Could Skin Tone BE Any More Different

For Steven....

So, last minute I decided to hop on board for a trip to Utah. My mom and brother were headed down to Orem to help my sister and family as they welcome their 6th baby girl.

My mom was transporting their new van down to them, one with adequate seating for a family of 8. Knowing this, Cooper and I hopped aboard to go see some Utah folk.
I promised that I would try to keep my blog updated so Steven can see what's happening.

For years some of you have held true to the idea that mom isn't crazy. I now have solid proof that she is. I present to you a picture of mom cleaning the windshield of the van with Windex and paper towel. On the outside. Before the 12 hours of freeway time.

Crazy.

We were lucky enough to get to split our trip in half with stop in Boise. We grabbed a quick dinner with some of the Zellers who got into Boise about the same time as us.

We made it into Utah in time for Tim, Naki, Matt and Jackson to make it to the BYU football game. They went early, and from what I hear got the VIP treatment by Naki. Sounds like everyone had a blast, especially Jackson who go to score his first touchdown in the Cougar end-zone after the game. While the boys were at the game, us girls, (plus Gray and Coops) watched at home and had some pizza. Cooper was able to start taking in the Maile girls. He watched every move and tried to participate as much as possible.

And....this just in....Cooper decided to finally start sitting up by himself. With his Grandma. Traitor.

We love you Steven!

Can I Go From Bottles To Peanut Butter and Jelly?

I hate baby food.

I don't mind the smell or texture, I even like picking new kinds.

I hate the mess it makes. On my son, his chair, his bib, me, and the inevitable 5 rags I use in 1 feeding. Cooper started to blow raspberries this week, and since I started gasping each time he did it during a meal, it's his new game.

I will not be a happy camper until this mess is over.

(Note the missing picture of baby with big mess all over his face...

it never gets that far, I can't stand it)

Careful...

Steven and I purchased this movie recently because Steven has been reading the book. We settled down yesterday evening to start the first DVD, after about 25 minutes of the movie there was a riot scene during which a man became fully exposed.

So. Unless you rent this edited or something...be very careful.

This Isn't My First Rodeo

It wasn't my first rodeo, but it was Cooper's and technically the first one that Steven could stay for all the way through. Whose Wrangler butt is this?

It's Cooper's! We had such a great time going to the rodeo with family. By far the highlight was watching Steve watch the barrel racers. He's so allergic to horses that he hasn't ever made it that far during the rodeo. It was a sad moment this morning when he told me that Barrel Racing was the rodeo event he wanted to participate in. I reluctantly informed him that that particular event was just for girls. (He's still pouting)

I love this picture of Mason and Cooper. In this picture you can see that Cooper is experiencing what every person who has on a new pair of Wranglers experiences. (You can't bend)

This isn't such a great picture, but I wanted to capture the moment.

We are lucky enough to get to have the Budweiser Clydesdale's here this year, and this is Steven standing next to one. You can see how well they have separated the horses from the public. But, I am always amazed at how huge they are.

We're going back today for the Draft Horse Pull. More Later!

Relax...

The new one is here!

This is some of my favorite Sunday music. There are two other CD's. The first was Primary Songs, the second was Christmas music, and this one is lullabies. I love them, and probably listen to them more then Cooper. Check them out!

Randi Strikes Again

She'll come to you guys...check out her website.

Flutter Photography

Fiesta

This week we headed over to a local park for Tim's Special Needs Camp graduation.

They decided to have a fiesta this year, which ended up being a good choice because it was insanely hot. (For North Idaho) We set up camp in the only shade we could find, left of the pavilion you can see Steven, Candy, Tori and Sammy and Grandma watching over.

Tim used Steven as a hat rack, throwing his hat on him whenever he didn't want to wear it.

Scoping out dessert...

I'm sorry these pictures are so dark. Here is Tim accepting his farewell card from the camp because he's too old to keep coming.

Here is where they told him they were faking him out, and that he can come next year.

A little embarrassed...

We had so much fun watching all the kids interact with each other. All the muscle flexing, gang signs for pictures, and the loving compliments. We are so excited you get to go back Tim!

All the Pretty Little Horses...

This is Cooper's favorite toy. Much to my mother's delight, it's a horse, but the horse has no name. Any ideas? His stiched saddle blanket tells us that he might be from some Latin country...

Name it!

Hayden

We headed out on the boat today, and we had a blast. (A very safe blast Linda...) We took some munchkins of Daines' descent with us, they were awesome.

I was not aware that we had invited Miss America. Mallory was a huge help. I love those legs...

Mercer was his regular crazy self. My favorite quote of the day was,

"I really love the sea!"

Landon, teaching Dexter how to be brave. They were awesome.

Chinese fire drill.

Steven splashing..

All the kids were watching Steven do some very questionable dives off the front of the boat.

"Do it like the Olympics Uncle Steven!" Really? Can I see?

Mercer-moe.

Can I?

Just In Case Someone Was Keeping Track

Steven "thinks" he discovered that he's allergic to banana's today.

How many is that?

Fairchild Airshow

This weekend we headed over to Fairchild Airforce Base for Skyfest 2008. It was a perfect day, and we had so much fun! The weather was awesome, 80 degrees and breezy, and all the kids were fantastic. Some of us were anxious to get there very early, (something tells me that mom would have gone the night before) so we arrived at about 11:00. We were able to see many amazing things, F-14's, F-22's, and the Blue Angels to name our favorites. Thanks for letting us know about it Mom!

We had lunch outside the event before we went in, while Tim told us about everything that was flying around us. I was very impressed by the men and women running the event, they were so gracious. Also, they screen everything you bring in, but because of that you can bring virtually anything onto the base. Packed lunches, coolers, etc.

When we first got in, the F-14 was just taking off, which they are watching in this picture. In the pictures below, he did a fly-by over everyone, and you can see the various reactions from Kaden and Tori.

Tori eventually got over all the loud noises, but it was cute because she would cover one eye, and try to watch the planes with the other.

After the airshow, we had planned on going out to dinner before the Shock game, but since there were 100,000 people trying to leave the airforce base at the same time, it took us an hour to drive a mile. So, by the time we got to the Shock game, Dad had purchased some pizza's for everyone.

Clearly, we were all a little hungry...

Go Shock!

Ebony and Ivory 2.0

On the night of our family camp out, we had an impromptu jam session. (Yes, we camp in our backyard. Be quiet.)

Help!

Somebody help me with this. Whenever my travel formula needs to be refilled but isn't quite empty...

This happens. It drives me crazy!

Anyone?

Cooper the Pooper

I am very aware that every parent thinks that their children are special, smart, and beautiful. I of course think that all these things apply to Cooper as well, but he's got a few extra things that I love.

Cooper has a peaceful spirit. The best memory I have of this comes from our time in the hospital with him. Many of the nurses and doctors remarked on how surprised they were that he was so happy and calm even though he hadn't eaten in nearly a week. He helped us smile our way through that awful experience.

Cooper loves people. At the hospital I loved that each nurse would come and stand by Cooper's bed and try to talk to us, but she was unsuccessful until she would acknowledge Cooper since he would talk over her until she talked to him. Everywhere we go Cooper smiles at anyone who will smile back. I'm so glad he got his Dad's people skills and not my anti-social tendencies.

Cooper is a fantastic sleeper.

Cooper reminds me of his Uncle Tyler. Very much. He has a big heart, but can be pretty reserved. I'm so glad that he has his Uncle to look up to.

We love our little baby, so much in fact, that we are expecting another one March 13th, 2009.