Once upon a time . . .

Kids say the darndest things

2011-05-15T16:35:00.002-07:00

Last week for Mother's Day the kids filled out a survey about their moms in primary. I just found Cooper's and learned some interesting things about myself. Apparently, my eyes are brown - not blue. My birthday is June 30th - not October 5th. I weigh '20 weights' (thank you, Cooper). And last but not least, I was born in Jerusalem. I read it to Randy and we both got a good laugh out of it.

And my other son . . . we went for a walk the other day and passed by this man who didn't have a shirt on. Hudson pointed at the man and yelled, "Mom! Naked!" The man didn't hear him, but I got a good laugh.

Old News

2011-04-07T11:14:00.003-07:00

I've been pretty bad about updating my blog (sorry, Bre & Chris), so I'm doing it now even though most of this stuff is old news. Still . . .

Hudson turned 2 on the 25th of March. A ball is his favorite thing to play with - any kind, he's not picky - so a lot of his gifts involved some kind of ball. He's really into airplanes, too. Everytime he sees one he yells 'bear-plane, bear-plane!', so Randy and I got him a little people airplane which he flies all over the house. He's getting so big and he has such personality. Everyday he makes me laugh, he's such a character. In fact, as I'm typing this he's walking around in my church heels.

Cooper is playing Tball. Practices are over and they are playing 'games' now. I write 'games' because they don't keep score and there really is no fielding whatsoever, but everyone gets to run the bases and bat twice. It's pretty fun to watch these little kids run while holding onto their batting helmets for dear life. Cooper seems to really enjoy it.

Anyway, that's my update. Enjoy the pics!

These pics are from the Zoo a couple weeks ago and bubble beards in the bathtub.

Fun with legos (and the treadmill)

2011-03-09T12:46:00.003-07:00

This is what the boys did this morning after I finished my run. They love to play with the treadmill. Cooper loves to run on it; Hudson likes to put toys in it. You wouldn't believe the things I find in there.

I think I wanna marry you

2011-02-25T14:37:00.003-07:00

Brooke and Keith are officially married as of February 12th. Yea! It was so much fun to have the whole family together. I wish everyone could have stayed longer, but that's life. Welcome to the McDowell Family, Keith. :)

Saturdays

2011-01-28T18:50:00.002-07:00

So this is how I spent last Saturday morning - building a bulldozer and jackhammer out of kinex/legos. My boys begged and begged for me to build it until I finally gave in. I think it lasted all of 12 minutes before the boys started taking it apart, but I learned that I have a talent for building toys out of legos. I think I missed my calling in life - I should've been a professional lego builder. :)

I'll say a little prayer for you

2010-12-06T12:19:00.003-07:00

Lately when I make the boys lunch, Hudson looks at me, folds his arms and scrunches up his little face. That's how he tells me he's ready to say a prayer. It melts my heart. :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2010-11-23T14:36:00.003-07:00

When we were at the store the other day we had to walk by the holiday section (okay, I had to) and the boys found these singing Christmas hats. They wouldn't take them off until the hat was done singing Jingle Bell Rock. It was pretty funny.

In other news, my husband and I just celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary on Saturday. My terrific parents took the boys for a night and Randy and I were able to stay at the 3 Palms hotel in Scottsdale. It was very nice. Thank you to my sweet husband for arranging that! :) And thank you to my parents for watching my crazy boys! :)

I'm so excited for the holidays! I can't wait to see my sister and brother-in-law for Thanksgiving! We'll have most of the McDowell side of the family together - so game on! My family is big on playing games, especially on the holidays, so I'm excited.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-04T14:46:00.003-07:00

This year Cooper was the Incredible Hulk and Hudson was a skunk for Halloween.

Birthdays

2010-10-05T10:25:00.003-07:00

October is the birthday month for our family. Cooper turned 4 on September 30th. My mom's birthday was yesterday and my birthday is today. We have more later this month, too. It's crazy, but I love it. Cooper made out pretty good this year in the gift department.

He had 2 parties - one in Thatcher and one here in Mesa. His grand gift was the Batman Castle that Randy and I got him. He's been talking about it non-stop for the past few weeks, so he was pretty excited when we brought it out. He's also been having a blast with the nerf guns my sister Brooke and her fiance Keith got him. (In all honesty, I think the adults had just as much fun with them, if not more -- see the picture of my mom below) :)

Grandma and Grandpa Conrad got him some spiffy new Toy Story underwear that he loves. He told me the other day he was on his last pair of Toy Story underwear, so I had to do the laundry so he would have a clean pair for tomorrow. His drawer was filled with clean underwear, but he didn't want to wear any of them. Only the Toy Story ones would do. :) And thanks to Grandma McDowell & PopPop for the fishing puzzle. Poor Coop hasn't really gotten to play with it too much, because his brother thinks it's the best thing in the world and won't give it up. :) Anyway, thanks to everyone for the gifts and phone calls and cards. We love you all!

Sneaky Snacker

2010-09-10T15:24:00.002-07:00

This is what my 18 month old does while I'm in the shower. I came out this morning and found him like this. He cracks me up. :)

1st Haircut

2010-09-01T13:36:00.004-07:00

Yesterday both the boys got their hair cut, but it was Hudson's first official haircut. (I trimmed the back myself a couple months ago, but I don't count that). Hudson was so good! Granted, he was really tired, but he did so well. He sat in the chair and played with the bracelet they gave him and ate an animal cookie. He watched in the mirror as the stylist cut his hair and smiled. It was really cute. I remember the first time I took Cooper was completely different. He cried and wiggled so much I thought he'd come out of the store bald. Anyway, pictures below . . .

Car accident photos

2010-08-18T12:45:00.005-07:00

Last Thursday, my husband, Randy, was in a car accident. Luckily, he wasn't hurt and the boys and myself weren't with him, so everyone is fine. Our car, on the other hand, is another story. . .

Our insurance declared the car a total loss. Looking at our car and the fact that my husband was able to walk away from that with hardly a scratch (seriously, hardly a scratch) I know that there were angels watching over him. I'm so grateful that he is ok and that Heavenly Father watches over his children. I'm also very grateful for airbags. :)

Diamondbacks Game

2010-07-28T21:55:00.004-07:00

For Randy's birthday this year I got him Diamondbacks tickets (thanks to Keith for the tip about StubHub) and we went to the game against the Giants this past Friday. Randy and I had a pretty good time watching the Diamondbacks lose. The seats were pretty close to the field - I think it's the closest I've ever sat. We had a good laugh at the vendors calling out their crazy sales pitches - one guy offered free stuff to the next person who raised their hand and then told them the 'free stuff' was ice. People put their hands down pretty quickly when he offered to start throwing ice to them. I also learned that if you want to catch a foul ball to sit one section over. Three foul balls landed in the section next to us. It was a lot of fun. Happy Birthday, Randy! :)

Latest video

2010-07-19T14:21:00.003-07:00

Here is the latest video of Hudson. I was in my bedroom when I heard Hudson yelling "mum-ma! mum-ma!" I hurried into Cooper's bedroom and found him on top of the toy box. I grabbed my camera and recorded this video. He's such a character. :)

Also, here's a shot of Cooper with his new haircut in his new shirt & tie for church.

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-05T10:11:00.004-07:00

The other day I was watching the news and the newscaster commented on Chelsea Clinton's upcoming wedding. That got me thinking about her dad when he was President and about all the other Presidents we've had through-out history. So, in honor of the 4th of July I spent some time learning about our Presidents. These are a few of the fun things I learned:

1. The President with the shortest term in office was William Henry Harrison. He served for 1 month before dying of complications from a cold.

2. Our 11th President was named Polk. (Just say President Polk a few times, it's funny) :)

3. Zachary Taylor was our 12th President and the only President never to have held any previous elected office. He only served for 16 months as President when he died from gastroenteritis.

4. President Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest President, taking office at the age of 42 after President McKinley was shot and killed.

5. President Grover Cleveland is the only one to serve 2 non-consecutive terms. He served as the 22nd President from 1885 - 1889 and then again as the 24th President from 1893 - 1897.

6. Apparently, President Taft was the heaviest President (avg of 300lbs) and also the last President to have facial hair in office. (Random, I know).

Anyway, I hope you all have a great 4th of July weekend!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T11:58:00.003-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband and my super dad and father-in-law! Love you guys!

Lions & tigers & bears - oh my!

2010-04-19T15:33:00.003-07:00

We finally were able to take the boys to the Phoenix Zoo a couple weeks ago. I've been dying to take them, especially before it's 100 degrees outside. Luckily, the weather is still pretty nice. It was a little warm, but nothing us Arizonans would be bothered by.

The boys had so much fun. I think the play place was their favorite part. Cooper sure liked the giraffes, though. The rhinos were my least favorite - I have never smelled anything so disgusting! The monkey village was . . . an experience. You go into this open area that is fenced off from the rest of the zoo where the little monkeys roam around freely and you can observe them up close and personal. I probably wouldn't have thought much about it, except there are signs posted everywhere telling you if you don't bother the monkeys they won't bother you. What does a monkey consider being 'bothered'? And if they are bothered what does that mean they do? Don't they tend to fling their poo? Needless to say, I didn't make direct eye contact with any of the monkeys and I was in and out in record time. Oh, and the lady at the entrance told us not to touch the ropes because the monkeys pee on them and when I looked over at my 3 year old he was running his hand along the rope. Yep. I think next time we'll skip the monkey village. Ick.

Easter

2010-04-05T18:51:00.006-07:00

**Note** To Linds: We saved you a spot next to Brookie in the picture. You were there in spirit! :)

We had a very nice Easter this year. I was able to see the Easter Pageant twice this year - once with my sisters and once with my family. I'm glad I went twice, because I didn't get a lot out of it with my boys there. Love them, but they don't sit still for more than a couple of minutes and 'quiet' is not a word in their vocabulary. I'm glad we went, though. Both Cooper and Hudson watched in awe as the angels came out to dance, sing and blow their trumpets. It was a neat experience.

I really enjoyed this general conference. It was so nice to spend Easter listening to the prophet and other leaders of the church give their messages. I love President Uchtdorf! I'm terrible at remembering which speaker spoke on which topic, but I loved the talk one of the men gave on motherhood. It rekindled my desire to teach my children the gospel and make sure they are brought up in righteousness. I've been slacking! :)

The Easter bunny brought Hudson and Coop some treats, which they both seemed to enjoy, and we went to my parents house and had an Easter egg hunt. Well, Coop hunted down the eggs while Hudson rode around on his little motorcycle. It was fun to watch.

I hope everyone else had a nice Easter!

Happy Birthday, Hudson!

2010-03-29T09:34:00.004-07:00

My baby is officially one year old. It's a bittersweet moment. :( We had family over on his birthday (the 25th) and had a little party. He wasn't that interested in opening presents, although his big brother sure was, even though none of them were for him. Poor, Coop. Hudson loved playing with the balloons and he seemed to enjoy the cake, though. We took lots of pictures. The poor kid - the cake I got him had red frosting on it and it totally stained his face. He looked like he had a case of the measles or something. :( Luckily, it wore off after a good scrubbing.

We spent the weekend in Thatcher and celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday (hers is the day after Hudson's) and Hudson's some more. It was nice - we hadn't been since Christmas. I can't believe how big Hudson is getting. He's walking all on his own now (he figured it out a couple weeks before his birthday). He's such a happy little guy. He smiles and laughs all the time (he has what we call a mad scientist laugh) and loves to make noise. He's especially fond of screaming, particularly when we are in church. His 1 year well check is tomorrow and it will be interesting to see what percentile he's in. His last appointment he was only in the 50th, but as Grandpa Conrad says, "he's a tank" now.

Happy Birthday, Hudson! We love you! :)

Spring is in the air

2010-03-01T12:28:00.004-07:00

I can't believe it's already March! Hudson will be 1 year old on the 25th, but I feel like he's just a baby. He's getting so big, though. He walks around the house holding onto the fire truck Cooper got for his 1st birthday. It rolls down the hallway and literally drags Hudson along with it. He loves it, though. He thinks he's pretty big walking down the hallway with the truck. He even figured out that if he stands on the side of it and scoots it across the floor sideways that he can keep up with it better than if he stands directly behind it. It's very entertaining to watch. I got a little bit of it on video, below.

The following pics are for you, Don and Joan. Cooper was so excited when he got his Valentine's Day card from you. He couldn't wait to spend his money, so we finally went to the store the other day and he got his Ben 10 toy that he's been bugging me about for the past 3 weeks or so. He took his toy to the cashier and handed her his money. He was walking pretty tall after that. :) He told anyone who would listen how he picked out his toy and paid for it with his money all by himself. We got Hudson a ball, which he chases all over the house. He especially loves it when someone will play with him by throwing the ball to him.

Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!

It's a nice day -

2010-02-02T10:23:00.004-07:00

for a white wedding. My sweet husband made this collage of all the McDowell brides (so far).

My sister Bre just married Chris Mortensen last weekend. Their reception was more of a 'celebration' as I like to call it. We all wore shirts with McDowell or Mortensen on them (depending on whose side of the family you are on) including the bride and groom. President Cathcart introduced the bride and groom and the rest of the family over the loudspeaker while we ran through a human tunnel as the suns game music was playing. It was a lot of fun - the whole celebration was. It was just a big party. Congrats to Bre & Chris.

2010

2010-01-21T13:40:00.005-07:00

How we're spending the new year . . .

We spent Christmas in Thatcher and had a wonderful time

Hudson is cruising all over the place on all fours. He loves to go into his brother's room and play. He's been pulling himself up on everything and anything and is starting to walk along the furniture. He will be 1 in March and I have no doubts that he will be walking by then.

Cooper loves to wrestle with his dad. He's into the phase where everything is a question. "Why, Mom?" is his most quoted phrase. He can spell his name and count to 13 (random, I know) and he just grows more every day. He's a really good big brother and when he's not driving me crazy he's a really big helper.

Randy and I are doing well. Randy had over a week off from work over Christmas, so I was spoiled having him home all that time. It feels like I don't get to see him that much during the week, because he works so much. In this economy, though we're grateful for the work. I spent this past weekend in Glendale at my sister Bre's bridal shower. I wish I had pictures of Bre opening her presents (it was pretty hilarious) but I was too busy talking and laughing. After the shower I had the opportunity to attend the Performing Arts for the Glendale Stake Youth Olympics. There were some outstanding performances this year - I was really impressed.

Anyway, that's how our year is going so far. I hope everyone is having a great start to 2010!

Weddings

2009-12-21T12:52:00.004-07:00

My sister, Lindsay, got married on Friday to Disraeli Rangel in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. The sealing was very sweet. We all had lots of fun hanging out and celebrating their marriage. The reception was especially fun thanks to all the food and dancing. Congratulations, Linds & Dis!

Temple Lights

2009-12-01T10:53:00.006-07:00

We went to see the Temple lights last night for Family Home Evening and they were beautiful. It was even kind of cold, so I'm starting to feel like it's Christmastime. We saw the nativity displays they have from around the world, which are awesome. We also saw the Christus presentation. There were quite a few people there last night and we had to wait to see the presentation, but Cooper wouldn't go home until we saw Jesus. :) I'm not sure if that was my favorite part of the night or when we walked by a young missionary talking to this woman about our Prophet. He was so excited as he explained to her that we have a living Prophet here on this earth today. His enthusiasm and sweet spirit made me smile. How great would it be if everyone had that attitude about the gospel? It reminded me of how lucky I am to have the gospel in my life.

When we got to the Temple, I'll admit I wasn't in the best mood. Hudson was crying, Cooper kept running off and getting lost and people kept bumping into me. One kid in a stroller even shouted at me to "Move!" Seriously.

By the time we left though, I felt peaceful and happy. Much more in the Christmas Spirit than when we arrived. The Temple is such a blessing and I am so grateful for it.

Merry Christmas!

Quick Update

2009-11-23T17:21:00.004-07:00

As I'm writing this I suddenly remember that our family is joining another family from our ward for dinner and FHE tonight, so this will be quick.

Randy and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 20th. Crazy, I know. The boys slept at my parent's house for the night, so Randy and I were able to go to dinner and sleep in a little the next morning. Although, Randy had to work a few hours on Saturday morning and my internal alarm clock is set at 6am for Hudson's morning feeding, but it was nice to wake up and not have to worry about the boys.

My sister Lindsay's bridal shower was on the 14th. My sister Brooke, Anna Mae and I threw it for her. It was a lot of fun and Anna Mae went all out with the food. Yum! Thanks to everyone for coming! I can't believe the wedding is in less than 4 weeks. I'm so excited for Linds and Dis! With their wedding in December and my other sister, Bre, getting married in January I'm going to be busy every weekend for the rest of the year. Yipes!

The boys are doing well. Coop is a fireball of energy. He never stops. He would give the Energizer Bunny a run for his money. Hudson is 8 months old now and scooting around the floor on his tummy. I'm just waiting for him to figure out he can move around on all fours. Then I'll have 2 boys to chase after. I wouldn't have it any other way, though. :)

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I can hardly believe it! That means Christmas is just around the corner, also. Time flies! Anyway, sorry this post has no pictures and is so rushed. Hopefully, my next post will be better. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T10:14:00.005-07:00

Cooper was Wolverine this year

and for Hudson's first Halloween he was a dalmation puppy dog (he was too big for the pea in a pod costume that Coop wore his first Halloween)

He gave me my ears . . .

2009-10-14T13:33:00.003-07:00

that I might hear the magical sounds of things

one year older & wiser too

2009-10-07T14:00:00.003-07:00

My birthday was on the 5th and my mom's was on the 4th, so my whole family went to Carlos O'Brien's to celebrate. (Check out Coop's face in the picture on the right - hilarious).

Happy Birthday, Cooper!

2009-10-01T11:42:00.004-07:00

Cooper turned 3 the other day . . .

We had a Mickey Mouse party and his big present was a Wolverine action figure, which he has not put down since he opened it. After we sang him Happy Birthday he told all of us to stand back and then he blew out all 3 candles in one breath. He spent most of the day singing the birthday song, telling everyone he was 3 now and asking me when we could go pick up his cake. He was so sweet - he thanked everyone for his gifts and cake.

Happy Birthday, Coop! We love you! :)

Best Buds

2009-09-20T16:14:00.003-07:00

Hudson loves his Daddy . . .

They are pretty good buds. It's pretty cute. Randy can always get Hudson to sleep by rocking him and singing "I am a child of God". If he hears Randy's voice while I'm nursing, he'll stop eating and look around until he finds his dad. Once he finds him he smiles and then goes back to eating. So sweet.

A few of my favorite things . . .

2009-09-10T12:31:00.007-07:00

In no particular order -

Hudson's happy dance when he knows he's about to eat

Cooper's silly songs (He's an expert on Weezer's Sweater Song)

The Temple

Cooper taking care of his little brother

Rainstorms

My husband's laugh

Dr. Pepper

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

2009-07-08T21:47:00.002-07:00

** A note to the reader: the following post is more entertaining if you sing it along to the melody of the primary song, "Oh, what do you do in the summertime".

O what do you do in the summertime

when all the world is green?

Do you think it's a dream

or suddenly scream

when your bathroom starts to flood?

Is that what you do?

Me, too

O what do you do in the summertime

when it is oh so hot?

Does your TV go pop

and suddenly stop

and leave you wondering why?

Is that what you do?

So do I

O what do you do in the summertime

that helps you to unwind?

Are you losing your mind

when you suddenly find

your two-year-old down the street?

Is that what you do?

Me, too

Potty trained!

2009-06-08T16:38:00.004-07:00

Cooper is finally potty trained! Woo-hoo! The below picture is of him sporting his new Thomas the Train underwear. He's been going to the potty for about 2 weeks now and hasn't worn a diaper since then. We got home from the grocery store one day and I was getting after him for putting extra groceries in the cart (of which I was unaware of until I got to my car) when all of a sudden he tells me he has to go pee. We hurried to the bathroom and sure enough he went potty in the toilet. He's been going ever since and surprisingly, he hasn't had too many accidents. It's funny - it's like he knew how to use the potty the entire time we've been trying to get him to go on it, but he just now decided that he was ready to use it. The transition from diapers to underwear has been pretty smooth, of which I am very grateful. Here I thought potty training was going to be this horrible, never-ending nightmare and instead it turned out be be fairly uneventful.

Graduation

2009-05-31T16:38:00.005-07:00

On Friday, my youngest sister, Brooke, graduated from high school. It's weird to think that my parents no longer have teenagers, but adult children. It's just weird to think of Brooke as an adult, period. :) The graduation was held at the Phoenix First Assembly church, which was really nice. I made it there just as my fuel light came on, which was nerve wracking with two little boys asleep in the backseat. It was weird not to have graduation at the Sun Dome in Surprise, which is where Apollo normally has their graduation and where I and my other 2 sisters graduated. But, hey, as long as there is air conditioning I don't care where they hold graduation. The graduation speakers all did a really nice job and the ceremony went very smoothly aside from the noisy guests. I'm so proud of my sister and I'm going to miss her when she goes off to Utah in a few weeks. I've already told her she can expect me to come visit her soon after she gets there. :)

Baby blessing

2009-05-05T10:56:00.005-07:00

On Sunday we blessed Hudson in my parent's ward in Glendale. Randy did a great job on the blessing and Hudson was such a good little guy. He hardly made a peep the entire time - mostly due to the fact that he was up at 4am, I think. It was a nice bonding moment for him and me. :) I tried to explain to him that it was a special day and that his daddy was going to give him a special blessing. He looked at me the whole time I was talking like he understood. It was so sweet.

Most of our friends and family were able to be there and participate in the blessing, which was really nice. Hudson got to wear the same blessing outfit that Cooper wore. My neighbor and friend made it for me and it's the cutest little thing! After the blessing we had a little luncheon at my parents house and got to spend time with family. It was fun to see everyone take turns holding Hudson. Overall, it was a very nice day.

Update

2009-04-28T15:26:00.007-07:00

Here's what's new with the Conrads --

Cooper got a haircut:

Before

During

After

And Hudson is starting to hold his own head up

Earth shattering, I know. We're also attempting potty training Cooper. Today he went pee on the toilet for the first time and I was literally jumping up and down with joy. Of course, there hasn't been a recurrence yet. Cooper thinks he's pretty hot stuff in his pull-ups, though. The pull-ups have a picture of a truck on the front of them and if he pees in his pull-ups, the wheels on the truck disappear. He runs to show me every time his wheels disappear (Mom, my wees gone!) which means it's too late to use the potty. I'm thinking about laying newspaper out all over my living room . . .

Hudson is growing like a weed. He had his one month check up yesterday (yes, he's a month old already!) and he was just shy of 10 lbs. He's more alert during the day, which is fun and time consuming - my laundry basket has reached a hazardous height. He's a sweet little thing, though. :)

Easter

2009-04-13T12:14:00.003-07:00

We had a very nice Easter. We went to church with my parents and spent the day over at their house afterward. The Easter Sacrament meeting program was very nice - the choir did an awesome job and Joey Bingham rocks on the violin. :)

The Easter bunny visited Grandma and Grandpa's house and we even had an Easter egg hunt after the nice dinner my mom prepared. Thanks, Mom! :)

However, the funniest part of the day was right before we were leaving to go home. First of all, Cooper absolutely loves this "Dashmat" t-shirt he's wearing in the video below. One day I could not get him to take it off - he wore it all day after sleeping in it the night before. The funny thing is that I probably wore the same t-shirt when I was his age. Anyway, Cooper's Easter basket consisted of a whole bunch of pirate toys (his latest craze). One of the items was a hook and when someone would throw the hook at him he would act as if he had just been stabbed and would proceed to die. The following video is of just that. Enjoy.

Yes or No?

2009-04-04T17:21:00.002-07:00

Do you think the boys look alike? I can't decide . . .

Cooper

Hudson

He's here!

2009-03-31T10:02:00.004-07:00

Name: Hudson Lee Conrad

Birthdate: March 25th, 2009

Weight: 8lbs 6oz (a whole pound bigger than his brother!)

Nickname: Ox (due to his strength and size)

Everything went really smoothly. I started having contractions Tuesday evening, but they were pretty sporadic. Around 1:30am they started to get pretty regular and intense and then my water broke at 2am. My labor went pretty fast and I delivered Hudson at 7am Wednesday morning.

Cooper has been really good with his brother and he's been my big helper. So far he hasn't shown any signs of jealousy. Instead he's been very sweet with Hudson - giving him kisses and getting his Binky when he cries. The pic below is of Cooper holding Hudson for the first time.

Wishing and hoping

2009-03-20T11:17:00.003-07:00

and thinking and praying that this baby comes soon. I'm ready! Hopefully, my next post will be about the baby boy we've just had. :)

Adventures in Wonderland

2009-03-11T17:44:00.003-07:00

In the 3rd grade my class put on a small production of "Alice in Wonderland" and I was chosen to play the part of Alice. For those of you laughing because you know I have no acting ability whatsoever I'll tell you the truth: they cast me as Alice because they thought my hair looked like hers. Go figure. Anyway, after yesterday I can relate a lot more to the character.

It started as an ordinary day. I took Cooper and the little boy I baby-sit to the park to play. When we got back I realized the garbage needed to be taken out, so I gathered it up and told Cooper to wait while I threw the garbage into the bin in the garage. Big mistake. I had thrown the garbage away and was headed back to the garage door that leads into the house when I heard a noise at the door. It took me half a second before I realized that it was Cooper on the other side sliding the deadbolt into place. I ran to the door and grabbed the handle yelling "noooooooo!" at the top of my lungs. Too late. I was locked out of the house with no way in. No keys. No phone. In the hot garage. Both boys in the house. I felt like Alice being dropped down the rabbit hole. I started banging on the door and yelling for Cooper to let me in. I mean, if he locked the deadbolt surely he can unlock it right? Nope. My hollering scared him and he ran off to some other part of the house.

Now, there was a part of my brain that told me to stop yelling and talk to Cooper. That part of my brain realized I was scaring him and that he wouldn't come to the door until I calmed down. However, that part of my brain was the much smaller part somewhere in the back of my head. The much larger front part of my brain was busy chanting: I'm locked in the garage. I'm locked in the garage. So, when the rational part of my brain realized I wasn't going to calm down anytime soon (by the way I blame my freak out on the pregnancy hormones - those things are wicked) it told me to say a prayer. Once I was able to do that I suddenly remembered the living room window around the back of the house was most likely unlocked. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I've been locked out of the house. It is, however, the first time I was locked out by my two-year-old. Anyway, the last time we were locked out our friend broke in through our living room window and let us in. (Thanks, Josh!)

So, being 9 months pregnant I ran around to the back of the house and managed to get the living room window open and crawl inside. The picture to the left is an old one, but it shows the window I crawled through (it's the one closest to the door). When I got inside Cooper was hiding under our dining room table and Andrew was looking at me like I was crazy. They were both completely fine and the whole ordeal lasted less than 10 minutes. I just wish someone could have taped me crawling through the window with my belly bump, because I must have looked absolutely ridiculous.

Tiger Woods . . .

2009-03-04T17:35:00.005-07:00

ain't got nothin' on this kid . . . (the top one is my favorite)

Home Stretch

2009-01-09T11:59:00.002-07:00

It's official! I am now in my 3rd trimester. Yea! Not that I have anything to complain about - this pregnancy has been about as good as I could ask for. The little guy is kicking up a storm, which makes me a little nervous because when Cooper got that active my water broke. We still haven't decided on a name, but that's not surprising since we didn't name Cooper until he was 2 days old. He was Baby Boy Conrad for the first two days of his life, poor guy. His brother may follow in his footsteps. I'm eager to meet this little one and see how his personality differs from his brothers, but I'm also glad I have a couple more months to prepare. I have to psych myself up for those 2am feedings. :)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2008-12-29T17:17:00.003-07:00

I hope everyone had a splendid Christmas! Ours was very nice. We were able to go to Thatcher and spend the weekend before Christmas with all the Conrads and then we spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house and on Christmas day my family came out to our house. It was really nice having everyone over. My family is big on board games so we spent most of the day eating, playing games and watching basketball. For those of you who have never played "The New Yorker" I highly recommend it. I've never laughed so hard. Anyway, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. I'm so thankful for my Savior and for the opportunity we have to celebrate his birth. I'm grateful for all the He's given me and now as the new year approaches I'm determined to better myself so that I can return to live with Him someday. Happy New Year! :)

Christmas Classics

2008-12-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

Remember those good old Christmas cartoons that came on when you were a kid, like Frosty the Snowman or Santa Clause is Coming to Town? Well, recently Cooper discovered these blasts from the past and so now I am reliving my childhood.

This is the first year that he's kind of understood Christmas and has gotten excited about it. It's pretty funny to watch how excited he gets when Santa Clause comes onto the TV -- he loves Santa (although, he doesn't like him quite enough to sit on his lap). Cooper doesn't call Santa by his name, however. He calls him "Hohoho" instead. I got in trouble the other day when we were at Wal-Mart because of this. Cooper was antsy and so to settle him down I promised that we would go look at the "hohoho" stuff after I finished getting my groceries. True to my word, after we checked out we headed to the other side of the store where they keep all the Christmas decorations and such. They had a big inflatable Santa Clause on one of their shelves and Cooper started yelling "hohoho, mommy! hohoho!" I nodded absentmindedly and answered him, "yes, Cooper that's a hohoho." Unfortunately, right as I said this a teenage girl in a short skirt and lots of make-up passed by and gave me a dirty look. (I think she thought I was saying hoehoehoe).

They always say you shouldn't talk baby talk back to your kids, that you should use the proper words instead. Now I know why. Hohoho . . . :)

I am thankful for . . .

2008-11-30T16:21:00.001-07:00

5. Cool weather

4. Dr. Pepper

3. Anything that keeps Cooper entertained for more than 5 minutes

2. The gospel

1. My eternal family

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a terrific turkey day!

4 years

2008-11-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today I was sealed in the Mesa Temple to my best friend and the love of my life. I can't believe it's already been 4 years! Time flies when you're having fun! :) I love you, Randy! Happy anniversary.

It's a boy!

2008-11-12T17:02:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween

2008-10-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Cooper the skunk . . .

We're Expecting

2008-10-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

I thought I would go ahead and make the official announcement, even though most people already know by now. I am 15 weeks pregnant with our 2nd baby and I am so excited! I'm in the 2nd trimester now, so my morning sickness has waned and I have some energy now. The baby is due April 2nd and I can not wait to meet him or her! :)

Shake your booty

2008-10-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

I recorded this while I was making dinner one night. I had the radio on and Cooper was getting his groove on.

No more binky!

2008-09-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

I did it! I took Cooper's binky away. Hooray! It's been about 10 days since the last time he had his binky and he's actually doing very well with out it. For those of you who don't know, my kid was attached to his binky like it was another appendage. I had tried giving it to him only when he went to bed or took naps, but he couldn't be fooled. I had also tried taking it away completely a few times, but I always gave in when he pleaded with me. It was funny how much he would settle down if I gave him his binky (I miss that). Anyway, the thing that finally decided it for me was when I noticed Cooper was chewing on it and putting holes in it. After that I gathered them all up and locked them in a cupboard when Coop wasn't looking. When he asked for it I would show him the empty container that used to hold all his binkys. When he saw that they weren't there and I told him they were all gone he just kind of shrugged and went off to play. This continued for a couple of days and then he stopped asking for it all together. So, Cooper is officially off the binky. Hooray! The only problem is that the little boy I watch during the week still has a binky and I've caught Cooper in the corner with the baby's binky a few times. Other than that, all is well. :)

Update

2008-09-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, I guess I haven't posted anything on here for a while. There really isn't much that's new. Cooper is getting bigger everyday. Not just in size but in personality, too. He'll be 2 on the 30th of this month and I can hardly believe it. I'm hoping we can start potty training him soon, but so far he doesn't have much interest. I'm still baby-sitting and doing the day to day things. Our family just spent Labor Day weekend in Thatcher and we had lots of fun. It's always nice to go down there and visit and relax. Randy's dad is also the best cook, so I love having dinner at their house! :) Other than that it's the same old thing. I still haven't gotten a new camera, but I'm hoping to fix that this weekend. (Yes, my old one is irreparably damaged). Anyway, here are some cute pics of Cooper that Joan sent to me. Thanks, Joan! :)

Here's Cooper in Grandma & Grandpa's bed
Cooper and Andrew (the little boy I sit for)
Cooper having fun in the backyard

Shoot!

2008-07-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

So . . . I think I may have broken our digital camera. :( I was trying to take a picture of the kids the other day and I dropped it (on the tile no less!) when Cooper threw a ball at me. It hit the floor and the batteries popped out. I should have known I'm not coordinated enough to hold a camera and catch a ball at the same time! Anyway, now whenever I take a picture the image comes out all distorted. If there are any camera experts out there I need to know -- did I inflict permanent damage? Or is this something that can be fixed? When I told Randy what happened he just shook his head at me and said "you broke it." At least the memory card is still in tact. :) I was browsing online looking at the different cameras and was wondering if the Coolpix camera is any good? I don't speak camera-ese so all the pixel and focus mumbo jumbo they list about the camera means nothing to me. I'm looking for recommendations. (Bre - this means you!)

Countdown

2008-07-21T18:41:00.001-07:00

I made this widget at MyFlashFetish.com.

Happy Birthday, Randy!

2008-07-15T16:59:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! His birthday was on Saturday so we went down to good old Thatcher for the weekend. Randy is the most generous and loving person I have ever met. He is the best father to our son and the best husband to me. I am so grateful to have him as my eternal companion. I love him to pieces!

New Purchase

2008-07-10T18:32:00.001-07:00

Drum roll please . . . I finally bought a new trash can for the kitchen! Hooray! The one we have now doesn't have a lid on it and Cooper is always scavenging for treasure. Bed Bath & Beyond had their trashcans on sale, so I bought one. It has a lid that locks! How cool is that? I know, how lame is it that I'm blogging about a trashcan? Most people get excited when they get a new couch or TV and here I am raving about a trashcan. But honestly, I was so excited about my new purchase! It even has the step that automatically opens the lid. We're living the high life! :)

My Little Angel

2008-06-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

So, because I always write about the things Cooper does that drive me crazy I thought I should also write about the things he does that are really sweet. The other night I slept like crap. I woke up every couple of hours and was very restless. Cooper is now sleeping on his toddler bed (yea!) so when he wakes up in the morning he just walks out of his room and into mine. The other day, though, he saw that I was still sleeping and so instead of coming into my room like he normally would he just sat outside my bedroom door. He left the door ajar so that he could peek in on me, but he sat right outside the door and played quietly with some toys until I woke up and realized the was there. It was so sweet! He just let me sleep. I have the sweetest kid. He's a handful sure, but he's also sweeter than sugar. He's now started to give me hugs after I change his diaper -- I guess it's his 'thank you'. He's such a good helper, too. He picks up his toys and helps me with the baby I watch during the week. He'll play with the baby to keep him from crying while I'm throwing a load of laundry in the wash or he'll bring me the baby's diaper bag when I forgot to grab the desitin before changing him. It's very nice. Last night our ward had our quarterly enrichment meeting and it was on 'spouse appreciation', although it touched on other relationships as well. One of the speakers said something about how we need to enjoy our children at every age. "Be their friend, love them, teach them, play with them". I thought that was really good advice.

How could you not love a face like this? :)

Summer Treats . . .

2008-06-23T12:35:00.001-07:00

Is this not the most delicious thing you have ever seen?

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to my dad, my father-in-law and my husband. You guys are such awesome men and I am so grateful for your example to me and my son. I love you! Randy is such a good dad. He went swimming with us today and Cooper had a blast swimming with his dad. (His dad is much more fun to swim with than me. I don't like to get my hair wet and that limits what I will do in the pool). Cooper and Randy were jumping off the side and the waterfall into the pool, having a grand ole' time. I need to get Cooper into swim lessons, but I haven't found anyone who teaches in my neighborhood yet. Cooper absolutely loves the water. He throws the biggest fit every time I get him out of the pool. I bought him a floaty last week and he seems to have figured it out.We've been swimming a few times now and he doesn't have any problem staying afloat in it or even moving around. He stays on the steps and plays with his toys. The best thing about swimming though, is afterwards. It totally wipes Coop out, so he takes a nice long afternoon nap for me. Yea! Randy is currently out golfing with his brother and Cooper is sleeping. Ah, peace and quiet. I forget what it sounds like sometimes. :)

Say It Ain't So . . .

2008-06-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

The time has to come to move Cooper from his crib into his 'big boy' bed.

He's now climbed out of his crib a total of 4 times in the last couple of months. The first time he totally wiped out. The second and third time he managed to get out with out me knowing. I didn't have a clue until he all of a sudden appeared in my room! I even had the baby monitor on and I didn't hear a thing! Talk about sneaky! I'm raising some sort of ninja prodigy or something. The fourth time he climbed out of his crib Randy and I watched from the door to see how he does it. He just heaves himself over the side and swings his legs around, dropping to the floor. It's insane. So, I'm afraid we're going to have to put him on the toddler bed. Sigh. I was hoping he'd stay in his crib until his 2ND birthday, but my hope was in vain. Couldn't he figure out the potty training thing first? I'm all aboard that train! So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to make the transition from crib to bed easier I'm all ears!

Memorial Day Weekend in Thatcher

2008-05-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

What a fun time we had . . .

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Rainy Days

2008-05-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love rainy days? They're the absolute best! Today has been wonderfully wet with thunder claps galore, so Cooper and I went out and enjoyed the rain while it's here. He tried to catch the raindrops in his hands and when that didn't work he went and played in the water that was running off the side of our house. It reminded me of when I was a kid and we used to have those huge monsoon storms in the summer when it would really pour. Our street used to flood up over the sidewalk and so my sisters and I would go out there in our bare feet and raincoats and splash in the water (which came to our knees!) We called it 'surf's up'. Good times.

Me and my shadow

2008-05-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

I've been told many times how children's minds are like sponges, soaking up everything they see and hear. Everything. I knew that. I just never realized how closely your children watch you. It's very intimidating. Cooper is literally my little shadow. He follows me around the house while I'm cleaning and doing chores and bring his toys into whatever room I happen to be in at the time. He loves to read and he's always mimicking my hand gestures and sounds. I caught him today sitting in his high chair staring at me and trying to mimic the expression that was on my face. He loves to go into our bathroom and pretend he's shaving like his dad. It's so cute! He even uses q-tips to clean his ears like his father does. It's hilarious. The other day I was putting Cooper's toy golf clubs away and Randy said something that irked me so I started to poke him with one of the golf clubs. Well, Cooper was watching us and he came over with a golf club of his own and started poking Randy, too. Randy wasn't too happy with me after Cooper hit him in the face with his golf club. Sorry, honey! I feel like I'm playing that horribly annoying shadow game from grade school, only instead of it being annoying it's very enlightening. It's made me very aware of my actions to see my little one-year-old imitating them. Hopefully, he'll pick up more good things than bad!

A case of the grumps . . .

2008-05-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today I have a bad case of the grumps. It started last night when I was watching the news and saw that we're already being given a heat advisory and are expected to hit the 100's in the next few days. Yuck. I was enjoying the weather so much! A couple nights this week it was even chilly! Then there were 2 days when the wind was blowing so bad that I thought my house was going to be sucked up into the land of Oz. Sounds odd, but I loved it. Now it's back to that good old Arizona heat. Again I say, yuck.

I also finished my book (Stephenie Meyer's The Host), which makes me sad. I really liked it, but now I have nothing to read. I just love a good book! I will stay up until 1:00 in the morning reading a book until I finish it. It's so much better than the crap they have on TV. Unfortunately, now I have to go find another book to read and I have a hard time picking one out. You never know what you're going to get. I'm always afraid I either won't like it or it will have something naughty in it. I usually end up re-reading my favorites (Harry Potter, Twilight and now The Host).

I was also disappointed in the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian movie. Randy and I went and saw it the other day. It was good, but it was quite a bit different from the book. I never like it when they differentiate from the book. Oh, well. It was still entertaining.

Good grief, I'm such a whiner. It might have something to do with a lack of sleep and an energetic 20 month old. I had to sub in the nursery again today, which always leaves my nerves feeling very frayed. My husband had to teach the gospel principles class, so he wasn't there. I'm disappointed I couldn't go listen to his lesson and support him, but your calling comes first I suppose. Anyway, we had 14 kids in our class. All 18 months old. We had a major poop accident (I literally had to carry the kid to sunday school by the wrists, looking for his parents, because he had pooped up the back of his clothes. I felt like everyone gave me the evil eye when I interrupted the lesson!) Then there was a bunch of hitting and crying (most of it done by my child). For some reason, Cooper was really attached to Randy today. Usually he's a mama's boy, but today he didn't want anything to do with me. The last half hour of nursery he sat at the door crying "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy, bye!"

Anyway, add it all up and you've got a nice case of the grumps. Luckily, I think my case is fairly mild and I should be back to normal by tomorrow. My symptoms are already starting to lessen. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! I hope everyone had a marvelous day! Especially my mom and my mother-in-law. I love you guys! Thanks for all you love, support and advice. I had a pretty great mother's day myself. My husband bought me the new Stephenie Meyer book The Host. I just started reading it and so far so good. I was a little hesitant to read it because it has kind of an "aliens from another planet" theme, but so far it's pretty good. And I loved the Twilight series, so I'm betting this one will be pretty good, too. We spent Saturday shopping at the new Kohl's by our house and then went and had frozen yogurt with our friends at The Golden Spoon. Yum! On Sunday we went to our Sacrament meeting and then headed out to Glendale to spend the afternoon with my mom and the rest of my family. After a delicious roast dinner made by my mother we walked down the street to see the goats. Cooper had a blast feeding them leaves from the trees. I'm going to have to take him to the zoo one of these days before it gets too hot. He'd love it!

Anyway, I want to say 'I love you' to my mom and thank her for all that she does for me. I'm so happy to be a mother myself and I hope that I can be as good a mom to Cooper as she is to me and my sisters. Thanks for setting such a great example for me, mom. Happy Mother's Day!

Always & Forever

2008-05-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

May Day

2008-05-01T12:02:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that it's May already! Holy cow! The weather has been so nice here in Arizona the past month or so, I guess I didn't realize how close to summer we are. Staying home makes me lose track of what day it is, too. All I know is that it's Monday if Dancing with the Stars is on and Tuesday if the results show is on. After that it's all kind of a blur. Not that my days aren't jam packed with fun and action. . . .

Here's Cooper sticking his mac & cheese in his nose. Don't ask me why!

While I was doing the dishes Cooper was shredding my brand new box of tissues. Good thing I got the Target special.

More of the tissue mess . . .

Cooper is getting really good at folding his arms. He even does it during prayers now!

Randy was made a ward missionary this past Sunday (thankfully, I was not). We're still in the Nursery, though. In fact, we had to substitute Cooper's class. I didn't realize how good we had it with the 2 1/2 - 3 year-olds. The 18-months are utter and complete chaos and my son was right in the thick of it. I tried to give the lesson we were assigned (it was on bugs and birds), but I think I got as far as "Our lesson today is on bugs--" before someone threw a toy and someone else screamed. It was all downhill from there. On a less chaotic note, I heard about the new temples they are going to be building in Gilbert and the Gila Valley and I'm so happy. I can't wait. Of course, this means that my husband is even more determined to move us to Thatcher. Sacrifices must be made, I guess! :) j/k.

San Diego Temple

2008-04-23T16:51:00.001-07:00

I really like this picture. It's probably my favorite temple, even though I've only seen it from afar.

Pease!

2008-04-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

So, Cooper has a new phrase that he uses all the time.

Pease, Mommy!

It's so hard to tell him no when he looks up at you with those big blue eyes and starts pleading "pease, pease, pease!" (Which, in case you aren't sure, means please). He knows that he'll get his way if he says please and he uses it to the best of his little 18-month-old ability. I never thought I would have a hard time telling my kid no, but there it is. I have a hard time getting after him when he folds his arms, too. He just started going to Nursery this month so we've been working on folding our arms. Now he walks around the house folding his arms. I started to get after him the other day for climbing into the pantry, but I stopped mid-sentence because he came out of the pantry with his arms folded. It took all I had not to laugh. What a kid! He's also gotten into this phase where he likes to pinch people on the bum. It's funny when he does it to daddy. It wasn't so funny when he pinched the bottom of the lady I baby-sit for. It was actually quite mortifying. Oh, well. She'll understand someday when her son is running around pinching people on the bum. :)

Clueless

2008-04-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel totally clueless? I'm having one right now. I swear having kids fries your brain. It did in my case anyway. I had to take Cooper to the doctor today for his 18 month well visit. Of course, that means he had to get a shot. Just one, thank goodness. For some reason, he was really clingy at this appointment. Usually I have to chase him all over the doctor's office to prevent him from walking into some other patients room, climbing into the fish tank, or sticking a thermometer in some poor kid's ear, but today for whatever reason he wouldn't leave my side. He had his arms around my neck in one of his incredible Hulk grips. It took both the doctor and myself to get him to lay down on the table (I should mention that he's in the 90th percentile for his weight and the 97th for his height. He's a big boy). I hate the well visits almost as much as Cooper. There has never been a time where I have felt so wretched as when I am holding my son down on the table in the doctor's office so the nurse can give him a shot. He knows it's coming and he just looks at me like, "why are you letting her do this to me? You're my mom!" And I have to smile and tell him it's ok. Yeah, right. Like getting a sharp piece of metal jabbed into your thigh is ok. Anyway, after some screaming and many tears (his and mine) we were leaving the doctor's office, lollipop in hand. Of course, when we reached the car Cooper no longer had his lollipop. Where could it be? Why, on the back of mommy's sweater of course! There it was, stuck to my left shoulder like some evil little sign telling the world "if she only had a brain . . ." I can only imagine what I must have looked like standing there in the parking lot of the doctor's office, twirling around like a dog chasing it's tail as I tried to pry the sucker from my sweater while my son stood next to me screaming bloody murder because his mother took his sucker. After I got Cooper in the car and the sucker detached from my sweater we set off for home, only for me to realize that I'm driving in the wrong direction. Like I said, clueless.

Road Trip

2008-03-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Shannon McDowell, got married this past Saturday in Logan, Utah and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend.

On Thursday Cooper, my sister Breanne, and myself went to the airport (thanks, Azure for the ride!) and caught our flight to Salt Lake City. The rest of my family drove and we all met up at my uncle's house in Spanish Fork where we stayed the night. Apparently, in Utah they have some privacy issues. The home builders don't automatically build a fence around your house, you have to put that in yourself. Along with the front yard and the backyard. Sheesh. Talk about getting to know your neighbors. The next day we drove to Brigham City to spend the day with my great uncle Keith and great aunt Barbara. It was so COLD! There was snow everywhere! I've never seen so much snow in my life! I thought I would freeze to death! I even had to sleep in my big coat! We drove around in Uncle Keith's cars (poor Bre and Brooke had to sit in the rumble seat outside - needless to say they were popsicles by the time we got home!) and ate Aunt Barbara's wonderful food! I had fun helping set up the church for the reception in between visiting with family, running to the store for citric acid and chasing my son around. The wedding was in the Logan Temple and it was beautiful! My great uncle was the sealer. It was a beautiful sealing and it was so much fun to see all of my family! The luncheon was at a place called "The Bluebird" and the food was delicious! It was a little crowded in there, but the food was worth it. Plus I sat next to my cousin Tana and her husband Nathan which was lots of fun and laughter. The only draw back was that Randy had to work and couldn't make it. And the 12 hour car ride home with and 18 month old - now that's an adventure I'm in no hurry to relive. Actually, Cooper was really good for me. I even got to finish a book in the car on the way home, he was so good! It helped to have my parents and sisters there to take him off my hands every now and then. Anyway, the trip was lots of fun and I'm so glad I was able to go and see my cousin be sealed for time and all eternity to a really great guy. It reminded me how lucky I am to have a temple marriage with a really great guy and to be sealed to my beautiful, crazy, energetic little boy.

It's ok Ma, I'm only bleeding

2008-03-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in the living room folding laundry while Cooper was playing in his bedroom with 2 other kids his age. All of a sudden, I hear Cooper crying and he comes running on his tiptoes into the living room sporting a brilliant black eye. (see below pictures) The other 2 kids came out right after him. I'm not sure if the wound was self inflicted or if the other children lent a helping hand. He seemed fine so I let him go back to playing. To add insult to injury (or maybe just injury to injury) a couple weeks ago Cooper was in the backyard playing while Randy was barbecuing and again I heard the injured cry. Cooper came in the house behind Randy and when I asked my husband what was wrong his reply was "I don't know, he just started crying." I went to look at my son and his chin was all bloody, but I couldn't find the source of the bleeding. I patched him up and sent him on his way. The next day while in Sacrament meeting at church I noticed that Cooper had chipped both his two front teeth (hence the crying and the bleeding). I swear my child will have a concussion before he turns 2. Hopefully, he'll have teeth, too.

2008-03-03T21:41:00.001-07:00

I baby-sit the cutest little girl. Her name is Michaela and she's 2 - just a little older than Cooper. They get along just like brother and sister. Today Michaela brought bunny ears with her and so she and Cooper spent the day running around in them. Have you ever seen a cuter Easter bunny?

2008-03-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

Meet our little family - Randy, Ashley and Cooper Conrad. Randy and I have been married for 3 years and our little boy, Cooper, is 17 months old. We currently reside in good old Queen Creek, AZ and really enjoy our neighborhood. There's a tot lot right across the street from our house and Cooper just can't seem to get enough of it. I literally have to drag him back to the house kicking and screaming every afternoon. I grew up with 3 younger sisters, so raising a little boy is like living on another planet. I'm learning quickly, though. I'm gradually getting used to having dirt everywhere and having my house look like a bomb was dropped on it. I at least stopped following him around with a sponge and stain remover, ready to drop to my knees and clean up whatever mess he's just made. I do still, however, pick up the toys as soon as he quits playing with them. Gradually, remember? Even with all the broken furniture and messes I still wouldn't trade this little boy for anything in the world. He's the love my life (along with his dad!)