Yard work and Soccer games

We have been preparing for my sweet daughter's birthday party these past few weeks. Her party will be tomorrow at our house in the yard with a jumper and a pinata also we found a lady to come do some face painting and lastly Richard will be BBQ!!! Should be a huge event with just our family alone the number is well over 30 people, and then we allowed Allison to invite some friends from soccer, church and school! We have been busy bees working in the yard non stop for weeks, and I have to say it has turned out beautiful!!! In between yard work Allison has had two soccer games a week!!! Her team the Bumblebees have gone undefeated and have won there last two game 25-1 and 20-1!!! The girls have really improved in there skills and are working together wonderfully. We have only a few games left this season and will have a game in the morning before Allison's birthday party. Wish us luck as we take tomorrow head on!!!!!!!!

Adventures with Cooper

So last night I was making dinner with Allison and I noticed that our stove burner wasnt working. So I move the pan over and hover my hand over the burner and nothing no heat so I jiggle the burner and I hear sparks. I turn around and her Allison scream she thought she would place her hand on the burner like I did and burnt her hand! She cried and cried and I sent Richard to get our burn ointment. Lotion my Alli-cat and set her in my bedroom to let her heal with out brother and watch beauty and the beast. When dinner was ready I went to check on Allison and I was surprised to see my daughter sound asleep! Richard then left to his night class and so began my adventurous afternoon with Cooper alone!

Let me re cape our night: While I was sorting laundry Cooper managed to get into all of Allison bday stuff, he opened an entire pack of caprison drinks and tore off all the straws attached. He then opened a box of individual chips and had those scattered through the house, and some how he opened a pickle jar and had eaten half the jar! In five minutes of me with me back turned doing laundry! Okay, so I cleaned that mess up for about half an hour and began cleaning up the kitchen mess from dinner, and my lil guy thought he would ever so quietly go through my purse and hide all the contents through out the house! After finding my license in the toy box I hide my purse from Cooper! So I decide to take the lil Tasmanian devil outside to water my flowers and let Cooper release some energy! I went to turn off the water on the side of the garage and I come back to find the hose inside my house and water every where with Cooper naked down to his diaper! After collecting every towel I own soaking up in the entry way to the kitchen. Richard had been on the computer right before he left for school and left the lab top on the kitchen table while I went back to the laundry room to put the towels in the washer Cooper thought it would be fun to pull a chair up and climb on the table and open the lab top and pull buttons of the key board, fun right?!!! After I scold the lil guy Cooper runs to the pantry and ask for poppy (popcorn) so I think sure how can he possibly make more of a mess, right? Well my children like Cheddar salt with there popcorn and I pour some in Cooper's popcorn and he raises his hand ask for me to pour some on it, I do. Then I sit him on the couch and run to the bathroom for maybe five minutes tops! I come back to find Cooper in the kitchen red handed with cheddar salt all over the place and all over him! He pulled a kitchen chair to the counter and decided to help him self. This all took place in one hours time. I'll spare you the horrifying details of the next two hours with my son, I am sure your exhausted already~

Thoughts of a 4 year old

So I have been told that my daughter Allison, has an interesting way of saying things. My daughter is extremely literal in her thinking and some times it can come off witty or funny. So I thought I would share a few of my daughters thoughts.

*We had a little shopping day with my mother before our weekend at the lake. We were shopping for swim suits and such. At the end of our day we left the mall and walked out into the parking lot to leave and let me add it was very windy. And Allison's says " Mom I am BALD I am bald my hair is every where and I cant see my hair is in my face!" My mother looks at me and bust out laughing and I tell Allison you mean your blind?

*Richard and I had a wedding that we were both in, so we had my mother in law watch the kids for the afternoon of the wedding. We dropped Allison and Cooper off and the first thing Allison ask was if Grandma and Grandad would take her to MC Donald's. I gently tell Allison that she and Cooper had already eaten dinner and I brought snacks if she felt hungry again later. Allison says "Well don't worry mom, Grandma and Grandad have that OLD money, so they can take us out to eat!" I was shocked and asked Allison what she meant and she said " Well mom, Grandad and Grandma there old and they have had money for a long time so they have Old Money!"

*I am not sure if many will understand this thought but I'll try to explain.... Allison and Cooper have a favorite TV show called imagination movers. The imagination movers solve idea emergencies, and some times there friend Nina helps, her Uncle Nick Nots (Sp) makes things boring and only like boring things he works next door to the movers. One day Allison began to tell me something about the imagination movers. " Mom, I think that Grandma and Grandad are like Uncle Nick Nots they only like boring and do boring things, and that your Grandma is like the imagination movers she is fun and helps me solve problems"

*By far my favorite! Shortly after Cooper was born Allison watched me give Cooper a bath and we had a very interesting discussion. I am undressing Cooper and take of his diaper and put him in his lil bath tube. Allison stares and stares at his penis and I think oh here we go.... "Mom i don't understand was my pee pee like Coopers when I was a baby." I think for a moment. "No, boys and girls have different pee pees." " Okay mommy, but do you and I have the same pee pee?" "Yes, love." "Do daddy and I have the same pee pee?" " No honey" "Does Cooper and Daddy have the same pee pee?" "Yes Allison they do." "OH!!!!!!!!!"

Hope you enjoyed a few insights from Allison maybe someday I will do a part 2.

Joy

The joys of parenthood, to have our family sealed for all time and all eternity. The happiness in sharing the adventures of parenthood with my eternal partner. Today I was reflecting on my children. With that being said I'll share a brief special memory of Cooper. This past month Cooper has been climbing out of his crib every time he goes down for a nap or for bed time. A few nights ago we let the children stay up an hour after there bed time when we decided to put Cooper down to bed which was way to easy considering the complications we've been having. About a half hour goes by I finished reading my book and and went to check on Cooper to find him laying on the floor with his blanket covering his head in front of his crib. I laugh and call Richard to see where our son had fallen asleep! We laugh and I pick our little guy up and he nestle his head in my shoulder and he clasp both his hands on my chest. I take a deep breath in and cuddle my son. The most calming content feeling over whelms me. Could anybody understand at that moment how much love I have for my son?! I am sure all mothers relish private moments when they feel truly blessed to be chosen by our heavenly father to be this particular child's mother. I will never forget after Richard and I were sealed in the temple last year something that Allison said that just stuck with me. "Mom we put our hands in and that means forever!" I will always remember seeing our children dressed perfectly in white with beautiful smiles across there faces into the sealing room. One word PERFECT!

Hope you enjoy this picture, its the first picture of me with my two children, on my 25 birthday!!

*Allison*

So I decided to dedicate this post to my darling daughter and to nearly reaching the completion of her preschool year (it ends officially on May 14). Yesterday night we attended Allison's Preschool Program. Her preschool has an annual auction with there program which we attended with Richards family and my family. It was a silent auction where you go around the room and sign up for whatever it is you want to bid on: my mom won 5 of her bids, my sister in law won 1 bid, Richard and I won 1 bid, and my mother in law won 1 bid also. So we gathered into the sanctuary which held the Program and sat a few rows back to watch are nearly 5 year old sing in her school program. I was pleasantly surprised to see her singing and participating in the movements in sync with the song. I was so very proud of my daughter tears actually came to my eyes as I watched her thinking of how much she has grown over the last several years. Richard put his hand in mine and I looked up at him and saw a tear roll down his check. Our lil Alli-cat had a tough time starting off at preschool and was scared and timid in the beginning even cried and begged me not to leave her there. The teacher even allowed her to bring her lamb in the class room. Now Allison even ask me everyday if the next day she gets to go to school. She doesn't bring her lamb any more and dropping her off is very pleasant experience for the both of us. We have attended many school functions such as; Halloween party, Thanksgiving feast, Christmas party, Valentines party, Rodeo Day, Easter egg Hunt. Its been a GREAT school year for her and I. Allison has grown academically and has matured greatly. I hope her kindergarten year is as wonderful as this preschool year has been!

Moments

I was thinking about sharing a couple of sweet quiet moments you share by yourself with your children.

Cooper had been sick for a couple of days and I was in the rocking chair feeding him, at the time he wasn't a year old just yet. He was having a hard time breathing and looked right up at me with those baby blues that remind me of my deceased father and he just melted my heart. I gently chorused his hair and touched his little face and talked to him for a little bit about how he would be turning one years old in a few days and talked to him about how I remember how he was in my belly and gave me several false alarms of his impending birth. Suddenly my oldest child walked into the bedroom, I knew it had been to quiet for to long. Cooper had finished eating and I held him straight up and then Allison asked to sit with me and I pulled her up on my lap and just squeezed on my babies for a while. I took a deep sigh and smelled my Allison's hair when I heard a CLUNK one side of the rocking chair it busted and fell to the side CLUNK the other side busted, I grabbed on tight to my children and the chair completely fell apart underneath me. Allison looked up at me and started laughing, Cooper started giggling and I started laughing. Moment over!!!

Every night Allison and I work on her alphabet and her numbers right before bed time. We had finished our little lesson and I was combing her wet hair and she said "mommy am I a teenager?" I said "no honey your going to be five soon your not a teenager until your thirteen", she giggled "well I thought once you start going to school that meant you were a teenager." "Mommy" she said "yes love bug" Once I go to school I wont be able to go to I HOP with you and daddy early in the mornings sometimes because I'll be at school." I laughed " Well Allison we probably wont go with out you, plus school will be so much fun, you wont even think about mommy." "Mommy I'll always think about you no matter where I am or what I am doing. I love you mommy." "Well Allison I love you to and no matter what I'll always love you to." "Mommy I love you like a permanent marker that never comes off, like forever!" "Oh Allison I love you like a permanent marker too!"

So here is to those special moments with your little ones, enjoying them!!!

Soccer games and bed time routines!

Saturday was our second soccer game of the season and we won 14-2!! Normally I forget my camera every game because we are struggling to get out the door to a 9 am game but this year most of our games are now after 10 am!! So before we left I was able to steal a picture of our star player and if you cant tell this is her new smile for evey picture this akward face, oh well!! Allison played well and scored the first goal of the game. It was perfect weather and Cooper more or less acted descent besides running on the field and joining the girls huddle?! I thought I would share a photo of Cooper and are new night routine. For some odd reason Cooper has decided to climb out of his crib every night and for naps and roams around the room or climbs in our bed or fall asleep where ever he finds a spot! When will this child sleep through the night when????????

*Life*

I seriously cant believe I only posted once for the month of March although I have several excuses! One going to physical therapy three times a week is occupying alot of my time, Richard being in school like 90% of the time, and my darling daughter started her second season for soccer and has practice twice a week and a game once or twice a week! So I have been a busy bee and I can say I am super glad that time is flying by! Richard has about a month of school left and should graduate this December, YAY! What a wonderful easter we have had, i think the kids had three easter egg hunts this month, with both our familys and Allison's preschool. Plus I think Allison finally understands the REAL meaning of easter this year, YAY! We just came back from a lovely weekend at the lake. We stayed in a 5 bedroom cabin in Lake Brownwood with my husbands parents and his siblings and there children. We fished, took the children swimming, hiked, and ATE tons of food!!!! In all we had a good time, Allison spent the whole weekend hanging out with her older cousin. Gosh my daughter is getting so big. And my lil guy ugh, he was attached at the hip to his mother pretty much the whole weekend!! I could barely walk into the cabin without Cooper screaming for me! I can tell we are reaching the terrible two stages. So here's to the month of April which I plan to blog tons more!