and just would not be deterred. Ben was on a mission for munchies. As soon as he'd get a hold of the bag of pita chips he'd attack it veraciously and if I took it away he'd dive for it again and again. It was cracking us up to see this little guy so determined!
Daily I think out what I'm going to type about him on this blog but then life kicks in and I don't make the time to actually write out what I want to say. It can be overwhelming to think that the last real post was about June of last year and here it is mid March...but I have overcome and will try to do better.
Everything has been turned upside down lately, it seems. I have been struggling to feel "normal" again. Having a new baby has been a huge adjustment for our family. From pregnancy yuck to baby+toddler troubles, I feel like we experienced it all. Even though Ben was the most adorable easy going kid on the block (he was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, never cries unless he's hungry or super poopie, puts himself to sleep, loves the car, goes to anyone, easily takes a bottle if needed, etc. (this list could go on and on! I'm serious when I say he's THE BEST BABY ever made- sorry ladies, we broke the mold with this one))it's still been tough to get back in the swing of things and especially to find time to blog.
I'm sad to not have recorded more of his "firsts" in my own words as they happened on here. But at least we have a new camera that has gotten plenty of use. Maybe one day I'll backlog it all.
Ben got his first tooth a few weeks ago and then it's neighbor popped through immediately after. So he's now the proud owner of two side-by-side "tic-tacs" (as I lovingly refer to them) in the front bottom center of his mouth. Although we've had a few instances of biting while nursing he's so stinking cute with his big wide open grin and dimples that they're easily forgotten.
Caleb knows how to tickle Ben's funny bone like no other! He easily gets belly laughs by just getting near him. They have such a special connection. I love seeing them play and interact already. I hope they continue to build a friendship and brotherhood to last for eternity.
The day after St.Patrick's day I took down my shamrock decor and put up Easter stuff. As I was prepping and storing away those things in the garage Caleb found that Ben's bedroom door was accidentally left open (normally it's child-locked) and climbed in the crib where Ben was hanging out. (YIKES! I know!) He piled 5-6 books in and began to read "stories" to Ben. Luckily I came inside to check on things and found all was well. But it sure gave me a scare! I'm so grateful that Caleb is a thoughtful brother who wanted to read Ben some books, maybe next time I can just supervise the fun instead of walking in on the action.
Squeals, moans and bubble blowing are all part of our daily Ben-Jammin' soundtrack. We remember Caleb making sounds like this. We think he must be because he'd getting another tooth in soon and because he's drooling like a faucet.
I gave Benjamin his first haircut. His hair was getting out of control. He had a terrible mullet accentuated by a big bald spot and on top was a long Mohawk. I was determined to fix it but it was quite difficult to do while Mark held him down - so it didn't turn out great, but it's passable. Definitely the worst haircut I've ever given but he's still cute as pie. I've never had a baby with so much hair.
So there you have an update on us. This truely has been 6 months of bliss. We all just love our baby Ben.

New year new look

Hi dear readers. We have been so busy with life we forget to catch you all up on it. Hang in there! More coming soon!

A Key West Father's Day

Sunday June 21, 2009

We awoke in Key West! Talk about a fun Father's Day!

We had breakfast in our own rooms, did presents with Mark and my Dad (which was special for me to be able to celebrate with my dad and my children's dad) and then hurried to church.
The local branch was very friendly and with our whole family (26 total) doubled it's size, I'm sure. They made an announcement from the pulpit during sacrament that the Nursery Leader was sick, so there would be no nursery unless we nursery parents wanted to figure something out - yikes. Then the five primary children sang a father's day song at the end of sacrament and passed out Lollipops to all the dads. Meanwhile, during the meeting Coral (my adorable niece -Grant and Stacie's baby at the time) was fidgeting and so pregnant Stacie took her out in the hall to help her get the wiggles out. Sounds normal for an almost two year old, right (we usually spend most of our sacraments out in the hall)? Nope, this girl had something up her sleeve. She ran away from Stacie and straight into the slightly ajar Branch President's office, slamming the door behind her - which promptly locked. This made her really giggle. Stacie realizing what had just happened tried to coax Coral to open the door, but she was too busy exploring and started the shredder which really scared her! So she started to scream and cry. So they had to go get the Branch President off the stand to unlock his office and turn off the shredder.
The rest of church was less memorable, but Stacie and I got some great recommendations for places to eat from some of the "locals" while we helped in Nursery.

We snapped a few photos after church and headed home to eat!

Each daddy chose their favorite meat and grilled it outside on the beach/water front while the women prepared their husband's favorite side.

Then we all enjoyed a sunset picnic buffet dinner of all the daddy's favorites. Honestly there was so much good food we could have fed another army of our size to boot. It was crazy and did I mention so good? Obviously great minds and taste buds think alike.
Then that night we enjoyed our first family devotional of the trip and headed to bed so we could be ready for the next day's adventures.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, smart, talented, loving, example as a father. He loves the gospel and has always served our family and the Lord so diligently. I know that I'd never be half as hardworking and caring as I am without his influence upon me. I love you so much Dad! Thanks and Happy Father's Day!

I am even more blessed with a husband who is my eternal mate and the father of my children. He too emulates those qualities and more. I can't aptly express how much I adore and appreciate him. He is such a wonderful Father and it makes my heart full to hear, see and experience his example hard at work in our Caleb and soon in our new baby boy.

I really enjoyed celebrating this Happy Father's Day with six amazing fathers on their Day to be remembered.

Traveling to Key West

June 20, 2009


This year all the Cooper kids, grands and grandparents too (meaning Lana's side of the family) chose Key West as our Reunion Spot. Once every three years we all get together as a family and enjoy spending time (usually a week) with one another. I haven't met a Cooper reunion yet that hasn't been a blast! So off to the Southern most point we headed to join everyone for a week of fun in the Sun!

We left our house super early (so Caleb might sleep some of the way) Saturday morning. We decided to go through the everglades (since it was more scenic and Mark had never been before)and over to Miami. Alligator Alley was a great drive we passed the Coopertown Airboat Tour Place - perfect photo opportunity to start off the Cooper reunion. Thanks to a children's audio book (The Dragon Rider) the drive went by with ease. Caleb was a trooper. We even stopped for a delicious churro when we filled up for gas, got super cheap produce from one of the roadside stands and bought an umbrella stroller from a Kmart all before grabbing lunch in Miami. We got out and let Caleb run wild at the KFC while we dined (you gotta get some wiggles out!). Then we piled back in the car and headed south once again. Sadly there was a lot of construction so it got down to one lane most of the way down. The water was so gorgeous from the bridges - crystal clear, aqua blue and green. It was a magnificent sight to see especially for Mark and Caleb since it was their first time ever visiting the keys. I did the driving (due to my severe carsickness problem and pregnancy doesn't make things easier) while Mark manned the maps, camera, audio books, snacks and Caleb entertainment supply. He was amazing and sure kept us fed, entertained and happy. You're the best honey!

On one of the last keys before our stop we spotted this Key Deer. We were amazed h0w close he let us get to snap this photo. It was definitely a highlight for us.

But even better than that was to finally see the KEY WEST sign!

And just after that was our home for the next week the HYATT!! It never felt so good to check in and unload the car. We were the first of our party to arrive so we got to choose what condo we wanted. Once Grant, Stacie, Miles, Shelbie and Coral (our housemates for the week) arrived the fun immediately began. Caleb and Coral made sure to explore all the new surroundings...the giant bathtub was a real hit!

Quick Cut for Caleb

June 19, 2009

Before our Cooper family Reunion pictures I was super nervous to chop Caleb's do' myself. So I decided to just do around his ears and shorten it up on the neck. I left everything else long. Here are the before and after shots of it all. I could never have done it without having him watch Sesame Street (SS) and lick a lollipop to keep him somewhat occupied.

Caleb enjoying SS with his long sides hanging way over his ears just before I begin to cut.

.The back before.

After the cut it looks so much better! Now he's ready for his close up!

Twenty Nine

June 7, 2009

My confetti birthday cake (a throw-back to my childhood and so yummy!!)

Caleb caught red handed in the cake!
Jeanette listens to Amy telling a joke.

Adam and Jack pose together.

29 years and counting! Or maybe I won't count. My oldest sister has been this age for a few years and was kindly willing to relinquish it's rights and privileges to me while she moved on to a more sassy and sophisticated age with the passing of my birthday this year. What an honor! I think I'll start to color my hair once this baby arrives.

Looking back upon the years gone by, I am amazed. I still vividly remember so many things like they were happening to me right here and now. As a child I often wondered how an adult could remember what it was like to be like me or what it was like to experience my world. Now I understand. It's weird to catch myself saying 10 years ago I... or 20... and then realize how I wasn't even very young when those things happened. Signs of old age I guess! At least as I type this I'm not as OLD as my husband. For the first month and twenty days of my new year he can claim my same youthful age that I do. Then he is thrown into a new year or even a new decade (yea, we're not even in the same decade now)! Oh, the joys of marring an older man. Ha ha!

Anyways, this year's birthday was great. It was a Sunday, so I got to spend all my time with my favorite people Mark and Caleb. We had a wonderful morning, Mark made me breakfast (a yummy egg in a hole - if I remember correctly). I opened my presents and we went to church. I got lots of birthday wishes from friends and family through phone calls, emails, posts, cards and even in person. It was great to be reminded of how much I am loved. Then that evening we had a few friends over to play games and eat treats. I made my cake, Mark made ice cream and Jeanette made some amazing brownies (what doesn't she make that isn't amazing?). It was perfect -very laid back and relaxing just what I had wished for.

Thank you to everyone who helped me to celebrate! If it's anything like this year then I can't wait until next year when 29 rolls around again!