June 2010

Okay, so I know June was over half a year ago but I couldn't just let all our fun go without giving it at least a little mention.

Right after we finished off our vacation in Utah we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Murphey's house in Washington. We had a blast keeping busy! We picnicked at a ton of parks, went to the lake, swam in the backyard, prepped the backyard for Uncle Trenton and Aunt Sam's wedding reception, redid the downstairs bathroom (okay, okay, we took a couple pictures and that was the extent of our help in the renovation), watched Uncle Tate um some baseball games, went to Riverfront Park and rode the carousel, sent Uncle Troy to Poland on his mission, and spent a lot of time playing and snuggling. Thanks for all the good times!!!

The Rest of Utah in a Flash

Catching up never gives anything it's whole justice. We had a ton of fun with Grandma and Grandpa James' in Utah. We went to the Children's Museum where the balls were a huge hit. (I couldn't resist putting the pic of Coop dressed up like a fairy because cousin Kailey had that one on first.) We also went to the aquarium where Cooper loved watching Kailey touch the sting rays. He got brave enough to put his hand in the water a time or two, but never to touch. Sadie sure liked splashing in the water. We swam in Dan and Kathy's hot tub, had fun at Grandpa's work picnic, had a nice Memorial Day picnic (thanks Trenton and Sam for coming), met Katie and Lucas for ice cream, and just had fun being together. I didn't get a picture of Cooper squashing Brookelynn but know that it happened a lot.

Grandma James' School Program and Ice Cream

Grandma James' 5th grade program was while we were there. They did a great job and after we went out to ice cream. Cooper was way more interested in playing on the toys but Sadie fully embraced her ice cream. This is after she ate a ton of Grandpa Murphey's milkshake and got the worst stomach ache all night so I was a little worried, but it was worth the risk watching the enthusiasm she ate that ice cream with.

Playing in Provo

We were able to spend a couple days with Ashley, Curtis, Brooklyn, Trenton, and Sam. It was nice to see everyone and relax. Cooper loved the playground and he loves his aunts and uncles! I especially love how he says Attie (Ashley) and Bam (Sam).

Cooper's Birthday Party

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Cooper turned two! We had a really fun party on his birthday at Grandma and Grandpa James' house.  Cooper loved opening presents and loved the tools, bubbles, and "folf"set that he got. He blew out the candles, but his favorite part was licking them. In fact, he took EVERYTHING off the cake piece by piece and licked them. Then, after he ate the frosting, and only the frosting, off his cake he dipped the candles in over and over to lick them off. What a kid! 

The Zoo

We took a trip to the zoo! Grandma Murphey wanted to take her grand babies on an outing and we had a day nice enough to go to the zoo. We had a blast. The giraffes were a hit and so was spending so much time with Grandma.

Baby Brooklyn Comes Home

After a long wait my sister's baby finally came home from the hospital on May 17th. My mom, the kids, and I drove down to Provo to spend some time with Brooklyn and Ashley and help out a little (and I do mean LITTLE! Bringing two kids with you significantly reduces your usefulness). Isn't she CUTE! It was so fun to meet her and spend some time with Ashley and Curtis. I miss living close to them! (Funny side note: that is the same Wymount apartment that Spence and I spent the first three years of our married life. Ash and Curt got married just as we were moving and they got our apartment.)

Mike's Graduation Party

Well, after the wedding Spencer had to fly back to PA but the kids and I got to drive to WA to spend some time with my fam. While there we drove to Missoula,MT for my Uncle Mike's graduation party. There was a lot of family there and it is always fun to catch up with everyone. I love those Murphey's! All my Dad's siblings were there except for my Uncle Dave who came to Trenton's wedding just before. Kathy and Mike have horses and as you can see, the highlight of the night for Cooper was all the adoring attention of Great Aunts and cousins and definitely NOT the horses.

Birthday

Wow, so I had decided before my birthday that I wasn't really very old but, seriously, how do you argue with all that smoke?

The Wedding

I don't know how you spend a whole day at a wedding and don't have a single picture of the bride and groom, but alas, sorry Trenton and Sam, I succeeded at that. Here are a couple that I do have though. So April 29th, right? I'm thinking spring weather. Well, we woke up to snow. Luckily, it got better than snow but it was horrible and windy and we escaped to the car as quickly as we could after the pictures were over. By the way, does anyone know how hard it is to nurse a baby while in a dress, in a car while watching an almost two year old? Yeah, that was fun. They were darn cute playing in the car after that. Cooper danced with (or my the end of 10 minutes was drug around by) his cousin Kailey at the reception and it was so cute. It was a fabulous party and the best part is Trenton and Sam get to be together forever. I love sitting though the temple ceremony and remembering my very own favorite day. Congrats Trent and Sam. We love you and are proud of you!

Quick Blitz Through April

This month went by in a flash as we got ready to leave State College for most of the summer. We left on April 28th for my brothers wedding, but here are a couple of my very favorite things before we left.

Sadie was only 8 months old when I finished her baby blanket. It has been mostly done since she was a couple weeks old but I never got the edges sewn on. It is the same type of baby blanket that was my favorite baby blanket made by my very own Grandma Cooper (who incidentally I think Sadie looks a ton like). Mine was yellow and the cats and dogs were all different colors but I love how Sadie's turned out with all the pink. And look at that smile!

What a great helper Cooper is. He loves to copy everything Spence and I do and poor Sadie usually ends up being the victim. I love that he even has a "Wow this is stinky" face as he "changes" her diaper. What a kid.

Hanging out in our little backyard area. I don't think I could have two happier kids when they are outside.

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful Easter yesterday. It was conference weekend and it was so refreshing not to be up early with Spence rushing to meetings and me rushing to get the kids ready. Cooper even let us sleep in just a little. When we asked him if he wanted to go downstairs and see what the Easter Bunny brought him he bounded around our room for a long time. He's usually not quite so energetic in the morning. He must have sensed a fun day. Cooper's basket had a couple books, an outfit, a little puzzle, and a lot of candy. Sadie's had the same. The Easter Bunny also brought them a baby stroller which was definitely Cooper's favorite part. We ate candy (Sadie shuddered after only two pieces of chocolate and then chocked on a peep and Cooper raided everyone else's baskets and hardly touched his own), then had creamed eggs and biscuits for breakfast, took pictures in the front yard, and Cooper and Sadie went down for a nap while Spence and me enjoyed conference. In between sessions had an Easter egg hunt with the Swensons and we dyed Easter eggs. We went to an egg hunt on Saturday and there were a ton of kids and a few overly helpful moms, so by the time Cooper realized he could have more than one egg at a time (he picked up one and was excited, we told him to get another one so he bent over, put the first egg down, and picked up a different one...what a polite boy...) all the eggs were gone. We put a ton of eggs in the front yard and it may have been a bit of overload. Lucas got a couple and Cooper was really excited at first and then just kinda wandered. It took a lot of encouragement to get all the eggs but he finally made it. After our egg hunt we went inside to dye eggs. Sadie dropped hers on her lap a couple times and was getting really frustrated so she napped through most of the fun. Cooper liked drawing on the colored eggs a lot more than the white ones. He also discovered he could peel them. He got his first one peeled, took one huge bite and spit it straight back out because he doesn't like the yoke. He also peeled a cracked white one. Just as I reached to take it from him so he didn't bite it and spit it out he quickly put it in the blue dye. He was so proud of himself for getting it in the dye that we hadn't been letting him touch. What a funny boy. We then watched the second session of conference and had the missionaries over for dinner. After the Swenson's had us all over for delicious carrot cake. It was a really fun day together!

Drama Drama Drama

I couldn't help taking some crying pictures today. It's just so amazing how fast she can go from smiling to full blown wails and tears and back to smiling. When I was showing Spencer these pictures he asked what I did to make her cry. My response: set her on the couch to take a picture (LOVED her pigtails today). We are going to have some drama filled years ahead. Don't those huge tears just melt you though?

Loving the Outdoors

March has brought us some VERY welcome warm weather. We have been spending a lot of time outside: at the park, walks, just playing in the front and back yards. Cooper has turned into an outdoor loving monster. He often refuses to walk inside on his own, causing me to drag him along. He loves to push Sadie's stroller and I must say, he is at least getting a little better at it. Sadie hasn't minded the grass too much so far and her favorite thing to do on the ground is eat leaf stems. Cooper has learned to get up to the slide and come down it all on his own, and he is a big fan. It is so fun to watch him gain his independence. On Friday we visited a really fun park in Bellefonte. It was pretty busy so Spencer went up the stairs with Cooper to show him the ropes. First, it took Cooper forever to get up the stairs because he would stop, watch all the other kids, remember what he was doing, take a step, stop, watch...you get the picture. Then, he would get about 3 feet away from the slide, stop, sit down, and scoot/crawl/something to the slide. What a character. He did figure out how to go down on his stomach all on his own. I guess when you scoot/crawl to the slide that is the natural way to get down. Sadie has been loving walks. She hangs her head against the side of the stroller so I think she's asleep. Every time I check on her, she is just hanging out, watching the ground go by. What a kid. We are excited for a lot more outside adventures this summer.

A Little Miracle

On Thursday my dad called and said that my sister Ashley's water broke. She wasn't due until May 24th, so it was a little alarming. My phone has a mind of it's own and decided that day that I could receive calls, but the microphone wasn't going to work so I couldn't talk to him. I rushed over to Katie's house to borrow her phone. After getting off the phone with my mom I was worried about Ash and Brooklyn. Katie reminded me it was April Fools and I dismissed it at first. After awhile though I couldn't shake that feeling. Now I was just worried and confused. Well, turns out it was an April Fools joke, but Brooklyn herself was the prankster. After my amazingly brave (and seriously just amazing in general) sister went though an emergency c-section little Brooklyn was here. She was 5 lbs 1 oz (yeah, she would have been a chunker if she made it past 32 1/2 weeks) and was 17 1/2 inches long. She will have a bit of a stay in the NICU but hopefully not the five weeks or so they are thinking. Ashley is amazing and recovering well. I'm so grateful for Brooklyn's safe arrival and for the blessing I have to have a sister. Just wish I could have been there... love ya and awesome job and see you soon anyway!!!

Grandma and Grandpa James Visit

Grandma and Grandpa James came to visit on March 4. They flew into Philadelphia and we toured Philadelphia, then New York, then the priesthood restoration site, and on to Palymra, next to Niagara Falls, and we finished up in Kirtland. After that we spent a couple days in State College where we took a trip to Hershey, saw Amish Country, and toured our little city. Sadie also was able to go swimming for the first time (in a very cold pool) and she didn't mind it too much. The kids took a lot of naps in the stroller and Sadie had some of her worst nights of sleep ever, but we had a ton and had fun spending time with Grandma and Grandpa! It was nice to spend time with them and Cooper and Sadie loved the attention. Thanks for the visit!

Here's an open invitation to everyone. We love visitors!

Randomness to Finish of February

Okay, finally I'm at least going to be caught up to the right month. Yay! Some favorites from above: the 5 dollars from Grandma and Grandpa Murphey from Cooper's Valentine's Day card that he carried around for a whole day, playing finger puppets that Trenton brought back from his mission in Argentina a couple years ago, drinking milk out of the cereal bowl, and piling on Daddy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It was fun to have Valentine's Day on a Sunday this year. I got to dress the kids all up and their Christmas clothes worked so perfectly for Valentine's Day too. Spencer and I made Cooper and Sadie felt sugar cookies for Valentine's Day and they were a big hit with both kids. We also got Cooper a couple of kitchen tools from the dollar store because he loves to help in the kitchen so much and they have been pretty fun. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who will try just about anything. (Seriously, who asks to help make felt sugar cookies just so they know how?) I got an awesome set of pinking shears and have since made the cutest set of felt ravioli.
Side note: Sadie rolled over on the 13th! Spencer and I were going on a date that night and some awesome friends, the Kuntz's, were going to watch our kids. Sadie had been close to rolling over, and after Cooper crawled for the first time during the only time I left him in the week, I'm a little paranoid about my children spitefully waiting to fulfill milestones without me. Okay, maybe not quite like that but I did have the thought earlier in the day that Sadie would roll over at the Kuntz's. Well, we got home from our date and Becky asked, "Does Sadie roll over?" I said no, and she replied that she had. Apparently Brad set her on the ground and she just flipped herself over on to her tummy, like a pro he said. When he told Becky she did it, Becky said, "She doesn't do that" to which Brad replied, "she just did." She performed for us the next day though. Goofy girl! She figured out front to back within days.