Miles Waking Up

This is precious Miles waking up one morning this week. (Sorry the video is so dark!) He is such a sweet boy when he wakes up in the morning!

Cute Words...

Cooper has done/said some really sweet things lately. Here are some fun stories...

On Friday night, we went to Springfield as a family. It was right around 8:00 p.m., and it had gotten pretty dark out. We went out to the garden center at Lowe's, and Cooper said, "Daddy, what's that black thing?" Nate tried naming any black object he could find. Cooper was not getting the answers that he wanted, and he kept saying, "What's that black thing?" Finally it hit us what he was talking about - the sky! Our son has not really experienced a big, nighttime sky in his recent days. Wow - it was so cool to seem him see the night sky for the first time. He experienced the stars that night, too!

Saturday afternoon, Cooper was swinging, and he said, "It's orange, Mommy!!" I asked him what was orange, and he told me his eyes are orange. I looked at him, and he had his eyelids closed. I closed my eyes, too, and he was right! The sun was shining through our eyelids and making a very nice shade of orange!

Later that night, we had some friends over for dinner. Cooper was doing whatever he could to captivate the crowd. He ate his dinner very quickly and got down to play. I looked over at him, and he was sitting in the chair in the corner with his shirt lifted. He was holding Humphrey up under his shirt. I said, "Whatcha doing, Coop?" He answered, "Feeding Humphrey." Wow - that was embarrassing.

I don't want you to think my lack of stories about Miles lately mean anything. He is the sweetest little guy. Today after church, he started really getting excited about being lifted up in the air. Wow - so cute!! The ladies in the nursery love this little guy! He is so laid back and content. What a gift from the Lord!

Family Photo Shoot

Hello everyone!
I thought I'd share a link of some photos a friend shot of our family this weekend. The primary purpose of the shoot was for Cooper's 2nd birthday, but we mixed in a few other members of the family at times as well. We think they turned out awesome! Keith and Charity did such a great job. Kudos guys!
http://www.w3bolivar.com/lr/bethellbabies/
Nate

Cooper Turns Two!

Coop's 2nd birthday started with tears as Nate and I sang Happy Birthday to him as we walked in his room to get him up. I'm pretty sure he has some confusion on "birthday." I think he thinks "birthday" is a cake. So Happy Birthday just doesn't make sense without the cake. So, to save the moment, we quickly got his presents out.

Here he is with Harold the Helicopter.

When he saw his presents, he quickly pointed to the big box and said, "That's a train track." What? How in the world does our two-year-old know that the big gift is a train track? We really tried to be sneaky on this one. He wasn't even with us when we bought it. So, the surprise was out. I'm sure glad it was train track! I think he would have been disappointed...

Here is Coop's birthday cake! Or just birthday...


Here is the train track. :)


Here are a couple of pictures from his party. Very fun.

One other cute story...at Lisa's house, Lisa told Cooper it was time for a nap. Usually he is very good about going back to his "room" with her to get in bed. But on his birthday, Lisa heard him say, "But it's my birthday..." We're not sure if that meant - "Hey - I can't nap! I haven't had "birthday" (a.k.a. cake) yet!" Or if it meant "Hey - birthday boys shouldn't have to take naps!" Sweet either way. :)

Fun Fam Pics

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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