Cooper is 3 years old today! I can hardly believe it! He is just growing up so fast! Here are some fun things about Cooper at his 3rd Year Birthday!
1. Cooper IS Spiderman. I think part of him really truly believes that he is The Spiderman. He wears his costume around the house all the time, sometimes with his mask and sometimes without. He loves to jump off the 4th stair or off the ladder on the bunk bed, and when he lands, he assumes the spiderman squat and shoots out his web. He tells me that he is strong because he is spiderman, and he can jump like that because he is spiderman. Everything brave he does, is because he is spiderman. Jaxton can't stand that he says that, because he knows Cooper is not spiderman. But Cooper is pretty convinced that he is!
2. Cooper's favorite thing to eat is snacks, or sugar. He is the snack king! He will go to great means to get his hands on some kind of candy or chocolate. And I can try anything to get him to eat dinner, but all he really wants to eat are snacks!!
3. Cooper goes to Nursery at church. Just before Kaylee was born, he was loving Nursery. His favorite teacher was "Grandma Cathy," one of the Nursery workers. Over a year ago when Cooper would cry when we left him in Nursery, Grandma Cathy would take him and hold him pretty much the entire time. Eventually he realized that Nursery wasn't so bad. He still relied on Grandma Cathy but began participating and then he grew to love Nursery so much! Unfortunately, just recently Grandma Cathy got released from her nursery job, and Cooper has had a bit of a hard time adjusting without her. She was so good with him, and still today he talks about her. He would say that she is his favorite teacher. She definitely made an impact on his little life!
4. Cooper really likes karate. We watched The Karate Kid as a family recently, and he was enthralled with karate as a sport. Another time we watched The Three Ninjas as a family, and again, he was glued to the ninja's kicking and punching actions! Of course after the movies both times, he turned into the karate kid or a ninja and just ran all around the house kicking and punching in the air just like the characters in the movies. The boys have some karate outfits from their cousins and they love to dress up in them and "fight" one another. It's pretty funny when the outfits are size 8 and 10, so their sleeves and pants are rolled up 4 times to keep their hands and feet usable! Jaxton usually lets Cooper punch him down so Cooper always feels like he is winning the "battle!"
5. Cooper's favorite sports team (if you can have a favorite sports team at age 3) is the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. It is the D-League basketball team here, and since we have season tickets, we go often to watch them. Cooper loves to watch the game and eat concession popcorn. Its his favorite thing to do ever! He has made friends with the Mad Ant mascot this season and does not fear him anymore like he used to. He also loves to give high fives to the basketball players at the beginning of the 2nd half of each game!
6. Though he thinks he is Spiderman, he also believes his is a basketball player. Thus, he always has to wear basketball shorts everyday. Since it is snowing and winter here, I make him wear long pants or jeans when we leave the house of course, so he insists on wearing basketball shorts underneath his jeans. Sometimes when he is at other peoples' houses, they see him wearing 2 sets of pants and they always raise their eyebrows. But Cooper wouldn't have it any other way!
7. Cooper is cute about his nightly ritual. After jammies are on and teeth are brushed if we forget scriptures, he is sure to remind us. He also makes sure he wears big boy pants on top of his pull-up. Then we say "Cooper Prayers" and "Jaxton Prayers," their personal prayers together by each of their beds. Before leaving their room, Cooper always will say "Goodnight! I love you!" and blow 2 kisses to us from his bed. He cannot relax and cozy up in bed if we do not repeat back "Goodnight! I love you!" and blow 2 kisses back to him. If I forget, or I leave before he says it, he will start yelling it louder and louder and begin to get anxious and start to cry. So I always have to come back up the stairs to repeat back to him his phrase, "Goodnight! I love you!" It is a super cute little trademark of his own.
8. Cooper is super independent and stubborn. He always wants to do everything by himself and try to do adult things by himself. Though frustrating sometimes, it is a good quality to have. He likes to make his own toast. Jaxton would rather I just did it. Same with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He wants to spread the peanut butter and jelly. If he wants a snack that is up high in the pantry, he just pulls over a tall chair to reach it. Same with food in the fridge like yogurt. He will just get a tall chair or stool, climb all the way up on top of the freezer part to reach something. He wants to pour his own milk and applejuice, get his own plate, fork, cup, or bowl of his choice, and brush his teeth on his own. He never wants help. If its something i don't want him to do by himself, like pour milk from a full milk jug or brush his teeth at night he suggests, "together, together." So we both use our hands together and do the action together. It's a great compromise he came up with all by himself. Its another cute trademark phrase I don't want to ever forget!
9. Cooper loves swimming lessons. He is a master swimmer! His ambition and determination are in place in the pool just the same as anywhere else. But in the pool he also has joy. He just loves the anticipation of going under the water. He comes up with a huge grin after going under. His physical strength is apparent too when he swims, kicking his legs, and swimming his arms. He really does have a lot of strength. His favorite is the marshmellow stick that he can hold onto with his arms and it keeps him afloat. Then he kicks his legs and can swim across the pool with absolutely no help. He loves it! Now that he is 3 he is old enough for the preschool level classes without me in the pool with him. He will love it!
10. Just like his nightly rituals, he always makes Nate come kiss him before work. In fact, he always shows a frown when Nate is getting ready to leave and he pleads with Nate to stay home with him. Unfortunately, Nate has to work, so Cooper consents to have him leave, only on the condition that he gives him hugs and kisses before he leaves. If Nate forgets to give him kisses, he makes him come back inside to do so. It is very important to him. He loves his daddy so very much. Later, when he hears the garage overhead door opening, he will run and open the door to the garage to greet Nate when he comes home. A couple times he would go down into the garage as Nate is pulling in, just antsy with excitement. We've had to keep an eye on him and teach him to stay on the stairs platform so he doesn't get run over by Nate's truck. Even so, he is so excited when he sees his Daddy. He loves him so very much!
Time for cake! This was the best part for Cooper! Sugar time! He has been waiting for this moment to blow out his candles and eat his very own Mad Ants cake for months!! This is definitely the highlight for him! 
Cooper is 3 years old today! I can hardly believe it! He is just growing up so fast! Here are some fun things about Cooper at his 3rd Year Birthday!
Jaxton is so proud to say that he is a big brother 2 times now, since he is a big brother to Cooper and a big brother to Kaylee! Kaylee is the split image of Jaxton as a newborn baby. Even her little bit of hair is his copper color. Sometimes it is like de sha vu for me when I look at her. And Jaxton absolutely adores his little sister. He is very gentle with her and loves to "talk" to her. Sometimes I will lay Kaylee down on a blanket and let Jaxton sit with her, and he just talks to her, makes silly faces at her, sings in her ear, and holds her hands. She just takes it all in! She loves the attention he gives her. It is adorable to see her looking up at him, smiling at him, and cooing at him. I think the two of them already have a special bond of some kind. It is one of the most precious things ever!
So Grandma arrived the day after Christmas, also worrying that she would miss baby's arrival. So Christmas came and went, Grandma arrived, New Year's came and went, and still no sign of baby!! But we were lucky to have about 2 full weeks of fun with Grandma. 
Grandma got to have a mini vacation with us and spend time with me and the boys before we put her to work when baby came! We had a lot of fun doing fun artsy crafts, going to the library, out to lunch, and the boys got to have one-on-one dates with Grandma to the movies and the mall. Then, when Kaylee came finally, she got straight to work. She was super helpful with the boys and Nate and I didn't even have to think or worry if the boys were ok. She just took care of them and they loved every minute. It was very nice to have extra hands so I could focus on my new baby girl, getting to know her, figuring out nursing again, and learning what she needed. Thank you mom for all your help. We all love and appreciate you so very much!
Isn't she beautiful? She is beyond beautiful. And she lives up to her name. She brings such joy to our home and to our family. It's like the color pink is accented all over our house in blankets, headbands, socks, and burp cloths. I love the added joy it brings! Kaylee was sleeping on the bassinet part of the pack 'n play we have in our room next to our bed. Once in a while I would try putting her down in her crib to nap when she fell asleep. Well, she seemed to love her crib and would sleep better and longer in there in her room than downstairs in the bassinet. She loved her crib already! So then I put her down to sleep in her crib at night and she slept excellent. She always would sleep with her hands out to the sides like this picture and didn't even need to be swaddled. I remember trying every trick in the books to get Jaxton to sleep. He was swaddled super tight and slept to the sound of AM radio for white noise. But this little angel just likes to sleep all sprawled out. It is adorable. I'm glad she loves her cozy room! 
This is Kaylee's first bath at home. She still has her cord on her belly button, so it is just a sponge bath, and you can easily tell she did not like being without clothes! I love how her little arms flare out like she's trying to find something or someone to grab onto and hug. Even though she looks and sounds miserable, her cuteness makes me smile! Cooper wanted to help with the bath, but he was soo worried about her "hurt" (the cord on her belly button). He kept reminding me not to touch it and to be careful with her tummy. Her crying bothered him some too. But he helped Grandma take some pictures, so that helped cheer him up. 
She didn't like any of her sponge bath at all. However, she was quite fond of having a little shower over her head with warm water. She thought that felt kinda good!
What a sweet angel!
All clean, dry, warm & cozy!
She's all strapped in, ready to go home to her very own house and her very own adorable nursery. Her brothers are ready and waiting for her arrival!! 
Nate's family friend, Nancy Hammond, was working the evening shift as a nurse up at Labor & Delivery. So she offered to get us all checked out and wheeled us downstairs to the exit. It was fun seeing here there during our stay! Goodbye Hospital!
Here is Daddy with his new special daughter. How strange all the pink feels! Kaylee is going to have her Daddy wrapped around her little finger in no time! There is definitely something special about having a little girl! Daddy is just so cozy, she loves to snuggle right up on his chest all bundled up and warm. She loves her daddy already!
DeKalb Hospital was amazing! The rooms were ginormous and the one we got even had a double bed! With the boys we would always cuddle up together on the tiny twin bed, but this time, we could cuddle up together on a king size cozy bed during our hospital stay. They also had a "Celebrations Meal" for us to celebrate the birth of our new baby. It was complete with sparkling cider and wine glasses, a fancy fruit tray, and slices of cheescake drizzled with yum! We got to pick items from the menu and they brought it to us like room service to enjoy together. It was pretty neat!
Kaylee is our pink bundle of joy. She reflects her name perfectly. Everything about her brings me joy! I love her! And I love having a newborn baby again. After having 2 boys, and then waiting 3 years, a brand new baby, a pink bundle that is, is absolutely joyous to me! She is beautiful!
Her little newborn cry is precious. It doesn't bother me like I remember it used to with the boys. Instead, I like to watch her cry for a few moments when she does. It is just absolutely adorable to see her little face all crunch up. She is beautiful even when she cries!
Precious angel
