Eating is Such a Chore!

Being a baby is such a hard job! Cooper showed us the other day how tiring it can be to chew on a straw and then be forced to eat! Tireless, thankless job!!! Poor Boy!

(Really, don't you just love it when babies fall asleep in their high chairs while eating. This is the first time Cooper has done it and I just had to snap a picture of my sweet boy! He is so yummy I nibble on him all day long!!!)

One Leaves, One Joins

Last Sunday, we attended Thomas Fredrickson's farewell. Cadence loves Thomas and his girlfriend, Sharli. She will miss him every time we go to Mimi's house for the next two years. We visited them on Monday and she asked where Thomas was. She knows that he is a "missionary teaching people about Jesus." Goodbye and good luck in Brazil!!! Last Saturday, a lady I visit teach got baptized. She just came from Samoa about 2 months ago to live with her auntie. Hallelujah and Cecil (her nephew) have come to play before. She is such a sweetie! She started taking the discussions and 10 days later was baptized!

I offered to have a congratulatory party at our house afterwards and the Dobbs took me up on the offer. So I baked yummy cupcakes - a batch of chocolate w/ chocolate frosting and sourcream strawberry w/ raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting. Especially moist and delish! Some of her friends and our ward family came. Since we moved upstairs, we have people over all the time. The house isn't huge or extremely nice, but what matters is that people know they are loved and appreciated and that is one way our family can show that to them. I love parties and am getting better about being the host!

Here is Hallelujah wearing Cadence's princess crown and feather boa! What a good sport!

The funny thing about these two people is that Thomas just quit his job at Big 5 and Hallelujah took his place! Funny coincidence, or not?

No Fish Ice Fishing

Because Chris had work off last Monday for President's Day, we decided to take the kids ice fishing. I found an auger at a garage sale for cheap during the summer and we hadn't used it yet. After Chris was mad a High Priest, we dressed in our warm clothes and headed out for Hyrum Reservoir. We were joined by Bretton (a professional fisherman) and his son, Tennyson.

The weather was quite nice. We loaded up the sleds and marched onto the frozen lake to set up our first spot. Chris started drilling and learned that our auger needs to be sharpened.


We got through the thick ice and started fishing. Cadence is a funny fisherwoman. She puts the pole down the hole!!! Needless to say, we didn't have any bites. We decided to try another spot where Bretton has had success in the past (by the car graveyard.) We packed up and pulled our camp to another spot. Unfortunately, we had no success there either. NO BITES! NO FISH!
Fortunately, we still had fun. Cadence loved playing with the fishing poles, Tenny and climbing on the old cars. I was glad we borrowed the pole stands from our neighbor Aaron so I didn't have to hold a pole AND Cooper at the same time. He is so HEAVY! The conversation was good and the scenery was amazing. There are few thing more beautiful than snow covered mountains.

I don't know if we will make it out ice fishing again this winter, but hopefully next time we go, we will have more success.

A President's Day High Priest

Last Sunday, Chris was supposed to be made a High Priest. Everyone was at the church ready to ordain him to that office except for the friend he asked to set him apart, one of his former Bishops, Maurice Thomas. Maurice is supposed to be on a mission in Norway with his wife, but they were having Visa problems. He had family over on Sunday and forgot to show up at the church!

Chris got in touch with him that evening and they made arrangements to ordain him the next day which happened to be Presidents Day! Everyone showed up at the church again and Chris was ordained. Chris is now one of the old people in our ward (ha, ha), but not really. Today, Chris was ratified as a High Priest by our ward because the bishop forgot to do it last week. He went to High Priest group today and I asked him how it was. Chris' reply was, "There is a very different energy level." Our ward's High Priests are mostly 70 or older!!! Congrads Chris!!! Those who stood in on the ordination were: Bishop Russ Akina, Maurice Thomas, Curtis Williams, Bretton Hadfield, President Hislop (from the Stake Presidency), and Alex Akina.

I guess this is what happens when you have a birthday and are considered "old."

7 Months Old - But Who's Counting?

Cooper is SEVEN months old. He is growing up way too fast!!!
This month he acquired many new skills. He loves anything with buttons, wants to drink from a regular cup, imitates some sounds (like raspberries, nibbling, and eating motion), reaches for objects and moves when he is on his belly, talks loudly and squeals, makes a kissing-type sound, says "da-da-da," "bu-bu-bu" and "ma-ma-ma," and turns on the water at the sink. He loves taking showers, chewing on a foam sword, eating the TV remote, standing and jumping (with help), sucking on spoons and forks, and being held by mom!!! He started eating Stage 2 foods and loves all the new flavors. He really wants to eat big people food and is fussy at meal times because he is eyeing my food! He has very fast hands and is able to grab my plate. He has pulled it on the floor a couple of times. Cooper is the blow-out king! Because his digestive system is trying to adjust to food, he is extra explosive! Even with size 4 diapers, he leaks and has messes ALL THE TIME! Cooper is a momma's boy and wants to be on my lap all the time (if he can see me.) He still puts everything in his mouth and has a goopy eye that he doesn't liked cleaned/washed. He got a runny nose for a few days this month and didn't want it wiped by adults. Between his goopy eye and runny nose and him rubbing the slimes all over his face, he looked very...interesting (like an orphan)... at times.

Cooper loves playing with Cadence. He squeals with delight (which sometimes makes Cadence cry because it is so loud and high-pitched.) They have a lot of fun together. He likes to play with her hair (pulls it) and give her kisses. Cadence says she doesn't like his kisses because they are wet. Cooper is so heavy! My back is starting to hurt from carrying him around and picking him up so often. He is no where near sleeping through the night. He still wakes up 3 to 4 times and has a hard time falling asleep without being held.

Cooper's hair is growing longer and thicker and turning a light color. He definitely does NOT look African American. I like to spike his hair when we go to church. He looks like a very cool dude!!! But above all else, Cooper loves to smile! He smiles most of the time especially when he looks at me! I love my huge mini-Cooper!

Cooper's Modeling Debut

Cooper is in the paper today. It finally came out. I am grateful to know that Cadence's and Cooper's names are not on the "most common list" (not that there is anything wrong with them.) Here's the link to the article. What a handsome boy!!!

Valentine's Day Fun!

Cadence choose her Valentine's (Bratz dolls) and suckers last week and wrote her name and her friends' names on them (scribbles). She took Valentines to her school, aerobics and around to some of house and gave them to her friends. I think she though it was like Halloween because she opened her little bag and said "trick-or-treat" at two of her friends' houses. She said "Happy Valentine's" most of the time though.

I thought I would be super crafty and make perfect looking cake-pops (as made popular by Bakerella) for our grown-ups friends and neighbors. They tasted delish, but were not as easy or cute as I had hoped. I will make them again because I learned what not to do when I was making them.

Valentines is also Chris' birthday. Being the great romantic gift giver that I am, I got him some bling bling! He put his Bubba teeth in to model his new treasure. Now you see why our kids are such amazing models!!!

When I asked Chris what he wanted for Valentine's/his birthday, he said, "STEAK." We had rib eye steak and Shrimp a la Cecy on Saturday and Monday. It was so yummy - better than we would have eaten at an expensive restaurant (and much cheaper)! Eat your heart our Hamilitons, Maddox and Copper Mill!

The kids also got a special valentine from their secret admirers! Cadence loves the play kitchen in nursery and other kids houses. We've had this one in the barn for a while waiting for a special ocassion to give it to them. We didn't want to give it to them for Christmas because it would have been gift overload. Cadence played all day with it and loves her Elmo Talking Restaurant!!!

Valentine's and Chris' birthday were great! Relaxing and playing with the kids! Happy Valentines to all of you!

Traumatized By Molluscum

Cadence got a few bumps on her bottom back in June. They looked similar to small warts. At one of Cooper's Dr. appt., I asked the pediatrician about them. He said, "Oh those are Molluscum Contagiousum. It is a virus that the body doesn't recognize as a virus for about 6 months. It produces those little bumps. Scrap the bumps off like this. (He shows us). Nothing to worry about. They may itch, but it is no big deal." Relieved, we watched the bumps. I couldn't remember the name of them so I didn't read up about them. One popped here and there. Then they started coming up more often on different parts of her body and she started itching. Lately, the ones on her bottom have been itching a lot. She has itched them raw and when we attempt to put ointment on them, she screams that it hurts. When one popped up on her eye last week, I called the pediatrician, asked what the nurse if she could please talk to the doctor and tell me the common name of them so I could read about it and find out what I could do to stop these bumps from taking over her cute little body. When I read about it on-line, I called the dermatologist for an appointment. There was an appointment that day and I took Cadence into get this treated. I wish I would have done this 6 months ago!!! The PA "painted" Cadence's bumps.
She was going to have to freeze the one on Cadence's eye to remove that one, but one try at that sent Cadence into a crying frenzy. The last couple of days has been traumatic ones for Cadence. She doesn't want to change her clothes, go potty, take off her diaper or let us see her "itchies." Scabs have formed on many of the little bumps. Hopefully, they won't scar. We have a return appt in 3 weeks. I don't know how she will take going back to the doctor. Needless to say, our family has been traumatized by the "itchies." We hope this molluscum goes away soon!!!

Ice Sledding

Last night, we took the kids ice sledding. This year, the city made an outdoor ice rink at Merlin Olsen Park. We thought it would be fun to pull the kids around the ice on a sled. Since the last snow storm, the city has plowed the ice, but not put water on it so it wasn't very slick. That turned out to be a great thing for us. The sled moved easily and we rarely slipped!

When we got there, Cooper was asleep. He fell asleep in the 3 minutes it took us to drive to the park. We laid him in the sled with Cadence and pulled them around together. After about 15 minutes, he woke up and both kids enjoyed the evening. Dad walked around the rink pulling the kids. I ran. If I tried walking, Cadence would say, "No Mom. You go fast. Dad goes slow!" Unfortunately, the big lights used to light the ice rink were off so the pictures are dark. However, the Logan temple looks very cool lit up in the background. It was a slightly foggy.

Cadence thought pulling looked so fun she wanted to try it herself. She pulled Cooper around the ice! What a big, strong girl!!! Cooper is so cute in his Elmo snowsuit. He looks like a giant red starfish when he has his hat on and his legs are spread.

Cadence said she wanted to sled with Daddy so Chris got in the sled with her and Cooper. Yes, he fit on the sled (even though you can't see it in the picture) and YES, I was able to pull all three of them around. Although I wasn't able to run, Cadence allowed me to walk slowly!

Afterward, Chris pulled the three of us around the rink. It was a fun night! There is much fun to be had in the winter. Sometimes I have to talk myself into going out in the cold, but once I get out it doesn't bother me much. If the wind is blowing, that is another story. I dislike cold winds!!! Ice sledding was a huge success. We definitely will do it again!

My Baby, The (Almost) Nude Model!!!

A couple of weeks ago, we had Karen and Renn Lambert (people from our ward) ovre for a corned beef and cabbage dinner! Super yummy! Karen writes for the Herald Journal, our local newspaper. She asked me if I would be interested in letting the newspaper photographer take a picture of Cooper's back to be paired with an article about the most popular baby names in 2008. I said I would love for my baby to be an almost nude back model.

Last week, I took him down for his photo shoot. This is a picture of it! Very fine looking model!

Too bad they didn't get a picture of his face because it much cuter than his back!
Of course, Cadence had to get in on the action!!! She wanted to strip...her shoes off and dance around like a silly girl.
The article should be in today's (Wed.) newspaper. I don't get the paper so I'm not sure it is, but that is what the writer of the article told me. Unfortunately, the article is not online. So if you get the newspaper and there is a picture of a male baby with a pudgy, handsome back, that is Mr. Cooper!!!

***OK, I checked the paper and it is not there! If anyone has the paper and sees him in the next couple of days, please let me know so I can go buy one! THanks!

Earning His Beads

About a year and a half ago when Chris was the scoutmaster, he went to a scout leader training camp called Woodbadge. He loved it!!! There, they made goals for themselves and their troop to do when they returned home. When these goals were completed, the group was supposed to get together to receive their awards.

Sunday night, we drove to Fruit Heights so Chris could receive his award with his group. I was a little nervous to hear that the awards were called "beads." Since Chris is from Louisiana and participated in Mardi Gras back when he was young and "unreformed," I am slightly familiar with what "earning beads" means. I asked Chris if the scout beads were earned for doing the same as at Mardi Gras. Thankfully, the answer was "NO!"
So here is my cute husband with his Woodbadge certificate and beads around his neck (behind the certificate.) Way to go, Chris. You are a cheese!

Sushi-rama

I love sushi! I love it whole-heartedly! I wanted to make sushi for Chinese New Year, but ran out of time to get the supplies. Chris and I have started "dating" again. We thought it would be good for our marriage. His activity for our last date was going to be a surprise until I saw a sack of sticky rice, chopsticks, wasabi, pickled ginger and roasted seaweed sheets! A "date" that would forever change my life was about to happen!!!
Chris invited Alex and Sterling Fife over for the date. I failed to get a babysitter for the kids so it was more like a family activity. It was so fun and yummy. Sushi is easy to make!!! Sterling and Chris cut the veggies and other food (carrots, avacado, cucumber, cream cheese, raw salmon, halibut and shrimp). The fish we used was what Chris caught in Alaska this past summer!

Then Chris loaded the sticky rice , veggies and fish into a little sushi making contraption I have never seen called a sushezi and squooze it out onto a seaweed sheet. Cadence was loving the sushi night. She kept eating the raw fish and tried stealing the cut sushi rolls.

The dinner was complete with 3 rolls of sushi, rolls, salad, a baked potato, and drinks. Oh so delicious! There is something remarkable about all the flavors and textures found in one little sushi roll when dipped in soy sauce, wasabi and topped with pickled ginger! I'm salavating just thinking about it! There was a lot of laughter that night. Chris is embarrassing! That is all I will say about that! Poor Alex and Sterling learned a learned a little too much about my husband that night!

We enjoyed the sushi night that we decided to do it again the next night. This time I got to make the sushi!!! So fun!
Chris cut it! And all three of us ate it!!! We love eating with chopsticks! Even Cadence figured out how to use them!!! She stabs her food!











I think someone should open a restaurant where you get to make your own sushi rolls! That would be a huge hit! I would go!

I think sushi night will become a monthly tradition!

Sanity Found Through Exercise

What is it about exercise? I love it! When I am feeling the most down or depressed, if I start exercising, it usually goes away. Love those endorphines and blood rushing through my body! Always have, hopefully I always will! If I had my choice, I'd be out running 3-6 miles a day, but Logan winters and bad knees prevent that from happening. After my first marathon, my goal was to run at least one marathon a year, but my knees kill when I run now and that goal is no longer a possibility. I guess I am getting old! (If you've never run a marathon, do it! IT is the greatest high ever and a very spiritual experience. Seriously!!!) A couple of months ago, I knew I needed to lose baby weight and exercise for my happiness and that of my kids. Exercise brings me sanity! I was trying to think of a way I could. Walking with the kids isn't much exercise because Cadence gets in and out of the stroller often. Since we have downstairs tenants, I really don't want to do a home video (and Cadence probably would want the TV.) I didn't want to pay the expense of joining a gym that had childcare included. I thought 'If only there was a group of us mom's that could go to the church and exercise together while the kids play.' Well, thoughts were answered (I didn't get to praying about/for it yet). Melanie Kvardfordt volunteered to teach/lead an exercise class on Tuesday and Thursday at 9am at the church for the ladies and the kids can play around! Can you hear the choir of angels singing!!! What is not to love about that?

So every Tuesday and Thursday, I get Cooper dressed and drag Cadence out of bed (she is a little stubborn in the morning about waking up, getting dressed and letting me do her hair), and head over to the church for my sanity. I LOVE IT AND SO DO THE KIDS!
Cooper sits by me and eats toys.

I exercise.
Cadence exercises with me until she sees something fun the kids are doing and then she runs around in her footed pajamas with them. We do about a half hour of step aerobics and 20-30minutes of other conditioning likes abs, upper body, lower body, etc. This is such a blessing for me! Thanks Melanie. I'm grateful to be in a ward that has such useful and fun events. Does this not scream that the church is true?