Family Pictures!

It's official!  We went and had professional family pictures taken and I have to admit, I love them.  I smile when I see them.  Let's just say, pictures make me happy.  Very happy.

Me and my darling boys.

Eli - 6 years

Cooper - 17 months

Have I mentioned just how much I love and adore these two little boys?  

Well, I do.

March Madness

You might be thinking I'm going to have some great insight about basketball.  Well, I don't.  Instead, it's maddening that it's already the middle of March and I haven't updated our blog since January 28th of last year.  Things have just been crazy busy.

Jess started a new job in November.  He is really enjoying it and hoping it has more possibilities for his future with the company, especially with travel.  Me too, if I get to go with him!

I am still plugging away with my fourth graders.  I love teaching but this year is a definite challenge.  I am having to channel everything I can about classroom management, positive rewards, you name it.  All I can say is when you think you're finally gotten it figured out, you get a group that challenges every ounce of yourself.  I am still working on my Masters.  I had really hoped to finish in a year, but with this group of kids, getting my GLAD Tier IV Consultant certification, and continuing to have any sense of sanity, I just haven't been able to meet my goal.  I will spend some extra time over Spring Break working on it, so there is an end in sight, I just have a few more roads to venture down to get there.

Eli absolutely loves kindergarten and his teacher.  I really don't know a lot about Kindy, but wow.  Beth has it figured out and is amazing with the kids.  I sometimes get frustrated with the immaturity of my fourth graders, I don't know how she does it all day with 5 and 6 year olds.  HAHA  It definitely takes a special heart for primary teachers, they are sweet and ever so kind.  Maybe I should spend more time in their classrooms!  :)  He starts swimming lessons again tomorrow and is extremely excited to be getting back into the pool.

Cooper is growing like a weed.  He continues to be long and lean like Daddy.  He is 16 months old (tomorrow) and such a little goofball.  He jabbers up a storm, and consistently says: momma, daddy, hi, uh-oh, no, nana (banana), and.....I'll think of more later.  Probably as soon as I publish this post!  He is figuring out running and loves to be outside!

Jess and I are both training for the Hood to Coast, a relay from Mt. Hood to Seaside, OR (199 total miles). We both have 3 legs in the relay race, we're running with 10 other people in memory of my Uncle Darwin who passed away on September 12 from non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and Leukemia (a rare side effect of the lymphoma treatment).  The race is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society's lymphoma research.  If you would like to be a sponsor, let me know!  I'd love to have your support.  The running is...well, going.  I have never been a runner so it's a bit challenging getting started, but I have definitely made progress and am kind of excited about it!  Anything for my Uncle D!

Here are a few pictures from the past three and a half months...

Multnomah Falls

Being Silly

At the Park

Where Oh Where Have We Gone?

Wow.  Can you believe 2012 is rapidly coming to a close?  I am torn with this, yes, it seems right that it's the end of December, but how in the world has the year sped by so quickly?  I have completely neglected our blog due to so many things, mainly, the lack of time! 

What has happened since our last post?  Halloween.  My birthday.  Cooper's birthday.  Thanksgiving.  The Apple Cup.  Eli's birthday.  Christmas.  Wow.  That is almost embarrassing.  Let's see how well I can do a "quick" recap.  Hold on to your britches, because here we go....

COOPER TURNED ONE!

WHAT?!?  How is that even possible?  It sure doesn't seem like it's been that long.  I can't even begin to describe what he has done to our family.  We are all enamored with this little guy.  Cooper is definitely our family clown.  He is a miniature comedian. He loves to laugh and loves to make other people laugh.  He is the most ticklish little guy I have ever met.  His belly, arms, armpits, neck, cheeks, thighs, feet.  You name it.  

He is learning so much every day.  He started walking right around his birthday and hasn't stopped.  He copies his big brother and would do anything he did (better watch that one....).  He truly looks up to his big brother, lighting up whenever he comes around.  He has a smallish vocabulary, but continues to add to his repertoire daily.  He has Momma and Dadda, HO HO HO, and points to LOTS of things to communicate his needs and wants. 

THANKSGIVING

Definitely a year of thanks, however Thanksgiving brought change this year.  After my parents moved to sunny Arizona we didn't have our traditional Thanksgiving dinner plans.  We spent the holiday with our fabulous friends, the Lundes, and celebrated with their family.  The meal was great and we had a very enjoyable time - even took some pictures of the four of us.  That RARELY happens.  

APPLE CUP

For the second day in a row, we ventured to the Lundes and watched the Apple Cup with our friends.  It was the craziest game of all time.  The only thing I have left to say is that we had a COUGAR VICTORY.  Oh, and that Eli loved singing the Cougar Fight Song.  Atta boy!

ELI TURNED SIX!!!!

I still don't know how six years have flown by since my baby was born.  He has grown into the most amazing little boy I could ask for.  He loves his baby brother and really watches out for him.  He loves school (kindergarten) and is doing really well socially and academically.  He loves sports, especially soccer, t-ball, swimming, and riding his scooter.  He always seems to amaze me with the vocabulary he uses when talking...most of the time.  HAHA  He also has a love for the Cougars already.  Not sure where that came from.  ;)  He knows the Fight Song, and does not like the colors purple or yellow.  One day he actually told me that his middle finger was his bad finger, his HUSKY finger.  The rest are Cougars.  HAHAHAHA  Where he gets this stuff, I don't know, but it completely cracks me up.  Eli even got his birthday wish: SNOW on his birthday.  This is the only snow we've gotten this year, too. 

CHRISTMAS

Christmas was really fun this year, despite a very cranky one-year-old.  Cooper has a mouthful of teeth coming in (seriously, I think he's got between four and six teeth coming in right now).  It has not been a very delightful week.  Poor kid can't sleep for more than a few hours at a time, his nose is running like crazy, and touching his gums?  You might as well go ahead and forget about that right now.  That is a serious no-no.  I have never seen more pitiful expressions of agony than when we try to alleviate some of that pain with a coating of Orajel.  None-the-less, we made the most of it and celebrated in style! 

We opened our Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve.  Nana Winkey sent Eli Cougar pajama pants and Cooper got jammies of the same material.  Aren't they just the cutest?!?  

haha - doesn't that look like a face that cares?

Christmas morning brought the rest of the gifts and SANTA came too!!! With our non-sleeping child, we were finished, yes FINISHED opening presents by 7:00.  We played and relaxed all day.  This was our pajama day.  We finally showered and changed for dinner - which was again very low key.  We usually have Christmas dinner at my parents house but the drive was quite a bit longer this year.  It was a bit strange not having Christmas with my family for the first time in thirty-woshdieksl years, but with Mr. Fever-Cranky-Pants, even if they were here, we probably wouldn't have seen them anyway.  We forge ahead and are now making our own full on holiday traditions.

Too exhausted to continue....

Pumpkin Patch

I know....I know.  It's been a while.  Things have been B.U.S.Y. to say the least.

A couple weeks ago we ventured to the Pumpkin Patch with the boys.  It was the first fall day so there was wind. There was rain.  There were smiles and giggles.  And there were tears.  

Can you believe how big Mr. Cooper is getting?!

Then there's Eli.  He amazes us every day.

From school to soccer to being such a great big brother!

Cheese!

Eli and our neighbor Amelia.  Cooper wouldn't sit with them.

Mr. Smiles!

He LOVED the pumpkins

Absolute Love.

I can hear his laugh from this picture.

The most fabulous guys ever.

Hunting for the perfect pumpkin.

After finding his pumpkin, he went searching for one for his little brother.  

FOUND IT!

Then he roped himself.  Again.  HAHA

Look!  We were all there! 

Awesomely adorable.

He's ready to go!