Happy Halloween!

What a difference a year makes!  Happy Halloween!

Cooper in the Leaves

I couldn't resist taking pictures of Cooper in the fall leaves.  Every year, I've taken pictures of my children in the leaves.  Probably because I'm so enamored with fall.  Fall leaves are just magical and beautiful and this fall has been one of the best I can remember.  The trees of orange, red, yellow, and multi-color! take my breath away.  It's so gorgeous.  I love fall!

Cooper wasn't quite as excited as me at first, "I'll clap Mom, but what are we doing out here in the cold wet leaves?"

 But his exploring nature took over quickly.

 And when I broke out the pumpkin, he decided to practice his cute skills for tomorrow.

 He even has his expression down for when he gets a candy.

 Mostly we just enjoyed being outside together,

 roaming through the fall confetti.

Fall Fun and other ramblings

Enjoying the perfect weather at the park

 Cooper being very helpful with the laundry

 Cornbelly's Bounce back passes were loads of fun:

Princess carriage

 Meeting the Pumpkin Princess

 Sitting in the firetruck

 Potato sack slide

 Cooper still does his "o" face constantly

 And look at my shower!!  The bathroom project, though slow, is making great progress!  Sheetrock is going up soon and tile is ordered.  Now if only Home Depot would get more cement board in stock for the floors...I'm getting excited.  Todd has been working so hard on this every little moment of free time he has (which are few and far between!)  We're getting to the fun stuff now though!

And in less fun news, I found out this week that the crazy pain in my foot is tendonitis!  I went to the doctor thinking I had a stress fracture.  I've been hobbling along for the last 11 days with a swollen puffy foot and toes that don't wiggle much.  So ice three times a day for me, and lots of ibprofen and a cast shoe which I'm refusing to wear.  The cast shoe seriously makes it hurt worse, and I can hobble in normal shoes just fine, thank you!  And believe me, I'm NOT gonna be bending my toes any time soon, cast shoe or not.  The doctor's only explanation??  Yoga.  (this is when I plugged my ears and started singing, "I can't hear you...").  Apparently going from no exercise to yoga 6 times a week was a bit much.  All my favorite standing poses did me in.  Boohoo, I love yoga.  I'll have to take it slower when I start back up again in a few weeks...

sigh...

13 Months Old

13 months old on the 13th

 His "o" face is pretty much his permanent expression

 Still loving his out-of-control hair

 "o" again...

 A creative way to climb onto his chair

Birthday Fun at Cornbelly's!

On Wednesday, we celebrated my mom's birthday by going to Cornbelly's!  My mom wanted to go through the corn maze (yep, she's that awesome!), so after the men got off work, we headed down.  We ate dinner at the cafe at Thanksgiving Pointe first and then outside we went.

It was cold and raining a little, but that did not stop us from having a blast!  

 Lost in the corn maze!

 Cooper's little jacket wasn't quite enough, especially when it was raining, so I wrapped mine on him.  I was one ill-prepared mama!  I got a little wet and cold, but it was totally worth it knowing he was dry.  It really turned out to be so much fun.

 My mom's sister and my cousin came along too.  I've always thought birthdays were better with your sister!

 Finally we made it:

 Back at home, we warmed up and put on pjs and then enjoyed presents and peach upside-down cake.  It was so good that we just dove right in without a single picture.  Whoops!

Happy Birthday Mom!  You brighten every life you come in contact with.  I love you forever!!!

What we've been up to

Cooper likes to crawl around with a rubber duck in his mouth.

 Madeline has been enjoying ballet and I still can't get over how much I love watching her dance.

 The kids have been drawing...still...more...always!

 Madeline's latest dinosaur drawing is so stinking cute.  I can't decide if I like the actual drawing better or her darling handwriting.

 Last weekend, we visited the Salt Lake Cemetery and, with a map, found many of the past prophet's grave sites.  It was a really neat experience.  I had never been there before.

The kids by John Taylor's headstone.

 Here we are by Heber J. Grant's.  Cooper's middle name is Grant, after my grandfather who was named after Heber J. Grant.

 My favorite spot was the gravesite of President Gordon B. Hinckley.  The Spirit there is so powerful.  I love that man.  What an incredible Prophet.  His words and life shaped mine through all of middle school, high school, and college.  He died two days after Madeline was born.  I remember sitting in the NICU and weeping.  It was really neat to be at his gravesite and feel the Spirit and remember my prophet.  It was a perfect way to end Conference weekend where we got to hear from our living prophet!  Wow!  What an awesome weekend!!  I love President Monson just the same way!

And of course, we always enjoy our backyard, even when there's a face-off on the slide.

 And Cooper keeps me more than busy with his shenanigans.

Below is a picture of an hourly occurrence.  I tend to let it slide as it's much better than his alternate activities of wreaking havoc to my music collection, ripping books, eating shoes, or opening the dishwasher mid-cycle.  He's be really good at helping me un-decorate and soon every chair in the house will have a designated spot for blocking something off!  Just when I think I've got all my bases covered he finds another thing.  And the fact that he can reach onto the kitchen table and pull off a pair of scissors does not help!  

Life is so good.  We're loving every minute!

Two days ago, we also enjoyed my Mom's birthday!!!  But that's another post all together.