Oh how we love our cousins!

Layla gets excited about most things in life. It doesn't take much for this girl to see everything as a new adventure. She has a long list of favorite things. Among them are wrestling with daddy, eating frosting and brother. But, at the top of the list is spending time with her cousins. She has awesome cousins on both sides of the family and has seen most of them in the last week. We saw all of the Kellen cousins last Tuesday and I think these pictures really show their true personalities. Here is what Layla always says about her Kellen cousins.........

"Sam is the sweetest"

"Henry is the funniest"

"Oscar is so stinkin' cute." (I think she'll say this until he can beat her up to make her stop)

"You better start praying to Jesus....."

Cooper David turned 7 months yesterday and I forgot to blog it! Sorry little man, mama was just so excited to be home. Cooper spent his 7th month of life perfecting table food, self feeding, getting from the sitting position to the crawling position, pulling himself up on furniture and getting his first 2 teeth. Yesterday he even made it a few inches crawling. I think month 8 is going to be a big one for this little man. He just got so big so fast and started getting around on his own so quickly that I feel like some of his baby months were stolen from me. I know, I know, he's still a baby, but I already miss the newborn weeks.

Today I'm wondering why I missed the kids so much this past weekend! Its been a tough day. Cooper wouldn't take his morning nap and Layla spent the morning crying and screaming because I put her blankets in the washer. She refused to take a bath and the whole time I was in the shower she was in our bed crying/screaming/whining. Halfway through my shower I called her into the bathroom and said, "Layla Faye Handsaker, if you're still crying by the time I get out of this shower you will go to time out. Now I suggest you get up on mommy's bed and start praying to Jesus to help you clam down and get some self control." I wish I would have had the next moment on tape. She runs back to our bed and I hear her literally crying out to the the Lord, "Jesus, help me to self obey and be control! Help my mommy be nice. I know my legs are long but I'm still just little" (Im sure Jesus knew what she meant). You'd think that would make me feel bad.....well, it didn't! But, when I got out of the shower she was up and playing, all was good.

Home Again, Home Again

Its been a long day (already) and I'm glad to be home! My day started at 2am CST in order to make my 5am CST flight out of Indy. The kids and I are now home and I'm going to be joining them for a nap very soon! We had such a great time in Brown County with Jerry and Jaime. We played cards, dominoes, shopped, ate and worshiped together at their church. Boy do we miss their amazing musical talent! I think the best part of being with them was celebrating their news that they are expecting their first child. I will never forget the call I got from Jaime 4 weeks ago as she sobbed into the phone that after 2 years of trying and some testing they were told by doctors they would not have biological children. Two weeks ago, she called me in hysterics again.....but for a different reason! She had just found out she was 8 weeks pregnant and had the 4 home pregnancy tests to prove it! God is so stinkin' good! It was so fun to see their excitement, talk about pregnancy and being parents. Thanks for a great weekend Tiptons!

A Weekend Away

Dave and I are in Nashville, IN with Jerry and Jaime this weekend. Brown County is so beautiful and it is such a blessing to have a weekend away from the kids and see Jerry and Jaime. I have missed to kids TERRIBLY!! I cried when we left Grandpa and Grandma's house without them, I cried when our plane left Iowa soil and I cried when our wheels touched down in Indiana. We are only away for 4 nights and 3 days. How am I going to make it for 10 DAYS when we go to Maui in February? Seriously, is there a mom out there who feels my pain? Why is it that there are days with our kids that make us crazy, yet when we're away from them we're out of our minds with missing them? Is motherhood just a constant state of crazy? I know time away is important for me and important for Dave and I, so I am purposing to enjoy every minute. Which I am! However, I can't wait to snuggle with Layla and squeeze Cooper's chunky little legs to make him giggle. And, I know that when I return to Iowa and leave Dave in Indiana for 4 days of meetings, my sanity will once again be called into question!

"Do you people not see there's something on my eye?"

Cooper loves to feed himself big boy food (Cheerios, crackers, etc.) And he really loves the sweet potato star puffs that Gerber makes. Tonight while we were eating he missed his mouth and got one stuck on his eyebrow (I said he love to feed himself, I didn't say he was good at it). He knew the puff was there and was desperately trying to look at it and grab it. It was so funny that I had to get the camera. By the time I made it back to the high chair the star was over his eye. Note I said over, not in. There were no 6 month old babies hurt in the snapping of this picture!

".......and I approve this message"

Yes, just a little more political humor for you........last night, while making dinner, I asked Dave who the media was saying won Wednesday night's debate. Layla said, "did John McCain win?" and before I could answer she says, "I'm John McCain and I approve this message." Of course I laughed and asked her where she heard that and she said on the phone. I asked her if she had answered the phone when I wasn't with her (which she should not be doing) and I never did get a straight answer. She is in love with answering the phone and I've had trouble with her answering when I'm not in the room or when I'm in the shower. So, as far as I know, she fielded a recorded message from John McCain.

Layla had her first field trip this week to the fire station. I got to go and it was really fun to see her with her class. She was very apprehensive at the station. She kept asking me if we could go home. I wasn't sure if she was just being clingy because I was there or what was going on. Half way through the visit she had to go to the bathroom. When we were by ourselves I asked her why she didn't like the fire station. She said, "because I don't like fires mom and there's fire here." I guess I didn't explain to her that the fire station is where the firemen and the fire trucks wait and rest until there is a fire somewhere else. Her little mind was waiting for a fire to break out any minute. Poor thing......I wouldn't have liked the fire station either! Once I explained away her worry, she enjoyed herself and got to get into the fire truck with Mrs. Rhodes.

Whats a Conservative, Republican Mom to Do?

We had a very busy, but wonderful weekend. Dave was hosting a hunt test (a dog thing) in Southern IA so Mama Faye came for the weekend, primarily to help me keep my sanity! As you can imagine, she was a great help and there were 3 slumber parties while she was here. We spent the day in Des Moines Saturday and took in the Covered Bridge Festival on Sunday. The biggest milestone of the weekend was on Sunday morning when Cooper was sucking on mom's knuckle and he bit her. Yes, Cooper has his first tooth. I know 6 months is the average age for babies to get their teeth, but Layla didn't get her first tooth until 14 months. So far, so good, the little man is handling it well.

A funny little political story for you all.......we went to a new bookstore while in Des Moines Saturday and Layla walked right up to a book with Obama on the cover and said, "Look mom, its Barack Obama." Needless to say, I was more than a little floored that this is the second time she's mentioned him to me, but this time she also recognized him. So, what does this conservative, Republican mom do? Marched her right over to a magazine with McCain and Palin on the cover and explained to her that Obama is like the Hawkeyes (University of Iowa), we don't want him to win.

Seriuosly, Dave and I rarely watch TV with the kids and really purpose not to watch the news with them. We record our shows and watch them later. I really thought she was pretty sheltered from this stuff. But, I do have to give kudos to the Obama campaign team. You're doing your job well if even a 3 year old knows your candidate!

Great Questions!

We are only about 2 1/2 hours into our day and our Layla Faye has already exhausted my brain. Here is the hard thing about all of her questions......answering her truthfully and in a way her 3 year old mind will understand. She is also the queen of free association. These questions come out on left field and at the oddest times.

This morning while eating Cheerios......"Mommy, will I take your truck to heaven?"

20 minutes later while making the bed......"Mommy, who's Obama?"

20 minutes later while brushing teeth......"Mommy, I think you should be President of Americas, why aren't you?" (Amen sister! There would be a lot of people in time out right now!)

20 minutes later while polishing our nails....."Mommy, what shoes does Mary (referring to Jesus' mommy) have on in heaven?"

20 minutes later while playing babies...."Mommy, will everyone go to heaven? Where else would they go?" (couldn't you just ask me where babies come from?)

The Pumpkin Patch

Sunday night is now Family Night in the Handsaker House. I don't know about all of you, but Sunday nights tend to give us the blahs. I don't know if its that we're sad to see the weekend end or that thoughts of the upcoming week exhausts us.....or perhaps its both. So on Sunday nights we purpose to get out of the house and do something together. This Sunday night we went to the pumpkin patch. Layla was thrilled that we got to ride the tractor and wagon out to one of the pumpkin fields. Even more exciting than picking her own pumpkin was the fact that the Winterset airport was right next to us and we got to watch the Des Moines skydive club in action. You will see them and their plane in most of our pictures. This is the airport and the club that Dave and I went skydiving with more than 7 years ago.......oh the memories!

Sausage...or..uh...I Mean Saucer Legs

I've been wanting to get a picture of the little dudes legs in his saucer for you all to see. I love these little legs and every time I see them sticking out of that saucer I just have to squeeze them! I love chubbers on babies and its a good thing! I love them so much that when I saw this onsie and knew Cooper DD had to have it! We love you buddy and every squeezable inch of you!

Family Pictures

Last Saturday morning we had a little family photo session at our house with my cousin, Karen, and her husband, Eric. If you haven't heard me brag about them in the past, you are about to! They are so amazing and I encourage EVERYONE to check out their work. They come to you and will capture your family like you've never seen before. You can view their work at kandeproductionsonline.com and you can see a sneak peek of our family pictures on their blog. Just click on Eric and Karen on the right of this screen (you may have to scroll down slightly). Thank you guys for capturing our babies! When I see your pictures of my kids it is like I'm seeing Layla and Cooper for the first time!