Not a Day of Rest

11:30 church is NOT the best for a baby, especially one who is used to taking an early afternoon nap. I seem to spend more time in the hall than anywhere else. He doesn't like to sit still. He doesn't want to play with toys. He doesn't want to be held. He doesn't want to look at books. Yes, it seems one of the only things that can keep this little man quiet is Nilla Wafers. (They work to keep him out of the kitchen while I'm cooking, too.)

He even knows what the box is and tries to get them himself:

If he succeeds in snatching a wafer, he shoves it in his mouth, as if he were starving!

Could It Get Any Better?

This has been pretty much a perfect day, and we've spent it together! Kyle woke up early, but went back to sleep until 9:00. He woke up in a great mood, the second time. Stephen didn't have to go to school, so we ate breakfast, finished importing all of our CDs to I-tunes, and mopped and vacuumed floors. I feels SO nice to have a clean, unpacked home! (We FINALLY dumped the last big box...YAY!)
When Kyle got up from his nap, we got some lunch, checked out our mall (so I could use a birthday coupon before it expired), and went to Best Buy. Kyle LOVED the balloons they had all over and Stephen LOVED the store. One CRAZY thing about our Best Buy: there is an ICE CREAM TRUCK in the parking lot!!! That's right....it parks there ALL THE TIME, playing the music and luring in customers.
So, we're home now and watching college football. It's basically been a great day, especially for Stephen. He doesn't have to work on the first College Game Day, he got to spend the day with his wife and son, he got to go to Best Buy, and he gets to listen to the Aggie game tonight!

A New Day

What a difference a day makes...for most of us. Stephen was able to get ahead on his studying, and I was FINALLY able to finish touch-up painting and hanging pictures. (I bought a bigger paintbrush, which helped immensely, and the maintenance geniuses gave us the right color this time!) Our moving, unpacking, and decorating is complete! Kyle, on the other hand, has had an AWFUL day! He woke up crying, took a break from it during his nap, and woke up to more of the same. Let's just blame it on "teething." That seems to be a generic reason for all moodiness in babies.

Anyway, I finally made a video of our place, as promised, Mom! Hope you enjoy coming along on the five-cent tour of Casita de Cooper.

We All Have Work

While Stephen was busy studying, Kyle had a list of tasks on his agenda, too. In fact, he actually looks bothered and annoyed when I asked him to look up for a photo!


The latest hold-up on me getting done with the house and posting what it looks like is the touch-up paint. There were MANY spots needing touch-up, after moving in and up 2 flights of stairs. It didn't seem to be a big problem because our complex provides touch up paint, if you bring them your own container. We finally remembered to bring a container yesterday.

My plan was to get the painting done while Kyle took his afternoon nap. That didn't happen. Apparently it takes at least four hours for the paint to be poured into the container. Kyle was up by that time!

So, I just waited until nap time today! I just KNEW I had a paintbrush, but all I could find was this one:

Not a problem. I didn't have to paint over large areas, just small bumps and bruises on the walls, so I decided to use the small brush. I'm painting and painting and covering up all the scrapes and scuffs and I say to myself, "this paint looks lighter that what's on the walls."
"It's okay. They asked twice if I wanted wall paint, and that's what they said they gave me. Plus, paint dries darker, right?"
"We'll see."

I decided to stop painting about half-way through, but you guessed it. They DIDN'T give me the right paint color. UGH! So, I now have lighter-colored paint blotches where black scuffs used to be and about an hour of wasted time.

I took another container down to the office, so we'll see if their I.Q.'s are high enough to get it right this time!

On to happier things. Here is the latest in Kyle's "Dr. Seuss Collection."

A Fun Few Days

We went to Outback last night to celebrate my birthday. I guess everyone else had the same idea! We heard three renditions of "Happy Birthday" while were were eating and the couple behind us called their son on the phone and sang it to him. Needless to say, I did NOT jump on the birthday-song-bandwagon. I didn't want to seem like just another follower.

We went there when Grandma and Grandpa Cooper were here and Kyle LOVED looking at and touching all of the animals hanging on the walls. There's a couple of big kangaroos, a wooden koala, lots of marlins and other fish, a shark head, etc. When we walked in the door last night, he IMMEDIATELY noticed the kangaroo and wanted to go right over to it. I guess he has a pretty good memory!

Stephen has the day off from classes today. He got up to study this morning. Then, we went swimming. What a nice pool! There's also a lake with fountains behind our buildings. While we were swimming, there were several birds and at least 2 birds of prey soaring above and diving into the water. I think Kyle is going to be a Hawkeye, like his Uncle Bando. He loves spotting birds!

Kyle has also had fun playing with his toys. Usually, he goes for things with wheels, like this tractor. He also goes for things that go down the stairs well!


He is a little dare-devil, too. He's trying to walk down the stairs, climb up step-stools, walk off the edge of the swimming pool, and anything else he can get into. Just look at that little mischievous grin!

Birthday Stuff

Stephen's first day of classes went well. Long, but not too bad. He wasn't supposed to get home until 8:30, but made it home about an hour early. We started my birthday celebration with one of my FAVORITE dinners: Spaghetti!!!



After cleaning up, bathing Kyle, fixing the CD player, and looking up more school stuff, we were all ready to open presents. Kyle was SUPER excited for me to open this one (a new chair for the computer desk) :

He wanted to play in the box!!!


Bando and Hubba would be proud of the wrapping paper, or lack thereof.

Stephen (and the Coopers) gave me some pink KitchenAid stuff: a blender, a mixer, a toaster, a trivet, mixing bowls, a whisk, spatula, shears, and peeler. (Some tongs were supposed to be in there, but were left out of the order!!! I called today, and they will be here soon.) I LOVE IT, thanks!!!!!

Stephen got me a pink KitchenAid mixer for Christmas a couple of years ago. I decided that it would be fun to go all pink in my kitchen. Also, since most of our counter-top appliances were the ones I had in college, it was also time to us to get some nicer ones. (Back in 2000, we returned the blender, toaster, etc, people gave us as wedding gifts in order to buy groceries.) I sold all the old stuff at the garage sale, and Stephen planned to get me the pink KitchenAid stuff....BEFORE I even asked for it. He wanted to make sure I knew that he thought of it on his own!!!
I also got a really cool scent-thing for my home and a shelf for the bathroom from my family. (Pictures to come later.)

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday a special day! I had so much fun talking on the phone to everyone throughout the day and getting so many emails and writings on my Facebook Wall!

More Newlyweds....WHOOP-A-DEE-DOO!

This time, it's Hubba and Rebecca! We learned that Rebecca's grandpa calls her "Reba," and I think "Hubba and Reba" has a nice ring to it. Anyway, we got to go to Dallas to attend their wedding on August 9, 2008.

The night before the wedding, we all went to Pappadeux's for one great meal. Kyle was kept busy by watching "Party in my Tummy" on the I-phone.


We got to stay with Julia's family. Kyle had a great time attending Taylor's birthday party, playing with the balloons and toys, and going through this door over and over again.

Here come the newlyweds.....

Some pictures of the fam...

Here's some of the "West Side Whities" and one member of the "Fifty-Four Gang."

After the wedding, we all went to Furr's for lunch. A good time was had by all.


Later that night, we all gathered for a nice reception at Rebecca's Grandparent's home. Here's our little family at the reception:


Aunt Julia and Uncle Bando:

Julia had the privilege of taking most of the pictures at all the events. She tried to make sure she didn't miss any "Kodak Moments." While we were all sitting around a table, talking, she realized that she needed to get a picture of Hubba and his siblings. They were all there, so it was a perfect time. The funny part came when Lou said, "You four boys get over there and take a picture!" Liz wasn't too happy with this request, but here they are: " the four boys."


A classic part of the reception: cutting the cake. Rebecca was so nice (at first) but when Hubba smashed it on her face, that gave her free rein to get him back.

Here's Kyle with Aunt Liz and then with Grandma. Notice his change of attire.
He was getting really hot, so I took him inside the house. Not long after, he had a MAJOR blowout. Poop was EVERYWHERE! I had to strip him down and give him a bath in the sink. (Right at that same moment, Rebecca's grandma was giving some friends a tour of her house. Nice. "And, here's the bathroom....oh, there's a naked baby in the sink.") The crazy thing is that I had another set of clothes laid out AT JULIA'S PARENT'S HOUSE, but didn't bring it! So, WE were the family at the reception with a baby in a diaper! (We did get him into an outfit that grandma had in her car, even though it was too big.) Later, Rebecca's little brother, Dalin, decided to follow Kyle's lead and get in on the diaper trend.

Kyle initiated him into the club by anointing his head! Ha. Ha.

Congrats, Uncle Hubba and Aunt Rebecca! Love you!

My First 29th Birthday

As I woke up this morning, at 1:30, 3:30, 5:00, and finally 8:30, I realized that birthdays just don't have the same magic, once you're a mom. Kyle apparently didn't get the memo that it's his mom's b-day, and she would REALLY like to have a good night's sleep.

Then, my "new perspective" kicked in. Last night, as I was doing dishes....my least favorite chore...I had a little conversation with myself.
"You know, doing dishes isn't that bad."
"But they never seem to end."
"It's just part of your new 'job,' with Cooper & Cooper."
"Yeah. I would MUCH rather just be doing dishes right now than having to get ready to start another year of teaching 5th grade at Jane Long Elementary WHILE doing the dishes!"
"Dishes are SO much easier than having to drop Kyle off somewhere for daycare, lesson plans, grades, getting kids to pass the TAKS, dealing with parents or behavior issues, staying after school for ANOTHER meeting, and all else that goes along with teaching public school."
"Yeah, I'll take dishes."

So, there you have it, my new perspective. All of the work that goes along with being a mom is SO much better than having to do all the work that goes along with being a mom AND teach full-time in a public school. (As Brandon said, "That's very 'Pollyanna' of you.") I woke up this morning with the best birthday present of all: NOT having to start a new year of teaching school!!!

And, Kyle said "Mama" for the first time.

First REAL Sunday at Church

We attend the Palm Springs Ward in the Miami Lakes Florida Stake. We looked up our address on LDS.org, but since we're in a brand-new building, the computer didn't know exactly where we were assigned to go to church. So, we called the Church Office Building and they didn't know, either. They gave us the names of some bishops we could call. Even after calling them, we only had an IDEA of the ward to which we belong.

So, last Sunday, we just decided to show up and see if we made the right choice. We drove to the parking lot, which was full. I asked, "is this the Stake Center?" Stephen said, "probably not. It's pretty old for a Stake Center." So, we parked and walked in. Our meeting time is 11:30, but there was already a meeting going on when we got there at 11:15. I asked, "is this Stake Conference?"
"What's today's date," Stephen replied.
"The 16th or the 17th."
"Then, it IS Stake Conference. I saw a sign on the door."
We walked in the back and sat down and enjoyed the last 30 minutes of our first church meeting in Miami. Afterwards, we talked to the missionaries and met the Bishop, who confirmed that we were in the right place!

Today, we made it to the right place and the right time and got to meet a few people who go to our ward. It seems like it will be a nice place. There were A LOT of women who offered to help out with Kyle and were very friendly. (I needed it because Kyle only slept for about 33 minutes, and then wanted to take off all over the place. There's a guy in a wheelchair, and Kyle found out he could crawl over there, mess with the wheels, and make his wheelchair move. Once he figured that out, it was all I could do to keep him away from there! What a great first impression!!) I look forward to getting to know the people better and to make some good friends. (Hopefully, they understand that I'm the mother of a 13-month old, just trying to keep him contained.)

Here's a few pictures of all of us before church.

ComCast Away

I have been living without the internet for almost THREE DAYS! I know, I know. There's worse things. But I feel like I've been totally cut off from all civilization. Here I am, in a totally new place, away from my friends and family, transitioning into this wonderful role as "stay-at-home-mom," WITHOUT the internet. I haven't been able to keep up with blogs or email. Every time I wanted to map out where a certain store was or find my way around with an online map I couldn't. I just had to go to the few places I know how to get to. I was cut off from the outside world, even for just a short time. I have now decided that if I were stranded on a deserted island, I would definitely want to have the internet as my one luxury item.

Comcast has been telling us that the server was down due to "Fay." Does it really take that long to fix? Today I talked to one guy with intelligence, who had me disconnect and reconnect everything. It still wasn't working, so he set up a time for a technician to come out. Right when I hung up the phone, I heard a Southwest "Ding!" Of course, it worked RIGHT AFTER I got off the phone! Anyway, we were FINALLY able to get up and running...a mere 51 minutes ago. (And, you better believe I got a credit from being without service.....a whole $3.86!)

I should've posted earlier, I know. But right after clicking on the blog, I heard a loud THUD followed by screams. You guessed it: Kyle woke up and did NOT stick the landing on his dismount! (We watch the Olympics, too, Laura!)

Anyway, I may be lost on Motherhood Island, wiping tears, throwing toys up and down the stairs, and trying to clean up spills and messes, but at least I have the internet!!!

This was a fun mess to clean up:

He had a bath in the sink and a kitchen-towel TOGA!!

Happy Belated Birthdays!

We've been a little busy in the last two weeks and failed to keep caught up on some birthdays. Better late than never, right?

Happy birthday to Uncle Brandon, who turned another year older on the 14th.

Happy Birthday to Uncle Bryan. We're not too late on this one. He celebrated his day on the 19th.

We love you both very much and hope each of your special days were wonderful.

(By the way, Kyle turned 13 months old on the 18th!)

Off the Naughty List

After his behavior strike-out yesterday, Kyle knew he needed to be redeemed. He had to take matters into his own hands, literally. So, he helped his dad take out the trash. Congratulations, Kyle. You have now officially been moved back on the "nice list." Santa is proud of you.

Don't Take Your Eyes Off Him

Kyle does NOT get any gold stars today. First, I put him down after feeding him lasagna to clean up his mess...(luckily, I had taken his clothes off before lunch, so they weren't totally ruined.) He went right over to all the stuff he knows he shouldn't touch, touched it anyway, and knocked over (and broke) my FAVORITE glass candle holder that my friend Michele gave me for my birthday two years ago. (I collect colored glass objects, bottles, etc.) I know it's my fault for leaving them out where he could reach them, but why did it have to be my favorite piece?

Strike two? I was trying to get the stuff put up and out of his reach and he got to some books and ripped off the cover. Not that big of a deal.

Strike three? I had to go to the bathroom, so I took him upstairs with me and shut the bedroom door. Of course, he got into the ONE box up there that hasn't been unloaded. He found himself a new toy:

Yes, that is a tampon!


At least he's now taking a nap. I've got to be on my toes with this one. I now have a new reason to get things unpacked and locked away.....the destroyer.