Month #9

Little C is 9 months old! He's officially been on the "outside" longer than he was on the "inside" (about 4 days longer now). Time sure does fly (except in the middle of the night). We sure are lucky to have this little man to make us smile! I think we'll keep him.

Baby Brother(s)

I finally got to see my baby Brother, Ryan after more than 2 years! Ryan is home on leave from Afghanistan for 2 weeks and he and his family were nice enough to come to Southern Utah during his time off to spend some time with us. I know he wanted to see all of us but I also know how hard it is to see everyone when you're only home for a short time. We soooooooo appreciate the time we were able to spend with Ry and his family.

Cooper had been looking forward to this visit BIG TIME (and obviously so had my Mom, Dad and I). Other than occasional Skype visits, Cooper really didn't have a clue who his Uncle Ryan was (which truly breaks my heart). We hadn't seen Ry in person since Cooper was about 10 months old. I have no doubt that Coop knows who his Uncle Ryan is now. He's cousin Pete and Baby Charlie's Dad and a SUPER FUN GUY!!!!

Stroller Brigade

Grandma Linda with the Little Brothers and Aunt Jenny with the Big Brothers

My beautiful nephew, Charlie
A deep thinker and a sweet little man.

Babies lounging

Some of my favorite men.

Ryan and his boys.

I love this pic.

Coop and Pete simulating a drive to the airport.

Coop and Pete doing a little 4 Wheelin'

Thank-you for making the trek and for sacrificing some of your valuable HOME-TOGETHER-AS-A-FAMILY-OF-4 time in order to be with us. We know all to well how precious that time is and are so glad you get to enjoy your beautiful family for the next couple of weeks. I can't wait until September when you'll be home safe and sound and you guys can finally enjoy each other EVERY DAY!

Water

Hey Dad, if you're wondering what we'll do in order to beat the heat this summer, odds are you can find us here.............

Introductions.

Once again, Cruz is watching big bro. Be patient little guy, your time will come.

Wrestling and tickling in the shade with Gpa Pat can be equally as fun.

This fun spot will definitely be part of our cool down circuit this summer!

Eggs?

Little C wasn't quite ready for a full on hunt just yet but it was pretty obvious that soon he will be................

Watching Big Bro very carefully........

Must. Get. Eggs.

Is Big Bro watching?

Eggs are FUN!

Eggs

We're back in Sunny St. George and missing Daddy. We're doing our best to keep ourselves busy to help fill the void somewhat. Luckily we've had help from Gpa Pat and Gma Linda and this other dude known as The Easter Bunny!

Three!!!

Tweedle-LEE-Dee, Cooper is THREE!!! Last Monday was Coop's birthday and we had a fantastic day celebrating. As the "3's" have approached, it has been hit or miss on how things might go. Usually, I have a fairy tale dream as to how things will go and often, they don't end up exactly as I hoped. But that wasn't the case on Coop's special day! It was truly one of the best days we've shared as a family in a very long time. Everyone was happy, no tantrums and there was CAKE. How could you have a bad day when there's cake involved?

We spent the big birthday weekend in Fort Collins. Cooper referred to our hotel as, 'Cooper's Hotel'. Cooper was definitely 'in da house'. He strutted around the place like he owned it. Whenever we pulled into the parking lot he would announce 'we're back at Cooper's hotel'. He also loved the fact that he had his own pool. We swam every afternoon.


The big day was jammed packed. We started off at a place called, Cool Beans. A brilliant place it was. It was a coffee shop/cafe/indoor play gym. What a great idea! The parents can get all hopped up on coffee while their little kidlets get all hopped up on fun.


Then we moved on to McDonald's PlayLand. Fun, but kind of a disappointment after Cool Beans. It was kind of old, run down (surprise) and CROWDED (duh). But Coop didn't seem to mind.


After lunch, it was off to a giant park and then back to the hotel for swimming, cake and presents.


Some things Cooper said throughout the day:

• "This is the best birthday ever!"




• "It's my BIRTHDAY!"




• "Oooohh, I love my Prize! (I think he meant present)"

A pretty special day for a pretty special boy! Happy Birthday Big C!!!!!!!

Birthday muffin.

Birthday loot.

Birthday fun (Cool Beans)

Birthday park.

Birthday wish.

Birthday trains.

Birthday hat. (Courtesy of our hotel when Coop announced upon check-in that it was his BIRTHDAY!)

Oh Deer

The hospitality in this town is amazing. We were greeted so warmly when we first arrived so it was only fitting that we'd have a similar farewell on our last day in Estes Park. This time it was the local deer.

Tomorrow we head to Fort Collins for the weekend to close out our visit to Colorado. It's bittersweet because it's also our last weekend with Daddy. We're going to soak up our last weekend (for awhile) as a family and celebrate Coop's Birthday!!!! Farewell Estes Deer. Take good care of our Daddy.............

I swear they noticed us.

A little closer.

These guys really made themselves comfortable around us.

Then a birdy came to say farewell.

(This post is turning kind of Bambi-esque. I promise Thumper isn't going to show up in the next picture. That would be pretty cool though.

Cruz checking it all out.

Horrible picture quality but I love how it captures "deer in the headlights" x 2.