Christmas

I thought I'd end 2014 with some of my favorite pictures from our Christmas.  I had a major epic fail at actually taking pictures.  I took none at any of the family parties.  A special thanks to my mom for texting me the last three:

A Long Post About Cooper

I think Cooper grew up a little too much while I was on bed rest.  When I went down, he was still my baby.  Now he has so much more personality and a vocabulary to match.  There are just so many little things I want to write down so I don't forget.

After he coughs, he says, "achoo!".

He calls Ethan and Madeline "the kids" and when they call for him he looks up and yells, "yes?"  But it sounds more like, "Yah-ssssssss?".  It's so cute!

He LOVES hiding games and for hide-n-seek will count, "1, 6, 9, 10 coming!"  Sometimes he adds the 2 in after the 1.

If you ask him how old he is, he'll say, "SIX!!!"  He always says it with a twinkle in his eye because he knows he's being funny.

He is OBSESSED with diggers.  He knows the names to all of them and can "dig and dump" for HOURS and HOURS!  "Diggers working.  Dig and dump.  Digger dumping dirt!"  He always brings one to me and says, "Mommy's backhoe loader.  Mommy's working.  Dig dirt.  Mommy digging."  How can I say no?

 He says "dump cruck" for dump truck.

Lately, when he's getting into something he shouldn't, like Madeline's stickers for example, she'll start to holler, "No Cooper!" to which he will always starting crying, go to the nearest person and say, "Mom, Madeline says no!"  He says Madeline more like, "Ma-la-line".  And Ethan sounds a lot like "Zee-zee" though when he's really trying it sounds like "E-sen".  It's pretty cute and quite hilarious…"Mama, Zee-zee says no!" or "Zeezee, Mom says no!"  Followed by super cute-faced wailing.

The week before Christmas, he surprised me (understatement) when at breakfast time proclaimed while grabbing his diaper, "Ah Oh, waterfall coming!  Go potty now!"  I couldn't believe my ears, but took him to the bathroom where he performed quite easily.  He loves flushing the toilet and went five times that day.  He went several times for the following days and while he still does, it's slowed down a lot mostly because I've been much too overwhelmed to potty train right now.  But come spring, we'll be back in business and since I know he can do it, we're already halfway there.  My other kids didn't have a clue when they had to go until after they were 3.  He still hides to do his stinky business though and has recently decided the best way to go about that is to empty all his toys from his room into the hall and then close his bedroom door:

When I turn the corner and see this, I know I am not to bother him, because if you open his door he will SHOUT, "GO OUT! CLOSE DOOR!"  Give the kid his privacy!

He loves baby Oliver, or "baby Awe-ver" as he says, and says, "Baby Awe-ver crying!" about 20 times a day even when Oliver is sleeping peacefully.

He's at the stage where he talks CONSTANTLY and repeats himself over and over.  "Daddy at?" "Daddy's at work."  Zee-zee at?"  "Ethan's in his room".  "Ma-la-line doing?"  "Madeline is downstairs too."  "Baby Awe-ver crying?"  "No he's sleeping."  repeat.

He tries to get me to let him watch shows all day.
He still loves grapes the most.
And noodles.
He LOVES ice cream.

He is strangely terrified of the sound a computer makes when it's restarting.

He unzips his sleep sack, takes off his tray, climbs in and out of his highchair, sits on the toilet alone, but falls down on the middle of the floor and grunts and complains and says, "stuck stuck!  Mommy hold you!"

 I love how polite his is, always saying "peese" and "oh…scooze me" and "daint you".

I could go on and on.  But I'll stop now.

I love you Cooper!  Forever and always.

Our December Fun

My four children

 Loving my sweet baby

 even if I am really tired!

 Oh my, I think he's a cutie!

 Cooper was a good helper crushing candy canes:

 Madeline loves holding her baby brother:

 Oliver is the best gift under Mimi's gorgeous tree!

 It's hard not to snuggle in close and watch Oliver.

 And peek at him when he's sleeping...

 Ethan's origami tree:

 and his crazy place to read...

 and his tree two days later with twice as many origami models on it...

 Todd and I enjoyed a fabulous date to The Nutcracker.  Um yeah, I LOVE THE NUTCRACKER!

 And treat making with cousins is mighty fun too!

Oliver's Due Date

I had a good laugh this morning when I found this email in my inbox:

 I especially like the link, "surviving the first six weeks".  Check!  We have so already done that!

Today is Oliver's due date.

 I honestly can't imagine still being pregnant.  I can't even remember being pregnant anymore.

 And I can't say I'm sad about that one.  Because look at my cute baby:

 I mean seriously…I took so many pictures and I loved them all and I have absolutely no time to actually decide which ones I like best.

 So I'm just posting them all.

 Heehee

 The other kids jumped in at the end and I LOVE them

 My kiddos:

 So glad Oliver is one of them.

Ethan's Birthday

Ethan's 9th birthday really turned out great.  I enjoyed spending the day with him and had fun watching his reaction to different things throughout the day.  And it was a lucky birthday too, because the date was 12-13-14!!

I took him out for breakfast first.  What a fun date!

 After lunch he went to a movie with Todd and Madeline and his best friend Michael.  He kept saying things about how the day was so fun and so awesome.  He was pretty happy.

This birthday was mostly about legos!  Though he did get a hefty amount of origami supplies too.  Below you can see his giant box of random bulk legos.  A total hit!

 His cake was a giant lego brick.  Behind the cake you can see his lego head marshmallow pops and lego head cups!  It was fun to make though I gotta say, pinterest makes things look easier than they ever are. But I impressed my nine year old so that was all that mattered!

 We enjoyed a small family party in the evening with Brazilian kabobs for dinner.

 And basically, I can't believe Ethan is 9.

When I tucked him in, he was pretty happy and said he thought the whole day was awesome.

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Hey, when did Ethan grow up?

 I can't believe my first born is nine years old today.  It is overwhelming to think of the blessing he has been in my life and the lessons I have learned by being his mother.

I'm more selfless, more patient, and more self-aware because of him.  And I know a whole lot more about legos and dinosaurs and origami and so many more random facts!

Watching Ethan read makes me happy.  I love hearing him play the piano.  I smile at all his origami creations.  I appreciate his helpfulness to his younger siblings.  I love when he's in one of those moods where he will help and do anything I need and ask.  I'm constantly amazed at how his brain works.  His 8th grade reading level, his crazy vocabulary, his ability to understand math.  And better yet, his ability to recognize the Spirit.  His tender heart.  His sensitivity to what is good and true.  Being his mother will always keep me on my toes.  Will always challenge me.  But I love it.  And I love him.

What a kid!  Happy Birthday to my Ethan.  I love you to pieces!

A Fun Comparison

Oliver

Cooper

Ethan

My Family

Finally a month later, here we all are together!  Wow, I love my family.