Journals

Dear Everyone,

I would just like to say that today I finished writing in my 400 page journal that Todd gave me 5 years ago.  It is my seventh completed handwritten journal since 1998 when I started writing regularly.  And I just have to say how incredibly much I love journals.  I love writing my life.  I love reading my life.  I love remembering.  I love learning from myself.  I love figuring out what I feel and think by writing.  I love journals.  I think I probably even love my journals more than photographs.  Gasp.  It's true.

Love always,
Rachel  

Cooper Pictures

Turns out my two older kids are hardly ever home.  So when I start looking through my pictures, it looks like I only have one kid.  Hopefully that will change since they're going off track soon!  Until then, here are a bunch of fun pictures of Cooper:

watching the rain 

 splashing in the tub

 riding his horsey the "fun" way

 exploring the fridge

 then selecting my Ginger Ale and licking the can while saying, "mmmm"

 sleeping in a pile

 hanging out after three outfits got trashed in one day

 he figured out how to turn his lamp on

 and mess with it...

 and well, what can I say about these?

My Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, I was very spoiled with love and homemade gifts from these kiddos:

 If you know my kids, then you won't be surprised at the sheer volume of paper used in making me signs and cards and pictures for such a special day.  Here is the sign that Madeline made.  It spans the entire length of the bar in our kitchen:

 Ethan made this one for the fireplace:

 a picture from Madeline:

 And a card she made at school:

 and a poem from Ethan that kinda cracks me up:

 AND…they made these in primary too:

 (Madeline loves me because I color with her and am nice)

And Ethan made these at school and presented them too me at a Mom's and Muffins Morning

haha, I'm glad he mentioned love at least a little!

He also shared this poem:

AND, believe it or not, I also was spoiled with pancakes made from Todd, new gold bow earrings (LOVE!), and a Jamba Juice gift card I'll be able to enjoy all summer.  Plus I got my last two years of Blog Books printed and we had a wonderful time snuggling together reading memories.  Todd also made sure the house was clean and helped extra with the kids (which he's been doing every single day anyway!).

We enjoyed the evening with my parents and had a great dinner made mostly by my dad.

I have the best Mom in the world, and my kids seem to think I am the best Mom in the world too, so I guess it doesn't get much better than that.

20 Months Old!

I can't believe my baby is fast approaching 2!  

 He's become quite the talker now and will copy just about every word you say.  Every little thing he says delights us all.  Though I think he easily says, "ah oh" the most.  When he throws something, when he drops something, when he trips or his foot hurts, when Madeline is crying, when he doesn't get what he wants, if something makes him nervous.  "ah oh, ah oh, ah oh, AH OH!!"

 He still causes one catastrophe after another, but it doesn't seem as bad lately.  Maybe I'm just used to it now and don't care as much or I'm too tired to notice.

 I'm grateful though, at the end of every day that he didn't break his head.  I'm glad angels watch over him.  He needs it with all his antics!

Being Outside

I think one of the reasons Cooper came to me was so I could learn to love being outside.  Though I guess if I never quite capture the magic of it, he's got enough love for the both of us.

 Sometimes it seems like the only way I can get him back in the house is to bribe him with a treat.  And even that doesn't always work!

 But I try to stay outside with him as long as I can.  I do love watching him discover things and play in the dirt and throw sticks around the yard.

 I don't particularly like when he tries to throw handfuls of dirt on me though...

 But when I look back over the last few days, I think my favorite parts have been sitting on a blanket in the sun and watching him play outside.