July 2014

This month flew by again! We didn't do a whole lot for the 4^th since Lynn had to work. But the 5^th was my birthday and turned 25!! Lynn surprised me by taking the day off and arranging for some friends to come down from Sacramento to spend the day with us.  They came around lunch time and watched Cooper for us so we could go out to a quiet lunch (always a treat now days!). We hung out and caught up and grilled some yummy steak and chicken for dinner.  We went and looked around Target (like real grown-ups do). Cooper picked out some big boy bedding since he decided he was down with his crib just a few nights before that.  It was a great birthday and I got everything I wanted and more!!

                As mentioned, Cooper started crawling out of his crib, instead of just climbing out though, he would totally fall to the ground and I swear was about to break an arm.  Luckily, I had picked up a toddler bed at a garage sale a couple weeks before (for $10 bucks!) that was waiting for me to sand and paint it in the garage. Since he needed it right away, the sanding and painting didn't happen and it was a fun struggle to get him to stay in his bed!! He spent a few nights on the floor by the door and a few sleeping half on the floor and half on the bed.  When he finally started staying in bed, we had to lie on the floor in his room for like an hour until he fell asleep! Finally, now we can just read stories, say prayers, give kisses and walk out the door.  Most nights, there aren't any tears.

                A couple weeks later we celebrated our 6^th anniversary!! Wahoo! It goes so fast.  Lynn worked on our actual anniversary but my mom came up the week after and we let her stay with Cooper for a night while we went over to the coast in Santa Cruz.  The weather was perfect and we stayed in a perfect little B&B.  Definitely a great anniversary.  Cooper did really well without us (it was my first night away from him!). We tried to Skype him, but as soon as he realized we weren't where he was he freaked out. He was happy to see us when we got home. J While we were gone, my mom sanded down his bed and we got some paint the next day. Now it looks great! We also went through all of his old baby clothes and put the stuff he’s outgrown in the garage to get ready for the next baby!

                I feel huge already, I’m amazed at how quickly I’m showing the second time around and have been in maternity clothes for weeks because they’re so much more comfortable! We get to find out the gender on the 1^st! (I think it’s a boy…) I am still sick, boo. With Cooper, I was until 20 weeks, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised but I was hoping I would get lucky this time. I had forgotten how much morning sickness sucks!! I am so grateful for this baby though and dream about him/her all the time!! I am getting excited when I think about how he/she will be here in only 6 months! I’m hoping we are moved and Lynn is working at a different prison by then so we can be settled and ready to welcome this new baby home! I have had to hold myself back from buying too much too early.  I did buy a new diaper bag and I’m going to sell my old one (that was kind of a splurge, but it was on clearance so it’s okay right?!). I also made a HUGE body pillow.  It takes up most of the bed to be honest but it is really comfortable! 

Update since ultrasound:  It's a boy!  (I knew it!!!)

May 2014 -- A little late...

So to kick off May, we took a few days off and drove down to Mesquite, NV. My parents have a condo down there we rented for a few days and met up with some old college friends.  It was sooooo fun!! Our friends that stayed with us have a little boy about the same age as Cooper and they were adorable together.  They were both waking up at about 5 am because they were so excited to play with each other.  The first couple nights there, Cooper was up every hour asking to play with Ralphie and made us walk out into the living room so he could see that Ralphie was still asleep and couldn’t play yet!  We swam and ate junk food and just caught up for a few days.  On the Saturday we were down there, we had a big reunion with friends from our old apartment complex in Rexburg.  A couple live in Vegas, and one came down from Idaho.  We kinda took over the retirement complex we were staying in.  We ended up with 10 adults and 6 kids!  It was so cool to see everyone and meet all the new babies that we hadn’t seen yet! We are definitely going to have to make it a yearly thing. 

We dove home (9! hours) on Monday and had bought some cheap tickets to a Braves vs. Giants game in San Francisco. Poor Cooper did so good in the car but I think he has happy to be home now not in the car for a little while. The game was hot and we lost but it was still fun. 

We also made a trip to Sacramento to go to the temple.  We stayed with The Walkers for the night and they were able to watch Cooper for us while we went.  Then we got together with them and another set of old college friends for dinner that night. Cooper loved being able to visit with his friend Isaac and Levi and Sophia!  We might have to make that a monthly trip. 

April 2014

I can’t believe it’s May already!  We had a great month of April! Not much has been going on, just life.  Lynn started his second to last semester in his Masters; he only has one more after this! We are so excited to be done in September.  I’m not really sure what life without homework will be like, but I’m certain it will be awesome! I have been training for another triathlon so Cooper and I get out to the gym at least once a day.  He loves to play with other kids and always follows the big kids around.  We also took a quick day trip into Sacramento to visit the LDS Temple there.  We left Cooper with a good friend and enjoyed a couple hours baby free.

I tried to take us on a family adventure out to Turlock Lake and when we finally found it, it was mostly muddy and not really any sand.  Lynn says I’m not allowed to pick our activities for the foreseeable future. We do have a short trip planned to head down to Mesquite to play and visit with friends but he approves of that one. J Cooper is talking a lot more now and can communicate really well.  He has; however, hit some terrible two’s a bit early.  Although he can tell us or show us what he wants, if he doesn’t like the answer, it is an instant fit! He gets really frustrated when he can’t get what he wants right away.  He is also very obsessed with Curious George right now.  We watch at least four episodes a day. I think for his second birthday we are going to have to get a Curious George cake.

We are loving the warm weather and swimming at least twice a week.  Cooper loves the water! We have a little splash pool set up on the back patio that he jumps in on days we don’t make it to the pool.  We can’t wait for summer and are working on applying to better positions for Lynn at work.  This will almost certainly mean a move but we are excited to whatever the future brings! 

March 2014

March was a busy month for us.  Lynn has been having dental work done for what seems like the last 3 months! We are so blessed to finally have dental coverage so we are taking advantage of it this year.  Lynn is also finally on a set schedule for this quarter at work which is fantastic.  He is home in the mornings; which is our favorite because I get to sleep in J and he gets to get a good run in each morning. I also went down to my parent’s new house for a week. 

They recently moved and we hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving so Cooper and I went down for a few days to visit.  We have a fun time shopping and playing with Grandma and Grandpa.  He would wake up every morning and immediately call for “PAPA!!!” It was pretty cute.  Cooper is saying so much now!  He also will inform us when he is in need of a diaper change which is pretty darn convenient since he can also fetch his diapers and throw away the dirty ones. I hope this means he is getting close to being ready to potty train.  We have tried a couple times but so far it was a no go. He is till as fearless as ever and loves to climb on anything and everything. He is a very independent little boy and when he knows what he wants, he doesn't usually stop until he gets it.

(Finally fits in his Carhart outfit from G & G Spain he got for his birthday last year!)

We recently switch gyms too. J This one has a pool!  I already love going to swim each week.  Cooper loves it as well and I am looking forward to teaching him more this summer.  I have been trying all the classes they offer and so far the kickboxing class is my favorite and it kicks my trash every time I go to it.  We have also started applying for jobs for Lynn to move on from being a Correctional Officer onto a Case Manager.  We are willing to go just about anywhere but we hope we will stay on the west coast. Not much else on the home front.  Until next month!

February 2014 - The Month of Love

February was such a short month! We enjoyed a fun Valentine’s Day at home.  I made a yummy dinner for us of steak and lobster tails.  The guy at the store asked if I wanted a whole lobster! I wasn’t quite that adventurous this time around.  The lobster was actually a lot easier to prepare than I thought it would be.  Cooper got a new movie and some cute clothes from his Grandma and Grandpa Spain.  We also went to go buy a gun but we went on the worst weekend.  There was a gun show in town so the store was a crazy.  We ended up going back this last weekend and got the one we wanted!  It has been a long time coming and we definitely feel like we need it more than ever in the area we live in, so that was where some of our tax return went too.

  I also finally got our 72-hour kits assembled.  I’m pretty proud of myself for that, it has been in the works pretty much for the last 5 years!  The only issue I have now is that they are crazy heavy!!! And I still haven’t put clothes in them.  So, I am going to have to do some rearranging I think.  Miraculously, I also sewed my own pillow slip covers this month.  I have never sewn anything before besides a button so with some help of a couple friends I got three slip covers made! I ran out of fabric, so I still have another one to do, but I actually really enjoyed it! Who knew? Mom? Why didn’t you try to get me to learn to sew earlier???? (She might punch me for that line…) J

Cooper had his 18 month check-up this month.  He is about 26lbs and at about the 50^th % for height and just under the 25^th % for weight.  He has recently learned to climb on everything!  We have baby gates that blockade him now in just the living room.  He gets pretty mad he can’t get into the kitchen now but he has figured out he can climb over the couches to get into the kitchen if we aren’t watching long enough.  He is also in nursery now!  He loves it and never once shed a tear for being left in there.  He has actually been going for a while and he is starting to catch on to the songs and lessons.  He is obsessed with cats and pretty much loves any other animal.  He asks for his kitty app all the time and wants to Skype his Grandma and Grandpa Spain to see their kitty on the iPad.  He is learning so many new words.  It is so nice to be able to ask him what he wants and for the most part he can either tell us or help us understand.  J

January 2014! Happy New Year

This year started out with a bang!  Lynn worked New Year’s Day, so we didn’t do anything big.  Lynn’s birthday was the 6^th and some friends of ours ended getting a few court side seats to a King’s game! So we headed up to Sacramento and left Cooper with a sitter.  It was so fun to get out for a night with other adults!  Even more fun with old friends while we cheered for Jimmer and tried to get him to look at us (to no avail). It was a late night but a fun way to celebrate Lynn’s birthday.  We went out to lunch and had cake for his actual birthday with just us.  He got a new season of Community (his favorite TV show) and a new Bluetooth speaker. 

The rest of the month was pretty low key.  We made it into Oakland just this last week.  The temple was closed for a couple weeks for cleaning so we had to wait to go.  Cooper loves running up and down the little river they have that runs on the temple grounds and just about threw himself in the fountain! He is talking so much now.  He is learning new words every day and can repeat just about everything we say (toddler talk at least). He is getting really good and following directions and is very independent and a very picky eater!  He has been going to nursery for an hour or so for a little while. The last Sunday of January though he went for the whole two hours!  He loves to sing the songs and play with the older kids.  He will actually be old enough for nursery on the 8^th of February! We are working on reverence whenever we can.  He is getting better and making it through the first hour of church without having to be taken out.  It slow, but I think he is getting it.  He is also OBESSED with cats. Our neighbor has a little cat that is always out.  He follows that thing around everywhere.  We also have an app on the iPad that he goes to every morning first thing. I guess that’s about all for our month!

December 2013 - Ho! Ho! Ho!

Holy Cow! The year is already over!  I am so excited for 2014.  2013 has been good to us.  Looking back, we accomplished just about all of our goals!  We sat down and had a family home evening this month to set new goals for 2014.  We are going to strive to be healthier, wiser in our money choices, and to read our scriptures better! We had our ward Christmas party this month and Cooper was a social as ever.  We also took a trip into Oakland to the temple and stopped at Bass Pro Shop to have a picture of Cooper taken with Santa.  He didn’t get upset but he was definitely a little unsure of what was going on. 

We stayed home for Christmas this year.  Lynn worked Christmas day, so we celebrated a little early.  Cooper had a humongous Christmas!  We took all his old toys and put them away so he has a chance to play with the new stuff.  He loves everything! We have such an amazing family that spoiled us. We had some old friends from our college days (cause that was like 3 years ago for me) come visit us the week after Christmas.  We made some AMAZING cupcakes and did some shopping. It is so fun to hang out with old friends and watch our kids play together.  We are looking forward to all that the New Year will bring!  Happy New Year to all our friends and family, we love you!

November 2013 - Gobble Gobble

The 1^st week of November was a rough one! Cooper has been slowly getting his one year molar’s, one.at.a.time.  It was killing us as I am sure him as well.  We were wondering if he was just hitting his terrible two’s early!  Luckily he is back to his happy self finally and sleeping well again. He is such a riot to watch during the day.  He refuses to use words or signs, but is really good at either bringing us what he wants or pointing and yelling J He folds his arms to pray and loves to give hugs.  He also loves older kids! He thinks it so fun to play with big kids. Lynn had a Saturday off so we got some yummy Hawaiian food from a place in town and had a picnic at the park.  Coopers not a hug fan of the swing but loved the slide. We also had a friend in the ward make him a sensory table that he loves! 

Lynn got switched to morning shifts, so he is working from 12-8 am.  Probably the worst shift because he is sooo tired and has to try and sleep during the day. But in the 9 months he has been working, he has only had to work this shift maybe 4 or 5 weeks.  He will switch again pretty soon.  He is liking work a lot more and we are starting to apply for other positions within the bureau so he can start using his degree more. 

Thanksgiving was great! My parents came up from Southern Cali and we had a pretty low key holiday.  I baked an awesome turkey and my mom made some fantastic rolls! I drug my dad out on Thursday night to Old Navy for their early “Black Friday” deals.  We shopped for about 10 minutes and then stood in line for about 3 hours!  The lines this year were the worst part.  We did some other shopping on Friday and it wasn’t too bad.  Saturday the 30^th I ran another half marathon.  I didn’t run as fast as I was hoping too but there were a lot more hills than I was expecting!  I added about 3 minutes to my last time, but overall I was pretty happy with it.  I ran this one with my dad again and my friend here in town that has been training with me.  We enjoyed some In n’ Out Saturday night to celebrate. J

October 2013 - Happy Halloween!

What a fun month!  We were able to take Cooper to the pumpkin patch and children’s hay maze here in town.  He loves walking around all the pumpkins and he even picked out his own.  He always loves wandering around the hay maze and climbing the bales.

The next weekend Lynn and I competed in a Mud Blast 5k in Modesto.  It was so fun!  We have to jump over hay bales, climb them, climb wood walls, trek through a TON of mud, carry a log out and back across a field, dunk ourselves in muddy water and then walk through more mud and climb mud piles.  The best part was just doing it with Lynn though! It is so hard between; work, school, church, and Cooper to find time for just us! So, it was a treat to get to spend the morning with just him.  J

Halloween ended our month.  Unfortunately, Lynn had to work again this year.  But Cooper and I did a little trick or treating at our churches Trunk or Treat.  We went as a bank robber and a bag of money.  We decorated the trunk of our car as a bank vault and handed out 100 Grands for candy. J it was a fun night! 

We also had some new family photos taken! (The girl I found here does a great job! She also did Coopers 1 year photos.)

September 2013

This was a pretty normal month for us! Cooper finally started walking and he is already a pro! He runs all over the place and has no care for the safety of himself. He goes head first into everything. He won’t catch himself with his hands either cause he can’t drop the toys in his hands! He loves that he can carry things in his hands to other rooms. All day he goes back and forth with his toys. We went up to Sacramento for a baby blessing for some friends from Rexburg. Cooper loved being around all the kids and wanted to ride scooters with them too. He got such a kick out of being pushed around on the scooters and bikes. Once we put the kidos to bed, my friend and I went out to see a late show. I couldn’t believe how many people were still out! Lol ok, I just haven’t been out that late in a while. It was fun to go to out without a kid and feel like a regular adult for a couple hours.                                                                                                                                                                               We were also able to go to the Oakland temple again this month. It is definitely more of a challenge with Cooper and with the temple being so far away now! We took for granted how much we were blessed living in Rexburg with a temple just 5 minutes up the hill and grandparents 15 minutes away to babysit! It is such a pretty temple though and we love being able to show Cooper how important it is to us to make the trip and go. They have some beautiful grounds and Cooper loved running around and attempting to jump in the little river to swim.

Sorry for the short post, this month just flew by!

August 2013 - Traveling!

August was a long month for us! We started the month off by completing Lynn’s second half marathon and my first! I ran faster than I expected so I was pleased with my 2:15:30! I have another couple races planned for later this year so hopefully I can beat that time. A week later I did a sprint Triathlon with my older brother. Cooper also turned 1!! We had celebrated early before Lynn had to leave, so his actual birthday he only got a cupcake. He weighs in at 20.9lbs, 29.5in, and is just under the 25% in both height and weight. Lynn went to Glynco Georgia for three weeks for work training. I think it was more like a mini vacations! He got his own room, got to shoot guns, eat all he wanted, and workout. Ok, he did have classes like 8 hours a day and he is still working on his masters so he had homework in the evening too. :) In the meantime, I went south to Lompoc to stay with my parents. The first weekend I was down there we had a family reunion for my mother’s side. It was great to see family that I haven’t seen in years and they hadn’t ever met Cooper! The second week I was down there we camped on the beach. Cooper was a handful to take camping, the kid wanted to eat everything! I couldn’t set him down the whole time; he kept putting rocks and dirt in his mouth! When we went down to the ocean one day, he crawled straight into the waves without looking back once! He didn’t seem to mind that the water was freezing. He also ate his fair share of sand that day too. The 3rd week we just relaxed at my mom’s house. My grandparents were still there so we got to spend some extra time with them. We went over to another beach and spent an afternoon just soaking up that southern California sun! We picked Lynn up from the airport on our way home in Fresno. It was a nice break to get away but even nicer to finally be home together. Finally, this last week Lynn’s family came to visit from Idaho. They only had a couple of days with us but we made it count. We went into San Francisco and took Cooper to the Zoo. He loved seeing all of the animals but has NO interest in getting close enough to touch any of them. We also got ice cream at Ghirardelli Square, saw the Golden Gate Bridge, and ended the day at an Oakland A’s game (who won!). We had a great time visiting with everyone and are now ready for a little bit of normal for a while. :)