Cooper's Birthday Party

Cooper couldn't decide which superhero he wanted for his birthday party theme.  So, we settled on doing a Superhero Party that encompassed all of them!  We gathered up all the superhero costumes we could find and came up with: Iron Man, Batman, Black Spiderman, Blue Spiderman, Thor, Wolverine Man, and Captain Rex (who is not really a superhero, but according to Cooper, still fell in the same category).  He was excited to have all his friends dress up into a costume for his party.  

The most exciting part was to dress up.  The kids all put on a costume and instantly began acting very powerful, running around the house.  It was fun!  Even Kaylee decided to wear the Batman costume!  She was just "one of the boys!"  I warned them all that there was a villain that had been sneaking around, and that they needed to be on alert if they saw him.  Meanwhile, we played some fun superhero games.  First, they tested their superhero senses by feeling in a bag without using their eyes to figure out what was inside the bag.  After that, the villain did appear!  He threw black balloon "bombs" from the upstairs banister.  The superheros had to stop those bombs before they could blow up the city!  So they stomped on those balloons like mad!  Next, the villain threw out some kryptonite (crumpled foil painted green).  This substance hurts superhero powers, so the only way they could get rid of it was by picking it up with spatulas, tongs, and other big kitchen utensils.  This they performed very well.  I don't think one little boy (or girl) actually touched the kryptonite rocks!  

Next, the kids had cake.  Cooper and I found this cake on Pinterest and this is the one he had to have!  I am up for making unique cakes, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  And it turned out great!!  

While the kids were finishing up their cake, all of a sudden, the villain appeared!  He had a nerf gun, pantyhose over his face to conceal his identity, and was angry and mad!  The kids picked up the rolls of toilet paper and began tying the villain up to stop him!  Finally he was confined to a chair and the squad of superheros had succeeded!  

Lastly, we opened presents and played for the last few minutes before parents came to pick up their superhero kids.  It was a lot of fun!  Happy Birthday Coop!!

Happy Birthday Cooper!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COOPER!  Cooper is 5!  Now I can't hardly believe that either!!  He is growing up so fast too!!  Here are some fun things about Cooper at 5 years old:

1.  Cooper is learning to read!  He has started our lesson book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and he is already halfway through that thing.  He is grasping the concepts, the rules, the sounds and he is sounding out words!  It amazes me to watch a child grasp how to sound out words and actually read.  It's so much fun for me as a mom to see that!  In his reading lesson, he is so comical!  He will carefully sound out a word, and when he figures out what that word is, he often will either make a sentence out of it to clarify what the word was, or he will jump up and act out the word.  For example, the other day, one of his words was COPS.  He slowly sounded out each sound and when he figured out the word, he jumped up and ran around the room in circles yelling "The cops are coming, they're going to get me and take me to jail....ahhhhh...the cops are coming....!"  Then he runs back to his spot, sits down and goes on to the next word.  Its awfully cute.  He is so animated!!

2. Cooper is very very organized and prefers things to be clean.  His clothes drawers are immaculate.  He makes sure that every item of clothes is folded neatly in piles in each drawer.  He gets very upset if I go through his drawer looking for something and mess up a folded shirt.  He puts away his own laundry but takes his time doing so to make sure everything is folded and put in the right place.  He loves his room to be clean and tidy, and often will take on Jaxton's half of the room just so it can be clean.  Picking up toys and cleaning up are some of Cooper's strengths.  He is so good at it and he prefers things that way!  Cute boy!  That trait will be a great one to have throughout his life!

3. Cooper's favorite food these days is Chicken Noodle Soup, of all things!  He would eat chicken noodle soup for every meal, every day, if I would make it for him.  He loves it!  He will eat everything in it, including the celery, carrots, and he drinks the broth.  He loves rice krispies and honey nut cheerios for breakfast, and he loves velveeta cheese mixed into his eggs.  Of course he has a sweet tooth and loves to eat any and all kinds of chocolate!!

4. Cooper's favorite activity lately is playing the Wii.  He gets very limited time to play it at our house.  Usually playing the wii is a privilege the kids earn once every task on their charts have been completed.  It is a great motivator for him to complete all his responsibilities.  Cooper has passion about things he loves.  When he gets into a game on the wii, he gets so very passionate.  I will see him playing and see his little cheeks turning rosy red.  Sometimes he starts to sweat, and his cheeks get redder.  He gets soooo passionate and into his game that its almost scary!  Another reason we limit their play time!  Its pretty funny to see him so passionate about winning or earning points!  I'm glad he likes his gift from Santa!

5. We started the boys having "jobs" at Simplx.  They have different tasks that they are responsible for in the Simplx office.  Cooper's job is to break down boxes that come with equipment in them.  He pulls the tape off, breaks them down, and takes them up to the recoiling bin.  It's hard work for a little guy, ut again, he does this with passion.  He loves to feel needed and be given responsibility.  And he does a phenomenal job at what he is assigned.

6. Cooper has  a very complex mind.  He has questions sometimes that are so deep and complex and adult!  One time he asked me why Adam and Eve ate the fruit when Heavenly Father had told them not to.  That's a deep question for a 5 year old.  Another time, he asked about death, about what it would be like after we die and what kinds of things we would have.   Such deep thoughts!

7.  Cooper is also a very thoughtful boy.  He is always thinking about others and offering to share.  When he took a field trip the Country Kitchen and made a bunch of fun yummy treats, he quickly divided them up so everyone in our family could have one of his treats, leaving him with only one.  He is always so thoughtful and kind.

8. Cooper has recently started on a basketball league.  If you've ever seen a kid hustle, Cooper is a hustler.  He is darting up and down the court following that ball, getting right into the action.  He is little, and can't quite make a basket yet since the baskets are so high, but he has more energy and excitement than the whole team combined!! It is so fun to see his passion come through...the same passion for ball that he had at less than 1 years old!  

9. Cooper is doing Tae Kwon Do.  He is really good at it.  He shows power and strength in each of his self defense moves he performs.  And he has memorized several choreographed sequences of moves.  His "Hiyyyyaaa!" is powerful and loud.  He really has become great at Tae Kwon Do.

10. Cooper's good friends these days are Cameron Stump and Gabe Gregory.  He also talks about the kids in his preschool class.  He claims his favorite girl-friend is Chayla, an 8 year old girl from primary who he just absolutely adores.  It's awfully cute.  He says that she is the one he will marry one day!  

We love you Cooper!  We are so excited that you are five!!

Grandma in Utah sent him a marble set, Grandma in Kendallville gave him a race track and a cool spiderman cake.  And from us, he asked for 2 costumes: the Black Spiderman & the Blue Spiderman!

Tae Kwon Do

Jaxton & Cooper are now yellow belts!  They have really enjoyed Tae Kwon Do and have really excelled at it.  They have learned different forms, moves, and self defense, and they also have been taught values and respect.  It has been a great sport for them to learn.  I am very proud of them!

Dawson is 4 Months Old!

Dawson is 4 months old!  He is changing every day!  He is rolling from side to side.  Sometimes I will lay him down on his back, turn my head for a minute, and find him on his belly!  He does "sit ups" sometimes as he is trying to sit up from laying on his back.  When I sit him up, he really has good balance.  He falls over still, but it won't be long before he's sitting on his own!  Dawson loves his Hippy mat and loves to bat at all his toys hanging down toward him.  This week he even got to sit in his excersaucer, and he loved it!!  He loved that he could stand up and there are so many different toys to touch that make different noises.  It was fun to watch him so interested in that thing!  He also loves his brothers and sister.  He watches their every move.  He talks to them when they talk to him.  And he loves it when they hover over him and talk in baby talk language that they made up!  He reaches his little hands out to touch your face when you talk to him.  And a few times now he has reached his little arms up to me to get picked up.  Oh, such sweet moments!  I love him so very very much!

Dawson was really struggling one evening.  The kids were all in bed, and it was getting late, almost towards midnight.  He was just screaming.  He was obviously so very uncomfortable but everything we did just didn't help him.  He just cried and cried.  This was very unusual for our happy little baby.  I was getting frustrated because I could not help him.  He wouldn't latch on to nurse, he wouldn't fall asleep.  He didn't want to be bounced, he didn't want to be held...nothing!  Finally, Nate suggested that he give him a blessing.  I usually think blessings are reserved for much more challenging moments, like a severely sick child or a very hard challenge.  So it had not even crossed my mind to give him a blessing.  I said "OK."  So as Dawson is screaming, Nate lays his hands on his head and gives him a simple blessing.  When he told Dawson to "Be Still" I felt a kind of shock.  I immediately recognized his power.  The power of the Lord's priesthood.  It was real and it was almost tangible.  My faith was strengthened.  After the blessing, Nate went out to the kitchen and I tried to help Dawson yet again.  Just about a minute after the closing of the blessing, Dawson had the biggest bowel movement we have seen yet.  It was clear that he was uncomfortable as his little tummy was trying to digest through his little body and it was probably hurting his belly.  As soon as it was all out, I changed his diaper, swaddled him up, and he went to sleep.  A little midnight miracle that strengthened my own faith.

Kaylee's Birthday Party

We had a little family birthday party and invited Carter's family to come celebrate too.  She loves Hello Kitty, though instead she calls it "Kitty Cat."  So I made a Kitty Cat cake for her out of confetti cake and fondant.  She was thrilled!  She opened up a big kitchen for her birthday, complete with all sorts of play food.  Now she can warm up her own "ready set go milk" in her own little microwave!  Happy Birthday Angel!  We love you so much!

Happy Birthday Kaylee

Kaylee is 2!! I can't believe how fast time has flown!! Here are some fun things about Kaylee at 2 years old:

1. Her favorite foods these days are her "ready-set-go-milk," granola for cereal, her smoooovie (smoothie), cottage cheese of course, and she loves oatmeal of all things!  

2. Kaylee got a baby doll for Christmas that she named "Baby Lauren."  I'm not sure why she chose that name, other than the fact that she got to know her cousin Lauren over Christmas time.  She has another older baby doll that looks almost the same.  She can tell the difference though, and it is so funny!  I can cover up both babies in blankies with only their head sticking out, and she can tell me which baby is Baby Lauren, and which one is Baby.  At night and at naps she will hold each baby doll in one arm and fall asleep that way.  When she is upset or sad, she always asks for Baby Lauren.  It is sweet to see that she finds comfort in her baby doll, as if it is real.  She finds comfort in something humanlike.  

3. Kaylee has been experimenting with going potty.  She will go potty on demand really well.  She can't tell me, though, that she has to go yet.  That will take time.  But if I know she probably needs to go, I can plop her on her little potty and she will do it.  She gets all excited when she does, and wants to participate in dumping it into the big potty and flushing it away.  One time, she actually went poop in the potty.  She stood up to look at her results and exclaimed, "Ice Cream!"  She thought her poop looked like a scoop of chocolate ice cream.  That was the funniest thing I had ever heard from my kids learning to go potty!  I won't forget that one!!

4. Kaylee loves to read.  Her favorite book these days is Bob the Builder: Happy Birthday Bob.  She will read this book over and over and over again!  She loves how Wendy bakes a cake for Bob and then they all surprise him after he's done at work.  And she loves to sing the birthday song to Bob!  Another of her favorites lately is "the doctor book."  This is an Usbourne First Experiences book that has a story about going to the doctor.  We read it over a few times before I had to take her in to see the doctor, just to prepare her for the stethoscope and the otoscope, etc.  She still hated the doctor when we went, but now she just loves reading about the doctor in the book.  I think the book came to life for her when we went to see a real doctor, and the doctor did the same things to her as he did in the book.  I think she thought that was neat.  So we read "the doctor book" over and over too!

5. Kaylee loves to sing.  She is a great little singer that stays in tune too.  Her favorite songs these days are "Give Said the Little Stream," "Twinkle, Twinkle," and "I am a Child of God. I would not be surprised if one day she really did learn to sing well.

6. Kaylee is really funny about medicine.  We've been sick a lot the last month and she's had to have ibuprofen, tylenol, and some antibiotics for ear infections.  She would put up the biggest, most horrific fight over taking these medicines, that we were blown away!  We tried to trick her by sneaking them into her smoothie, ice cream, milk, chocolate milk, yogurt, etc...etc....She could sense that it tasted different and would say "no like it."  We even tried chewables and told her they were candy.  It was horrible to have to force her to take them!  We tried playing games, everything!! Finally after several days of this, she realized that whether she liked it or not, she would have to take the medicine.  So we got her to take them by alternating a tiny sip of medicine with a big sip of chocolate milk, over and over again till the meds were down.  What a stinker!! 

7. Kaylee loves Baby Dawson.  She loves him to pieces.  She smothers him with her love.  She brings him toys.  She undoes his buttons and takes off his diaper to change him.  She feeds her baby dolls on the couch next to me while I am feeding her brother.  She adores him.  It is really sweet to see her love him so very much and want to take care of him.  I'm so glad she was not jealous or bitter towards him, but rather, she loves him like he is her own baby doll!!

8.  Kaylee loves storytime at the library!  She loves the stories, the books, the songs, the bubbles, the scarfs, the shakers, the wheels on the bus, the puppets, and the toys.  It is a great story time.  Her little friends that she enjoys it with are Ari and Rhett, and Carter.  

We love you Kay Kay!! You are our joy!  Happy Birthday to You!!