18 Months

A few days ago Cooper turned 18 months and we celebrated with an 18 month well check today. This was an easy one.......no shots! When Cooper was about 5 months old he had a shirt that said, "I'm Bringing Chubby Back." Well, he brought it! He was rolly-polly. Now, he's lost most of the chub and he's just solid. He weighed in at 31 pounds and is 33 1/2" long. He has started to take on the look of a little boy, not a baby. It's fun to see, but breaks my heart just a little. I don't want to be a mother of little ones forever, yet I miss every day once it's past.

We have two new additions to our family activities. One is a ride behind trail bike for Layla and a ride behind buggy for Cooper. Both were great second hand finds from someone at our gym. Here are Cooper and Layla trying out the buggy with daddy. They both do well in it, but sis LOVES the trail bike! I'll take pix the next time we're out. Since she's still riding her bike with training wheels I wasn't sure how long she would last on the trail behind bike (it's a bike without the front wheel. Where the front wheel would be, is where it attaches to Dave's bike). The first day out she did 8 miles with Dave and another 3 later in the day as a family. And, when we were done, she was mad we hadn't gone further. I think she likes it so much because she feels like a big girl.

You'd Cry if You Had Pee All OVer Your Face Too!

I'm blessed with good sleepers (Dave included)! So, When Cooper started screaming only 45 minutes into his 3 hour afternoon nap, I knew something must be wrong. I went into his room to find him laying on his back, diaper in hand and pee everywhere. The poor little man, I have no idea what he was up to before I arrived, but the end results did not make for a happy camper. A little cleaning up, new clothes and bedding and he was off to la-la land again.

A few mornings ago he woke up screaming at 6:30am. I thought, wow, this is early, maybe if we give him a few minutes he'll go back to sleep. I could tell by the pitch of the screams that was not going to happen. Dave went to his room to find that he had peed through his clothes, which for a boy means his jammies were wet from the ankles to the armpits, and with his shirt half off. What is up with these crib shenanigans?

"Adam and Eve had only one rule..."

....not to eat the apple from the tree. that was their only rule. They weren't supposed to eat that apple because God hadn't washed it yet. It had mollage (knowledge) on it" -The story of Adam and Eve as told by Layla Handsaker.

Puppy Love

Cooper is doing good without the pacifier, but we have our moments! Driving in the car for more than an hour is torturous! But, his sleep pattern hasn't been altered so I'm thankful for that! It doesn't help that he's cutting 4 teeth right now.

Brother had a great weekend. He rode in the bobcat, on the 4-wheeler and experienced his first litter of puppies. OK, so the puppies were born 4 weeks ago, but this is the first time he's had free reign. We brought the litter of 4 up to the yard for the whole day. We put Layla in charge of them, what a concept! She was busy nurturing and mothering them the whole day! And Cooper, he just laughed and them for hours.

We had a nice weekend at home and ended up doing a ton of work outside today. It was actually nice to check some of that stuff off the list. The boulder walls are complete, the dirt work is complete, now all that is left is for the the pretty stuff. I viewed the walls from the other side of the pond today while mowing and they really do look good. Wow, what a project that has been! We've had a landscaping crew do about 70% of the work, but even at that, Dave has worked so hard! I'm sure no one will be as happy as he when it's all done! I will post before and after pictures some day!!

You've Come a Long Way Baby!

BEFORE

AFTER

Today was the day. I didn't really plan it, we just went for it. After all, Cooper is almost 18 months and it is time for the pacifier addiction to come to an end! So when we woke up I threw all of his pacifiers away...except one, which I cut the tip off. This worked for Layla, but it didn't phase Cooper. He picked it up, put it in his mouth and carried on with life, like nothing was wrong. He spent the first hour walking around, barely holding onto it with his front teeth! Just like a man....he knew something was wrong but chose to ignore it! I'm glad to report his nap went as normal, he's now down for the night with no incident and by the end of the day he chucked the paci with the end cut off. He finally got tired of not being able to keep it in his mouth. You've come a long way baby boy!

Home Again, Home Again....

The four members of our family are now back on Hiatt Apple Trail and all under the same roof. This mother hen is happy! Dave and I had a great 5 days away and the kids did not want to come home! That made me feel so good...seriously...so good that they were somewhere they are loved, spoiled and have a great time. Thank you Mama Faye.

Dave and I made it through Saturday's game....poor, poor Cyclones....poor, poor Cyclone fans! We then took off for Alexandria, MN and RELAXED!!!! What a great few days to sleep, reconnect and have no schedule. We slept 10 hours/night, went and saw 2 movies...IN A MOVIE THEATER, played tennis, hiked, shopped and toured a local winery. I will post pictures, as soon as I get through the 10 loads of laundry, etc, etc!

A Lesson about Hell from a 4 Year OId

While eating lunch together today Layla proceded to give me a lesson on heaven and hell. As she started, I could tell she was trying to recount the lesson her 6 year old friend, Kendall, gave her while we were driving in the car. Kendall knew about heaven, she used the word hell and explained exactly what it is, who the devil is, how he became the devil, etc. She was spot on and she didn't sugar coat a thing! Much of the hell talk was new to Layla, so it intrigued her. Here is her version.......

"God lives in heaven, so does Jesus and well, Mary and all of Jesus depostles. But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to tell you about the bad guy. He used to be in heaven, but he was bad. So Jesus wrestled him right out of heaven and he fell with a big thud right into hazel. Hazel is where you go when you like that bad guy better than Jesus. Hazel is where......what's his name mom? I think it's........the devil. Yes, hazel is where the devil lives."

Now, I don't know where the word hazel came from and when I tried to correct her that, no, you mean hell. She replied......"Um, maybe mom. But, I better ask Kendall. She know for sure."

So, for this occasion I have posted a picture of my two little angels wrestling.

7

Today Dave and I celebrate 7 years of marriage. As I look at our two little ones running around and enjoy this beautiful day, I am thankful. What a blessed life.

A Good Week

It was a good week of landscaping. Our boulder walls are now 90% done. The end is near! Cooper watched the landscaping crew for hours. No kidding.....hours! It made for a nice, quiet few days for mama! He had a great view from this spot in our room as everything was happening about 20 feet below him, including a bobcat. He was in heaven!

Layla painted her own nails this week.....all of them....all by herself. I think she did a pretty good job. This picture was taken after I used a Q-tip on a few spots, but still, she did great! I'm sure you will notice the variety of colors she used. This is just Layla. She loves every color. She has always wanted all different colors used on her nails, she colors with every single crayon in the box and she loves mixing her playdough together to make "beauteous new colors."

Going Good

We had Cooper's appt. on Friday for the hema thing on his shoulder. Honestly, I think it's gotten smaller in the last month. But, Cooper has discovered it which means every time I take his shirt off he's poking and pulling at it! The Dr. we saw suggested just letting it go. He said that over the years of treating these things aggressively, they have learned that, in the long run, it's just best to let them be. And, hopefully, over the next few years, it will dissipate on it's own. I'm very pleased with that recommendation.
I can't tell you how many times I have had this thought in the last week......"we made the right decision!" Taking Layla to Des Moines Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning to attend preschool at Iowa Christian Academy is a commitment with a capital "C". It's 35 minutes door to door and although preschool tuition is the same as preschool in Winterset, we will have to start paying full tuition once she starts Kindergarten. Again, it's a commitment. But, her first 5 days of school have been absolute confirmation that it is right for us. She loves going. She loves her teachers and her classmates. I know some of this has to do with the fact that she is a year older and is just more ready for school than she was last year. But mostly, it's because of a great environment. Here are some of the lessons she has brought home over the past week......

"Mommy, did you know my God is alive? He's with me, right here, every day."

"Mommy, it's important that when we make decisions we stop, think and do what the Bible tell us."

And, we're working on her first memory verse this week........"Give thanks to the Lord who made the moon and stars."

The nice part to leaving the house and having 2 1/2 hours to kill 3 days/week is that I have enjoyed my time with Cooper. We walk, browse, drink coffee and just hang out. Here is something I've learned about my son.....he talks. He has more words, expressions and partial phrases than I thought! He loves to say uh-oh, no, all done, hi, and we've all heard him say Layla a few times. He is getting so big. He's even starting to lose his baby chub.