WASHINGTON TRIP

Well a couple of weeks ago Cooper and I took off and flew to Washington to visit Brad's sister Julie. October was super busy for Brad and he was going to have to work late nights so we figured it was a perfect week to go since he wouldn't be home much anyways. Turns out he wasn't as busy as we thought and was home on time and even early some days that week but oh well it was still fun to get away. It was kind of an adventure packing and getting ready for our trip. I had been on a girls weekend with Amy and was in St. George and Vegas the weekend before. We didn't get home until after 8:00 pm Sunday and I still had to pack for both me and Cooper. We had to leave at 7:30 Monday morning so it was a late night and an early morning for me! Thankfully Brad had done the laundry so I didn't have to worry about that when I got home on Sunday.

I was most nervous for the plane rides. The last time he was on a plane he was 4 months old. Luckily he did pretty good on both flights. I had a grandma sit next to us both times so they were very understanding. And there was an extra seat on both flights so Cooper got his own seat which made it SO MUCH easier! Cooper was crazy though! He has so much energy and NEVER holds still. This didn't change on the airplane. He touched everything, was up and down, tried climbing over the seats, loved the windows, opened and shut the windows hundreds of times, flirted with people behind us, talk to kids in front of us, made lots of messes, colored with his crayons, watched a little of the Cars movie on the iPad, spilled my drink, stole ice from the cup of the lady next to us, BUT he wasn't the kid on the plane SCREAMING so I was happy!

He made friends with the grandma next to us. She was so sweet to him even amongst his craziness! I couldn't believe it but he even sat on her lap and wasn't scared of her.

Here is Cooper and the window :)


Julie will hate me but I had to share this. I was dying laughing when it happened!
Here is Julie putting in Cooper's car seat and the boys at Target.
I let Cooper down for a bit since we had been flying for so long and he touched everything. Julie couldn't believe how fast and how much energy he had and how much he could touch!

I was so excited for Cooper to get to play with his 3 cousins (Michael-6, Jack 4, and Bennett-20 months). The last time we saw them was the week of Cooper's birthday. Now that he is a little older he is way more interactive and independent so loves to play with the big kids. He absolutely LOVED the Richey's house. There was so much room to explore inside and out and soooo many new things to get into.

Here is Cooper adjusting to the Chaos:

Here is trying to lift this big rock. He even asks for help. But I gave him a smaller one that he could handle and he was just as happy.

Walking around like a big boy:

He found everything he wasn't supposed to have just like everywhere else we go. My little mischevious boy. Here you can see his favorites...the vacuum, mop, and broom :)

My child is very odd and his favorite toys are brooms and vacuums. He is obsessed! He spots them anywhere we go and freaks out if you don't let him play with it. He was in heaven because he got to play with the vacuum and broom the whole time we were up there.

He was constantly entertained. Michael was his best buddy. It was so cute to watch them interact. Michael would talk to him and lead him around. He really was so sweet with Cooper. Jack was cute with Cooper too. But he wasn't as in to Cooper.

Cooper loved the ledge on the fireplace. He played on it constantly.
He felt so big doing it because the big boys did it too!

I asked Michael if he wanted a picture with Cooper and he posed like this....

ha ha such a funny kid!

I couldn't hear Cooper so I went looking for him and this is what I found. Sweetest thing ever!!!!

Then there was Bennett. You have to understand that Bennett is almost twice as big as Cooper and is always wrestling and being tough with his older brothers. Cooper however terrified Bennett. Cooper kept trying to hug and kiss Bennett and he would run away screaming. This continued all week until the day we left, Bennett finally gave in and hugged Cooper back. But honestly it was the funniest thing to watch. Cooper could literally tackle Bennett even though he ways a good 10 pounds less than Bennett. I was impressed considering how much Bennett rough houses it with his brothers and Cooper doesn't really rough house at all.

One night we discovered that Cooper and Bennett had matching pajamas. It was so funny to watch them run around like this!

Bennett being fine with Cooper as long as he isn't being attacked:

Finally Bennett hugged Cooper back and wasn't so scared.
This is right before we headed to the airport to leave.

We had so much fun while we were there. We went to the Columbia store (a must when in Washington), crafted a little, went shopping, celebrated Jack's birthday, had a Halloween themed dinner, and just hung out and had a good time.

Here is some of the fun from our Halloween dinner. The boys all dressed up which made it even more fun.
(Candy Corn cookies, spider web 7-layer dip, witches brew, spider deviled eggs, monster puddings)

After the Halloween dinner we did the pinata from Jack's birthday. Michael and Jack got way into it! Every time Michael hit it, it went flying across the room. It was so solid that Tyler had to put it on the ground and hit it to crack it open. Here you can see Cooper with his broom watching all of the excitement.

The Richey's live on like 10 acres of land so it is a little boys heaven. We were able to "4-wheel" in the car around the property and do tractor rides. I wish Cooper was able to experience these kinds of things all the time like his cousins do!





We had a great time at the park. I discovered Cooper has no fear of slides. He would crawl up the jungle jim turned around and go right down the slide without even thinking twice.


Here is Cooper going down the slide:




Cooper was constantly going the whole time we were there. It wore him out!

I was ready to come home at the end of the week. Cooper didn't do so great at nights up there. I think he was teething and getting sick so that didn't make for a great combo. One night he screamed for like 3 hours, then others he was up and just wanted to play. Twice I just let him crawl around my bed and after about an hour and a half he would finally fall asleep with me. We missed Brad and were so excited to come home and see him.

Thanks Richeys for having us! It was a blast!!!!

First Little Family Vacation

Well we officially took our first little family vacation. Cooper and I had already taken a trip to Washington last November, but this was our first trip with Brad. Brad's cousin was getting sealed in the St. George temple on Saturday so we decided to go down for it. We left Friday around 1:30 after Cooper's doctors appointment, Brad working a half day, and getting Indiana dropped off at my parents. Cooper did awesome on the drive down. He slept for the first 1 1/2 hours or so and then we stopped in Filmore so he could eat. Once we got started up again I sat in the back and played with him for a bit. He started to get fussy because he was tired (he had just gotten he shots so he wasn't feeling the greatest). After maybe 10 min of crying he finally fell asleep and slept most of the rest of the way.

We got to St. George and checked into our hotel. We planned on going to dinner with some of Brad's cousins but they weren't in yet so I wanted to take Cooper swimming. Right as we got all dressed one of his cousins called and said we were going to go to dinner and not wait for his other cousins. I was really sad because I was so excited to take Cooper swimming for the first time. We got back into our clothes and went to dinner at Parrothead Island Grill. After dinner I was determined to take Cooper swimming even though it was his bed time (I know mom of the year award). We got to the pool and there was probably 20 teenage boys in the pool messing around and being crazy. Cooper didn't know what to think of all the noise. Well I got him in the pool and he was VERY hesitant at first. He was trying to take in the water along with all the craziness. After a bit he warmed up to it and started splashing and having a good time. We didn't stay very long because it was late and we would swim more the next day. We went back and bathed Cooper and put him to bed. He slept in his pack'n play and surprising went to bed real easily. He was exhausted I'm sure! I didn't get to sleep until about 2:00. It was uncomfortable and I could hear every noise Cooper made. I am not used to sleeping in the same room as Coop. He's been in his crib in his own room since he was 2 weeks old.

Saturday morning we woke up and got ready for the day. I went to visit my friend Alicia who had just had her baby while Brad went to the temple. I had Cooper so I wasn't able to go to the sealing. But it was so fun seeing Alicia and baby Maddelin who was only 3 days old. After the sealing I headed to the temple and picked up Brad. Then everyone who was in town went to lunch at Iggy's. It was a good time but Cooper got fussy because he was getting tired. We headed back to the hotel and both Cooper and I napped. I was exhausted from the horrible sleep I had gotten the night before. Once we woke up we went swimming again. Brad got in the water this time. The water was cold so we didn't swim for very long. We got in the hot tub and Cooper sat next to us and warmed up from the steam and just played. After swimming we cleaned up and went and got frozen yogurt and Wendy's for dinner. We just relaxed the rest of the night and were in bed by 9:45 so we could get up early and head home the next morning. Brad and I decided to sleep in separate beds since we had 2 queens in the room and we both slept restlessly the first night because the beds were horrible and we are used to sleeping in a king. I must say we all slept better the second night.

Just arrived at the hotel

So excited to be on vacation

Cooper right when we got to the hotel


Ready to go swimming

Sucked on his swimming suit string until he got comfortable

Cooper after he warmed up to the pool


Bundled after getting out of the pool

Looking at himself in the mirror

Dad and Coop all ready to go swimming (2nd night)

Just waiting for cousins to arrive so we can go to the pool

Attacked the cheese balls (right after this picture he grabbed the bin and started sucking on it)....yeah we bought cheese balls!

Daddy and Coop swimming

Hanging out by the hot tub

Giving mommy kisses

Ready for a shower after swimming

Just woke up

Getting ready to head home

It was a really short and fun trip. I don't know that I would have wanted to stay much longer. There isn't a whole lot to do when you have a baby :) But getting away for the weekend was just what we needed.

Trip to Washington

A couple of weeks ago (November 6-14) Cooper and I took a little trip up to Washington to visit Brad's sister Julie and her family (aka the Richey's). Brad didn't join us, he stayed home to work and take care of Indiana :) I absolutely love spending time with the Richey's, they are so fun. Julie and Tyler have three boys Michael (5), Jack (3), and Bennett (almost 9 months).

Cooper and I flew into Portland. I was really nervous about how Cooper would do on the flight and how it would be sitting close to strangers and feeding him, him spitting up, crying, etc. I got SO LUCKY on the flight to Portland. There were only 36 people on the entire flight. So I didn't have anyone on the row in front of me, behind me, or the three rows across the aisle. Not only was it nice having no one around but Cooper was the perfect baby on the flight. He ate at take off, then he played while laying on his blanket on the seats, then with like 20 minutes left he fell asleep. Once we landed a few people on the flight and the flight attendants commented on how great he was! He even got an official certificate that said his name and date for his first airplane ride....it was really cute!!!

Cooper on the plane

It was so nice being able to lay him on the seats next to me

Just a picture showing how no one was around us

When we got to Portland we went to dinner and then Target. I had to buy some diapers and things that I hadn't wanted to pack a lot of. While we were walking around Jack kept handing me things for Cooper.

This was just some of the things he wanted me to put on Cooper.

We had a lot of fun while I was there. We went to the Columbia store and I spent way to much, the most amazing fabric store I have ever seen (I so wish we had one here), Costco a couple of times, and just had fun hanging out at the Richey's house. I could kick myself for not taking more pictures while I was there.

The only picture of Jack that I got

Michael absolutely LOVED Cooper. He couldn't get enough of him. He was constantly wanting to kiss him and just be by him. He would always ride in what car I was in and was such a big helper on getting Cooper to stop crying and making sure Cooper's binky was in his mouth.

Bennett was sometimes curious about Cooper and other times was doing his own thing. Bennett is getting so big. He is crawling all over the place. It's amazing that they are only like 4 1/2 months apart but such a drastic size difference. I just want Cooper to stay tiny forever :)

Mr. Bennett....he is the most photogenic child ever!!!!

Cooper loved Bennett's jumper

The babies hanging out

Cooper at Costco. I didn't want to have to deal with the car seat so I just laid him on a blanket and he was in heaven looking around!!!

Julie and the babies

Cooper watching football yet again

While we were there Cooper decided it was necessary to poop 4-6 times a day. It was insane! I ended up having to go buy more diapers because he kept going through them so fast. He normally went maybe twice a day. But even being home he has continued on his pooping spree. Lucky me :) He has definitely earned his named of Cooper the Pooper!!!

We had such a great trip. It was fun just being able to relax and spend time with the Richey's. Our flight home was another story though. They boarded us late because they were waiting for some connecting flights to land. Once we finally got on Cooper was starving so I started giving him his bottle. He finished his bottle and we still hadn't taken off. There ended up being a problem with the cooling system which in order to fix they have to unload the cargo bin. So that took about an hour and a half. Luckily we were able to get off the flight and walk around. The only problem was that I no longer had my stroller because it had been loaded. Luckily I had my sling and was able to walk around a bit. Cooper started getting fussy because it was now nap time. Once we finally were able to get back on the plane Cooper fell asleep and slept the entire flight. I was glad because this flight was completely full so we were surrounded by people. There was a baby who screamed the entire time and I felt so bad for the mom. If it had been me I would have probably been in tears because it is so stressful! I was so glad he was easy for me. It was very nice getting home. Being away from Brad for a week is a really long time. I can't even imagine how much worse it was for him being away from Cooper for a week.

Thanks Richey's for letting me and Cooper stay with you for a week and thanks honey for letting Cooper and I take this little trip!!!

Weekend of Family Fun!

We had so much fun with Brad's family while they were here over the weekend. The weekend started with us all getting together for lunch and Rodizio Grill. I have only been there once before and was skeptical about going again. I am not a huge meat person and the meat I do eat I am kinda picky about. So I stuck strictly to the salad bar and it was tasty! Brad was excited to be able to stuff himself with amazing meats though. Cooper slept for most of the lunch which was nice so we could all eat.

Abel

Bennett laughing (his little laugh is so cute)

Michael having fun with all the utensils
Jack Michael trying to tell Julie where the whip cream is on her face. It was hilarious watching him try to think of how to explain it because she wasn't getting it :)

Me and Brad

Jack and Michael at the taffy shop

After lunch we all went to Sugarhouse Park. We spent a few hours there talking, swinging, and playing on the playground.

Me, Jack and Michael throwing rocks down at the creek

Brad swinging Michael (his nephews LOVE him!)

Michael wanted a turn to push Brad

Don't you just want to squeeze him.

Jack's turn with Uncle Brad

This is what Cooper did the entire time at the park. He was so exhausted from the crazy weekend.

Our little family. I think Cooper is sneezing here.

Bennett is the most photogenic kid ever!

Eating all the yummy taffy we bought

I was worried Coop was cold because it was a little chilly outside

After the park Brad's cousin arranged for all their family to play games, eat pizza and hang out at the church for the evening. It was a lot of fun. The kids ran around and played. The guys played basketball. The mom's took care of the babies :) But we all had a really fun time!

Cooper was actually awake the entire time!

Mom and Coop

Brad played basketball almost the entire time we were there

Bennett with Aunt Kacey

Saying Goodbye to the Richey's (Ugh we look like Ute fans here)

I absolutely LOVE Brad's family. I hate that they all live so far away and we can't do fun family things like this more often. I wish Cooper had his cousins closer. But Brad and his siblings are so close that I am sure we will always continue getting together like this. It was a really great weekend and it sure drained poor little Cooper. He has been so tired ever since. But we are staying home this week so he can get back into our routine. What a fun family weekend that we will always remember!