Mommy Moment

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake."
--Victor Hugo



I don't have many "great sorrows" at this moment in my life, but it's nice to be reminded to have patience for the small ones. I like the thought of trials and difficulties being referred to as small sorrows because most of our daily hang-ups and frustrations really aren't life-shattering; they cause a small amount of sorrow and then we move on. It also gives me great comfort to think about going to sleep at the end of a particularly long and laborious day in peace because God is awake, watching over us, allowing our minds and bodies to rest, starting fresh the next day.

Also, I love the bedtime routine: bath, pajamas, reading scriptures and books, prayers, hugs and kisses, and seeing those little eyes close as the heads hit the pillows! Is there anything more peaceful?

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!!

I love getting my boys all dressed up for church. I could actually go crazy in the Polo section, one of the only places to get cute dressy clothes for boys. I can only imagine how I would be if I had a little girl......

Back to the topic at hand.

Boys can be super-cute, and fun to coordinate in dressy outfits, too. (We actually DO style Kyle's hair, but by the time it's time to take pictures, he's rolled and wrestled around so much, we're lucky to get him to take a picture, smiling--forget about fixing the hair first!) Ryan got SO many compliments in his little church outfit. I was even told that he should be a model for Polo baby clothes! I know I'm biased, but I completely agree!




Kyle didn't get so many compliments on his look today, especially with a new shiner he got in the nursery. Apparently, there was a wrestling match and he came out with a bump on his cheek. (Can you believe Kyle was involved in a nursery rumble? Kyle!?) Maybe we should start selling tickets: "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday: Sabbath Day Showdown!!!!"

All this time of worrying about money and the answer was right under our own roof: We could put our Baby Model and Toddler Boxer to work!

A Miracle

The planets and stars must be aligned because both boys are asleep right now. Did I mention that they are BOTH napping AT THE SAME TIME???? Kyle rarely takes a nap anymore, and of course it never happens to be correlated with Ryan's sleep patterns.

We got back from our complex's "Back to School Pool Party" and both boys went straight to sleep. These little party animals had a great time swimming, rockin' out to music, and enjoying pizza and drinks by the pool. Kyle got out most of his energy keeping entertained by a simple hula hoop. He jumped in, over, and through it for an hour. Maybe I need to invest in one as our new pool toy! For now it's time to rest.

Silly Kyle

I just love this boy. He keeps me on my toes, but makes me laugh everyday and is constantly surprising me with his wit, memory, and the new things he learns.

A few of the latest:

I was reading my birthday cards yesterday. Kyle opened up the card I just finished reading and started "reading" it, too. Amazingly, he was like a little parrot, repeating many of the phrases he heard me read from the card, word for word. (Maybe he'll be able to quote movie lines with me soon!!!!)

We had a Family Home Evening on Monday about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. After reading Exodus 20: 8-11, we talked about how Sunday is a special day and should treated differently than the other days of the week. The question for discussion was, "What are some things we do on Sunday that we don't do the rest of the week because it's a special day?" Kyle's response: "Go baseball games. Go swimming pool. Go park. Play friends." After laughing at his quick, albeit incorrect, answer, we asked again. "No, Kyle, where do we go on Sunday that we don't go on other days?"
"Church?"
"YES!"
After getting such positive reinforcement, Kyle then started answering all sorts of questions about church. "Learn about Jesus and Heavenly Father and nursery and family and say prayers."
And then he asked to go to the pool. Or a baseball game.
Just when you think you're a good parent, kids have a way of reminding you that it's probably all in your head!


Another funny thing Kyle has started doing is his newest method of delegating whose turn it is to say prayers. He's taken on some sort of royal persona, extending his arm to point to the chosen one. It cracks us up, and now we've all started using this action in assigning the task of blessing the food or saying the next prayer!



Kyle also loves to have fun with us. Sometimes it's scary how much he picks up from listening to/watching us and becoming a little mimic. The other night, we were jamming to some music. "Thriller" came on in the shuffle, and I started doing a part of the dance. Kyle joined in right away, trying to copy my every move. (Keep in mind this is an action shot and probably doesn't demonstrate the *awesome* dancing abilities Kyle was attempting to copy.)



We sure have fun with our smart, stubborn, silly boy!

The After Party

My 29th+ birthday continued today. The day started off by waking up to EIGHT HOURS of sleep!!!!! It was also nice to just spend some quality time with my favorite people!

Stephen and I were able to go out to a nice, long, relaxing, kid-free lunch. (Thanks, Shannan, for watching the boys!) We even had the WHOLE restaurant to ourselves!!! After lunch, we crossed off another thing from my birthday wish-list: pedicures. I LOVE pedicures and miss being able to get them more frequently, so they are a real treat. The pedicurist (is that word?) even complimented me on my soft skin. Stephen, on the other hand, had to have the cheese grater on his heels, but he was told that his nails were very nice, "like baby's." I must say that it was a real treat to be able to go out on a date, something we haven't been able to do much, and for which I am truly grateful.


My other 2 favorite boys make everyday special, and that continued today. Kyle kept telling me over and over, "Happy birthday, Mom!" I love that boy!


And, could Ryan get any cuter?


Kyle was super-excited about helping me open my presents.

I told Stephen we should probably check the mail because "there might be something for me for my birthday." His response: "I doubt it." (Always the jokester, that one.) It turns out that I was right. Boy, was I! Thank you all for your cards and gifts. It helped make my day-after party all that much more fun!


I guess that means I have to say "so long" to another round of birthday celebrations. That is, until I get to shop with some of that birthday money! Whoop!

29 Plus

A friend told me that today I'm "another year older and wiser." I'd like to think I'm getting wiser, but mostly I'm just feeling older. It was a pretty good day today, even though both boys were SO excited about wishing me a happy birthday that they woke me up in the middle of the night. I got to take a little nap on the couch, didn't have to do too many chores, and took a bath today, so that makes up for it. We didn't get to go swimming since it was rainy all day long, but we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner, so I didn't have to cook! The best part is that today was just part one of my birthday celebrations. If you don't know, we like to let birthdays extend and go beyond just one day around here, so I'm looking forward to a few more days of fun.

I was able to get a picture of me and the boys this evening. You can tell it's been a long day for me. Kyle was stir crazy (because of the rainy weather) and it gets a little "interesting" trying to keep him entertained all day with no energy outlet. About 5 minutes before it was time to go eat dinner, he FINALLY fell asleep on the couch. And then I woke him up to take a picture. He looks drowsy and has just-woken-up hair and I look like I've had a full day and am glad for Dad to be home and help give Kyle some attention. And then there's Ryan--just as happy and content as ever! You can tell who really gets the royal treatment around this house!

Birthday Eve

I LOVE birthdays, particularly my own. I'm the type of person who will countdown the number of months until my next birthday, celebrate my half-birthday, and truly enjoy the real day when it finally arrives. It's not even about stuff--it's more about having a day that is my own. Maybe this comes from growing up in a big family and having to share/rotate everything--ONE BATHROOM, the "good spots" on the couch/in the car, games/toys, tv shows, attention from parents, etc. But birthdays were different. My mom always did such a good job of making each of our birthdays special days, our very own day when we were the center of attention and got to do special things like sit in the front seat of the car, choose the meals for the day, and not have to do chores. This was an even bigger task for those of us (FOUR) with August birthdays: it would have been SO much easier to just bundle us all together for one, big dinner/party, but I'm so grateful that, even by the time my day (the last of the month) finally came around, everyone still pretended to get excited about pulling out the birthday banner and eating another cake--or cheese cake, as the case might have been. We never had a lot of money for presents, so that's not what I grew to love about my day--I like having the extra attention and feeling special--and my family (and husband now) do a great job of that.

It's good I grew up not getting used to getting expensive, lavish birthday presents, since we can't afford them now anyway. But, just once in awhile, like today, there are things I REALLY wish I could put on my birthday list. Remember this post about how several electronic things around our house were biting the dust? The third one revealed itself today: our computer. I knew this day was coming. In fact, I had a weird feeling that I needed to back up all of our pictures and documents onto the external hard drive yesterday, and today the thing won't even boot up! It's not that big of a mystery; all the signs were pointing to this day coming sooner or later, but we were just hoping that "later" would really be closer to the time we were moving and had a job and could afford to get the home computer we REALLY want.

A few weeks ago, I read a comic from theoatmeal.com called "The 3 Phases of Owning a Computer." (If you are at all offended by the words "testicles," "porn," or "cockwaffle," you probably don't want to read it yourself, so I'll summarize:)
Phase 1: Honeymoon
Your computer is amazing and better than anything you've ever had before!
Phase 2: The Comfortable Phase
You are tight with your computer and are the only one who knows how to make it work well.
Phase 3: Behold, the Dinosaur
(This is the part that I could really relate to It was funny a few weeks ago, but now it's reality!)
The computer is always "thinking" and making noises, takes forever to boot up, and you are afraid to ever turn it off for fear that it might not turn back on.

My poor, poor, prehistoric PC. You just had to go and die on my birthday eve, didn't you? I really, really, really want to go pick out a new iMac for my birthday, charging it to my future self, but maybe taking the fossil down to be recycled and doing my part to "go green" will help me feel better. Besides, didn't I just finish writing all about how grateful I am that birthdays can be special, even without all the stuff?

For now, I'll just have to make due with this laptop. My blog might suffer, especially since Stephen is back to actually going to class this semester and will need to take the computer with him. Who knows? Maybe I'll get creative and start posting from my iPhone. I'll do my best to keep up, but I'm now back to having to share---but NOT on my birthday!

Mr. Munch Mouth

This little guy is happy most of the time, but get out of the way if he's hungry! It's so funny to see how excited he gets when it's meal time; he even starts sucking before there's anything to suck on, which cracks me up. He passes the time between feedings by putting other things in his mouth. While I was holding him the other day, he spent several minutes taking out his binky, putting it back in, and taking it out again. He's also found a great toy:


A few other little things:

• Ryan actually rolled over legitimately, not just from his tummy onto his back where he can use the gravity of his head to propel his movement, on August 10th. I keep waiting for him to do it again so I can tell whether or not it was just a fluke. He hasn't, so I'm documenting that one and only time, anyway.
• Last night he slept from around 9 pm to 5 am. It wasn't quite 8 hours, but I'm calling it as "sleeping through the night."

I'm really enjoying seeing all these little firsts with our little rhino!

Sweaty Sunday

Church today was actually our semi-annual Stake Conference. The conference was held in the Miramar Culture Center, right across the street from our house, so I actually felt a little like I was back in Utah, getting to walk to church. That Utah feeling didn't last long; we were sweating like crazy after walking for only about 2 1/2 minutes in the heat and humidity, and I quickly remembered that we were right back in Northern South America. I joked to Stephen, asking if that walk reminded him of being on his mission in Ecuador. Little did I know that the meeting really would feel much like a conference in REAL South America, since the air conditioning in the auditorium was broken. Stephen was using a burb cloth for a sweat rag, poor Ryan had beads of sweat all over his face while he was nursing--I even stripped him down as much as possible to cool him off, Kyle's face was bright red and his lower back was soaked, and I about died trying to feed Baby Ryan. It's a good thing we didn't wait until after church to take pictures for the day--we would've looked more like we'd spent a day working outside than all dressed up for the Sabbath.

Thanks, Son

As a mom, I find my self-esteem/self-worth is tested daily. Between concerns of whether or not I'm being a successful parent to facing my own inadequacies mirrored in Kyle's behavior, there's always something to deal with. My favorite, though, is having Kyle point out and make reference to every less-than-desirable one of my physical attributes. (Yes, Kyle, I know my post-pregnant belly is flabby; I don't need you to jiggle it for me.) I especially love when he gets creative and includes metaphors in his teasing:

{Scene: Swimming Pool}

*Mom swims to the wall and holds on to the edge, resting. Kyle jumps onto Mom's butt and falls, dramatically, into the water. After resurfacing:
Kyle: {pointing to Mom's backside} "Like Big Balls, Mom!" (referencing Wipeout)




Oh, Kyle. You're just hilarious. It's a good thing I've developed such thick skin from years and years of being teased---and from the entire jr. high experience. Also, I think I know why kids are so good at making fun of others: they have years and years of practicing on their mothers.

I may have a ghetto booty, Kyle. But, at least I'm not wearing purple, heart-shaped, Dora the Explorer goggles in public.


I'll admit Kyle has some pretty good material to work with, but nothing compared with the files of pictures I'll have saved up before he has his first girlfriend.
*Mwuahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

Mommy Moment

"A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie."
-- Tenneva Jordan

I saw this quote on Facebook this week. I also listened to a friend's story (she's a mom) of only getting one taco at dinner because she always makes her own plate last and by the time her family was served, there was only enough food left for one more taco. In response to this she said something like, "Oh, well. I guess that's just what moms do."

I guess I must be a bad mom because I would have taken a small slice from each of the 4 pie pieces to make myself a plate of dessert and would've dished myself at least 2 tacos before letting the rest of the family go back for seconds.

Moms do so much for their families. Isn't it okay for a mom to NOT put herself last in everything? I think it's okay for a mom to be just a little selfish and make time to rejuvenate, take a "time-out," do little things for herself that will actually help her be a happier/healthier/more sane mom. I don't mean to do this at the expense of children or for the pursuit of wealth or fame or anything. Just wanting more sleep is no excuse to not get up in the middle of the night to care for an infant. But, if I'm up at 3:00 a.m. and really have a craving for some ice cream, don't think I'm going to say "I never cared for Snickers Ice Cream Bars" just because there's only one left.

His Mother's Son

I'm going purely on what I've been told--and this could totally be gossip that's blown WAY out of proportion--but rumor has it that I wasn't the calmest, most easy-going, submissive, patient, purely obedient, non-stubborn of children.

As hard as this is to believe, the many satisfied grins and sinister chuckles I get from my Dad over stories about Kyle's behavior, along with comments like, "I love you, but I'm SURE glad you have Kyle for a son" or "I think you're paying for your raising" lead me to believe that the rumors of my behavior just might have a tinge of truth to them! I guess I was pretty stubborn, after all.

Since I'm such a glass-half-full kind of gal, I prefer to think of stubbornness as just strength, in a weak form, unrefined. You know, that whole thing about how God gives us weakness that we might be humble and if we humble ourselves, He will make weak things become strong? Maybe you have to be born with a touch of stubborn independence in order to accomplish great things. (Not that I've accomplished anything truly great, but I'm working on it!)

I'm counting on this working out for Kyle, too. Stubborn and independent are some traits that I'm hoping can be turned into great strengths for him someday. For now, they just turn into endless blog material.

Remember how much Kyle loves going to the pool? He doesn't love the putting on sunscreen part of the experience----Not. One. Bit. I've tried getting the spray-on kind, but it becomes difficult because Kyle can't quite master keeping both his eyes AND his mouth closed at the same time long enough to get good coverage on his face. I switched back to the lotion kind, but he squirms and worms his way out of my grasp like a little, greased pig. This usually turns into what I'm sure looks more like a wrestling match than sunscreen application, where I've got Kyle in a full-body leg lock, using one hand to rub in sunscreen and the other to block Kyle's jabs. It also usually ends up with Kyle having more sunscreen in his hair than on his face and in some classic hairdos.


Speaking of classic hairdos.....


Like mother, like son in more ways than one. Yet another example of how the best styles always come back around.

Pool Day

It's rained off-and-on for the past few days, but we were finally able to get in some pool time yesterday.....THANK GOODNESS!!! I love the pool because it's one of the easiest ways for Kyle to release some energy, plus we can enjoy being outside without melting in the Florida heat.

Ryan and I usually spend a short time in the water before hanging out in the shade while Kyle takes turns jumping in the water, climbing out, and jumping all over again.



Kyle didn't want anything to do with me taking pictures. He told me not to. In fact, he actually told me to go away to the other side of the pool and leave him alone to play with the new friend he was jumping with. *That boy just melts my heart with all the love and affection he has for his mom.* Unfortunately for him, I stuck around, staying close enough to monitor him as well as to reprimand him for pushing, dunking, and nearly jumping on top of his new friend....and to capture a few candid photos.


(For those of you who know about it.....this picture reminds me of a certain photo session of Stephen and Liz.....just age him about a dozen years, throw on a speedo, and stick in a red-headed sister and you've got it!)


We just love going to the pool. I'm hoping for more sunshine today so we can do it all over again.

Well Visits

Kyle and Ryan both had appointments at the doctor yesterday--Kyle for his 3-year-old check-up and Ryan for his 4-month visit.

Kyle:
Height--3 ft. 3 in. (~85th percentile)
Weight--35 lb. 8 oz. (~85th percentile)

I didn't realize until the doctor said it that Kyle hasn't had to visit the doctor since his 2-year check-up. How blessed we are that he is healthy! Kyle wasn't quite sure about this check-up until he realized that the doctor needed his help! Kyle loved using the different "tools" to check out his mouth, eyes, ears, and heart. Everything seems right on track, and Kyle is one healthy boy. The doctor asked if Kyle had been at the pool or beach a lot and that he could tell--"he's tan!" He's also growing well--well proportioned. It's such a blessing to know Kyle is healthy and growing well.

While we were waiting for the doctor to get to our room, Kyle and I made a movie all about him! He talks about how old he is, some of the things he likes to do, and attempts to sing the ABC song.

Ryan:
Height--24 1/4 in (~35th percentile)
Weight--12 lbs. 8 oz. (~25th percentile)
Head Circumference--41 cm (~25th percentile)

Ryan, my little guy, was next. Kyle got to help make sure the doctor was taking good care of his brother. Everything checked out well with Ryan, too. He's growing (even if on the small side.) He's happy and active and should probably be rolling soon. Then came the bad part--the vaccinations! He did very well, though. The first one (by mouth) was no problem. (No shock here; Ryan's Mr. Munch-Mouth, so he gobbled it up!) Next came the needles. He didn't even cry when he got the first shot! I kept waiting for her to stick him, but turned to see the band-aid was already on and she was getting the second needle! The second one was worse--Ryan looked at me like, "What the EF is going on?" and screamed for about 3 seconds. Then he pulled himself together and went right on about his day. You can see how happy and energetic he is in this video, which was taken right after we got home. You'd never even know he had shots!

How grateful I am for healthy, happy boys. I love these guys!!!

The Beach

FINALLY, Hubba and Rebecca got to see some true Florida weather, worthy of a day at the beach. Obviously, there's plenty of beaches to choose from in our area, but one of my favorites is our old stand-by, Hollywood Beach. I like to take our visitors here for many reasons: the beach is well taken care of, there are life guards, the water is warm and gorgeous, the beach isn't too crowded, there's accessible parking, and there's a nice boardwalk with shops, eateries, and even a couple of new playgrounds for kids.

Everyone went for a swim while I stayed up on the beach with a sleeping Ryan. The water was so clear and there were a few fish swimming by.


Kyle and Rebecca played in the sand and built a sand castle, perfect for destroying.



I'm so glad the weather cooperated and we were able to let Uncle Hubba and Aunt Rebecca have a true South Florida beach experience, complete with sea shells, sand, and a sunburn.


We love having visitors to Casa de Cooper, especially when we live in an area with so much to do. This last round of visitors is really driving home the fact that we won't be in Florida that much longer. The next scheduled guests we have on the calendar won't be here until we're almost ready to move. It's crazy to think back on how quickly two years in Florida has flown by.

Buffalo Tiger's Airboat Tour

We try not to let anyone come to South Florida without making a trip to the Everglades. Thanks to all of our visitors, we've gotten to see the Everglades numerous times ourselves, too! August is NOT the time to just walk through at Shark Valley, so we had to take Uncle Hubba and Aunt Rebecca on an airboat tour. My friend, Amber, found Buffalo Tiger's place and we decided to try it out, too! (Buffalo Tiger is 90 years old and is the last "real" chief in these parts, according to our guide--I've forgotten his name, but he's known all around by the huge gator tooth he wears around his neck. I do know he was a character and definitely made the ride memorable.)


Kyle, from experience, knew right where the "mean guy" was. There was a good sized gator, right near the dock, as we waited for the boat ride. Our tour guide, I'll call him "Gator Tooth," fed him bread, so he would stay where we could get some good pictures.


A few minutes later, as we walked down the dock to our boat, a smaller gator was waiting down in the water. Gator Tooth put some bread down on the edge of the dock (which was not blocked off from the water in any way) and this little gator jumped up on the dock to get the bread. We didn't walk so close to the edge after that!


The boat ride through the Everglades was really cool. Gator Tooth searched around in all the familiar spots to find different gators. He even made these clicking sounds to call the animals to the boat. It seemed as if the gators knew from the sounds of the boat in their area that food was on the way.




We made a pit stop at what Gator Tooth called a "hammock" (resting place). He gave us some history of the tribe and how they live and even taught us some words. I learned that Okeechobee means "big water." No wonder there's so many places named that around here! The history and information was cool and all, but let's be real honest: the best part of the stop was getting to watch Rebecca and Hubba feed a real, live, in the WILD gator! (Kyle REALLY wanted a turn, too, but wasn't quite old enough.)



I had a great time on this airboat ride, and I hope Hubba and Rebecca did, too. We laughed later that Kyle is the Everglades Airboat Expert in our house; he's been on more rides than anyone else: once when we first moved here, once when Grandma, Grandpa, and Bando came to visit, once with Amber, and this time! Maybe I should get him a gator tooth necklace to start wearing around to represent his knowledge and expertise of the land and the animals in this region.

Ancient Spanish Monastery

While Uncle Hubba and Aunt Rebecca were visiting us in Miami, we wanted to show them a good time and share a little bit of the region. One really cool, unexpected find is this monastery that was brought over, piece-by-piece, from Spain and rebuilt, right here in Florida. Hubba loves history and Rebecca studies plants, so this was a great mix of both of their interests. (Plus, we weren't sure if the weather would cooperate, so we had to plan something that could be done in drizzle.)







After seeing the monastery, we drove down A1A (Beach Front Avenue) and took our talents to South Beach, saw downtown Miami, Star Island, and a few other landmarks--a thorough driving tour of the area. Not a bad way to spend a day of vacation, if I do say so myself!

You Say Goodbye; I Say Hello.

Ryan and I made it back to Florida after another long day of travel. We left on Friday, returned on Sunday, and I felt like I hadn't slept in three days, but it was all TOTALLY worth it!

While we were doing wedding stuff in Utah, Amber and Kyle were busy. Here's some of what they were up to. Sadly, we had to say "so, long" to Amber on Tuesday. Until next time....


The guest room didn't have any time for rest because Uncle Hubba and Aunt Rebecca came to visit us later that same day! They planned a vacation to Florida for this week--along with everything else going on--and we were excited to have them! They spent a rainy weekend in Key West where all of their planned activities were canceled, so they were hoping for a better experience at our casa...and we were ready to give it to them.

Nothing says, "Welcome to our home and the next leg of your vacation," than getting to hold your new nephew for the first time....and then he takes a big, liquidy, oozing dump all over your hands, your shorts, and the floor in front of you. "Uncle Hubba: you've just spent a disappointing, rain-filled weekend in Key West, spent no time in the ocean, and had your jet skiing and snorkeling trips canceled. We're sure excited to have you here in Miramar!" (*dump, dump, poop, poop, explosion*!)

Rebecca thought it was HILARIOUS! (and, of course, I had to snap a picture!)

Rainy days and poopy pants aside, we had high hopes of this leg of the trip turning out to be all they were hoping for on their vacation to Sunny South Florida!