Bed

Cooper just said something like:

"When Miles and I get big, we're going to sleep in bed with you and Daddy. But we'll need four pillows! Maybe we can have a double decker bed...you know, like a double decker bus?"

A message for Daddy

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Bugs!
Happy Anniversary Aunt Hanna and Uncle J!

Sorry we're a little late - hope you both had a great day!

Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday we visited a pumpkin patch/farm in Springfield with our Small Group. Cooper found the pumpkin he wanted and sat on it to claim it.


Miles looked and looked for the right pumpkin.





Cooper's favorite part was the tractors! He loved riding them all!

Throwing Jokes

Our friend Jeff Case had dinner with us on Friday night. Cooper was VERY friendly to Mr. Jeff - showing him his room and toys, holding his hand, etc. Mr. Jeff said, "You're not very shy, are you?" and Cooper replied, "No. I'm just silly. I like to throw jokes."

Random Stories

Here are a few highlights from our last few days:

On the way to Ms. Lisa's house on Monday, Cooper saw a tractor. He said, "Mom! Mom! A tilde tractor!" (Pronounced like the punctuation mark.) I said, "I don't know what a tilde tractor is. What does a tilde tractor do?" Cooper said, "Well, Mom. A tilde tractor has many uses. It hauls gravel, cuts hay, delivers hay for the horses to eat, and many other things." If anyone has heard of a tilde tractor, let me know. :)

At lunch yesterday, Miles said "cheese!" It is by far one of his favorite foods.

I was putting Cooper's shoes on yesterday, and told him that I loved his shoes and wished I had some like that. Cooper replied, "You should buy some online!"

Cooper misbehaved today, so I sent him to his room. The phone rang just as he was leaving, so I went to answer it and Miles followed Cooper to his room. When I finished the phone call, I heard chaos coming from Cooper's room. When I went in and asked Cooper what happened, he answered, "I just ate Miles' finger." And he was right! (Hey - at least he was honest!) There were pretty deep teeth indentions on Miles' index finger. Ouch!

After nap time, Cooper and I were cuddling. He was rubbing my back and he said, "Oh, Mom! I found a little something on your back!" I said, "Oh. What do you think it is?" Cooper answered, "It is a piece of zud."

And finally, this one was on Facebook, but it is worth mentioning again: The current Catechism Cooper is learning is: I say, “In how many persons does this God exist?” Cooper says, “In three persons.” Cooper’s answer today: “Eleven.”

Clumps

Life happens in clumps. I had a pastor tell me that once...perhaps not with those same words. But it is SOO true! This week, I had well-baby check ups for both kids, Nate is traveling, I'm not feeling real well, Cooper started coughing today, and my very favorite sitter's aunt died, so I had to use a backup. (The backup is also GREAT!! It is just not "routine" for me, and anyone who knows me knows that I flounder outside of routine...)

So today, after lunch, I cleaned Miles up and said, "Go gang up on me with your brother." I want the two of them to be friends, so if it takes ganging up on me, then great! (But really, I didn't expect him to do it!) I proceeded to clean up the dishes, and I heard Cooper yell out, "Mommy, we are making a HUGE mess!" Uh oh. I went to see what he meant. They had pulled all of our linens out of the linen closet. (Praise the Lord they worked together and didn't argue!) But wow - what a mess. I had Cooper attempt to clean up his mess, and when I had watched unfolded towels being tossed onto the shelf long enough, I told him to go play in his room with Miles. As I was finishing the last towel, I noticed a black-eyed pea on the ground. Hmm...we had black-eyed pea casserole for dinner last night. This is not looking good. My fears were confirmed when I went and found Miles with marks all over his backside. So I got him completely cleaned up and changed, and the floor between the bathroom and Cooper's room cleaned up just in time to load up and walk out the door to the sitter's house. I got the pack 'n play, the diaper bag, Humphrey, Coop's blanket, Chavez, Miles' blanket, and the boys all inside. As I hugged Cooper goodbye, I felt it. A fever. So, load the pack 'n play, the diaper bag, Humphrey, Coop's blanket, Chavez, Miles' blanket, Coop and Miles back in the car...drive home. Dang. I could have really used a 4 hour Mommy break today...

I know this is just life, but MAN! Clumps are for the birds.

Today Cooper and I were having a conversation about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. He asked lots of good questions. He asked if Jesus had blood, and I told him that he did. Then Cooper asked, "Did God say, 'It's okay, Jesus'?"

Cooper is 3!

Cooper had an awesome day today! After breakfast this morning, Cooper opened his gifts from us. His favorite gift was a John Deere Semi Truck with a trailer holding a combine. He was so excited to open it - can you see him straining to smile? He was really excited...


After gifts, Cooper got to try chewing gum. Even after much hype about how big he would be to chew gum and how we chew and chew it and never swallow, the gum ended up in his tummy. Oops! I guess we'll have to try again on his fourth birthday!

Nate took the day off today to spend with Cooper. They went to Duck Creek this morning just to talk to people. Cooper took his new combine to show everyone. Did I mention he's pretty excited about his new combine?

When the mail came, we had a few new gifts to open. Aunt Hanna made him a really neat book explaining all kinds of tractors and machinery. Very cool! (Thank you, Aunt Hanna!)

We had dinner at El Rodeo, Coop's favorite. He ate chips and salsa for dinner. That's really all. And then we let him eat birthday cake for dessert. Yikes!

A few friends came over for Coop's John Deere birthday. Here is the cake and dessert "display."

Memorable Quotes from today:

At nap time..."I can't sleep in my pack 'n play. Three-year-olds don't sleep in pack and plays!"

Random question at lunch..."Mom - can three-year-olds still cry?"

Getting ready for bed..."Will I still be three tomorrow?"

It has been too long...sorry about that. Much has gone on...so we don't lack for materials. I just haven't taken the time to update the blog. So here are a few random stories...

Miles started saying "hi" on Tuesday. We were playing out front, and Miles saw our neighbor Wilma and her son Steve. He raised his arm and said, "HI!" great big and took off down the street to talk to our neighbors. Cute.

When Aunt Hanna was here, a t-ball rolled down the street and into the drain. Cooper is now really, really nervous about other balls being out on the driveway. He freaks out when we bounce balls, and then quickly bats them into the grass so they will be safe. The other day, we were playing t-ball and a ball started rolling down the driveway. Cooper panicked. I said, "Cooper, calm down! Just relax. I'm going to catch the ball." Cooper answered, "Mom! I can't relax!" Wow - I have no question that Cooper is my child.

See the difference between Cooper and Miles has been encouraging for me. We bought a pair of Old Navy sandals for Cooper last summer. He looked at them and liked them, but didn't want them anywhere near him. Eventually he warmed up some, but it took several weeks before we got the sandals on his feet...and at least the first time he had socks on with the sandals. We got the sandals out of the closet for Miles to wear yesterday. The child laughed the entire time I put them on his feet. He just cracked up!

Here's Cooper driving a John Deere tractor! John Deere is his favorite! Several times a day he says, "Mom, do you know what my favorite color of tractor is? GREEN!"

Miles has given up his morning nap, but he isn't quite ready to make it to the afternoon to fall asleep. He fell asleep in his highchair mid-bite.