Laughing with Miles

There is not much new news at the Bethell house this week.  I had a quarterly sales meeting in Missouri which had me away from the house from about 7 am to 9 pm or later every night.  So, we're planning to catch up on some much needed family-time this weekend.  Becky has also joined us for the weekend so we are sure to have a great time (despite the forecasted weekend of rain!!!).  

Miles woke up in a very good mood this morning and we were able to video him giving some giggles.  Unlike most video experiences, this was one of the first times we'd heard him giggle so we were excited to have the camera handy.  

Nate had been very busy in Sales Meetings the past two evenings, so the boys and I have had our evenings together. Here are a few pictures of play time.

Aunt Hanna and Mr. Jerry

Today we had two very special visitors. Hanna and Jeremiah were on their way back from an extended weekend vacation at Lake of the Ozarks and took the short detour to stop by for a few hours. It had been several years since Jeremiah had been to the house so it was great to have him and Hanna back.

While they weren't at the house very long, the boys enjoyed spending a few hours with them. This was Miles' first visit with Hanna and Jeremiah so it was great to get to introduce him as the new member of the family. Cooper immediately took to Jeremiah and somehow came up with the name Mr. Jerry... Despite our continuing to reinforce 'Uncle Jeremiah', Uncle Jerry stuck in his little mind. So, whether or not Jeremiah likes it, I think it's going to stick! Sorry in advance brother!

On Friday, Cooper went to school for the first time! We signed him up for B.U.M. kids this year so that I could have one morning a week alone with Miles. (B.U.M. kids is Bolivar United Methodist kids - it is like Mom's Morning.) So at breakfast on Friday, we told Cooper that he was going to go someplace very special that day! B.U.M. Kids!! He said, "Yeah! I bump kids heads!" Hmm....not exactly. So I guess we'll call it "school" just in case. :)

He did great! The teachers said he did very well, especially for his first day! His friends Mya, Sol, and Cale are all there with him, so he is with a few familiar faces. He didn't want to leave when I picked him up! He is a big boy!

The next milestone for Cooper came when I picked him up from Lisa's house and he was playing Candyland with Lisa and Sol. Wow! I couldn't believe it! Candyland! What a grown-up boy!

On Saturday, Nate and I took the plunge and left the boys with the Tweedy family for the entire day. We headed for Branson and left the boys from around 8:00 a.m. until about 6:00 p.m. We had a very fun shopping day without kids. We kept hearing little ones crying or whining, and it wasn't ours!! It was very fun. Cooper and Miles had a great day with Laura, Janet, Craig, and Brent. They love the Tweedy family! :)

Comparison

Here is our latest comparison picture. Who is who?

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This Week In Pictures

This has been a big and exciting week in the Bethell family:
1. Mom and Dad came for a short, one-day visit on Sunday
2. Carey went back to work
3. Carey went back to work
4. Carey went back to work (you get the picture)

We've decided to post several pictures to summarize the week. One fun story not captured in pictures was tonight at dinner - Cooper saw a squirrel outside the window and said 'Look, a squirrel is driving by'. =) And by the looks of Miles in his chair, if he could talk, he would say 'Feed me...'. Needless to say, the doctor is not concerned about his weight. The boy loves to eat.

Pool Time

Miles and Cooper have been doing so many fun things. Miles is growing bigger and bigger, 'talking' more everyday and becoming more expressive. Throughout the day and at Cooper's bedtime, we've been reading together as a family and Miles gets so excited looking at the pictures and listening to the story. The video is of Miles cooing and making some other fun noises.



While Miles seems to be growing so fast and changing everyday, Cooper's vocabulary is exploding. It seems that everyday he is coming up with new phrases and using his imagination to tell funny stories. Here are a few of the things he has said in the last few days:
1. He was playing with his Thomas trains on the floor and had a lot of them connected (via their magnets). He lifted one end up and the other was hanging below and he exclaimed - 'I caught a fish!'
2. Carey and Cooper were playing outside and Cooper found a pinto bean in his tractor. (It was left over from playing with his tractor in his pool of beans.) He had his milk cup with him outside, and he set the bean right by his cup and said, "Here, Bean. Here's your milk."
3. Keeping with the milk theme, if he has his milk cup in or out of the house, he has to have a coaster under his cup. We were out in the grass and we looked over and he had found a flat rock to put his cup on - way to save the dirt from sweat rings!
4. For those of you who know about his love of Cookie Monster, he calls him 'Cookie TaTa' for some reason. In the past, he has always been able to say Cookie and Monster, but when he puts them together they have been Cookie TaTa. Well, as of tonight, Cookie TaTa is no more. We were eating dinner and he looked at his food mat and said - 'What's Elmo doing with Cookie Monster?' - our little man is growing up!

The boys enjoyed the cooler weather today by spending a little time outside.

I forgot one of the cutest things Coop said. He was trying to get his daddy to watch him do something, and he said, "Watch, Daddy" several times. Finally, after growing a bit impatient, Cooper looked at him and said, "Watch, Nate Bethell!" Nate and I both dropped our jaws. We knew that Cooper knew Daddy's name was Nate, but we didn't know about the Bethell. And then to use is like that to demand his attention - wow. Too funny.

Talking

Cooper says things every day that need to be written down. He is at such a fun stage! Yesterday, I was listing out some things for my mom that I thought were blog-worthy.

• Cooper was pushing a button on the laptop (a known no-no), so I said, "Cooper, go to your room for time out." He drooped his shoulders and said, "Cooper, bad choice."
• Cooper uses "um" a lot when we ask him questions. I think this is especially funny when he is having trouble going to sleep at night. I'll hear him crying/getting upset in his bed. When I go in to check on him, I'll ask him what's wrong. He'll answer, "Um...(long pause to think of the need that is causing him to cry) water."
• Cooper says, "Right back." Obviously he has heard this one several times in his life. The conversation usually goes something like this. "Train track, okay?" "Okay, Buddy. Let's play with your train track. Do you want to go get it?" "Right back!"
• Cooper heard me say "Dang, Miles!" after a large diaper filling. Now, out of the blue, he'll say "Dang, Miles!" Man, I wish I hadn't said that...

Travel Fun

While Nate was on the road last week, Cooper said some really cute things. I feel like his language really took off while Nate was gone! He said this sentence: "Uncle Wade has a tractor on his shirt." That one impressed me. :)

One evening, Cooper asked me for "three jumps." Cooper often asks Nate for "three jumps," and I guess I was deemed an appropriate substitute. It was very clear that while I gave the three jumps that I was not getting the job done. After we were finished, Cooper looked at me and said, "Big Swing!" I laid down on the floor, and Cooper said, "I'm tired." I guess he's heard that from me before...

The next night, I was on my cell phone with Nate. When I hung up, Cooper took the cell phone, and he said, "Hi, Daddy. This is Carey." Then, he lifted his shirt in an attempt to clip the phone to his belt - just like Daddy does. After Nate got home, he started saying, "Hi Carey, this is Nate," on the phone. Pretty cute!

Cooper and Miles kind of looked alike today, so here is a picture of their matching outfits: