CHEESE!!!!

A Long Lost Old Post....From Spring 2012.

 Cooper's new thing is to say "Cheese" when you are taking his picture. It is hilarious. If he gets his hands on a phone he will walk around with it above his head looking up at it saying "cheese" repeatedly. He definitely is not camera shy anymore. The funny thing is that it's usually a really cheesy smile that he gives. He is a cheese ball for sure!!! He used to not smile at all when the camera was out. Every family photo shoot we have hasn't gone so well. Hopefully next time we do them it will be a different story.

Triathamom 2012

I know it was forever ago but I wanted to document how my triathlon went. The Triathmom was on August 18th. I had not wanted to be pregnant for the triathlon but things didn't go as planned as I was 9 weeks pregnant (not complaining that I was pregnant however). This just made things way more difficult. I had been so sick the month leading up the triathlon that I had not been able to do any training. I am not kidding, I had done NOTHING!!!! I asked my doctor if it was okay that I still do the race and he was fine with it as long as I took it slow. I was really sick the two days before the race. I couldn't eat anything so on top of not feeling well I was really weak. I probably shouldn't have done the race but it was something that I really wanted to accomplish. I was doing the race with my friends Nikki, Codie, and Keelee. Brad's cousin Tashina was also doing the race but she was doing it with some other people as well. She was actually the one that convinced me to sign up in the first place then I did some recruiting of my own. We went the night before and got our packets, got our numbers stamped on, our timing chips, and any last minute details for the race. 

We woke up bright and early and were to the Kearns Rec Center by about 6:00 am. I'm not a morning person to begin with so having to wake up that early as well as be exhausted and nauseous from being pregnant was an adventure. We got our stuff set up in the transition area and just waited for the race to begin. The order was swim (300 m), bike (12 mile), run (5k). The swimming was the part I was most nervous for. Which is completely silly considering I'm a swimmer. But because of this I hadn't really focused on training my swimming at all. But it turns out the swimming was the easiest part. My official overall time was 2:15:37. My swim took 11:49. People did not sign up correctly as to their level of swimming. So I got stuck behind really slow people. I literally was swimming with my head above water just doing a breaststroke kick. It was very frustrating! 

 

After the swim I ran to the transition area and got ready for the bike ride. I took my time in the transition area. I know this really frustrated my dad but I was not feeling up to rushing. The bike ride was probably the worst part of the race. I literally thought I was going to die. My time for this leg was 1:04:51. Being hunched over was killing my stomach and made me feel even more sick. To make matters worse the bike route went right past my house. Both times I really just wanted to ride home and crawl into bed. I had never experienced a bike ride this awful in my life. I had done bike rides way longer than this and not even been out of breath. But with being pregnant and weak from being so sick I had no energy or strength. They put your age on your calf so you could see how old everyone is. Just imagine how I felt when a 69 year old lady passed me. Highlight of the day for sure!!! To make matters worse my chain fell off during the ride. I am so lucky I didn't crash because my feet were clipped into the pedals. I really lucked out. I had to hike my bike up a hill and luckily there was a support guy who was able to get my chain unjammed and put back on. It scratched my bike up really good because it somehow got way jammed in there. I couldn't have been happier when I was finished with the ride.

 Last was the 5K. I was looking forward to this because I knew I could just walk this if I needed. And believe me at this point I needed to walk. My stomach was so crampy. It was really hurting. It wasn't like a side ache cramp either. It was because of the baby and things going on with that. I was actually really nervous that I done something serious. Thankfully Keelee was sweet and just stayed with me the entire 5K. I kept trying to run but it hurt way to bad. I was too scared to push myself. If I hadn't of been pregnant it would have been a completely different story. The 5K took me 54:59. Ridiculous!!!! But I really didn't care. As long as I finished I was happy. I was so excited when I came to the finish line. Cooper was there so I picked him up and carried him across with me. It was a big accomplishment for me.

 

  

 

I had so many people there routing me on. Of course everyone else had already finished so they were all there, my parents, Aspen, grandma and grandpa, Brad and Cooper. It felt good having so many people there just for me. They had some bagels and fruit at the end which was amazing. I was starving and desperately needed food at this point. We hung around for a little after the race and then headed home. I ate some lunch and laid down for a nap. I was exhausted. My stomach was crampy for the entire rest of the day. I was really nervous. Luckily the next day I woke up and the cramping had stopped. My body wasn't even achy or sore or anything. I was so glad that I accomplished my first triathlon. I was even more proud considering being pregnant and super sick. I will never do something like this again pregnant that is for sure. I haven't decided yet if I will do it again next year. Baby girl will be about 5 months old. But I didn't work out at all when I nursed with Cooper so we will have to see how things go with this baby.

 Cooper wore his big brother shirt to announce to my Grandma and Grandpa the news

 

  They had a carnival for the kids during the race....He only let them paint half of his face.

  My #1 fan

 

 My Grandma and Grandpa

 My sister Aspen

 My little family

 Me and the Hubby

 My Parents

  The whole gang

 My dad riding my bike back to the car....what a sight to see :)

 Cooper helping Nikki push Marley

Cooper's 2 Year Check-Up & 6 months later

 

Cooper had his 2 year check-up back on July 17th. Cooper is growing and developing right on schedule. He still wasn't too big a fan of seeing the doctor. It's so weird! When she comes in the room he gets completely silent and won't show any emotion. He won't say anything for her. His 2 year stats were:

Weight: 29.7 lbs (71%)

Height: 34.45 in (61%)

BMI: 17.6 (75%)

Considering this check-up was 6 months ago a lot has changed. He is definitely bigger now and is talking none stop. He speaks in full sentences. He does however have a little speech impediment, it's actually kind of cute!So he's not the clearest. He can't say his "l's" or "r's". But once you know how he says certain words you can completely understand him.  Some of the funny things that Cooper says are:

• "More again" when he wants to do something again
• "I gog git" for I got it
• "Dark in Here". He loves when it gets dark in a room or even outside and says this every single time it is dark anywhere.
• Whenever he's talking to either me or Brad he will always says "Mommy Daddy". His little mind is going so fast he can't get it straight before he blurts it out. He will run through lots of names when he is trying to talk to someone.
• "Oh no what happened now"
• Calls little foot on land before time "baby foot"
• "Oh Gosh"
• "K"......this one is said constantly about everything. But it's a drawn out "K" said with this little accent.
• Calls Aspen "Apy's" even though he can say Aspen.

• Calls yoga "yoguck"
• Fire trucks are "Wee Nows"
• "Fruff"....this is what he calls swallow. No idea how he came up with this one.
• When ever he eats or drinks something he will say "Feel Better now" regardless of what it is.
• Calls the snow "snowman"
• Will say "Bless you Mommy" or "Excuse you Daddy" (but uses the appropriate name) whenever someone burps, sneezes, coughs
• Very polite with his "Please" and "Thank you"

Cooper is way into movies lately. He goes through phases of which movie he prefers and wants to watch a movie over and over and over and then will move on. We have watched many more than these but these are his favorites. He's gone through:

• Lilo and Stitch
• Tarzan
• Land Before Time
• Goofy Movie
• Beauty and the Beast
• Depsicable Me
• Finding Nemo 
• Monster's Inc.
• The Polar Express
• How to Train Your Dragon (his most current)

He loves Disney Jr. just as much however. He knows the opening songs on the shows and sings them. It's hilarious. The shows he's liked are:

• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Of course!!!)
• Special Agent Oso
• Rollie Pollie Ollie
• Octonauts
• Doc McStuffins
• Chugginton
• Jake and the Neverland Pirates (He calls this show Hook)
• Little Einsteins (This is his absolute favorite right now!!! He loves all the music in it. 

He has become quite the picky/difficult little eater. If he is not in the mood for something he refuses to even try it even if it's something he loves. Half of the time you have to chase after him to feed him bites or he just won't eat. His favorite foods lately are:

• peanut butter and honey sandwiches (he will go get the bread, peanut butter and honey out of the pantry and put it on the counter when he wants one of these).
• chicken nuggets
• fries
• cucumbers
• green beans
• any type of fruit (strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe,  grapes, oranges (favorite right now), mandarin oranges, peaches, bananas, etc.)
• cheese
• MILK!!!! He could drink this all day every day. You have to limit his intake and he isn't happy when you say no.
• yogurt
• cereal
• goldfish
• crackers of any kind
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Oatmeal
• still a little junk food/candy baby. He loves to get in the candy drawer and help himself. 
• chips but especially Cheetos. He will even eat chips and salsa.
• grilled cheese
• quesadillas
• hot dogs 
• bacon
• any type of muffin but especially bran muffins that I make. He calls them cupcakes.
• pancakes and waffles with syrup
• fruit snacks
• popsicles
•  ice cream like his daddy

 

 

There is going to be a lot about what Cooper has been up and what he's into lately considering I haven't done an update post on Cooper in a year!

• Cooper is still the most energetic and crazy child. He really has an endless supply of energy. He goes from the time he gets up until he goes to bed. 
• He goes to bed between 8-9 and then is up usually around 8:00 am.

• Has no sense of volume when he's really excited. He loves to talk really loud and scream around the house.
• When you tell him to be quiet or he wants you to be quiet he puts his finger over his nose rather than his mouth and says "shhh".
• Loves bubble baths.

• Totally operates the ipad and can navigate between his movies and games. It's amazing how young this starts.
• He and Indiana are still little buddies. He calls Indiana Buddy half of the time. He does love bossing him around and torturing him however.
• He will say "Come on Buddy" and then make kissy/clicky noise with his mouth. He's imitating when Brad and I are trying to get Indiana to come. 
• Still takes one nap a day for about 2-3 hours (usually that is unless he's being difficult).
• Still sleeps with a binky and his blanky. I am dreading taking the binky away.
• Sleeps in a big boy bed.
• Loves to play in the snow.
• Loves brushing his teeth still. We haven't mastered the spitting out the toothpaste yet however.
• Loves when Brad comes home from work. He will wake up and say "Daddy at work" and "Daddy be home later".

• Still incredibly ticklish.
• Loves to play hard and wrestle with daddy.
• Still my cuddle bug on the couch.
• Way into singing lately. His favorites are: Once there was a snowman, The ABC's, Two Little Boys, Wheels on the Bus, I am a child of God, Jingle Bells, 3 Little Monkeys, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, Clean up song, Twinkle twinkle little star,
•  Listens and will go sit in time out when told (although he may scream and cry while doing it). He sits for two minutes and knows he can get up when the timer goes off. You ask him and he tells you exactly why he went to time out.
• The whole counting to 3 things does wonders. Although I have to do it 100 times a day!!!
• Enjoys playing with playdough and painting. He however doesn't want paint on him and it has to be done in an organized clean manner. He gets that from me poor kid!

 

(He freaked when I stuck his hands in the paint to "finger paint")

• Loves washing his hands in the sink.
• Haven't really started potty training. We will ask and he will sit on the potty and go sometimes but he isn't real interested quite yet. He will tell you when he's gone poop or pee in his diaper though.
• He thinks tooting and burping are the funniest things ever. He will however say "Excuse me" afterwards.
• He LOVES giving kisses. He kisses you without any encouragement. It is so sweet when he just comes up and wants a kiss. I love him!!!

 

• Loves driving through tunnels.
• He gets to help daddy drive on our street after church. He thinks it's the best thing ever invented. He feels so big and proud. He opens the garage when we pull in and everything.
• Very social and loves playing with friends. His best friend is Emmett. He asks to play with him almost daily. He also loves his cousin Holden "Holdy" and his friend in our ward Tyson. 

• Obsessed with trains lately! Loves to go around saying "Choo choo" and "All Aboard". He makes Brad and I go sit in the bathroom and says "All aboard". Apparently that is the train in our house.
• Can make car and gun sounds with his mouth. It really is amazing how things like this are engrained in little boys from so little.We've never taught him how to do it!
• He has absolutely no fear. He will climb and jump off of anything. He will stand on the couch and just fall forward onto a pillow. I honestly can't believe he's never hurt himself.

• Loves to read books.
• When ever he hurts himself he will run over and say "Kiss it better please" and it always fixes it immediately!
• Still loves to be naked. But now when you take his diaper off he runs around screaming "Naked bum".

• Has to lift his own bum to put the diaper under when you are changing him. He will go get the diaper, wipes, baby powder (insists on using this every single time), and Desitin and will take it to where he wants to lay to get his bum changed.
• He is a muscly toned little thing but still has the chubbiest hands and feet. 

• His pants are mostly 2T but can wear a 3T and his shirts are all 3T.
• He's in a shoe size 6-7 depending on the shoe.
• Is in the terrible two's for sure! He throws fits if he doesn't get his way.

• He has to do everything on his own. He says "No Cooper do it self".
• He went roller skating for the first time and loved it!

• He has a fake cry that he will do if he's not getting his way as well.
• He still cries when we take him to nursery. He stops after a few minutes but I'm ready for when he doesn't cry at all.

• Still doesn't have his 2 year old molars!!! They bug him sometimes and he gets really grumpy. The are one of the main reasons I haven't taken away his binky yet. It's the only thing that soothes him when he's teething.
• Loves to hold mommies hand when we are sitting on the couch or in the car. But not when he needs to be holding it in public or when crossing the street. 

• Loves to put his hands in his pockets. Whether it be in his coat or pants. So funny!
• If you ask him do something that he doesn't want to do he will say "No mommy do it".

 

• Still is quite OCD. He picks things up and puts them back in their spot without guidance. Puts up all of his bath toys and hangs the washcloth before he gets out. But of course has to sing the clean up song whenever picking up.
• Started playing pretend. Whether it's with food, or going to work or anything. He will say "Be right back" then when he gets back from where ever he went he runs up and hugs you and says "I missed you". It's so fun to see his creative mind working.

• Loves high fives. Will run up and say "Give me Five".
• Whenever he says sorry he gets a really high voice.
• Way into building forts lately.

•  He loves to count. He can go to 10 on his own and then 20 with a little help.
• Big into humming songs lately. It's amazing because he's humming the exact tune so you know what song it is.

We just love our little Cooper!!! I can't believe he's been in our lives for 2 1/2 years. It's amazing how quickly the time has flown by. He may have his difficult and challenging moments but he sure makes up for those with how smart, funny, loving, crazy, adorable, and just plain awesome he really is. There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't make us laugh and be thankful for having him in our lives. You are an amazing little boy Cooper. But try to stop growing up so fast! Mommy and Daddy love you!!!!!