Major Trouble

We have the bad kid in class.


Kyle had to be taken out in the hall a couple of times during nursery today. During one of those time-outs, Stephen heard him and had to take over. Kyle went back in to class, but had to be brought out to me in my class 30 minutes later because he "wouldn't stop hitting and he was kicking the girls." I talked to him about being nice and not hitting or kicking or hurting his friends. Instead of just keeping him out of class, I decided to go sit with him. He did really well after that--reading some books, not hitting anyone, not taking toys away from anyone, and was one of only about three kids who actually cleaned up when asked.

However, if I had to stay in that nursery room for more than the 20 minutes I did, I might start hitting, kicking, or screaming if it meant I could escape!! The head teacher does a great job. She took over in the fall and has gotten a great schedule going, but she needs more help from people who know what they are doing and can take lead without having to be told what to do. I'd volunteer, but being stuck in nursery is my idea of hell on earth. There are just too many kids in too small of a space! It's claustrophobic in there.

I am not one of those moms that is going to try to make excuses for my child. He's active, strong-willed, too smart for his own good, can be a wild maniac, is used to being an only child and having all the attention he wants, knows how to throw a fit with the best of them, and IS TWO. How could I deny it? I see it everyday. And, yes, he does have consequences for his actions. I can be a mean mommy.

If I ever did try to gloss over Kyle's wild ways there would be plenty of witnesses to remind me--especially after today's sacrament meeting. Toward the end of the meeting, Kyle got mad about something. (This was after I'd already taken him in the hall for a time-out.) When I tried to give him a drink--which is what I thought he'd asked for--he yelled, "NO CUP!!!!!," and threw his sippy cup up over the heads of the people in front of us and down the aisle, almost to the front of the chapel. (Did I mention that our sacrament meeting was being filmed for use in the General Young Women Conference??? Hopefully they edit that part out--or send it on to some quarterback scouts??? That little moment probably went along really well with the 2 cell phones going off, too.) Again, I'm not trying to make excuses here, but let's be really honest. At the point of Kyle's drive-by-sippy-cupping, I was nearly ready to pick up the nearest object and hurl it at the speaker....anything to end the meeting. Kyle gave us a great excuse to get out of there.

Kyle can be a turd, but he's our little turd. He will keep going to nursery, even if I have to sit with every week. He will keep going to sacrament meeting, even if we have to lock down every identifiable flying object in sight. He will continue to endure time-outs, butt-spankings, and loss of privileges as long as his negative behavior continues--no matter how strong-willed he thinks he is. And, if he doesn't grow out of it soon...maybe Stephen can put his newly found anesthesia skills to use and just whip up a special before-church cocktail, maybe a Ketamine Dart?

30 and 1/2

It's my half-birthday today....Whoopity-doo!!! Shocking, I know, but I actually forgot about it this year until last night. (Many of you know that I'm usually better about counting down the days until my next b-day. Maybe something about being 30 cut down on the excitement of getting older....)

It's been a very un-special un-birthday, just normal "mom stuff": woke up at the crack of dawn because a certain toddler was pushing buttons on my alarm clock, cleaned up a major spill off a newly-mopped kitchen floor, got out of the shower to find my newly-made bed clearly un-made and every toy in the house scattered up and down both flights of stairs, cleaned bathrooms, did some laundry and ironing, and fought with Kyle over taking a nap. Stephen did get home from the hospital earlier than usual, which was nice. There are still several hours left in the day, though. I can look forward to the Olympics, Survivor, and Project Runway. Throw in some Taco Bell and this day will be a real winner.

To go along with my mediocre half-birthday, here's an unexceptional video from today. (As a warning: it's so commonplace/boring and almost 4 minutes long that it's probably best-suited for grandparents, aunts/uncles, and those who have nothing better to do.) Here's a summary of the main parts, so you can decide if watching this is worth your time: 1) Kyle's "talking" on the phone. He uses one real phone and a game-boy key chain that he thinks is his cell phone, even hanging it up in a candy dish. 2) Kyle runs upstairs, and we see the mess he made while he was supposed to be taking a nap. 3) He starts trying to clean up his mess and takes a book all the way downstairs to put it on the shelf. 4) Back up the stairs, Kyle tries to jump out and scare me. 5) When I tell Kyle to say "good-bye" and end this random video, he runs back down the stairs, tries to jump up to the window, keeps his back to the camera for about 40 seconds while I'm still trying to get him to say "good-bye," finally turning around at the last second with a cheesy grin.

A very-merry un-birthday to me!!!

Stairs

Kyle loves playing on the stairs, especially when he's supposed to be in his room taking a nap. Lately, his chosen method of descending the stairs is crawling down head first. Maybe he thinks he needs to be in stealth mode to successfully fool me into thinking he's really in bed and not trying to sneak downstairs during nap time.

I'm sure this new stair method won't last forever, so I wanted to get it on camera. Always having to be the ham, when I told Kyle to go down the stairs like he does on his tummy, he decided to lift up his shirt and show me his tummy. Then, he wanted to show off. (For those of you who know about my high school's song, we have nicknamed Kyle "Dramatic Arts" for many of his antics.) You gotta love what happens when you get kids on camera! Finally, he put on a good show of his new trick. (At the end of the video, I ask him his name. He's moving away from calling himself "Keeeeeel," but still can't quite say his L's very well. Instead of "Kyle," it ends up coming out like "Ky-ow.")

Here's some links to past videos of Kyle's phases of moving down the staircase:

He started cautiously..on his bottom.
Then, he went down like a seal.
He started walk down in a standing position. (Now, he practically runs down when he's not in stealth mode.)

A First of Many?

Stephen got to be the parent at Kyle's first parent-teacher conference this morning when he picked up our toddler from nursery at church. The report was not all smiley faces and gold stars, though. Kyle had to be taken out into the hall today because he needed time away from the other children. He was getting too excited and pushing people, and his teacher wanted us to know that if a time out wasn't enough to control the behavior, she was going to have to come get us to take him out of nursery.

I have a feeling this is only the first of many meetings with Kyle's teachers. I mean, Kyle getting wild and crazy? MY CHILD?!



It's not hard to believe.

Change of Plans

Having a kid really cramped our Valentine's plans. We don't go out very often--being poor students + childcare = dating is a luxury--but wanted to have a nice date for the holiday of love. Last weekend wasn't good for our babysitter, so we planned to go out today. All week, we've been looking forward to getting out of the house, seeing a movie, and enjoying dinner for a late Valentine's Day date. I guess I didn't communicate an exact time for said date plans, and our babysitter made other plans for the afternoon when we had wanted to go see a matinee movie (to save money) before dinner. Talk about letting the wind out of my sails.

You know me, though: not easily frustrated, one to always look on the bright side, a "glass-half full" kind of girl, a complete ray-of-sunshine when things don't go my way......*SARCASM!!!*....Okay, Okay....you all know I was. not. happy. At all. Seriously, though, instead of sitting around having a little pity party about losing out on my Valentine's Day celebration, I decided to make a change of plans.

Since there is NO WAY we would even dream of taking Kyle to the movies/dinner, that idea was scrapped. Instead, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and have a family outing at the zoo. It wasn't quite the same as a romantic date, but sure beat staying at home, feeling sorry for myself.

Straight out of the gate we came up on some beautiful tigers roaming around. Kyle seriously wanted to jump in with them, and the fence was low enough that he would have if we let go of him for even 2 seconds!!!


Luckily, we came up to the tortoise area next, and it was feeding time! How cool to see these huge, ancient creatures moving around and being so active! I felt much calmer letting my curious toddler roam around on his own around these. Unlike what would happen with the tigers, Kyle could easily out race a tortoise.


There was plenty to keep Kyle's interest and lots of things to climb on, play with, and touch. He especially loved the play area with slides, animals to climb on, a water pad, and the water table.


After an hour or so, we finally wised up and hopped aboard the air-conditioned monorail. What a great way to see the zoo in a hurry! (The best way with a toddler.)


I did get to celebrate with the people I love the most, so Valentine's Day 2010 wasn't a total bust. I guess this is just that season of life.......yet another reason that I can't wait to live closer to family/more babysitting options so I just might be able to leave the house for a date more than once a quarter.

Name Update

For all of you sitting on the edge of your seats, waiting to know the name of our Mini Cooper 2010....









....sorry, but you'll have to wait a little longer. We are just having such a hard time deciding!!!! We have narrowed it down to, what we think, are our top three names:

Ryan Andrew Cooper
Landon Michael Cooper
Evan Michael Cooper

Thoughts?

Favorite Blanket

Kyle has always loved his blankets, especially those with silky sides or edges. His new favorite blanket is an A&M one--not because of the pattern of the fabric but because of the silky, ribbon edging all around. He would take this blanket everywhere if I let him!

One little quirk of Kyle's we've noticed in relation to this blanket obsession has to do with the corners. There is one corner in particular that Kyle loves the most because he can poke his fingers in there and rub the silky edges of the ribbon together. Stephen says it reminds him of the way he used to rub his ears when he was little. The funniest part about this is that even though all the corners have a similar opening, there is only ONE corner that Kyle likes. He can even recognize it from all the others. We've tested this by asking him, one-by-one, if a corner is "his corner." He gets it right every single time. (You can tell which one he prefers because it's more worn than all the others.)

Happy Valentine's Day

Hugs and kisses from us to you! It's kind of nice that the day of love is on a Sunday this year. Kyle made a beautiful card in nursery for us--covered in heart stickers, the young women passed out singing valentine's grams from the husbands to the wives--chocolate=good, and our lessons and talks seemed to focus on the love our Savior has for each of us. It's been a good day, and I'm looking forward to resting and enjoying the remainder of the day with the 2 biggest loves of my life. I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Lots of Love

Valentine's Day came a little early this year! I'm so lucky to be loved by the 2 best guys a girl could ask for. Stephen sent me some beautiful roses and got me a new game for the Wii I've been wanting and Kyle gave me lots of hugs and smiles. I feel so loved!

Valentine's Party

This has been a week full of love. Kyle and I have been learning all about Valentine's day, hearts, making cards and other crafts/decorations, giving gifts, and showing love for friends and family in anticipation of Sunday's holiday. We summed up our celebrations with a little party today.

Here's Kyle helping make some heart-themed snacks: heart sandwiches, graham crackers with cream cheese and strawberry hearts, cupid's arrow ham & cheese. Food just seems to taste better when it's shaped like hearts!

You Get What You Pay For

I had another appointment with my OB/GYN this morning. It was amazingly fast. I mean, I think it took longer for me to pee in a cup than to converse with the physician. I spent more time getting my blood pressure/pulse rate than in the exam room. The good news? He didn't have time to tell me I'm too fat. (I only gained a few ounces since last time, anyway.)

Here's a synopsis of the drive-thru OB appointment:

Hello, Mrs. Cooper. You didn't have to wait long today. You got here 10 minutes ago.
1) Is the baby moving?
2) Any problems?
3) Boy or Girl?
4) Circumcision?
5) At which hospital are you planning on delivering?
6) Breast or Bottle?
7) Pediatrician?
8) Let's hear the baby's heart beat.
9) Don't wear your rings the last month of pregnancy. We don't want any blue fingers. Keep exercising and eating right.
10) Any questions for me?
11) Let's get you some reading material. English or Spanish?
12) We'll see you back in 2 weeks.

I actually am not one to be picky about my doctor, which is good since beggars can't be choosers. This experience more than any has shown me the truth in the phrase, "You get what you pay for." This health care is practically free, so I don't have high expectations.

Nap Issues

Kyle's new thing is trying to avoid naptime/bedtime by getting out of bed and doing any of the following:

• trying to sneak downstairs
• playing in his bathroom
• dumping out all of his toys and trashing his room
• emptying the contents of every drawer in his room onto the floor/stuffed behind his bed
  
• hiding under the crib
• climbing on his dresser to turn on the light
• getting in the closet
• hanging out in the hallway outside of his door
• sneaking into our bedroom to sleep on the floor or try to jump in our bed
  

One of his newest tricks is trying to make something like a fort in the space behind his door. I went to check on him yesterday, peaking in his room and saw his bed where he should have been sleeping like this:


I thought maybe he was in one of his hiding places and actually found him sleeping in his fort behind the door. I left him there until it was time to get up and snapped a photo of the sleeping beauty:


It sure didn't seem like sleeping on the floor provided a well-rested Kyle when he got up:


Maybe today he'll stay in bed and enjoy his comfortable mattress instead of the hard floor!

Iron Chef: Miami

February's secret ingredient for our Iron Chef: Miami (hosted by me) was JELL-O. I wasn't sure how this one would turn out, since most of my experience with the fruity gelatin has been some sort of salad. The entries were varied, unique, and tasty. I was only sad that more people couldn't make it to the party!

Mel & Heidi

Shannan & Tina

The spread

Iron Chef Mel made: "Chinese Take-Out" Lemon Chicken and Sparkling Punch (It's supposed to have champagne, but I substituted sparkling cider.)

Iron Chef Heidi made: Raspberry-Lemon Sorbet

Iron Chef Tina made: Strawberry Jell-o Salad with Pretzel Crust

Iron Chef Shannan made: Lemon Extravaganza Cake
Cake:
1 pkg. lemon cake mix
1 small (4-serving) Jell-O Lemon Flavor
1 1/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs

Topping:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
Cool Whip and Fresh berries

Make it:
Mix all cake ingredients and pour into a 10x12 pan, greased with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until done.
Remove from oven and pierce with holes all over.
Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice and pour over top. Spread evenly.
Serve individual portions with Cool Whip and berries.
Chill remaining cake until eaten.


And the winner?

Iron Chef Heidi!

Stay tuned for next month when our secret ingredient will be ground beef!

Superbowl XLIV

Miami hosted the 2010 Superbowl, and the stadium is only a few miles southeast of our home. We saw the blimps and planes flying around all day. It was cool to hear the jets fly over right before they made it to the show. We didn't look outside during the game, but I bet we could've seen fireworks from our yard!

Miami knows how to party, and the Superbowl was a great excuse to do just that. We turned down several invitations to various parties so we could be at the most exclusive one of all--our own!!

Since we weren't really rooting for either team, it was just fun to enjoy the company, eat some great food, laugh at some funny commercials, and watch the game.

Kyle seemed to enjoy himself!


Every good party has to have food: chips/dips, potato skins, boneless buffalo wings, egg rolls, taquitos, pizza, and strawberries with whipped cream--YUM! (Most of that stuff counts as fruit and vegetables for my prescribed pregnancy diet, right?)


I thought it would be fun to document all the party goers, so I went around the party, taking snapshots with everyone.



That's it. I told you it was an exclusive party!!! Maybe the Cowgirls will get their act together next year and we can actually have a team to root for!

Pregnancy Countdown: February

Can you believe it's already February? Here's the monthly picture of the progression of my belly. Just think, this is the same body that-just a few weeks ago-was "hiding" my pregnancy "so well." Here I am at 31 weeks:

Here's the link to the past pictures.

While You Were Showering...

And, this is only half of the room!!! It's a good thing I only took a 10 minute shower!

Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails...

....splashing in puddles,
digging in mud,
dirty faces,
having fun~
That's what boys are made of!

The rain from the past few days has collected in muddy puddles behind our house. When Kyle went out back yesterday to "help" Stephen grill some chicken, he quickly forgot his task and headed straight into the mess. The grin on his face couldn't have been bigger as he raced through the mud, splashing and getting completely soaked and dirty. What a boy!

A Boy is...
Scuffed up knees, a freckled nose
with dimples here and there.
A daring, caring, sharing heart-
a mass of tousled hair.
Boundless curiosity,
the spirit to explore.
Two twinkling eyes, a smiling face
and energy galore!
A love of life, a bit of sass
a source of untold joy.
A wonderment, a dream fulfilled.
God's miracle:
A BOY!

Mini Cooper 3D

My appointment with the perinatal specialist went SO well today! I had a fabulous rad. tech. who just kept saying wonderful things about the little guy: "beautiful heart, beautiful brain, beautiful spine, beautiful baby, things look good." She also had 2 students in with her, so she spent a long time showing off to them and demonstrating what to do about the 2-vessel cord and trying to check for Brachydactyly in the hands. (The students were also SO excited that I let them practice scanning on me. Because of Stephen's experiences as a student, I never turn away students.) The tech. even decided to use the 3D ultrasound probe, which I haven't had before and captured some wonderful photos!

Here's pretty much what we learned about baby #2 today:

• It's still a boy.
• He's head down. (Three weeks ago, he was breech.)
• He's about 3 1/2 lbs~the 45th percentile.
• Based on size, my due date would be April 11th, which is only 2 days from the original.
  
• There's a little bit more fluid in his right kidney than his left, but it's within normal range for his gestational age. They will still monitor this, but it may just be to give my pediatrician a "head's up" to check for possible reflux after birth.
  
• He moves A LOT--("Boy this kid can move!," said the tech.)
• It looks like he doesn't have Brachydactyly. (Wouldn't that be crazy if we beat the odds again and rolled another Yahtzee?)
• The cervix is within normal range, so it doesn't seem like I'm in too much danger of going into preterm labor.

Based on all of today's measurements, the doctor seemed fairly confident that this baby is growing and developing well. The schedule for the rest of my pregnancy will just be to continue to monitor his growth. They will also do what he described as an perinatal Apgar Score, which will give them a good indicator of the baby's predicted health at birth. The highest score would be 8/8; 6/8 is acceptable, and anything less than that will require further testing. So, starting in March, I'll be getting an ultrasound every Monday, but only meeting with the doctor if there is anything abnormal. It would seem that we are out of the danger zone, which is quite a long way from all of the possible dangers of the 2-vessel cord that were described to me on my first visit!



Okay, Okay. Now that you've stuck around for all of that medical mumbo-jumbo, here's the best of today's ultrasound pictures. (She printed out about a dozen for me, since she was having so much fun and was so excited about the good position the baby was in!)

Apparently, this baby has "a lot" of hair. We'll see about that one.

I just love these 3D pictures! I think he looks like Kyle and
definitely has the Cooper mouth and chin!

Groundhog Day

What's one great thing about all the rain we received yesterday? The wet sand at the park was more like sand at the beach and made great sand castles. (Maybe I AM more of a glass half full kind of gal....)


Happy Groundhog Day, everyone. I'm sure many of you are not too pleased with the little rodent predicting more winter. As for me and my house....I'll take all the "winter" I can get.

Back on Track

If rainy days had a role model, today might be the winner. It has rained all day long! Always one to see the glass half full (sarcasm), I decided the rain was a great excuse to stay home and get back on track. We took a few weeks off from doing school since the focus was mostly on potty training, but today we started again! (I've also been procrastinating a new subject because I'm SOOO far behind on posting lessons we HAVE done. I finally decided to just move on and try to get back to those posts at another time.)

Since February is Dental Health Month, we're starting off with lessons all about teeth. Kyle loved using mini-marshmallows give this baby some teeth--and loved eating some along the way.


Happy Tooth Month, everyone! I hope you'll have plenty of reasons to show those pearly whites in the next few weeks!