Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum

The weather has been hitting 100 lately and it's been difficult trying to tell Cooper we can't go outside. It's just miserable. We decided to go to the Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum and followed it up with ice cream cones (Cooper's first) from Arctic Circle. For $1.70 we were able to have a little family outing that included dessert! Cooper ran around the museum. He loved pointing up at the planes and helicopters. We love hearing him say his version of the word "airplane." He loves them! We love spending time together as a family and really enjoyed the time out to relax and have fun together.

{Summer Bucket List} Splash Pad

Cooper and I went and had a little picnic at the park and then played at the Splash Pad. He loved it. He would just stand in the water and let it fall all over him. He didn't mind the splashing or anything. I was soaked trying to following him. He was tuckered out after and had a good nap!

Our Little Man

You hand Cooper his toothbrush or he sees it and he wants to brush his teeth. He knows just want to do. We also gave him a haircut. He's our little man.

• Cooper is saying so many words I can't remember them all! Some knew ones are keys, cheese, please (pls), bubbles, glasses, mommy, water (wawa), bottle (baba), amen, gma, and gpa. He tries to say airplane and outside. He gets a few letter sounds!
• He has had three teeth come through in the last week or two. 
• He woke up with croup two weeks ago. Scared mom and dad to death.
• He loves airplanes. He points at the sky when he hears them, sees them, or hears the word airplane. He even kinds of says airplanes.
• We're trying to get him off the bottle and on to sippy cups. Dad's a softy and gives him a bottle all the time still!
• He loves to be outside! Nothing new! He even says "outside." Sounds a little funny though. We know what he's saying though.
• He has figured out the water dispenser on the fridge. We often find a puddle of water on the floor.
• He is doing great sleeping in his toddler bed.
• He knows where his hands, feet, toes, tongue, eyes, ears, nose, head/hair, belly, and shirt are. He also knows shoes. We can name many things and he will get them.
• He loves to throw his diapers away and put his dirty clothes in the hamper.
• Ball is probably his favorite word to say right now. He says it all the time!
• He's in the stage where he likes to hit and thinks it's funny. We're trying to change that.
• He is a noisemaker like his dad--- something I picked up myself not long after marrying him. He says "pst pst" when acting like he is spraying something. He does it for the hose when he wants it on saying "psh." He makes a lot of sounds copying us!
• He bows his head and sits quietly to say prayer. He is starting to fold his arms. He peeks at us, like we do him!
• He still loves books! His new thing is to sit in the rocking chair and flip through the books on his own. We've also been to the library twice.

We love seeing him learn new things! It's amazing how much he knows!

The Things They Learn

It amazes me what kids pick up from everyday life. Things you don't intentionally try to teach them, but they know. We got Daddy a new razor for Father's Day so Cooper is able to "use" Daddy's old one. We handed it to him and he knew exactly what to do.

{Summer Bucket List} The Zoo!

We've been wanting to go to the zoo. It happened to be cool and Chris was off work so we decided to go! Cooper loved the elephants and the sea lions/seals. He kept going back to the sea lions. The elephant waved at him. It was cute both of them waving at each other. We had a wonderful time spending time together. I love seeing Cooper experience things for the first time and knowing his schema is broadening. I love helping him learn and experience life.

{Summer Bucket List} Treehouse Museum

Grandma Frederiksen gave us two free tickets to the Treehouse Museum so we decided to go use them. Cooper ran around for over 2 hours and would have been fine staying longer. He loved it so much that we're going to get a year pass! He loved all the exhibits especially the kitchen. He made little noises like I do when I act like I am putting salt and pepper on his food (he sees us do it and wants some). It was the first time I had seen him do that. He enjoyed the music room, all the small toys he could move and pick up. He really liked the fire truck. We had a great time! We ended it by having a little lunch break outside while watching them work on the Ogden Temple.

Like Father, Like Son

Cooper loves to copy Daddy. He really likes to help him water the flowers and garden so we got him a watering can. He loves to be Dad's shadow and help him.

We also finished Cooper's rock box! I'm so glad we didn't do sand. The rocks are far less messy and he plays with them just the same. I don't mind sitting in it either to play with him.

Having Fun!

Cooper and I have enjoyed our first week together! I have really enjoyed being a stay at home mom. It's only been a week, but it's been so great! He is growing so fast that it's nice to be home with him to watch him grow.

I was putting the mouths in my mouth to be silly and Cooper was mimicking me. Hilarious!

 Here is Cooper's surprise face that I love so much! I encourage him many times a day to make it!

 He's not a baby anymore!

 He loves whistles. He will carry it around in his mouth blowing while playing. So cute!

Swim Class!!!

Cooper and I on the morning of our first mom and tot swim class! We had so much fun! Well, I did. Cooper wasn't sure what to think. He loved the water, but because of the new surroundings he wasn't a huge fan. He was checking everything and everyone out the entire time. They said he will warm up to it. They taught us a little song to do in the water. We worked on blowing bubbles in the water, kicking, and paddling. They told us on Day 3 that we will be dunking the kids. I am so scared! I am such a baby and hate going under water myself. I am guessing I am going to have to get over that!

Update: The swim class went great! Cooper loved everything except for floating on his back. He did really well. He developed an earache from the water so we missed a couple days. We dunked him and he didn't mind a bit. He cried the whole last day because he could see dad on the bleachers watching us. We learned a lot of fun songs. I loved doing this class with Cooper.

Mysterious Ways

The Lord works in amazing ways. The night Cooper was born is a bit of a blur. I remember bits and pieces after arriving at the hospital. My mom told me of a few pictures she took that night and then they were never to be found. They meant the world to me though I had never seen them and I was heartbroken when my mom told me they couldn't be found on her phone. Well, they have now been found.

To give you a back story, about 6 months ago my phone randomly would not turn on. At all. My mom gave me her old phone. I used it for a week or two and the same thing happened. What luck! So, my mom called my grandma who had another old phone my mom had given her and my grandma was no longer using. She asked grandma to send it to me and that's the phone I have had. Well, last night I was playing around with it and BAM! There were the long lost photos. It brought tears to my eyes and took me forever to fall asleep after that. I was meant to have this phone to find these photos. I truly believe it. I don't remember much from that night and have mentioned many times how I wished I had photos to jog my memory a little and here they are!

I remember being pushed down to see Cooper right after having him, but that is about it.

 My mom told me about this picture of her and Chris, but I do not remember it. I do not remember seeing them like this except when I was pushing in the delivery room. Something about seeing them smile in this picture makes me cry. In a good way. It was such a terrifying night for all of us, yet they managed to have a sincere smile. It just does something to my insides to see it. Maybe it's because I remember that night as being so scary to see that they were smiling makes me feel ok. Though such a scary night, it was a night full of blessings.

 This was the last picture of me with my baby bump, which I miss terribly. I loved having a bump. I was so proud and it was something I wanted my whole life. My amazing doctor is on the left. This was me waiting to go into the delivery room.

I can't tell you how grateful feel to have these pictures. They mean more to me than words can say. They provide me with some recollection of that night. They just mean so much to me.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

We got Cooper a kite for his Easter basket, but still hadn't used it until tonight!!! Cooper loved it and it was quite relaxing!