Did I really Just Say That?!?!

Oh my, yes, its official. I am a parent. No, carrying both children for 9 months didn't make me a parent. Not even giving birth made me official. But what I just said did........I was scooping sherbet for Layla's dessert and she was literally bouncing off the lower cabinets in the kitchen. I asked her to please stop. Still, more bouncing. "Layla, mommy asked you to please stop that." She stops, looks at me and asks, "why?" My reply? "Because I said so." As soon as it came out of my mouth I started to laugh. I can't believe I actually said it. Next out of my mouth? I'm sure it will be, "stop that crying or I'll give you something to cry about." Or, better yet, "stop that right now or I'll pull this car over."

Coopy D, the Farmer

We had a great to start to the week because we got to hit the road with Daddy! The Farm Progress Show is currently going on in Boone, IA so we all stayed in Ames M-W. We had fun swimming at the hotel with cousins and hanging out at the show yesterday. I couldn't think of a better place for Cooper to debut his overalls and John Deere hat. When I saw him from behind all I could think of was my grandpa Holles. Cooper has short, chubby legs that are slightly bowed and a bald spot you can see from the back opening of his hat. I took the picture of him smiling and 60 seconds later, the one of him sleeping. I can't imagine this world without his smile (drool and all). He smiles at everyone and is an easy kid to figure out. If he's upset he's either hungry or tired, nothing else. He's never grumpy "just because". Happy 5 month birthday, buddy!

Layla also had fun at the show. There were lots of free hand-outs and she especially liked the horse, Trigger, that she got to pet. She was even asked to be in a promotional brochure. Mommy said no as the brochure was for one of Dave's competitors! I didn't think he would appreciate that too much. I did, however, let her have the free popcorn at the Pioneer booth. But, Daddy took it out of the Pioneer cup as soon as he saw us, sorry Papa Dean. Layla also had a vocabulary lesson at the show. There were a couple guys walking behind us and I heard one of them say, "that's a big #ss tractor." I cringed, hoping Layla didn't hear, but of course, she did. "Mommy, why is that tractor big #ss? What's big #ss? Is daddy's tractor big #ss?" Can we say big #ss a few more times?!?!?! I'm hoping this one doesn't resurface someday because you know if it does it will be at the most inopportune time! Like her first day of preschool or Sunday school.

The Birthday Girl!

At 7:44 this morning Layla Faye turned 3 years old and we celebrated with mini pancakes! We thank God for our little girl and every minute of these last 3 years. We had a family day in Nevada yesterday which included walking in a parade with uncle Ben, Aunt Kari, Sam, Henry and Papa Fish. We walked to promote Ben's business. Cooper rode the route in his stroller, Sam, Henry and Layla rode the Gator and tractor and we threw pens and candy. We then had birthday lunch at the park. She was spoiled with many great gifts and is having a blast with her Barbie, new bike, finger paints, gigantic koosh ball (pink of course), digital camera (which, amazingly, she has taken awesome pictures with), and balloons (which she had to take in the car to church today????)

I can honestly say that every day of Layla's life I have taken a moment to just say to myself, "wow, this is all going too fast" and have wanted to go back and enjoy the early days again. But today, I don't feel like that. Instead, I've been thinking, "I love who you are right now." Thank you God for Layla Faye. She is incredibly sweet and snugly, yet knows her mind and likes things just so. She loves Jesus and loves to pray. She enjoys pushing her limits and doesn't think twice about trying something new. And, as of today, she can hold her middle 3 fingers up and make the sign for 3.

"I want it back NOW!"

So, we went into Winterset today for a trip to the coffee shop, a stroll around the square and an outing to the library. Due to the activity in town, I was reminded that Winterset started back to school today. As we walked, I said to Layla, "Where did summer go? The pool closed last week and school starts today for the big kids."

We just kept walking and talking about other things. When we reached the library Layla turned to me and said, "I want it back mom."
"You want what back?" I asked as I look at Cooper to see if he grabbed something he wasn't supposed to.
"My summer. I don't know who took it, but I want it back. Can you call them next-morrow (her word for tomorrow)? Tell them to open it back up."
I laughed and said, "No baby, we can't open it back up or get it back, but we will have another summer after the snow comes and goes."
"No mom, I want it back NOW! I'm serious."

Amen sister! And while I'm at it, I'll tell that time stealer to give me back my last 3 years with you. I can't believe you will be 3 years old on Sunday!

Our Breakfast Conversation

The Scene:
I am cleaning up breakfast dishes, Layla is eating her cereal at the counter and Cooper is in his bouncy chair on the counter. Cooper is starting to get very loud and fussy because he wants his morning nap. See if you can follow this conversation.

The Conversation:
I say to Cooper, "Do we have a catastrophe on our hands? You just want to go to bed don't you buddy?"
Layla asks, "Mom, whats on Cooper's hands?"
I barely hear this over Cooper and just keep cleaning. If I have 1 more focused minute, the breakfast dishes will be done.
Again, Layla asks, "Mom, whats on Cooper's hands?"
"No babe," I reply, "Cooper doesn't have anything on his hands, it was just a figure of speech."
"Like a shape?" she asks. "What shape, a circle?"
"A circle? What are you talking about?"
"A shape mom, you know, like hearts, circles, squares I like hearts does he have hearts on his hands I have flowers on mine Michaela (last night's babysitter) painted flowers on my fingernails."
Layla has said all of this without taking a breath and is now getting down from her seat.
"Honey, where are you going," I ask.
"I'm getting the shape book mom. I'll teach you so you know what shape to tell me is on Coops hands."

Dave, this is why your previously sharp-minded wife can't put a sentence together at the end of the day. My mind just can't keep up with our 2 year old.

The 10 Hour Stretch!

ALLELUIA!!!! The moment every parent waits for has finally happened........Cooper has found his stomach and is sleeping 10 hours straight at night. Our little tank is going down at 8:30pm, feeding at 6:30am and going down again until 8:30. He's 4 1/2 months, which is 6 weeks earlier than when Layla hit this mark. I am very thankful, especially since I'm so dang addicted to the Olympics and can't seem to get to bed before 11pm these days.

Back to the Basement

As of Saturday morning at 8:45am, the Handsaker family is back in the basement. The best part of all of this, there is no more family sleeping. The kids went back to their own beds in their own rooms Saturday night with no incident. And, we got to watch Shawn Johnson on the big screen Sunday night.

The other exciting news of last week was Layla went to her first VBS. I wasn't sure what she thought of the whole thing, I think it was a bit overwhelming at first. But, she wanted to go back every night and is still talking about it every day and we listen to the CD at least 100 times a day, quite literally! The theme this years was Outrigger Island where the kids were encouraged to Know the Truth, Speak the Truth and Live the Truth. Although Layla is not quite 3 yet, I could tell she understood it. She was in her bed for a nap yesterday talking to herself saying, "Know the truth, speak the truth, live the truth." After naps I asked her if she knew what the truth was and she said, "Yes mommy, God loves us and gave us Jesus." Thank you VBS.

Layla's Very Tan Skin

If you look at the post below with the kids hands, my friend Haverlee made a very cute comment. Here's the funny thing....skin color keeps coming up in our house. And, I thank God for this because it gives us a great chance to talk about how God made us all to look beautifully different. You can read another example of this under the June 24th posting, "Don't Worry, We're all Booteeful"

So, yesterday at that Library we picked a book that is called, "The Color of Us". It's about a little girl who has friends and family with all different skin color. She introduces us to them and compares their skin to the color of food. For example, her Asian friend is honey and coffee. Her Native American cousin is the color of yummy spices. Her Caucasian friend is a peachy tan. When I said to Layla, "this is the color of your skin, peachy tan." She said, "no its not mama. I'm the color of yummy spices." Well, its true! Thank you mama Faye for Layla's beautiful skin!

And yes, she does wear sun block! I can't tell you how many strangers ask me that question. As a matter of fact she wears very heavy, greasey SPF 70.

Coopy D Turns 4 Months

In the craziness of our flooded basement, I forgot to blog that our little man, whose nickname this week is Coopy D, turned 4 months. We are so in love with this little boy and enjoying every day with him. The biggest changes in Coop? Well, he's sleeping from 9pm-6am, eats at 6 and goes back down until 8am. Mama is loving this! His height has officially caught up with his weight. He is now in the 95th percentile for both. I think his height was at 27" and weight just over 17 pounds. And this little man is on the go! He is rolling over and over and over and over. I thought that maybe with his laid back personality, he wouldn't be on the move this much this early, but I was wrong. After all he does have Handsaker and Kellen blood pulsing through his veins. He is also such a snuggler and TALKER!! If you lock eyes with this one, he will tell you story after story after story. If he had a cell phone in his hand while doing it, he would truly look just like Daddy!

Counting Down

OK, we're almost back in the basement. Here's the update......Ben and friends helped install a new sump pump this weekend, we repaired some of the drainage and underground tile and the carpet has been laid in all rooms. The last step is just stretching the living room which should be done by tomorrow. It looks like this weekend we will be moving our basement stuff out of the upstairs and back into the basement! YEAH!!!!!! We still have some small projects, but nothing that will keep us from moving ahead. After dinner one night last week we got up from the table and said, "alright, its back to work on the basement." Layla replied, "Let's go team, its time for teamwork!" Well said little girl. Thanks family and Friends who have given us so much help!

Top 5 Reasons to Praise God this Week

With all of us still living in 500 sq. feet, I have been making a point to praise God for all of the blessings that have come out of our basement flooding.......

1. My family and our friends are wonderful! Ben is helping us install sump pumps this weekend and friends are helping with the rest of the repairs and relaying our carpet (which started a little last night)
2. 500 square feet of living space only takes 20 minutes to clean!!!!
3. Family slumber parties are so fun! Layla told me its just like being in a hotel.
4. With all of us sleeping in the same room, I've actually gotten more sleep because I go to bed as early as the kids
5. We are all safe and no precious memories were lost or damaged.