Cooper's 8th Birthday and His Baptism

On March 26th my boy turned 8 years old. I love him so much and I can't believe how fast he is growing up! He was very anxious to turn 8 so that he can be baptized. Our plan was to have his baptism here in NM. When we found out that Cathy (Taylor's mom) wouldn't be well enough to travel we immediately made plans to have the baptism in AZ so that she could attend. Cooper is the oldest grandchild for Taylor's mom and the first to be baptized. It was really important for her to be there.

The baptism was beautiful. It was a perfect day! I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life. It makes me proud to think that my son chose to be baptized and get confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Maybe as parents Taylor and I really are doing something right.

Our family


Cooper and my parents (Grandma Barbara and Papa Larry)


Grandma Cathy and Cooper


Cooper and Taylor's parents (Grandma Cathy and Granddad Butch)


Cooper and his cousins on Taylor's side. (Caidgen, Cooper, Cody, Ami, Tylie and Natalie)


The rest of our visit in AZ was great. Here are a few random pics.

We got Cooper got a .22 rifle for his 8th birthday. So Taylor and Ben took Cooper shooting. They had a great time.


Eli giving Grandma Barbara kisses


Eli enjoying birthday cake


Papa Larry and Cody reading

Our first major accident

March 18th, 2009

I need to back track a little, so bear with me. I will eventually get caught up with my blogging.

On March 18th Cooper had his first major accident. We were all outside playing (our whole family, plus I was babysitting 3 kids). There is a dirt hill by our house and Cooper had the ingenious idea to ride down it on his bike. I gave the typical mother's response, "It is your decision, but don't come cryin to me when you bust your head open!"
About 2 minutes later I hear Cooper screaming/crying. I ran over to him and immediately noticed blood running down his leg. I sat him down and squeezed his leg together to try to stop the bleeding. I could tell that it was a really deep cut. I do not handle blood very well so I was starting to feel woozy. Taylor had been outside with us but took off just minutes before this to go on a dirt bike ride into the desert. So I was all alone with 7 kids. How in the world was I going to get him to the hospital?! Luckily my neighbor/friend Steve was working out in his garage. I screamed "Steve, Steve!" He came running with his son and nephew. They picked up Cooper and carried him to my house. Meanwhile I was bent over with my head between my legs about to pass out! They got a towel and wrapped up Cooper's leg and sat with him until Taylor rode up. Taylor threw Coop in him truck and headed to the Urgent Care. It was the hardest thing for me to have to stay back with the other kids and not go with them.
Cooper ended up getting 9 stitches. 2 on the inside and 7 on the outside. I guess as he was pushing his bike up the hill his leg slipped and hit the side of his bike. He cut his leg on the large bolt that holds the training wheels on. DISGUSTING! He was such a tough kid through this whole experience and I hope he learned his lesson to listen to me when I give him warnings! Mothers know best!
These pics are a little graphic, so BEWARE.

Cody Stories

I was just upstairs putting the 2 boys (Cooper and Cody) to bed. I love to lay by them at night and talk about their day. Cody usually ends up saying something funny.
Well, tonight was no different. It starts like this....
Cody rolls over towards me and says,
Cody: "Mom, will you tickle my back?"
Me: "Sure, roll over"
I proceed to start tickling his back with my fingertips.
Cody: "No, Mom, with your claws out!"

**Same night, but a few minutes later. I have walked out the door but can hear the boys talking....
Cooper: "What is that stink?"
Cody: "Oh, sorry Coop, it's probably my brest, I didn't brush my teeth today. Ha ha, don't tell mom."
In Cody's language brest means breath.
I gotta a good laugh!

I am really behind on posting. I have many stories and experiences to share but because of my new found obsession with couponing and facebook, my blog has taken a back burner. We are headed to AZ tomorrow for Cooper's baptism so maybe when I get back I can blog! Stay tuned............

Killin Time

I just got back from Bunko and I am on a sugar high. Happens every time! Unfortunately, I won't be falling asleep for a while and Taylor is off at the gym so I figured I would get on the computer and blog. Hopefully kill some time until he gets home. I have so much going on in my head right now, I just have to spit some of it out!
We are being faced with some harsh realities in regards to Taylor's mother's health. It has hit us hard even though we have been trying to prepare for it. I find myself feeling very helpless, angry, sad, and confused. It really STINKS! I am not going to share details right now, .....maybe later, we are still sorting it all out in our heads.
More news. Cooper and Natalie got their progress reports from school last week. I am very impressed with both of them. We have Parent Teacher Conferences next week so I am excited for that. I just have to say how happy I am that we moved our kids to NACC. I have yet to be disappointed. YAY!
Cody is doing great. We practice his letters and numbers everyday. I am amazed at how quickly he is picking up on them. I wander if it makes a difference that he has older siblings? We also have a quiet lunch together once Eli goes down for his nap. Cody calls them our "lunch dates". He is such a sweet little boy...as long as he gets his way!
Thanks to everyone who offered to help babysit last Saturday for me. Many of you have asked why in the world I needed a babysitter at 4:30 in the morning? It recently occurred to me that I have a child (Cody) that is approaching preschool age and if I want him to go to a good school than I need to get him registered. Taylor happened to be on a Young Men's camp out the day of registration. (Good timing Tay)The particular preschool where I want him to go is first come, first serve. I knew I needed to get there early. Since I didn't have a husband to stand in line for me I thought 4:30 was early enough! Boy was I wrong. There were people that got to the school at 1:00am. It is crazy the things we do for our children! I will find out hopefully tomorrow what class he got in to.
Eli is same old Eli. Keeps me very busy. He is getting quite the personality. He is in constant need of my undivided attention. And if he doesn't get it he screams and cries. If his tantrums don't work he finds mischief. His favorite thing to do is go into the kitty room and play in the litter box. I know, DISGUSTING! Don't worry he is quickly disinfected. He still enjoys dancing on my table, rummaging through my cabinets and rearranging the dishes in the dishwasher. He is a handful and I am quite exhausted by the end of the day, but when he gives me hugs and kisses at bedtime it makes it all worth it.
Taylor just pulled in the garage....better head off to bed.

ANY TAKERS?!

I AM IN DESPERATE NEED OF A BABYSITTER FOR SATURDAY MORNING AT 4:30. I KNOW IT IS EARLY. I JUST NEED SOMEONE TO COME SIT AT MY HOUSE WHILE MY KIDS SLEEP. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE, PLEASE CALL ME!
THANKS

I Need Suggestions

I survived my day in the hospital. It wasn't that bad. The anesthesia was the worst part, it made me pretty sick/loopy for the remainder of the day. Now we wait for the bill. UGH! That tiny IUD is ending up to be a very expensive mistake. Now that it is gone, I am looking forward to being hormone free.

BEFORE


AFTER


I had a pretty relaxing weekend. I can't say the same for Taylor. He was amazing and took care of the kids. Valentines day wasn't the complete bust that I thought it would be. We decided that since I wasn't really feeling well enough to go anywhere that we would have friends come over to our house to hang out. We had heart shaped pizza for dinner and cupcakes for dessert. The kids loved it, and that is what matters, right?

Nothing else is going on. Kids are back in school after a long 4 day weekend. I have been arranging lots of play dates for Cody. He gets really bored with just Eli and I to play with. I think he is ready for preschool...seems strange that he is that old already. I gotta start researching one for him and then swallow the fact that we will probably spend close to $150.00 a month for it. OUCH!

Eli has discovered how to climb onto my kitchen table....or any other table for that matter. About 10 times a day I walk into the kitchen and find him dancing on top of it. It is really cute but very dangerous! How do I prevent him from doing this?

That's about it for us! Here are some random pics I found on my camera this morning and a video of Eli doing what he does best!




Natalie started gymnastics a few weeks ago so we all decided to practice our skills as well. The kids were in awe when they saw Taylor and I doing cartwheels.

YAY FOR LOVE

Happy Valentines Day to all of you! My Dad calls it Forced Affection Day. Which I think is hilarious, but true! We all have these unrealistic expectations of what Valentines Day is supposed to be like. And most of the time these expectations never get met. The point of Valentines Day is to show the people that are important to us how much we love them. So, regardless of what you choose to call this holiday, I hope you all have a great day with the people you love!