"What's your name?"

Although Cooper is talking more, there are still a lot of things that come out of his little mouth that I can't understand. His newest game took me awhile to understand.

He holds your hand and says, "blah, blah, blah name?"
I look at him, baffled and he says, "I'm Cooper"

Then, he walks to the next person and does the same. I finally figured it out! He's asking what my name is and introducing himself. Now that we get it, he does it all day long. The only thing that I can attribute this to is he spends a lot of time with his daddy and Dave talks to everyone!

Independence Day

As per tradition, we headed to Okoboji for the 4th of July. The kids were so excited, they were up at 5:45am the day we left for the lakes and were in bed by 6:30pm the night we returned. Needless to say, they were tired! They stayed up 2-3 hours past their bedtime every night and, after 4 days, we paid for it! Layla was a blubbering, sobbing, emotional wreck. But, it's all worth it. They got to see grandparents, swim, boat, tube, play with cousins and watch the big Arnolds Park fireworks from the boat. We made memories and that is what we will choose to remember.

Layla and Cooper tubed for the first time and Cooper learned to ride a bicycle with training wheels. And we got to listen to sweet cousin Oscar talk for days and watch happy cousin Louis play, play, play. I have never seen a 5 month old baby love playing on his tummy as much and for as long as Louis.

Children of the Corn

Oh my, do you remember that movie from the 80's? Seriously, it scarred me for life! "Malachi, Malachi!" It didn't help that I watched it at night, in the country with my neighbor, Jessica. And of course, if you know her, you know she's one tough girl. So, of course, she wanted to run around outside when the movie was over. It was pitch black outside and her house was surrounded by...you guessed it...corn fields!

Yesterday, Dave started cutting our 5 acre corn maze for the pumpkin patch. It was so hot, that we decided to take Daddy a drink. Well, we weren't even through the entry rows and I was freaked out! Copper loved it and wanted to run ahead. Layla, on the other hand, walked through it like a girl! She didn't want any corn to touch her. Needless to say, we turned around before we even entered the main part of the maze. There was no way we would have found Dave.

We waited until early evening to go do a little replanting in the patch last night. We did this by hand and it took us about an hour to hit a few thin spots. The kids were amazing! Dave and I dug up a little hole and the kids dropped the seed, pushed it down and stomped a little dirt on top. I am not kidding you when I say our 4 year old and 2 year old cut our workload in half. They were so hot and sweaty by the time we finished, but they were also so proud of what they had done.

A Meadow is Born

I am always looking for a way to cut down on the 2 1/2 hr mowing job that our property requires. When we first moved here, it was 3 1/2 hours! So, I have shaved an hour off in 7 years. This spring, we tilled up 1/3 acre and seeded it to wildflowers. The day after that, it rained for 2 weeks straight. We wondered if the seed washed away. When we returned from Branson, we saw flowers! They are just starting to come in and the kids love to go pick flowers and watch the butterflies.

Treasures

A good morning on the ranch. Well, not the early morning hours! Layla had a slumber party with me last night and I woke up at midnight with a 4 year old throwing up on me! I swear, that girl only gets the flu when Dave is on the road!

But, after sleeping in, having a shower and a little snack, she's back to herself. We got outside for a little treasure hunt this morning. Oh my, does it feel good to be outside again! Thank you, God for sunshine, instead of rain! And, a cool morning instead of stifling humidity and 100 degree heat index!

Here are a few pictures of our treasure.

"I no like..."

It has been so fun to hear Cooper David start communicating (with words) so much better in the last 30 days. He still likes to drop syllables off of words, but we're working on it!

His favorite thing to tell me about right now is all the things he doesn't like. This is what I hear a lot of.....

"Mom, I no like that (lotion) on my cheeks."
"Mom, I no like that lunch."
"Mom, I no like you bush (brush) my hair"

You get the idea! But, here are some things I hear a lot of that I love!

"Good lunch, mom" Dave ALWAYS thanks me for a meal and tells me, "Good meal, Mommy." It's so sweet to hear the kids mimic him.

Cooper also love to tell us, with a mischievous smile, "I a stinker!" and "I coot (cute)!"

Oh little man, you are so stinkin' cute!!!

Branson

We just returned from 7 days in Branson, MO with Grandma and Grandpa Handsaker. We had never been to Branson and were pleasantly surprised! Our goal for a vacation destination was to find somewhere far enough away that it felt like vacation, but not too far away that the travel with a 4 year old and 2 year old would kill us! Branson won.

We stayed at a wonderful lodge(Welks Lodge)where we had a 800 sq. foot, one bedroom with a full kitchen and washer and dryer. Perfect set-up for a family with young kids! Our resort was a little off the beaten path so it was quiet and peaceful. We had an indoor/outdoor pool with great water features.

What did we do? Every day we relaxed a little and played a little. The kid's favorite activities were swimming, Dixie Stampede, and Noah the Musical at the Sight and Sound Theater. Cooper didn't move or acknowledge anyone calling his name during the Dixie Stampede. He stood on his chair, mesmerized, for a full 2 hours. We also went to The Butterfly Palace, rode the ducks, went to the fishery, Table Rock State Park and Dave saw Six with his parents. Oh yes, and we did a little shopping! That was one of Mommy's favorites!

Thank you G&G Handsaker! It was a great trip and we enjoyed some great family time!