"Thank You Mommy"

On Sunday, I took Cooper to see a movie in the theater for the first time. Ice Age 3. He did really well. There was only one time I thought I was in trouble - the dinosaurs scared him a bit and he crouched down on the floor. The floor of the movie theater is evidently one of the coolest places on earth to a 3 year old, and I had a heck of a time getting him back in his seat.

After the movie, as we were walking back to the car, I told him that I was so glad we were having a date - just me and him. He looked at me with his big beautiful blue eyes and said, "Thank you for taking me to the movie Mommy." Completely on his own. No prompting. Big smile on his face when he said it. Made me cry.

I felt so warm and fuzzy from this exchange that I took him to Wal-Mart and bought him some fish and a fish bowl. On Monday, the fish were dead. Hmmm.

You Belong With Me

Cooper's favorite song is "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift. I have the video DVR'd, and we turn it up really loud on the surround sound and dance around and sing as loud as we can. Tonight, we had it blaring. Cooper was singing along (he's pretty good). I was holding Evan on my hip and I had Cooper's hands in mine while we all danced. I couldn't help but think that the song is was so meaningful and true - Coop and Evan, you belong with me.

Something Funny

Wanna hear something funny? My friend Jenni told me about how she went on our blog and saw the cowboy boot picture. Under it, Google Ads had an advertisement for gaycowboycentral.com. Not exactly what I had in mind when I posted that pic. Who places the ads for Google anyway? Is he a gay cowboy?

Vacation 2009 - Colorado

When I win the lottery, I'm moving to Steamboat Springs, CO. Beautiful, but you obviously have to have a million dollars to live there. Where do those people get all that money? We saw houses listed for 2, 3, and 4 million! Wow. Those folks obviously don't work in human resources or the environmental field like me and Blake.

From Steamboat Springs, we made our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. Also beautiful, but not as pretty as Glacier National Park that we visited a few years ago. We did get some great pictures, including some elk at the very top.

We ended up coming home a day early from our vacation... 2200 miles is a lot of time in the car for a 1 and 3 year old. Coop and Evan did really well, but they had had enough!

Next year, I'm thinking San Antonio!

Vacation 2009 - Cheyenne Frontier Days

I'm gonna buy a horse and some hot rollers, and throw on my cowboy boots. Then, I'm headed out west to Cheyenne to live there. I LOVED Cheyenne. Beautiful town. Nice people. Wide open spaces.

We were completely impressed with the parade on Saturday morning and then the rodeo that afternoon. Parking, however, was a complete mess. Not impressed with the parking. We weren't able to stay as long at the rodeo as we would have liked since it started at 12:45 pm and nap time is about 1 pm, but we enjoyed what we saw.

Lisa and Emma met us in Cheyenne, then we headed out to Wamsutter, WY for a couple of days with them. We had fun, but found Wamsutter to be a little depressing. Sorry Lisa, but that town of yours needs some trees or grass or stick-built houses or something... maybe a match? Just kidding! Sort of.

Vacation 2009 - Henry Doorly Zoo

In the days before our trip, I was very happy to see that there was no rain, only sunny skies, expected for our day at the zoo. Then, I checked the next day, and there was a 20% chance of rain. I checked the following day, and there was a 40% chance of rain. The day of, the weather said 80% chance of rain, but only in the afternoon. The weatherman lied. It poured on us mid morning. But, it didn't dampen our spirits. We had a great time at the zoo. I was a little disturbed by the gorillas, but otherwise, we were very impressed. Great zoo.

Cooper's 3rd Birthday Party

Cooper had a great time celebrating his third birthday. What little boy birthday would be complete without a Bob the Builder cake with blue icing? As he was wiping the blue icing all over his white shirt, I thought, "Crap, why did I have him wear this?" But I've decided it worked out for the best - nothing a little bleach couldn't take care of!

After a big meal of meatballs, sweet corn, cheesy tators, sliced tomatoes, and cake and ice cream, we all went outside to enjoy the mild weather. A couple of baseball games and several thousand bubbles later, it was time to call it a night.

These Cowboy Boots Are Made For Walkin'

We couldn't go to one of the biggest rodeos in the world and not come home with a new pair of cowboy boots for the kiddos! My pair is looking a little worn, but Cooper has a new pair of Ariats and Evan has a new pair of Ropers (that light up!).

Hittin' the Road

We're leaving on our family vacation today. This is the first of two vacations Blake and I have planned. We're heading to the Omaha Zoo, to Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming, we'll spend a couple of days with Blake's sister in Wamsutter, Wyoming, then we'll head home through Colorado, taking in Rocky Mountain National Park on the way. Eight days. A one year old and a three year old in the car for eight days. Lord have mercy.

The second vacation is an adult only excursion in September - Blake and I are going with two other couples (and possibly Blake's sister) to Vegas, baby! Woo hoo.

I am behind on posting some stuff: Cooper's birthday party, how I found Rupert a new home but Blake won't let me give him away even though he pees on stuff, etc. I'll get caught up when we get back (hopefully).

Until then, happy trails to us! As we were scrambling around last night to do the last of the packing and preparations, the kids were both crying, and Blake asked, "Do we really want to go on vacation? Seems like we need a vacation from getting ready for vacation." But, fact is, we really need to get away for a while. We have been looking forward to this trip for some time. I'm excited to make these fun memories with our kids.

Inspriation

I love this website: simpletruths.com. Lots of great inspirational stuff. Take a look at this movie featuring quotes from great leaders.
http://www.greatquotesmovie.com/

Birthday Boy

Cooper turned three today. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I knew we were having a boy. Just a feeling of knowing, not something I can describe. Blake and I didn't talk about a bunch of options for a boy's name. Cooper was a great fit. At that time, we didn't know of any other Cooper's in town, and Cooper is my mom's maiden name. Cooper's middle name is Allen, which was the maiden name of Blake's grandma.

He made a grand entrance in to the world. At a prenatal doctor's visit where I mentioned to the doc that Blake weighed over 10 pounds when he was born, the doc sent me in for an ultrasound to see how big Cooper was. What we found out was that Cooper weighed only almost 8 pounds but I had only about half as much amniotic fluid as I should. (I thought I peed my pants a few days before the doc visit, but obviously my water had broken and sealed back over. Long embarassing story for another time.) It was one week before my due date, so I got admitted to the hospital and induced the next morning.

My induction lasted twelve hours with no progression. I dialated to a one. So, I got induced a second day. I dialated to a five after another twelve hours of labor, so they (FINALLY) decided I needed a c-section. They couldn't find Coop's heartbeat several times throughout the day, I had a fever, and my labor wasn't progressing as it should.

They got me on the table and Coop delivered in less than an hour. After having a scheduled c-section with Evan, I have begun to understand what an emergency my c-section with Cooper actually was. With Evan, the c-section took a couple of hours, and she was born very alert. With Cooper, it took only about 30 minutes and he was blue and quiet when he was delivered.

Regardless of how he came in to this world, I am so thankful he is here and he is mine. Looking back on that day three years ago, I was scared and naive. I wanted a healthy baby so badly. I prayed that if God would bring him in to world healthy, I would do my very best not to screw him up.

Unlike so many who take to motherhood with ease, I have struggled to become a good mother. There are times that I feel I didn't do justice to Cooper. I am still trying to figure it out day by day. Cooper has a very strong bond to Blake and I envy Blake for that wonderful relationship they share. But I hope that Cooper looks back on his childhood one day and can see the love and adoration I feel for him, too. Even though I am not perfect, I want to be the best mommy I can be for him. Happy birthday, my sweet baby boy.

How Was Your Day?

On the way home from work, Blake either calls me or I call him. I can always count on him to ask, "How was your day?" I love that.

Evan's First Haircut

She's changing so quickly. My broken heart, my happy heart. How bittersweet.