Sleep

Sleep.  It is something that until you are lacking it, you don't realize how much you actually need it.  Depend on it really.  For sanity, for health, and when you are dealing with kids, for patience.

Today was a tough day.  Cooper was up one night this week in the middle of the night for an hour screaming his little head off for no apparent reason.  When we finally got him back to sleep, I was not so lucky.  I am not one of those people who easily falls asleep when waken in the middle of the night.

I was off today and hoping to recoup some sleep until 7am and that ended abruptly when Cooper started crying at 6am sharp.  He wanted nothing to do with Dad, so I took a whiny kid downstairs with me at 6am.   He called orders from the couch - I want milk, I want breakfast, I want the ipad.  I tried to keep up and just keep him quiet so he didn't wake Grady.  It didn't work.

Grady came down at 615 and then I had 2 whiny demanding kids to deal with.  I seriously don't know how I survived the first 3 hours of the day with out having a serious meltdown.  The only thing that kept me going is knowing that I would be dropping the kids off at school and I would have 2 hours by myself.  Did I just write that on my blog?  

I needed some time by myself.  A mommy time out for lack of a better word.  My sleep deprived self was having a difficult time dealing with my two sleep deprived kids.  I can't be the only one that has these days.   I held it together for the most part but I was not parent of the year today.

Today I am merely hoping for survival.  A quiet evening and a goods nights sleep.  Is that too much to ask?

Tree Tradition

I grew up in a home where decorating the tree was a favorite family tradition.  Even as an adult I love opening my boxes of ornaments and remembering where each of them came from and  those forgotten treasures that you picked up during the year and forgot about.  I had a few of those this year.

At the beginning of the week the house across the street from us was fully decorated inside and out.  I casually mentioned to the kids that maybe we could decorate our tree on the weekend and Grady yelled, let's do it TODAY!.  He was just a touch excited.

It was so nice to see Grady embrace a tradition I loved as a child.  We went through the boxes of ornaments and separated them into theirs and mine.  I got all the princesses.  Obviously.  I also told them hats were mandatory. 

 

 

 

The kids couldn't wait to start decorating the tree.  The minute James had tested the lights we started hanging the treasures on the tree.  Even Cooper was into it! 

 

Cooper got behind the tree and stood on the couch to get those tough to reach spots.  I love that the hat he chose is about 10 times to small.

 

 

 

Grady was a little more picky about where he hung the ornaments.  He liked to group them together.  All the Cars ornaments here, all the princess ornaments there..... 

 

James and I agreed to let the kids cover the bottom of the tree and we would do the top.  The ornaments are definitely bottom heavy but I love how it turned out.

 

 

Grady asked why our star didn't light up.  He was quite adamant that it did last year, which it didn't.  I have the feeling we will be getting a new star this year.  Cooper wouldn't let James put the star on until each and every last ornament was on the tree.  It was cute.  I have this funny thing where we decorate the tree unlit, you put the star on, make a wish, and then turn the lights on.  I think that is how we did it growing up. 

Now, let me introduce you to the new tree ornaments of 2013.  Meet Dusty.  Each year, I let the kids pick an ornament for the tree and I put their name on the bottom with the year.  This year Grady picked Dusty from the Disney Planes movie.

 

 

And so did Cooper.

 

 

I also like to buy decorations on holidays.  So does my Mom.  When we were at the market in Maui in January, my Mom bought this Angry Bird looking one for the kids.  They were just starting to get into angry birds.  They loved seeing this one again.  I had forgotten all about it.

 

 

I can't exactly remember where these piggie ornaments came from, but I think they came off something Nana bought a few months back.  I packed them away for a nice xmas surprise for the boys.  Notice I had to fix Coopers with a pipe cleaner as the string was accidentally cut off.

 

 

Here was another Maui surprise.  Notice that the springs are all stretched out?  The first thing Grady did when he saw it was pull the fins and tails out.  Then he wanted them to go back in.  Sorry dear.... it doesnt' work that way.

 

 

I was just so so happy to see my kids (and husband!) embracing the tree decorating this year.  I love that our tree is full of memories and fun for the entire family to decorate.

 

And if you find yourself at our house.... the pickle is hidden in there somewhere!

What I Wore This Week

I thought this was a perfect week to have a what I wore post since it was a week full of new purchases!  I have this thing when I buy something I leave it out on my chest until I wear it, then I hang it in the closet or wash it.  I like to wear my new clothes immediately.  So the biggest dilemma I had this week was what to wear first!

Monday

Monday I chose this great color block shirt from Aritzia.  I was in the change room with some other stuff when I saw another lady wearing this shirt.  I loved it and tried it on immediately and walked out of the store with it.  One of the themes of our shopping trip was shirts you can wear with leggings and this was the perfect work shirt that fit the bill. 

What you can't tell from the poor quality bathroom photo is that I am wearing burgundy colored legging pants with the new black boots I blogged earlier this week.  This picture does not to the shirt justice.  The only downfall to the it is that the bottom is silk, which means it is a kid free shirt.  And maybe a food free shirt to. I was nervous eating my lunch while wearing this beauty.

Shirt: Aritzia
Pants: RW and Co
Boots: Town Shoes

Tuesday

Tuesday is my new day off since cooper started preschool, hence why this photo is taken in my room and not my work bathroom.  The entire outfit is new and I love it. While I think it could be worn out on the town with my friends (which I will be doing on Friday), it was also the perfect outfit to wear on my day off as it feels like I am wearing sweatpants.

I had been eyeing up this shirt but nearly 2 months knowing that I was going to love it.  It has full crotchal coverage in the front and is extra long in the back.  The extra flare to this shirt is that it goes very high on each side and reveals the tank you are wearing underneath.

I chose to wear a lace shirt which didn't show in the pic.  But if you look closely you can see the how the shirt goes quite high on the side. 

The leggings are super comfy.  While I would still say the Hue leggings retain their shape more as they are thicker, this pair from aritzia was pretty darn comfy and lasted the day without stretching out too much.  Deena grabbed a pair in acid wash grey which I tried to also get but they didn't have my size. May be worth a trip back....

Shirt: Aritzia
Leggings: Aritzia
Boots: Town shoes
Necklace:  Stella and Dot Sanibel

Wednesday

I am not very impressed with my bathroom pictures with poor lighting. There is my disclaimer.   The tank that I am wearing was not purchased in Vancouver, but right before I left.  A local store was blowing out the woman's wear at 70% off and I snagged this beauty for $15.  While I love the fit and that it is flowy and can be worn out, I wish it was all black without the animal print at the top.

While I do love animal print, it means I can't wear it with printed pants. I am still on the look out for a great plain black blouse that I can wear over leggings. I bought one at Zara over the weekend but I thinking now it is too short for how I want to wear it. Being that i paid {{gasp}} full price for it, I need to love to keep it. I have until next Friday to decide.

Another thing I wanted to mention in this post was the shoes.  I went to Vancouver determined to give booties another shot.  Trust me, Dee and I spent a fair bit of time in Nine West trying on shoes and both almost bought this bootie.

Looking at them now... I still love them. I think they are the cutest little boots and then I put them on my feet and they just don't look right. I don't know how to wear them or what to wear them with. In the end, I went with the black pumps that I am wearing in the above outfit. A simple, low heel, patent pump. One I will have for the next 10 years I am sure. BUT when I pulled up this picture and still love how they look, I am thinking me and the hunt for a bootie isn't over quite yet.

Cardigan: F21
Shirt: Urban
Pants: Banana Republic (Sloan fit)
Shoes: Nine West
Necklace: Sisters Home (local store)

Thursday

 

I struggled with this shirt. I wore it in Van so I knew I had to keep it but I had a really hard time 'dressing' it.  First, it was full of static in Calgary compared to Van where there is a moisture in the air.  That was causing me the biggest problem.  It was just clingy and didn't look right, even static guard wasn't helping all that much.

The other issue I had with it was the length. I tried it on with jeans and loved the look, but when I put on with leggings, which is what I bought it for, I wasn't sure it was long enough.  So I added a shirt extender from H&M (a mini shirt sold in the basics department for $6).

On the bright side, I love how the white necklace pops with the shirt.

On another positive note, I wore my black boots again and still love them.  Maybe black boots will be my new go to?

Shirt: RW & Co.
Leggings: The bay (Hue!)
Boots: Town Shoes
Necklace: F21

Friday

TGIF!  Today I am thankful for Candy Cane Lattes from Second cup and leather leggings!  I love this outfit.  Love, love LOVE.  It is so comfy but still looks great.  The sweater is so big and warm.  It makes me want to watch a movie on the couch with hot chocolate.   Not go to work.

I am wearing flats in the picture because I had a Marathon walk to the passport office this morning but I think next time I would wear my leopard heals to spice it up a little. 

This necklace is becoming my go to choice.  If you switch it around it is black on the other side.  Really loving its versatility.

Sweater:  H&M ($30, still in stores)
Leggings: The bay (Hue)
Flats: DSW
Necklace: Stella and Dot (Sanibel)

Have a great weekend!

Swimming

Our little Grady has always struggled a bit with swimming.  Well, a lot.  He hated water in his face.  The poor guy has been doing lesson for 3 years and has yet to pass a lesson.  In the last session, he was with kids all a head shorter than him, so I took it upon myself to move him up to the next level even though the teacher recommended level 1.  Again.

Grady actually enjoyed the water, he just didn't want to get his face wet and apparently that was a pre-requisite for moving onto the next level.

Enter the summer.

I've posted before about how Grady started putting his head in the water over the summer.  August long to be exact.  He feels very comfortable under water now as long as he can touch.  He isn't crazy about jumping in if over his head, even with a life jacket.  But the kid will swim under water through the lazy river at our local pool and get mad if I try to help him.  Mr. Independent....

We are currently in swimming lessons.  I am in the water with Cooper and Grady has his level 2 lesson at the same time.  I often look around the pool for Grady to check out what they are doing and to give him a little wave. 

This week when I looked over all the kids were out of the pool with their float belts on (a floatation device they where around their waist).  They were walking around the pool to the far end.  I knew what they were going to do.  They were going to jump of the ledge from the highest point of the ledge.  There is actually a gate that they open since it is quite high as the pool is a wave pool.  One teacher was at the top and one was at the bottom.  The first kid jumped and then Grady stood at the edge.  AND HE JUMPED.

I stood there watching wondering what was going to happen when he resurfaced.  The teacher quickly grabbed him and brought him and the other boy to the ledge. HE DID IT!

I was just so proud of him.  So proud.  Almost immediately he looked around for me and I waved and gave him a thumbs up.  His teacher gave a thumbs up back with a big smile.  He was obviously happy for Grady to.

Let's take a minute to talk about his teacher.  I love his current swimming instructor.  He is a 20ish year old guy.  He is super outgoing with the kids and pushes them to do things they may not do otherwise while still encouraging them.

For example, later in that same class they took the belts off in the deep end and he wanted them to run across  a floating mat and jump in at the other end and he would catch them after they went under.  Grady stood there and just told him he didn't want to do that.  He immediately told him to jump onto his arm then.  Grady did. I can tell that he trusts his teacher and that is so important.  I really feel that he is largely a reason why Grady has been so successful this session.

Grady's class finished a few minutes before Coopers so Grady walked over and his teacher followed me.  He told me how great Grady did today, how good he listened, and how hard he was trying.  I told him what a great teacher he was and that he should take some of the credit.

I walked away from that swimming session so so proud of Grady. He is conquering his fear and doing great.  I can only imagine how much he is going to love Hawaii this year.

I love that feeling of joy and pride I felt as my 5 year old jumped off that ledge.  Now that is what being a parent is about!

R&R&S in Vancouver

Rest & Relaxation & Shopping

I've just gotten back from our annual girls trip, however it was different than most years.  First, there was only Dee and I, and second we were in Vancouver, not Edmonton.  This year, pregnancy and newborns, caused many of our ladies to not be able to attend.  While they were missed dearly and texted often, Deena and I carried on the tradition of getting away from our husbands and kids once a year to treat ourselves to a weekend of whatever we wanted.  This year the major theme (as most years) was shopping!

Pretty leaves

Let's start with the weather.  The forecast was 8 degrees.  Sounds nice but I was aware that being close to water somehow makes everything feel colder. I texted Deena to ask what she was wearing for a jacket and she told me fall, so I packed the same, along with a nice big scarf.  The day of, Deena says she upgraded to a heavier jacket.  I did not.  I spent the weekend complaining about how cold I was while Deena was constantly complaining that she was sweating.  It was a very common them ALL weekend.  Don't let the fall like picture confuse you!

We arrived early Thursday evening and got to bed at a reasonable hour knowing that our first day was mall day.  The day we had been looking forward to for months now.  We each had lists of what we wanted to buy and what stores were key to our shopping adventures.

Well our day still started early, 8:30 to be precise, but that was 9:30 my time and 10:30 Dee's time.  We were thrilled with our ability to sleep in although both of us admitted to getting up at 6am and finding it hard to get back to sleep.  The mall didn't open until 10am so we had plenty of time to get ready and walk the few blocks to the mall.

One of the items on my list was black boots.   I realized that I forgot socks since I planned to wear ballet flats until I bought boots and Deena only had one pair, so we headed to superstore so I could by some black socks.  Well all we could find was a 3 pack of bright blue socks.  One solid, one striped, and one polka dot.  That would have to do.  I gave one pair to Deena and we had matching tacky feet all weekend!

It worked out perfect as Town Shoes was one of our first stops.  Deena and I both found boots.  She got the red and I got the Black.

LOVE the red boots.

Believe it or not, I am in love with my black boots.  While I been preferring my brown boots over my black boots, I LOVE my new black boots.  I love the detail of the buttons of the side and the rouching.  Deena's boots are exactly the same as mine with a small heel and red hot! 

That was a great way to kick off shopping.  We put them on hold knowing that we didn't want to carry them around all day.  That turned out to be a good decision given we filled 4 lockers with our purchases.  Yes, four. We had to make multiple trips back to the lockers to unload. It was our cardio for the day.

Deena also wanted to play this funny game where we only went to the left.  You couldn't cross the hallway and go to a store over there, you could only go left.  That was a sure fire way to ensure that we did not miss a store.  It lasted most of the morning surprisingly.  It was an interesting way to shop!

We had a few themes of things we were looking for over the trip.  Boots.  Long shirts for leggings. Winter white, as I called it.  That is just to name a few....

On Deena's list was a winter jacket.  So when we were walking through the bay and there was a 50% off for all winter jackets, she was all over it.  I wandered around the store while she browsed and came back to find her in a 'winter white' jacket.   It looked great on her.  Before you know it, I had one on to. 

BFF snowmen

We both bought them!  Good thing we don't live in the same city.  For the record, this was one of like 2 jackets NOT included in the sale.  And wouldn't you know it, they forgot to take the security tag off and I have to haul the huge jacket back to the bay at home to remove it.  What a pain in the butt!

After a long day of shopping, we stopped for a pedicure before heading back to the condo.  It was such a great way to end a fabulous day of shopping.  My feet were sore from my shoes.  Apparently the ballet flats I brought were not made for a 9 hour shopping marathon.  I had to wear my new boots the rest of the weekend.

We may have stopped for Yogen Fruz on the way.

Finally we ended at our lockers and unloaded all our stuff, but only after stopping at the wine store to grab some bevvies for our room.  Now that was one full day.

We tried to take a cab home from the mall but 2 came and went and we didn't get them and we couldn't get through on the phone so we decided to walk, with all our stuff.  It was a workout let me tell you.  We stopped every block to give the ol arms a break.  We made it though and earned our yummy Greek meal that we ate across the street.   It was maybe the best moussaka I've ever had.  It was so yummy.  And the wine was $3.50 a glass.

Me love Greek food.

Saturday morning after a sufficient sleep, the plan was to make our way to our spa appointments at 2pm.  We really didn't have the day planned out we were just going to enjoy downtown Vancouver.  With Deena and I, somehow that ended up with more shopping.  

Deena with her coveted MK bag.  Might I add we went to the actual MK store 2 times the day before so Dee could admire the bags.

Glee

I chose the Marc Jacobs bag that I wanted over a year ago.  When I saw it on the sale table I grabbed it and quickly texted my hubby that I was buying my own Christmas present this year. 

LOVE!

I have to admit that this was my very first Holt Renfrew purchase and I happily walked out of the store with my pretty pink holt bag :)   It is nicely tucked away in our closet until Christmas.  Any one who thinks picking your own Christmas presents takes away the excitement is totally wrong.  It enhances the excitement of knowing you will LOVE your present!

After our mini shopping episode, Dee needed to refuel and got the grossest looking Jap Dog.  It was so loaded down with toppings that we had to sit down while she ate it.  I passed on this one.  Yuck!

Gotta love the street vendors.

We finally arrived at the spa and enjoyed quiet time.  Deena told me that we couldn't talk until our treatments.  We both happily read our books.  See Stacey... it is possible!  After our treatments we went in the hot tub and ordered wine.  That I have never done and it was quite nice besides the fact it went straight to my head given I hadn't eaten much since breakfast!

BFFS

After the spa we headed to dinner where he splurged on Nachos covered in jalapenos (!!) and where the beer flowed freely.  Especially for Deena.

Some interesting facts that arose over the weekend:

When you travel with me, you get to see many many different bathrooms. I pee.  A lot.  Sometimes we used the same bathroom twice.

Deena always orders the biggest coffee they have.

I can talk enough for all the missing girls. 

Deena likes to watch home shows in the evening.

I always order the same meal when we go out.  I surprisingly did not have Taco Time at food court.

Deena gets dressed last, like after she eats breakfast.  I do the opposite.

I am always cold.

Deena takes a lot of selfies.

We BOTH know how to kick back and relax.

It was a great weekend and although sad to come home, it was great to come home to a little family that missed me and was happy to see me.  Grady asked how my weekend was and didn't throw a hissy fit when all I brought back for him was a pack of cookies to from the plane. I tried to buy them nascars but Target didn't have any.  Besides... it was my trip after all!

There is something great about getting away.  There is something even greater about coming home.

Cooper's First Day of Preschool

We have been patiently waiting for this day since Cooper met his teacher back in September.  The kid was ready to go.  This was going to be the first unparented thing that he did.  He hadn't been dropped off by me somewhere in well over a year and I really wasn't sure how it was going to go.

We talked about it all week.  We talked about his teacher, how he wasn't supposed to pee his pants, how he had to go all alone, and what he would have for snack.  Grady was giving him big brotherly advice and telling him about all the toys they would have at school.  Cooper told us he was a big boy and he was going to go to school all on his own.

We arrived in the nick of time.  I brought Cooper to the bathroom and reminded him about telling the teacher if he had to pee.  By the time we were done the door to the class was open and it was go time.  I walked Cooper to the door, the teacher had a chat with him and he walked in and went for the train table.  He didn't look back.  As much as I wanted that good bye hug I didn't want to wreck a good thing so I watched him for a few seconds and I left.

This was my first 2 hour break from the kids on my day off.  It was wonderful!  I ordered my xmas cards, did a few exercises, worked on a shutterfly book, and cleaned off my dining room table where you will usually find all my paperwork. I felt productive.    I hope I get that much accomplished every week!

I headed back to get Cooper and the teacher had a glowing report.  Cooper sat for all of circle time, played with the other kids, listened like a champ, and didn't pee his pants.  Score!

I was so pleased with his first day.  When I he came out I asked him what he did and he told me he played trains, sang songs and read books.  I was most happy to hear that he played well with the other kids.  Grady was always so shy and it was always a struggle, I love that Cooper is a little more social and not nearly as shy.

I am just so proud of my littlest boy and how he was confident enough to just walk into the classroom full of kids he didn't know and do his own thing.  I am so interested to see how our little guy will grow and change this year.  He is growing up so fast.  

Here's to Cooper's first day of preschool and a year full of learning!

Being Goofy 

Notice these first day of school pictures were taken inside.  Not as fun to do outside pictures in the winter, although I shouldn't complain, it was gorgeous outside on Tuesday.  For November.

Grady wanted in on one to.

Booties

While I try and be trendy and work some of the current items into my wardrobe purchases, there are some that I struggle with more than others.  I never buy an item just because it is in style, I have to truly love the item for what it is. 

For example - when I first saw the leather pants in the stores I thought they were ridiculous.  Where would you wear such a thing?  Then I started noticing them on other people and they started to grow on me, for the right price.  I wasn't sure leather was work appropriate but I also wasn't sure they were 'go out with the kids' appropriate either.  Then, a girl I work with wore a pair to work on casual Friday.  And she is 8 months pregnant.  If she can rock leather leggings, so could I.

Hue, the greatest legging ever, was having a great sale of buy one get one 50% off.  So off I went to buy the leather leggings I never thought I would buy.  I figure I'll wear them for date night, girls night, and for running around in Vancouver next weekend with Dee.  Eeeeeek!

Unlike the leather pants, the booties are not growing on me.  I have no idea how to wear them or what I would wear them with in my current wardrobe.  I have friend who swears by them.  She has countless pairs and wears them very day.  Says she'll never go back to tall boots.  So I thought to myself that I must try harder to like booties. 

I turned to the Internet and found a few pairs under the booties section that I likes.  But really to me they just look like a high shoe. Like a shootie.  I just made that up.

I really liked this black one.  I was also in need of a plain black pump and I thought I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone.  Wrong.  While shopping at lunch one day I stopped to try them on and they were not good.  I hated the opening in the front while I loved the frills on the side.

 

I also like this red one (in black of course) but the heel is way to high.  I like a mid high heel so I can actually walk in them at the fast pace I like.

 

I also liked this grey one quite a bit. I would have tried it on but they didn't have it in the store.  Let's face it, this is a shoe. Not a bootie.  Even if you were hiding under the bootie link, you are still a shoe.

 

So that was my first attempt at finding a bootie that I liked and so far it was a fail. Dee and I plan to do a lot of shoe shopping on our girlie trip so I will continue to try them on. At this point I am not optimistic that I am going to find a pair I love. Instead I may just come back with plain pumps and the tall boots that I originally needed.

Cooper's 3rd Birthday Party

Poor, poor Cooper. This year the weekend of his actual birthday was very busy.  James had a stag out of town and was leaving on the morning of Cooper's birthday and I had a work event on the evening of Cooper's birthday.  We decided that it would be easiest to move Cooper's birthday celebration up a weekend so that James could take part in the party.

The good news was that this was Cooper's first kid party.  In the past we just did family parties and with both kids we decided 3 was the magical year to start doing parties with their little friends.  The great thing is that right now the kids friends are the kids of our friends and it is a great reason to get together and celebrate with pizza cake and of course a little playing.

This year we had Cooper's party at Gymboree Music and Play.  The range of kids was from age 2 to almost 6.  I knew the 3 year olds would love it but I was a little concerned about how the older kids would do.  It is a lot of imagination based play and younger gym equipment.  The lady assured me that the older kids usually have more fun then the younger kids.  While I found that hard to believe we booked anyway given that I was sure Cooper would love it.  In the end, she was right!  The look on the kids faces during the party was pure joy!

This is what a party with 15 kids and their parents looks like, pure chaos!

 

The kids had an absolute blast.  Look at the look on Coopers face as the teacher blew little bubbles out of the tunnel.

 

 



 

Or the look on his face as they rolled this inflatable air tube over a stuffed animal, then the teacher, and eventually James and some of the other adults.  The kids thought it was hilarious!



 

 

If you look closely enough, you can actually see Cooper sweating he was running around so much.  Grady was even showing Cooper some love during the party.  Cooper was the happiest little guy around.



 

After the instructed play time was over we had pre-ordered the pizza to arrive at 5:15.  Well just as the party was starting at 4:15, the pizza showed up.  I told the guy it was for 5:15 and he said that he was here now and that I had given him the wrong address.  I knew I hadn't but what was I to do.  We paid for the pizza and just accepted the fact that we were going to eat cold pizza when the kids were done.

About 15 minutes later the pizza guy showed up again and said that he had sorted it out and he was going to bring us fresh pizza at 5:15 like we had asked for.  He came across looking as a big hero.

At 5:15 when he showed up with the fresh pizza he said that I owed him $20 and that he had undercharged us the first time and showed us the receipt.  Well it turns out he had dropped off the wrong pizza!  So here we thought he was being all nice when really he had dropped off someone elses pizza and charged us for it and then got mad at me for giving him the wrong address.  In the end, we ended up with hot pizza and the right order and that was all that mattered.  But seriously, what an ordeal!

 

 

They had a great little eating area with a little table and chairs set up for the kids.  Let me tell you those kids were hungry!  It was also time change day (not my first choice of party day!) so when we were eating at 5:30 it was essentially 6:30 which was super late for the little guys not to mention all the running around they had did during the party!

We of course had a Disney Planes birthday theme and as always, Cooper's cake was made my Nana.  She did an amazing job!  We are so lucky that she is willing to make the cake as I would be buying if I were left in charge of the cake!

 

 

We all sang Happy Birthday to Cooper and he blew out his candles with a little help from Dad.

 

Shortly after the cake was cut and served Cooper told me he wanted to go home.   The poor kid was exhausted.  We tried to have him nap knowing it was going to be a busy day, but the kid refused and made a game out of hiding on my upstairs while he was supposed to be sleeping. 

We snapped one family photo before cutting the cake.  Cooper wasn't thrilled that we were still there.

 

 We couldn't have asked for a better 3rd birthday for Cooper!  We are so lucky to have such great friends that took time out of their snowy Sunday to celebrate with us!

Happy 3rd Birthday Cooper

Dear Cooper,

 

Today I am the proud mother of a precious three year old boy.  Three years old.  Our house no longer has diapers, no cribs, no bouncy chairs, no booster seats at the table.  All traces of baby has vanished from our house over the past year.  Instead, those baby items have been replaced with lots of words, screaming, laughing, playing, fighting, crying, sharing, biting, and the list goes on.... 

As you, our littlest boy, grows up, there is much more playing and interacting with your brother.   Sometimes I don't understand the method you choose to play with all the rough housing, but you both seem to enjoy it. Until it ends in tears.   When you play together, my heart smiles.

When I crawl into bed with you each night before I myself go to bed, I can't believe that I am so lucky to be your Mom.  When I kiss your cheek and smell your head, yes I still do that, I am reminded how lucky we are to have you as a part of our family. 

 

No matter how old you are and even when you are bigger than me, you will always be my baby boy.  Always.

In honor of your THIRD birthday I put together a list of things you are up to these days.

- You love the Disney Planes movie.  I am sure it will be well watched once it is available on DVD.

- Because of your love for the movie, you love to watch for airplanes in the sky, in books, in movies, on TV, where every you may find them really.  Once you find one, the next thing is to show it to your brother who is equally obsessed.

-  You and Grady love to build forts.  You take all the blankets in the house and make a fort over the kitchen. You aren't using the kitchen how you used to but at least it is getting used!  I often have to go to the basement where I'll find my TV blanket being used in the fort building.

- You know your colors and shapes and can count to 20 with just a little help.  Letters are a whole different story.  You can say your ABC's but you have no letter recognition.  I'm not worried though.  Once you decide you are interested enough to sit down and learn them you'll have it in no time!

-  Your speech has exploded over the past few months, if only we could understand half of what you say!  While your use of words and sentences is great, we still have to work hard to actually understand what you are saying.  You get very upset with us when we can't understand on the first try.

- You and I have been doing a music class which I love, not so sure what you think of it.  You are starting to participate a little bit, but for the most part you want to be carried around and act like you are tired.   I think we will try sportball again in the winter.

- You finally sleep in a big boy bed!  You are no longer in a sleep sack!

-You are in the process of giving up your nap. You never nap when Mom is home and I like it that way. It means an early bed time and more of an evening for me :)

- When you nap in the afternoon, you go to bed about 830 and when you don't nap, you go to bed about 730.  You consistently wake up between 7 and 730.  Every once in a while you and Grady both sleep until 730 and it is heaven for Mom and Dad who were used to getting up in the 6s every. single. day.

- You are a cereal eater like your brother.  If you are hungry it is always cereal you ask for.  Cornflakes, lucky charms, Cheerios, mommy's cereal (all bran).... or all combined. I guess we are a cereal loving family!

- You aren't a consistent eater.  Some meals you eat great, and other meals you eat nothing at all.  We don't worry about it much since we are pretty sure you are not going to starve.

- You are more willing to try new things, but you tend to like what you know.  You will try most foods that I eat and say it is yummy, but then continue eating your usual foods.  At least you'll try!

-You still bite. I'd hoped a year ago that this would no longer be the case.  While it does happen less often, it still does happen.  I am worried that you will bite at school.  While right now you only bite Grady, Dad, and I, who knows how you will react to the other kids at school when I am not there!

- You aren't big on the pool.  While you will go in the water, you don't like getting your head wet and won't even consider going on the water slide.  Your brother was like this to so we know you'll out grow it.

- You love to bike and I love to watch you.  It is something else to see a little person cruising on the bike like you do.  Keep it up!

- Every night you sleep with bunny and blanket.  Bunny has been around for ages and blanket is your sleep sack that you used to sleep in and now you just sleep with.  Although Grandma did accidentally put you in it once to sleep when she was babysitting and she said you willingly got it!  You will not go to sleep if you don't have both those items.  If you get tired during the day you will also go fetch them and bring them downstairs to lay on.  I love that you have comfort items.  Between you and me, your Dad had a special stuffy named scroungy that is still in our room packed away because your Dad won't get rid of it.  Shhhhh, don't tell one.

- Although you still have nicknames, they are fading quickly now that Grady has decided that your name is Cooper and that is what you should be called.  I still call you Tooper and Coop Coop but I'm pretty sure that over the next year Cooper will be the name of choice used in our house when referring to you.

- You are the still the best sharer in our house. If your brother asks you nicely, 80% of the time you give him the toy he wants. 

Cooper, the last three years have brought so much joy and happiness into our lives.  We can't wait to see what the next year will bring.

Love,
Mommy

Cooper's Birthday Questionaire - Age 3

With Cooper's birthday fast approaching it it time for Cooper's first annual birthday questionnaire!  I was curious what his answers would be.  While some were expected, others were surprising!

What is your name? Cooper

How old are you turning? Tree aka Three

What is your favorite color? Green.  (I would have guessed orange or blue)

Who is your best friend? Grady.  Quickly followed by the neighbor kids. (I love that he lists Grady as his best friend.  I'm not so sure Grady would do the same)

What is your favorite animal? Giraffe. (This I expected)

What is your favorite show? Car crash (I have no idea what that is. We watch tons of shows and this is the answer he gives? Even Grady was confused by this answer and encouraged him to name a normal show.  Nope.  He wanted it to be car crash)

What is your favorite book? Monkey book (This is one of those books from Costco that has 5 stories all combined into one hard cover book. This particular one is about the 5 little monkeys and we do read it a lot.  Especially the one about making a birthday cake for Mom)

What makes you happy? Grady (ahhhhhhhh.....)

What makes you sad? Mom (I'm hoping that he didn't understand the questions.  Seriously, I make you sad??)

What is your favorite food to eat? Grilled Cheese (Not that surprising but I would have guessed cereal)

What is your favorite song to sing? Cars 2 (We seriously sing the opening song to the cars move 'Real Gone' almost every night. Some nights he asks for the Planes song and I have to make one up)

What games do you like to play? Treasure game (this was a favorite of Grady's to but we don't play it all that much)

A food I don't like is? Salad (Grady helped him on that. Sometimes when I eat my salad they want me to sit as far away from them as possible.  Most adults think my salads are super yummy.  Not my kids though... I'm still working on them!)

I can't wait to see how the answers change next year!

Splatter!

Grady has been taking art classes this fall at 4 Cats art studio and loving it.  They have weekly classes but they also offer workshops in the evening that are one class only.  This particular one we went to recently was a family one so all 4 of us went to the art studio to do some splatter painting.

I noticed on the website that there is one opening in Saskatoon soon.  It is in the grosevnor shopping center.  You should seriously check it out.  Great place!

Splatter painting is awesome for kids (and adults!).  The kids essentially paint the background of their canvases.

 

 

 

One it is fully covered in paint....

 

 

... you literally splatter paint at it.

 

 

Grady told me that you can also do it with balloons but there were to many people at this class to do it on the ground. Or so I was told.

 

 

The kids had so so much fun and I actually think that their pictures are hang worthy.  For an extra cost you can get the canvases stretched and then you can hang.  I think they will look great in our playroom downstairs!

 

As you can tell from my paint splattered child.  A great time was had by all!