Bike and Bike Trailer

So when I decided to do the Triathamom I had one big hold up. I didn't own a bike! So I thought long and hard about if it would be worth doing because I would need to buy a bike and a bike trailer. Because lets be honest....if I was going to be riding my bike I would most likely have to do it with Cooper. So Brad gave me the go and encouraged me so I started looking for a bike and bike trailer. Okay well I started looking for a bike trailer and I put my dad in charge of finding me a bike! My dad is very into biking and has done it my entire life. So he was the perfect person to get the job. He was quite estatic when I called him and told him. I don't think it was two days until he had found me my bike. I got a Fuji 2.0 Absolute. It is a hybrid. So I can use it for not only road biking but as a mountain bike as well. I felt it was the best decision since I will be using it mostly for rides with Cooper and I did want to limit myself on what I could do. I ended up getting it from Performance Bicycle. I met my dad there one day with Cooper and came home with my bike. I was soooo excited! My next big decision was the bike trailer. I researched and shopped around and was having the hardest time deciding. I could go a cheaper route and maybe not get something so great or go really expensive and know I was getting something good and something that could convert into a double stroller. After thinking long and hard and doing all the research I decided on the Burley D'Lite. It was one of the most expensive but it had everything we were looking for! I am 100% satisfied with my decision. I absolutely LOVE my trailer. I love all the features and accessory options, how comfortable it is for Cooper, but one big plus is that I could get it in GREEN. If you know me I am obsessed with the color green! If there is an option for anything I always choose green. But most importantly Cooper loves it!

Biking is not a cheap sport to get into to. You need the bike, bike trailer, back rack for the car, helmets, bike pump (gift from my dad), bike tools, bike tubes, and water bottles just to start. I bought my helmet when I got my bike but I got Cooper's at the law firm Robert J. Debry. They have this amazing thing they do. They feel helmet safety is so important they sell children's helmets for $5 and adult helmets for $10. But I wasn't the only one without a bike. Brad didn't have one either. Luckily my dad has like 8 bikes so was kind enough to let Brad borrow one of his cycle cross bikes and helmet. My dad has been trying to get Brad to ride for years. Little did Brad know how much he would love it. Brad is now the one asking to go on bike rides and he even takes Cooper out by himself when I'm not home. This melts my heart by the way! With Brad so into it we decided we need to invest in a few more essentials. Padded bike shorts and gloves. These are a must if you are going to be riding very often. Sore biker butt isn't pleasant. So the other day we went out and bought shorts and gloves for Brad. Best purchases! My awesome friend Nikki gave me gloves for my birthday. We did a 20 miler this past weekend and riding with the shorts and gloves made it so much more pleasant! Our next investment is clip in pedals and shoes. But we will wait a bit for those. Also we are going to have to look into getting Brad his own bike. He is going to need one with all the riding we are going to be doing! :)

Riding in Tyson's trailer....we rode to the park and he just wanted to play in the trailer.
This is when I knew he needed one of his own!

LOVES the helmets.....even if it is mine!

Future biker....wearing Papa's bike shorts that I had to fix

Little stroll around our neighborhood....no dad I don't normally ride with flip flops!

Our set up in the garage.....Cooper's bike had to be with ours!

Coop's helmet.....can't believe they were only $5

20 miler on the Legacy trail

My triathlon is going to be a breeze after pulling Cooper around. It is noticeably way more difficult pulling a bike trailer! We bought an extra hitch for Brad's bike so we can easily switch the trailer between our bikes during long rides. I can honestly say that family bike rides are one of the funnest things we have ever done as a family!

Painting

I had wanted to get Cooper some dot paints. We used them all the time when I taught preschool. The Easter bunny brought them in Cooper's basket. It took me awhile to get them out but when I did Cooper loved them. He had a blast. They are so much nicer than finger painting because it doesn't not make nearly as big of a mess. We had to take them away however when Cooper started eating the paint. Yes he dyed his mouth blue and green. Maybe that is why they are for ages 3+. Oh well that doesn't stop us!

(We did this like 2 months ago and some how this never got posted)

Photo Shoot

Back in December I won a photo shoot off of C.Lee for Mal Walker Photography. I was estatic!!! We have done family pictures but always by our friend Jason. Don't get me wrong I love doing them with Jason. We get every picture he takes so I can really choose the ones I love...or don't love. I was however excited to get an outside view and something a little different. When I won the giveaway we had just done our pictures for our Christmas card so I wanted to wait a bit to space it out, for Cooper to be a little older (because he was a terror for December pics), for it to warm up so we could do them outside, and for Brad to agree to do pics again. He isn't a fan of getting pictures taken! May 5th was the day we finally got to take the pics. Mal Walker had suggested doing them at an orchard up in Kaysville. It was perfect!!! When we got there we realized it was called Manning Orchard. If you know Brad and his obsession with Peyton Manning....it couldn't have been more fitting! I searched long and hard for our outfits and just wanted everything to be perfect. Like always I have such high hopes and things never work out as planned. Mal said 8:00 am was the best light at the orchard so we went with 8:30 since we had a drive to get there. That day was FREEZING!!!!!! It really was sooo cold. The high was like 50 that day. This didn't make for a happy Cooper. He was super grumpy and we didn't get any smiles. I don't blame him though. We had to wake him up super early and he was freezing! But afterwards we did breakfast at McDonalds and he was all giggly and smiles....stinker!!! We had to cut it short because it was so cold. Regardless we still got some great pictures and I was happy with how they turned out. I will totally be going back there and doing pictures that is for sure!!! Thanks to Christy and for Mal for the chance I had to win the photoshoot!

Discussing how he needed to be happy and smile

This was his face most of the time


This was followed by him eating the dandelion


There were chickens that were following us and Cooper didn't like it at all!
Pure terror in his face....cruel? Maybe. Great pic? YES!!!




Tickling daddy....it looks like I am pinching his boob :)

Ha ha Cooper's face here is like "Really we are doing this??"



Bribing for smiles with fruit snacks....didn't work!





This just sums everything up perfectly!

Saved my favorite for last!

Cooper and His Hat

I got Cooper this hat from 77 kids. His cousin Holden had one and he loved it so I got him one of his own. He wears it all day long. He watches tv in it, he wears it in the car, while shopping, at the park, you name it!!!! It is really the craziest thing! Cooper has never been one to wear hats other than his warm winter hat. But for him to choose a hat that he loves.....this one is pretty cute if I do say so myself!

He wears it in the car

While eating and drinking

This was when I discovered he loved Holden's hat.
He kept wanting to look at himself and get his picture taken.
(The bottom right pic is Brad's least favorite pic of Cooper EVER....it is too hilarious not to share however!!!!)

This was at my parents with Aspen's Ukulele. He played it for probably 30 minutes.
Yeah I know millions of pics but the entire time he was too cute and funny!!

Wears it at Costco

This was us on Mother's Day

He really is just too funny with the hat one. We get compliments everywhere we go about how adorable the hat is and how cute it is that he keeps it on. Cutest little guys I've ever seen!

Being Cooper's Mom

I am so grateful for the chance I have had to be a mom. Not just a mom but Cooper's mom. It is the best job that I have ever had. He definitely tries my patience some days but there is nothing better than hearing him call me "mommy". His kisses, hugs, giggle, smile, fat feet and hands, big cheesy grin, double chin, big boy hair, fat tummy, olive skin, big hazzle/brown eyes (totally depends on the day), how I'm usually the only one who can understand what he's saying, his adorable little jump, the way he is obsessed with vacuums, is crazy wild and hyper, loves shoes, how he loves his daddy, how he loves to clean, how he's a little OCD with putting things back, his fearlessness with jumping off or onto things, how he responds "k" when you tell him something, how he loves candy and junk food as much as I do, how he wants to help me with everything I'm doing, and just so much more are what makes me happy! He is the perfect baby for me! Yes he's a toddler but will always be my baby! I wouldn't change anything about him! He makes me strive to do the best I can and be the best mom possible! Everyone always asks when I will want another baby and honestly as of now I am completely content with just Cooper! I'm not ready to share my attention and not get to focus completely on my Cooper. Mother's Day isn't really a day to me on celebrating how great of a mom I am or for all the work that goes into being a mom. It really is a day for me to reflect on the amazing blessing and opportunity that I have been give to be Cooper's mom. It's hard work and some days are very trying but I wouldn't choose any other job!

I had an amazing Mother's Day this year. We got up and went to church. I did have to teach but my lesson got cut short so was only about 15 minutes. Our ward excuses the women 15 minutes early and they feed us yummy treats. We had fruit, fruit dip, an assortment of brownies, and some other yummy stuff. We came home from church and I was able to nap. It felt awesome! We then headed to my aunts house for dinner. We hung out outside and the babies got to play in the pool and run around. It was a fun and relaxing day!

(1 & 16)Cooper singing "3 Little Monkeys" with my grandpa and Aspen
Playing with Cousins Asher and Holden
(8)Taking a stroll with my grandpa
(9)Walking to the car with Papa and carrying Aspen's bag
(4 & 15) Torturing poor Holden

Brad surprised me with probably my favorite present of all time. It's a necklace with the imprint of Cooper's big toe on it. He found it here. Babies under 2 don't have defined finger prints so you have to use their toes. This way I am always carrying around a little piece of Cooper! It's always the meaningful things that always mean the most to me.

(I could not get a good picture showing the print)
What the nursery kids gave their moms....so sweet!

My Favorite Day of the Year!!!

I don't think it's a secret that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my birthday! I don't know what it is, but I love getting older, I love having the day be about me, and I love getting presents. I know that sounds horrible but it is so true. I count down the weeks and days leading up to my birthday! This year was no different. Last year Mother's Day and my birthday were on the same weekend. It was nice because the entire weekend was all about me......but it took away from my birthday! This year they were almost a week apart!

I knew that I didn't want to be stuck home all day on my birthday so I made sure not to be. I started off with taking Cooper to Wheeler Farm with Amy and Emmett. It was such a pretty day I wanted to be outside and I wanted to do something fun with Coop. It was a success. Cooper loved seeing all of the animals, running around, playing in the dirt, riding the tractor wagon, and playing on the playground. When we were feeding the ducks they literally started attacking and chasing it because they wanted more bread. Amy and I were a little terrified but the boys loved it! After Wheeler Farm we headed to Chilis for lunch. The boys were definitely tired because lunch was kind of a disaster...they were quite naughty! So I headed home and Cooper napped.

Every year for my birthday when I was growing up my dad would buy me roses. He would buy me how ever many roses for the age I was turning. When I got married Brad took over that tradition. The unfortunate thing is that my birthday is so close to Mother's Day that they jack the prices way up. Brad has made his own tradition however. He always gets one rose a different color to represent the age I am turning. For example this year he bought 24 pink roses and then one red rose to represent 25. Getting these roses is one of my favorite things about my birthday.

I decided that I wanted to do my birthday dinner at Tepanyaki. It is a Japanese steakhouse and sushi bar. It is DELICIOUS!!! It was very last minute but our friends Amy and Jason, and Jason and Keelee were still able to join us. My mom came over and watched Cooper so we didn't have to take him. After the lunch fiasco I knew it would be much more enjoyable without him there.

I definitely got spoiled this year. I needed clothes since none of my clothes from last year fit me. A little depressing!!!!! So Brad let me just go shopping for myself. It was nice and the perfect birthday present. I got some stuff at Target, Old Navy, Bohme, Maurices, DownEast and Lulu Lemon! Amy got me a cute pair of Lulu Lemon shorts and Keelee got me an awesome lime green watch! My mom ordered my present and it won't be here for a couple more weeks......so that will be fun getting something else. I loved my birthday this year and I am a little sad that it's over. However I am excited to see what adventures 25 brings!