Its Cooper's Birthday!

I can't believe that its been a year since Cooper was born! Time has totally flown by this year and now my baby is one years old and getting to be such a big boy! It makes me a little sad...especially since my husband says he's done having kids. I'm not so sure...I miss my baby! But I am enjoying all that he is learning to do. I think I am enjoying him more than the other two. Not that I didn't enjoy the other two, but I think I took for granted just how fast the time flies and this last year I have really tried to enjoy all that my kids are learning and doing. Not just with Cooper, but the other two as well. I am loving the fact that he is exploring how things works. He likes to push the button of his toy on the fridge and 'dance' to the music. He likes to put cars down the ramp on the toy garage and watch them fall through. He likes to roll, rub and throw things across the kitchen floor because it makes lots of noise. He knows how to express himself, like when he pushes his brother or sister when they get into his face, or he throw the food on the ground or pushes it away when he's done, or he cries pathetically and puts his hands up when he wants to be picked up! He likes to drop things to get you to pick them up. He likes to wrestle and tries to lay beside you when you are on the floor. He likes to try and follow the kids outside in his walker. He loves to play peek-a-boo with anything. And now he can play patty cake and Toss it Up! He's not walking yet, but I know it will be soon and frankly I hope he takes his time because once he starts moving, I know he won't stop, and because when he starts walking, he only starts being a little boy instead of my baby!

We had a fun Birthday for him...very low key because he's only one and really he could have cared less! Kim and Gary and their girls came over and had a BBQ with us. (Dustin is becoming quite the gourmet with his new grill!) And we had cupcakes, opened presents and the kids played all over the place! It was great. Cooper had lots of help opening presents and he wasn't really sure about the cupcake,(probably because he has decided that he doesn't really like to eat anything right now!) but I think he liked it, he got lots of attention! 

I am so thankful for my littlest man! He really is an easy going kid and most of the time very smiley and happy. It does make being a mother nice when someone is there to smile at you all day! He is growing so fast and it makes me sad, but I am trying to enjoy him as much as I can before he gets too big! Happy Birthday Coops! We all love you lots and are so happy you are part of our family!

It's been a LONG week...

So this last week has felt like FOREVER!! Dustin decided to drive me crazy and he picked up an extra shift on Monday...then he had a meeting at work on Tuesday, which lasted until 1:30 p.m. so the day is pretty much shot when Gracie has a game that night, and now he is finishing off 6 shifts in a row. Yes...I am dealing...very carefully. Especially after yesterday. We had a Primary party scheduled for 9:30 in the morning and I was in charge of the snacks, supervising them. On Friday night I found out that Gracie's softball team pictures are on Saturday morning...at 9:30 a.m. So Saturday morning I pack up the kids and my snack and head off to drop them off at the church. The wonderful women in the Primary said they would take care of the supervising of the snack. Thank you again ladies! So I drop off the snack and Brody, then I run Gracie over to the ball diamonds, get pictures and run back to the church to help, only to have my daughter on this weird clingy pouty mode. She proceeded to pout and cry that she didn't want to do anything, but then cry because when she decided to participate...it was over. Then we ran home for lunch, a small break and then off to another school for Brody's team pics which were running 45 minutes behind. I should have stopped there, but the Lawson's were having T-ball in the park and Brody was excited about that so we tried it....ya I should have stayed at home. It's really hard to explain to a 3 year old that its not always his turn, when, at home when we play, it always is his turn! Then today at church, Primary was pretty much a huge fiasco with Gracie. Seriously...do children realize they are slowly killing their parents when they act like this? I swear somedays.....but tomorrow Dustin works the last of 8 and then 2 whole days off! Whoo Hoo! I am very excited, if only for the fact that there is someone to help me put the kids down for bed! Amazing how that can drain a person. In conclusion...its been a LONG week!

And to top it all off, my silly children are still growing up! Can you imagine the nerve of them? How dare they! My baby boy will be ONE YEARS OLD on Saturday! I'm still in shock. And the kid has discovered that he can climb! Walk? NO WAY, he says, but I will climb! It can't be too high, but even if it is, he's trying. And my other two think its great so they like to help him 

climb. No broken bones or bruising yet...

And Brody started his first 'Sports' class this week. This is the first thing outside of church, that he has done on his own. He is usually tagging along with Gracie. Its 2 weeks each of Soccer, T-ball, and basketball. He LOVES it! He did so well! I was so proud of him.

 Then my little girl, hit both live pitches on her game on Friday...then proceeded to get herself stuck in her dolly's highchair. Ya...good times!

Wordful Wednesday...What inspires me...

Wow! What a topic! Now it has to be someone or a scene that inspires me...but not religious. I though about that and there are alot of people who inspire me. And when I thought about those people in a group, the majority of them are mothers. Mothers I know, Mothers I've seen, being a mother...the total package inspires me to be a better person and consequently, a better mother.

For instance, my husband is a nurse and he works all kind of crazy shifts, so he works on alot of Sundays. This means I have the duty to take the kids to church. Some weeks this is a struggle, and I will admit that there has been a number of times where we are running late in the morning (or I just don't have the energy or patience) to make it to Sacrament Meeting. As this is happening, I usually console myself by saying..."Well, its just me and my kids...its just too hard to do it on my own..." But then I think of Mom's I've seen or known that take their kids by themselves (A past Young Women Leader who had 4 kids, including twins, and still came to church on her own), or Mothers sitting by themselves because their husbands are in the Bishopric (my own mother included) or even other mothers whose husbands also have to work on Sundays sometimes and still manage to get to church. After I think about this, I tell my self "Next time, I will be stronger. I will be better. If they can do it...I can to."

I know every woman is different and every mothering situation is different, and therefore every Mother goes through their own trials. But what inspires me about Mothers, is that they keep on going. They take their mistakes, learn from them, grow, and later, pass on that knowledge to their own daughters. My own mother to me is very inspiring because we are alot alike in temperament and attitude. We both have a short fuse and certain things just really annoy us. But I actually would not think of that of my Mom because you never see it. She's like the happiest Gramma ever. She just wants to play with the kids and spoil them, and who cares if they make a mess...it just doesn't bother her anymore. She told me once when I was really struggling with being a Mom, that she used to yell and snipe at us kids alot when we were younger ( I actually only remember her doing this a couple times WHEN we were not doing as we were told but...) And that my Dad would just gently remind her what she was doing, and she would think about how it would make her feel if someone did that to her. Also, she said once she ran away from home when she was a mother. She actually got in the car and drove away (around the block per say) but realized that she was the adult, and basically she was the one throwing the fit, and turned around. She told me that she realized that those little things that may annoy us are trivial...they don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. And when I am having a really rough day of parenting, I try and remember that ( it doesn't always get through, but I'm working on it). It does inspire me and make me want to be a better person and a better Mother, because my kids deserve that. 

There are many tough jobs out there in this big ol' world...but I think being a mother is one of the toughest. We are molding the future. We are nurturing the leaders of tomorrow and this does frighten me a little bit. That fear, along with the knowledge that I love my children more than anything, and want the very best for them, inspires me. Every day it inspires me to try that much harder to do a better job.

Easter Vacation!

So I've been flying under the radar lately, really bad with blogging and pretty much anything really. Just trying to work up motivation, not to mention inspiration, to do anything! But we had an eventful week, so an update...

Jeri-lynn, DJ and Levi came to visit this last week and it was nice because Gracie was on Easter Break so we could be very lazy all week. It was GREAT! We did take them out on a little sight seeing. We hit the LA Zoo on Tuesday, which was a beautiful day, even got a little sunburn! And the Big boys went to the Angels game that night. DJ was very excited, and my Dad is very jealous! Then we thought we would drive up the coast a ways and then go to the beach. So we went up to Ventura, but the weather didn't really co operate. It was sooo windy, and freaking cold! It is always a little windy every time you go to the beach, but this was sand blasting wind. But of course the boys were a little crazy and said "Let's go in the water!" Weirdos. I huddled by the rocks trying to block some of the cold. Then laid huddled on the towel where the kids were building sand castles. They, of course, still had fun. I think Gracie would have liked to play in the water, but the wind was even too cold for her! Still fun...and I still could listen to the sound of the waves forever! The rest of the week was pretty laid back, colored eggs, made Easter baskets, had BBQ and fondue, played Wii and watched movies. The kids just ran around the yard and house and played so well together. I'm glad Levi was there to mix up the week a bit, my kids probably would have been at each others throats by Wednesday!  It was a very relaxing week. Thanks Uncle DJ and Aunty J for coming to visit! We love you and miss you already!

Wordful Wednesday...April Fool's!

Ahh April Fool's....what a great day. I think its great that someone came up with the idea for a whole day to be dedicated to the art of practical joking! What better medicine is there than laughter. I must admit, many days around my house would put me in the Nut House if it wasn't for laughter!

I really do enjoy a good practical joke, but I am no good at it because I can not keep a straight face. I am a terrible liar, and I usually start laughing or my face goes red and gives me a way. But I do enjoy trying. When we were little, my Dad introduced us to April Fool's Day. Almost every year, he found some way to trick us. One year he put Green food coloring in the milk. When we got up for breakfast in the morning, NONE of us would touch it! There was no way we were eating cereal with green milk. We thought it had gone moldy! Mom finally told us what Dad had done. We tried to get him back, with saran wrap on the toilet, bucket of water on the door, plastic bugs. I don't think we ever did. Sometimes he would just hide and jump out and scare us. This was easy to get him back for. There were many a times I would get up extra early before Dad went with the bus run (He drove the School bus) and hide just so I could get him good!

I have never really tried any tricks on my kids yet. I think this year I might. Maybe jello in the juice cups or something silly for dinner. My kids would appreciate that as they love to laugh. They even try things and turn around and say "I'm just joking!" I love the sound of my children's laughter! And I love how they make me laugh! Here is something from each of them:

• Gracie when she was about 2 1/2 loved Dora. I thought it was so cute the little Spanish phrases she would pick up and how she liked to count in Spanish. One day when she was playing, she kept saying "Are you in there? Help ! Help! Are you in there!" I didn't really understand, I thought she was looking for 'someone' while she was playing. A few days later I asked her what she was doing and she said she was calling for help. 'Are you in there' was her way of saying 'ayudame' the Spanish word for 'help me'.
• Brody's body tells him things. Most of the time it makes sense..."My knees tell me I'm tired, I can't walk anymore." or "My tummy says I'm hungry, I need a snack." But sometimes they are really great like "My head is tired, I just need to lay down and rest." or my favorite "My heart says I need to sit with you."
• Cooper doesn't say much, he's 11 months, but I love his new 'fake' laugh he's got going right now. He 'laughs at the kids, me, my husband, the toys with a great big "HA HA! HA HA!" followed by squeals and regular laughing. The other two thinks its great, and usually encourage this! I think its hilarious.

So Happy April Fool's Day. May your day of laughter continue to filter throughout your life!