Yee-Haw!

Most kids are excited when school is over, but me, NOPE! I am quite sad about this and will probably be confused all summer long to why I can't go play with my friends. I loved my preschool and my two teachers above. My favorite preschool activity was playing in the gym and painting. Both activities we did almost weekly. I will start preschool in September and will go two mornings a week. I am certain I will ask my parents everyday until then about going to preschool!

Here is my preschool class, LOL! It looks like Mason is trying to get me out of the picture and all the kids are probably annoyed that Jenny made them take this photo. Mommy asked Jenny to take pictures with her camera for the last gathering. My most favorite friends in preschool (besides Mason who is Jenny's son) is Beatrix, Ruby and Piper. Funny how my favorites are all girls! I talk about them A-LOT!

The teachers gave us each a photo collage for a gift. Mommy just ate this up as a scrapbooker. Mommy and Daddy just laughed and laughed at my expressions in some of the photos. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to see these that well since the collage will not rotate and it is a bit blurry. Oops!

A few more favorite projects from school included this handprint Mother's Day picture I made for Mommy and the beautiful butterfly painting below. My parents are already starting to stress about the number of bins they will need to store all of these fantastic pieces of cuteness!

As I mentioned last week, I had several finales coming up. Besides preschool, music class also ended this week. We had a lot of fun seeing many friends and kids in our monthly music classes. This week, I was a drummer in class and we played my favorite game, Ring Around the Rosie. Cooper and Daddy came this week too, but Cooper mostly crawled around, played with the ball in class, and kept Daddy very busy. Kerri, our music teacher (below) had a few minutes of snuggle time with him in class.

The hospital where Daddy works had their annual charity ball this weekend. They always have a theme and people can decide whether to dress formally or in theme. This year's theme was Wild West and my parents decided to dress in theme. Mommy found her Saloon Girl outfit online and Daddy found his outfit from various stores and people. They had a lot of fun while contributing towards a great cause!

Grammy went to the charity ball and although she dressed formally, the chairs had fun little headbands that many people ended up wearing as the night went on and drinks became plentiful!

Mommy's most fun and exciting moment of the night came when she challenged Daddy to a hunting game. There was a deer with a bullseye on it and they used Nerf guns to try to shoot the deer where it would count. Mommy took the first shot while Daddy laughed at her bad shot. It went a little high, but not that bad. So, Daddy went next and didn't even come close. Since both are competitive with each other (in all good fun), they each had a few more shots. The young "lad" at the game declared Mommy the winner and now Mommy questions what Daddy does at deer camp. If she wasn't such a softy when it came to animals, she would probably hunt for him next year. They also played a ring-toss game and with the 4 rings given, they had 3 ringers on different bottles of wine/liquor. Not bad! There was a silent auction and with good scouting and bidding they came home with: 2 tickets to Country Jam, a 12 person river float and pizza party, a gas gift certificate, a greenhouse gift certificate, a Scentsy warmer/wax, and a Spa gift certificate. They were both excited as many of these were items they would have purchased in the months ahead but were able to donate towards a good cause while receiving some awesome gifts! While they were at the ball, Cooper and I stayed at our house with our amazing sitter, Amanda. We were perfect gentlemen for her :)

The next morning, Cooper and I had fun with the Saloon Girl headbands that Mommy brought home from the ball. We are so silly!

Happy Birthday Grammy! Grammy came over for breakfast and we gave her a bike pass and a gift certificate at a flower shop. She loved her gifts and we loved celebrating her 29th birthday with her!!

*Just a Cooper update for those of you who didn't know... Cooper was in ER twice this week. He had a high temperature that didn't go away. We took him in when he had a 102 temp thinking it was an ear infection. It was not an ear infection, which Cooper has never had this far, knock on wood. They thought he might have a "hint" of pneumonia so he started antibiotics. The next day his temp. was nearly 105 so back to the ER we went. Once again, everything checked out and they labeled it an upper-respiratory infection. He is MUCH better now and besides a very stuffy nose and Darth Vader breathing, he is back to his happy, busy and silly self. My parents have kindly asked us to refrain from going to the ER this week. Let's hope not because I am a BIRTHDAY BOY this Friday. I can't wait to turn 3!!

Mudders and Finales

Mommy's favorite photo of her boys from this past year. Happy Mudder's Day to our Mommy, Grandmas, and Aunties!
Hello everyone! First of all, I need to gripe. I am SO tired of cold weather. I think I am starting to sound like my Mother. Two weeks ago, we were excited to see the sun come out (simple things in life) so we had a playdate with Lily and Lucy. They came over and for the first time, we set up the bouncy house outdoors. We still had to bundle up for the weather, but it was nice to get outside for a change. By the afternoon, the bouncy house practically became a hot air balloon thanks to the wind. We quickly put it away and are keeping our fingers crossed that this week will be nice and not windy so we can play with it again. Mommy and Laurie Jo loved the photo above of Cooper and Lucy. They just need country wear and pitch forks to complete the "old couple" look!

Cooper has become the outdoorsmen, just like his big brother. As I mentioned in previous blogs, whenever Cooper chooses to use something of MINE, it suddenly becomes my most favorite toy too. We have to share my John Deere riding tractor, the cozy coupe, the Little Tykes pick-up truck and the outdoor clubhouse, just to name a few of our most fought over toys. I am not happy about all of this sharing going on. Let's just say that the timeout step is staying warm these days.

Soon to be Auntie Karri had her main bridal shower on Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. We went to the cities for the shower, which was girls invite only. While the girls talked about the wedding, ate good food and enjoyed mimosas, socialized and envied all of the amazing gifts Karri received, the boys tried on their tuxes, played golf and had lunch at a local bar. The little boys (Sam, Cooper and I) were left at Auntie Stef/Uncle Bruce's house with a babysitter and played all afternoon. We all had a good time and can't wait for the big day... July 16th this summer!

When everyone was done with the bridal/groomsmen events of the day, we relaxed at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We celebrated Mother's Day one day early, since we had to head home that evening. Auntie Stefanie is my godmother, so I gave her some cute patio dishes for their new house. She had fun playing with us at Grandma's house!

Since the bridal shower included many relatives and friends, we had extra guests at Grandma's that night for dinner. Great-Uncle Don sang a silly song and gave me a horsie ride. I loved it! I kept asking for more until finally Don said the horse needed a nap. "No need to beat a dead horse with a stick," the saying goes, so I gave him a break.

Cooper loves to harass Duke, the family dog. Duke used to belong to Auntie Stef/Uncle Bruce until they realized that a dog wasn't self-sufficient. Duke now lives the royal life with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Woody. Duke has packed on 15 pounds...for a King Charles Cavalier, this means he doubled in size. Sounds like someone is spoiled with treats :)

We attempted a Mother's Day photo with Grandma. Note to Mom... get these photos earlier in the day not at the end of a LONG afternoon. Good news for Grandma... she is not in a cast anymore and is now in just an ankle wrap/brace. She still limps around, but with physical therapy, she should become more mobile and graceful in time. We are just glad she will be able to help us plant our garden in a few weeks, right Grandma (hint!)

Lexi is one of Mommy's goddaughters (Kyra is her other wonderful goddaughter), so Mommy had her photo taken with Lexi for Mother's Day. Lexi gave Mommy this balloon and a birdfeeder. The balloon has become the most favorite toy between Cooper and I this past week. What a simple thing to keep us busy and keep us fighting with each other, ugh!

We gave goodbye hugs to our family and headed back home. Mommy had to teach Sunday School the next day and we made plans to see Grammy, Auntie Jill and Uncle Matt for brunch.

The church had a beautiful slideshow that included pictures of the Mothers in the congregation and their children. The first photo in the blog, is Mommy's favorite photo... both boys cuddling in for a photo. Daddy emailed the photo to the church coordinator, so it was the closing photo in the slideshow. Mommy had watery eyes after seeing the beautiful slideshow set to some sappy song :( After church, we went to the golf course by our house for their Mother's Day brunch. It was delicious and we were well-behaved and busy. Cooper usually behaves well when food is put in front of him. He also enjoys posing for photos these days. Here is a self-photo as he helped Mommy aim the camera at himself.

After brunch, we went by the lake for some photos with everyone. I loved walking to the end of the dock, to my mother's dismay. I settled for a few photos with the family. Uncle Matt and Auntie Jill are Cooper's godparents and this was Jill's first Mother's Day as a godmother (they do not have kids yet as they only got married this past December. Even so, we like to pressure them for little cousins :)) The kid wondering in the background is not a relation. Photoshop/cousin Kristin (our photographer) is helping us out so that we can get that kid out of the picture and so Cooper and I can be in one of these pictures smiling together (LOVE photoshop!)

Happy 1st Mother's Day Auntie Jill! Kiss, kiss from Coopie.

And a Happy Mother's Day to Grammy! I was too busy at this point to join the picture, so Cooper represented us. Lucky duck also got to get some swings in from Grammy and Jill.

I guess I only needed to give Mommy kisses on Mother's Day. She said that the best gift ever was waking up to me saying, "Happy Mudder's Day Mommy. I love you!" I planted a big kiss on her lips and she practically burst into tears. Being a Mom is the best, hardest, most wonderful gift God has given her. Note to self... we won't need to give her gifts next year since she only needs love, hugs and kisses. As an FYI, we gave her a fun bracelet, awesome purse and a spa package. My Daddy is teaching me how to spoil girls :)

As for finales (part of the blog's title this week), we are nearing the end of so many events. It was Mommy's last soccer game this past week. Her indoor soccer team won their 4th championship title this season. Way to go, gals! It was my last Sunday School today which is bittersweet. Mommy is happy to have a break from teaching Sunday School but that means I now have to sit in church for an hour. This means my parents will question why they even go to church with two little monkeys in the pew. This upcoming week will be my last preschool session. I LOVE, LOVE preschool, so this will not be a happy day. I will return to the same preschool in the fall for two mornings a week. We have one more music class this week with our music teacher/friend Kerri. I enjoy getting together with other kids my age, so we have plans this summer for playgroups and activities. School is ending in 4 weeks for Mommy, so she is looking forward to summer vacation with her boys!Mommy's indoor soccer team (above) and Sunday School 1st session (below)In preparation of summer, we purchased our first round of flowers and plants today. We are excited to get the yard fancied up and the garden tilled and ready for the summer. One of my favorite events this weekend was Daddy got the boat shined up. We are actually listing our Crestliner fishing boat for sale since it is getting too small for our family of 4. We will use it until it sells and we are considering buying a pontoon in the near future. At this point, I am perfectly content just sitting in the boat and "driving" it. Stay tuned for "last photos" of upcoming events and hopefully some outdoor, springy photos!

Our Florida Trip

We left for Captiva Island, FL on Friday, April 15th and planned a week-long vacation. Mommy's family has vacationed in Captiva for 25 years now and it is her favorite place to vacation. Mommy and Daddy didn't know what to expect this year... first, Grandma and Grandpa didn't come due to Grandma's ankle surgery and cast, Auntie Stefanie and family couldn't come because she is a principal now and doesn't have the vacation flexibility anymore, and Uncle Jim/Karri are in the midst of wedding plans. Several other extended family member were unable to come this year, so it was much smaller than usual. Despite all of these changes, we still had a wonderful time with our little family; my parents feel triumphant that they did this vacation with minimal help! Here are the trip details...

This was Cooper's first airplane ride. At nine months, he is a crawler and constantly on the move. We were worried about our little rascal, but surprisingly he did great on the plane. We had to be at the airport at 5:30 a.m., so we left Grandma and Grandpa's house at 5:15. Cooper took a whopping 30 minute nap on the plane, otherwise, he just played and ate snacks. Here, he was calling Grandma to say, "Hello, we miss you, and wish you were here to take a turn with the squirmy worm!" Cooper loves to pretend talk on the phone these days.

This was my 4th airplane ride and my parents were pleasantly surprised at how much easier it was this year than last. I was able to watch movies on my DVD player, took about 5 trips to the bathroom (I am fully potty trained), and ate lots of snacks. The flight attendants were very complimentary of our behavior and I was given flight wings at the end! I am fascinated by planes and think this might be a calling for me later in life.

One of the biggest challenges we faced was packing. We checked one bag each (2 huge suitcases and one set of golf clubs). Our carry-ons included two weekend suitcases, a diaper bag, purse, Maclaren stroller, laptop bag and 2 carseats. We looked like a traveling circus. I insisted on toting my airplane suitcase through the airport and many people had to stop and comment on how cute and determined I looked.

Mommy and Daddy's friends, Jennifer and Arlyn, moved to Land O' Lakes, FL about a year ago. Since we had the three bedroom villa to ourselves, we invited them for the weekend. We were so excited to see them and their twin boys, Aiden and Jacob. We had fun going to the beach, pool and trolley rides with them. Cooper must be in deep conversation with Aiden...or is it Jacob in this photo. The two are identical!

One of my favorite activities was riding on the resort's trolleys. They have 2-3 running at a time and they pick you up and will deliver you to wherever you wish to go on the resort grounds. We mostly took the trolley to the ice cream shop or main pool area. This might be another calling for me later in life, although Mommy thinks when she retires, she would be a great trolley driver :)

We had many fun days at the ocean. Although it was a messy place to play, we loved it. Cooper loved eating the sand and shells, and I loved running into the waves and chasing the pelicans and other beach birds.

As I mentioned above, I am fully potty trained. My parents are thrilled although they didn't realize how much work it was to have to find a bathroom in a moment's notice. My Daddy taught me how to water the weeds in FL. I guess this is a benefit of being a boy.

Cooper was calling Grandma on the shell phone here. Grandma told us not to call her while we were away, so we didn't. She couldn't handle the idea of not being with us in FL. So, we just pretended to call and Cooper used shells and other fun objects for dialing.

Like last year, we rented a beach stroller which came in handy for long walks and beach strolls. We are happy to say we made it to four sunsets during the week and even though the sun would set way past our bedtime (8:00 was sunset), we still made an effort to see the sun go "night night."

Mommy was a paparazzi all week. This picture above is one of her favorites. It shows wonderful me just in awe of the sun going down into the water. Look how big I am getting. Goodnight sun, see you tomorrow!

We built sandcastles about everyday on the beach. I didn't enjoy the taste of salt water on the few occasions that a huge wave splashed into me. We did go to the resort pools daily, but the beach is more special and unique to FL.

The weather was gorgeous the entire week. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were in the upper 80's to low 90's. While we were away, the weather back home was freezing cold and snowy. A perfect week to be gone! With the weather being as nice as it was, we took a lot of little breaks from the sun for snacks, lunch, naps, and walks. It was too hot for us to stay outside all day. This sure made vacation busy for our parents!

One major benefit to the sun and fresh air.... great sleeping! I slept like a rock at night and Cooper slept like a baby :) He slept in a pack n' play and Mommy found him sleeping with his hands and feet up in the air.

Great-auntie Lynda and Mommy's cousin Jason, his wife, Kelly, and their three kids were also in Captiva (different condos). Abbey, the oldest child of Jason and Kelly's was able to babysit us one night so our parents could have a kid-free dinner. They had a great time.... key lime pie and the most amazing seafood pasta, yum!

The main pool was one of our favorite spots. It has two zero entry pools and we had a cabana all week. My parents bought this neoprene Body Glove baby carrier and it is great (for all of you parents with infants... a must have!) Cooper LOVED the water. He learned how to tip himself in from the ledge on the count of 3. Cooper and I both love the water which is great but also makes my parents realize we will need to be in life jackets all summer when we are at the lake.

Papa and Grandma Sharon (Mommy's Dad and his wife) live in FL for the winter months. They came to see us for the day and we had a great time at the pool! That evening, we went to our favorite restaurant in Captiva, The Mucky Duck. I call it the Lucky Duck. Most of our dinners were made in the villa, but we ventured out a few times just to taste the local food! Papa and Grandma Sharon couldn't believe how much we have grown in the past few months. They will return from FL in just a few weeks and it will be great to see them all summer long.

One evening, we were bathed and ready for bed, when Mommy and Daddy decided to take us out for the sunset. We stayed in our jammies and watched the sun go down.

Daddy golfed almost daily with the exception of one morning when we had our company visiting and another morning for Mommy's spa day. He golfed really well and we connected with him on his last morning to take some golf photos. I can't wait to golf with Daddy, maybe next year!

Our last day was bittersweet. We were sad to leave FL, but also ready to head home for Easter and to get back into our regular routines. We enjoyed all of our favorite things on our last day... the beach...

Boogie boarding (I borrowed this from a little kid who played with me)...

Cooper helping Mom with last minute laundry and packing.....

The beloved trolley...

One more sunset.....

Goodbye Florida. You were so good to us this year. We can't wait for next year when our entire family returns to vacation with you! Thanks to Uncle Jim and Karri for watching Liberty, for our neighbors who watched our house and took care of our stinky garbage, to Heather who taught for Mommy, and for Grandma and Grandpa who took us to the airport and let us stay in their villa all week!