The crazy family I married into...

For the last week and a half we were all in Texas visiting Tyson's family. Everyone was able to come (thanks to Mom and Dad Cooper's serious generosity). It was a TON of fun. Here are the family pictures Zach took. Tyson, just like Josh I think, only likes pictures when he doesn't have to be serious. So he had way too much fun. :)

I almost always laugh when Tyson kisses me. He thinks that is weird, but I love that he makes me laugh even when he isn't trying to.

Josh LOVES this picture because he is squeezing Grandpa and he loves his funny face.

The brothers.

The sisters and Mom Cooper.

Big Josh and Katie, I think this picture is so cute.

The sisters.

As you will be able to see, the little boys were either hamming it up, really cranky, or wouldn't look at the camera.

The whole family!

It was so much fun being with everyone! I will post more pictures when I don't have little fingers around to pull on the camera cord. I just miss my family more than ever now, so hopefully I will get to see them soon!

Mom Moments

Some people ask me "what do you do all day?" I used to ask stay at home mom's the same question. I mean, how do you keep yourself busy all day long? How hard can watching kids be? And even if you know how hard it can be, you still wonder how to keep from getting bored. I rarely feel bored now. But sometimes I reflect as I clean up the toys for the hundredth time or as I wash out Josh's underwear because he still doesn't grasp complete toilet training, or just when I sit down to relax and someone starts crying or wants something, I think "What am I doing? I feel like I am running in circles going nowhere and I am dragging my family around with me. Are my kids even progressing?"

Then there are moments where I see a glimmer of my purpose here on earth. Josh says something profound or sounds out a word he sees. Caleb shares or gives me a kiss and snuggle. And those smiles, those precious moments make up for all the difficult ones. I wanted to post these pictures because they are some of these moments to me. How can you not be happy with your life when you see these smiles?

Yes, we couldn't find him anywhere and then we found him in the closet, sleeping, sitting up. :)

They posed like this by themselves. I love Zuri's face.

So maybe the life of a mom is somewhat monotonous, but it sure is crazy and the most rewarding responsibility I ever had.

From the Mouth of my Babes

Josh's Current Favorite Phrases:
"Why?"
"How bout no."
"I'm not quite sure."
"Get a gun, shoot him, turn into a ghost and come back and go BOO!" (yes, completely terrifying, I have no idea where that came from)
"Me get baptized in the blue water."
"(whispered) I am a child (shout) of GOD! (back to whisper) lead me, guide a me, walk aside a me (repeat at least 10 times)"
"Where my Daddy go?" (this is only when he gets in trouble and thinks Tyson would save him if he were here)
"(In a very high pitched/girly voice) Me love my bunk bed."

Caleb's Current Words:
"cacker" (cracker/anything edible)
"mi" (milk)
"je-se" (Jesus)
"ches" (cheese)
"Dadda, Dadda, Dadda!" (Daddy, and always said with great enthusiasm)
"Mama! Mama!" (Mama, and always said in a whiny voice)

Happy Day

Happy Valentine's (Yester)day! I hope it was wonderful for everyone. I love holidays, they are always full of surprises and I think that is why I love them so much. Tyson somehow stole the car yesterday afternoon, went to the store, got stuff for bologna sandwiches, went to his office and made them (and cut them into heart shapes) and cut brownies into hearts too. Then he picked me and the kids up and we went to this baseball field where five years ago yesterday we had our first kiss. (Tyson made bologna sanwiches for us then too, that is why he made them this time). It was the cutest thing ever. He always says he isn't creative, but he totally is. I am so thankful that five years ago I was probably sitting in Spanish class, not paying attention, and dreaming about the kiss I had the night before. How little I knew that five years from then I would be married to that guy, in our cute little brick house, watching our two little boys play with blocks and feeling sick with the next one (hopefully a girl, but boys are great too) in my belly. What a happy day. :)

Random Joshua

This is Josh's latest Lego/Duplo creation. I think it is pretty good.

Josh's favorite song to sing:

a mash-up of "lead me, guide me, walk a' side me" (I Am a Child of God) and "she got a tan, I got a sunburn" (a song by Owl City I believe). Occasionally he adds a little of Itsy Bitsy Spider just to change things up a bit. Hehe.

Josh currently is sleeping with a santa hat on. Yes I went back to check on him, and sure enough, curled up all cute, looking very festive. He still tells us Merry Christmas and Happy New Year when we say goodnight. Gotta love that kid.

Things I Love

-subway sandwiches with crunchy banana peppers
-cozy warm blankets
-baby snuggles
-when Josh says "Mama, me miss you SO much"
-Tyson's green eyes
-country songs
-sunshine in the morning
-the soft thumping of a baby's heartbeat in an ultrasound
-the wailing of a train in the distance
-warm soup
-the smooth rhythm of folding laundry
-the way Tyson says "I love you"
-surprise donut trips
-pretty much any kind of donut, anytime :)
-Caleb's shrug smiles
-the sound of little kids snoring
-mail, especially handwritten letters
-family around me, especially since my family is so generous with their time
-chocolate of any kind
-holidays
-calls with my Mama
-hearing my phone buzz and seeing "Tyson love" on the screen
-daffodils and tulip leaves popping out of the dirt
-chilly autumn days
-naps
-the sound of typing
-the feel of a pen in my hand
-the clarity that comes when I read the scriptures
-Tyson walking towards the door
-hugs
-dinner with friends
-Ben and Jerry's ice cream
-dates
-the sound of laughter, especially from children or from people I love
-the feel of laughing so much my cheeks hurt
-meeting new people
-my family
-my God
-my life

January

My blog fans tell me it has been too long since my last post, and I totally agree. I keep thinking of things I want to write but when I pull out the laptop, the kids start hanging onto my legs and crying and making me not want to write, so I don't. But, here at least are some pictures until I feel like writing again. :) Josh and Caleb love to bug each other and be by each other. They love to read which makes me very happy because Tyson and I both love to read. And well, I majored in English not because of grammar but because of the literature. So my boys make me happy.

Eating cookies in the morning. :)

The sunglasses Tyson tried on the day we started liking each other (good memories). Now his boys LOVE to wear them.

Zuri, the "cousin sister." Josh will bug this poor girl to no end, he follows her around the house and put his face right next to hers whenever she stops walking. She HATES it, Josh gets some weird pleasure out it and I find it annoying and hilarious at the same time. Poor Zuri.

My favorite, Josh wearing the sunglasses, his puppy backpack (really a kid leash hehe) and picking his nose. Gotta love him.

The ride to bedtime. :) They love their Daddy...I do too.

Tori has become a sister to us and so while Seth and Cassie were in lala land, :) Tori helped Tyson and I build this puzzle in just a few hours. I love puzzles!

So Caleb got a black eye. He smacked his head into Josh's headboard on his bed. It was pretty ugly, but once we knew he was okay, it was and is, pretty funny.

My little studmuffin. He only wore the tie because it made him look like Daddy.

He looks like he is singing, hehe.

Randomly reading his books in the kitchen.

Tyson has this thing with toturing the kids by putting their clothes on funny, so after he ninja-fied Josh, we decided to be a ninja family for a little while. We are pretty weird. Caleb didn't like it so much. :)

Grocery baskets on the head.

Walking around in Daddy's slippers. This is Caleb's first time doing this so I had to take a picture.

Caleb loves bananas and practically eats them whole, as you can tell by his chipmunk cheeks.

There you have it, the Cooper January.