A look at the past

So, a few months ago, our friends Emilie and Logan gave us a CD of pictures they took of Joshua right after he was born. I never got around to looking at them until just now, and they are so cute! Josh looks so different and like an old man, all wrinkly. :) It is so weird we are going to have another one. Josh kept saying "bebe, bebe!" at every picture. I wonder if he knows how much his world is going to change in a few weeks. I worry so much about him. But I am finally getting so excited to have this kid. Being a mom of two is going to be different, but so fun, I know it. Especially when they are both big enough to rough house and be crazy together.

P.S.- I am only able to write this because the screen is minimized and we are watching elmo at the same time. :) I woke up this morning to Josh standing at his door yelling "ELMO!" Hehe, and even though I vowed my kids would never watch TV, it still is pretty cute how much he loves the weird little red creature.

Oh How They Grow

So after a week of barely being able to breath, bend over, or sit without feeling my stomach was being squeezed in half, I gave in and pulled down the box of maternity clothes. It is so strange to me how much faster my stomach has expanded with this one than with the last pregnancy. But it is so much fun feeling this little person kicking and rolling and doing acrobatics at all times of the day or night. I just asked the little fellow to kick once if a girl and twice if a boy. Two kicks, so it must be a boy. :) We find out on Friday, any guesses?

My other little boy went to his first day of nursery today. It broke my heart, but he did pretty good. It felt so weird to be in Sunday School with Tyson and we just sat there, and we listened (well, as much as I could being that Tyson and I have super short attention spans now). I kept worrying about him the whole time, well, I worried about the nursery leaders more because Josh can be a little turkey. He looks cute, but looks are very deceiving. When I came to pick him up after relief society, he looked at me, stuck his bottom lip out and started bawling these huge crocodile tears. It was like he suddenly realized that I had been gone for two hours and left him to fend for himself with all those crazy kids. I still don't think he has forgiven me. But I bet he had a good time and the nursery leaders are amazing and so sweet, so luckily I don't have to worry about that at all. It is just so weird that he is old enough, and it will be no time at all before he is going to sunbeams and then driving off to college. :) I'm sure it doesn't happen that fast, but sometimes it feels like it. Oh, how my little ones are growing...it is true what they say, you never understand that feeling until you are a parent. I'm sorry Mom that I grew up so fast. If it makes you feel better, I often miss being a little kid and being able to come to you and have you miraculously heal all my pain.

Baby Names

If it is a girl we are thinking Isilee. We like Claire, Constance and Sarah for a middle name. I mean, I know we don't even know if it is a girl yet, or what it even looks like. But I love the name Isilee Sarah, I'm not sure why, I think because it sounds like a little princess, but a good, sweet, little princess.

If it is a boy...I don't know. Tyson and I are really big 'Boy Meets World' fans, so maybe Cory Matthew, what do you think? Hehe, just kidding, well, kind of. I am really bad with boy names, I can't ever think of any. My brother Yance made me promise not to use Thor, Bron, Gideon and Gidgiddonah (I don't think that is a problem for me) and Kenni and Chris have dibs on Darwin, so just so you know, those are crossed out on our list. :) Any ideas? Don't worry, you have seven months. Haha.

News from the Homefront

So Tyson said that I need to post more. He won't read my journals, so I guess he likes to read these because they are like a journal, but public so he doesn't feel bad reading them. So a lot, well, kind of, has happened since I last wrote. I feel so much more at ease and calm about everything, about losing my job, about lots of different things. When really, I think I should be crazy scared.
Grandma and Grandpa Cooper came to visit a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun. We stayed up until 2 every night with Grandma so she could take her pills and we had a lot of good talks and of course they loved being with little Josh. The only bad part about it was it made me miss my own mom a lot. I was tempted to tell Tyson that we needed to move back to the west coast because I just can't handle being far away from her anymore. But I love it here, it has become my home. I have spent the past almost 6 years of my life here, grown more independent than I thought was possible. I have fallen in love here, had my first baby here, I have so many memories here in this beautiful valley. The sunrise this morning was amazing, it wasn't gold or yellow or pink, it was perfectly blue. Bluer than I have ever seen the sky. And I know I would miss it terribly if we ever left this place.
So I have been babysitting a lot for people on the side, keeping busy with writing, laundry and trying to help the people around me. I decided that the Lord must have a reason for me losing my job and I decided that reason was to take care of His children more. So I have been trying to find ways I can help others. I haven't been very good at it, but I feel a lot better at least doing little somethings.
Plus, I have been able to spend a lot of time with little Joshua. He loves to draw on whatever I am writing, read when I am reading, play hide-and-seek and visit our neighbors with me. Tyson and I spend most of our time watching Psych and Lost. I totally love both shows! I just wish Lost played 2 times a week because the suspense is killing me. :) And we have been reading a book called 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' and it is really good. I have learned a lot from it already.
Then there is the big news that has changed me completely, and will continue to change me. On Wednesday evening, Josh and I went over to Kenni and Chris's house to hang out while Tyson was teaching the Dave Ramsey class. Kenni had an EPT that she isn't going to use any time soon, so she let me use it and yup, we are expecting another little one! I am really excited and really nervous too, mostly because I don't want another c-section and because it is still really early. I used to think that I shouldn't tell anyone if I got pregnant for awhile because the baby might not stick, but I think every child should be celebrated, even if they are here for only a little while. But we are hoping this one, despite all the craziness that goes on in our home, will want to stay. We want a little girl and to name her Isilee, yes like the character in 'Goose Girl.' But Tyson and I fell in love with the name, so I guess we will see what the munchkin looks like. I am just excited for life, and excited (kind of) to get round again. Anyways, that is the news from the mini-Cooper's. Being a mom for me now will be as K.J. and Tyson put it "a lifestyle now, not just a hobby." :)

Butter Making and Birthday Celebrating

So this past few weeks have been crazy busy, and looking at our calander and the thousands of Christmas parties we have, it is only going to get busier. I'm glad, as much as I'm a home person, I love to be with other people, especially to celebrate something like Christmas. Well, so we had a great Thanksgiving. We didn't have food poisoning (Tyson and mine first Thanksgiving experience together), and I wasn't 9 months pregnant like last year, plus we got to eat with Kenni and Chris and Chris's cousin, Whitney. Bunk and I divided up the cooking and so not only was it fun, I had it easy. Tyson and Josh made butter together, and it was so cute. Josh is really loving being with Tyson and it is so cute to see the change and the love deepen in our little family over the past year. Then, this past Saturday, little Josh had his first birthday. True, he probably had no idea what we were all excited about, but he loved it. Kenni made him a cupcake cake that looked like "Swampy" the alligator, and it looked soooo cute! Josh dug into that thing before we even started singing. He absolutly loved the frosting, as you can tell by his face. Oh, and he loves to glare at people. Tyson taught him to, and everyone keeps encouraging him, which isn't always great because now he glares at random people, especially at church. Well, I don't know how to undo that, especially since it is so funny. But I love having a one year old. He sure is crazy and so much fun!

The Exhausting Age...

So I don't think I have ever been so tired, and I know it is only going to get worse. There is nothing more wonderful to me than being a wife and a mother. But Josh sure can wear me out. He has learned to do sooo much in the past week. Let's see...he can:
-climb on the couch
-climb off the couch
-push off all the books, pictures, and anything else on the table next to the couch that he used to not be able to reach, but now he can
-he can climb/fall into the bathtub
-he can open the toilet lid
-he can flush the toilet
-he can find, and open tampons :)
-he can tear up my notes for class
-he can tear pages out of my scriptures
-he can take all his clothes out of his drawers (well, he has been able to do that for awhile, but he does it way more than usual now)
-he only wants to eat cheese and bananas
-he can stand up on his own
-take a few steps on his own
-open DVD covers
-climb on the couch and throw toys in between couch and the wall
-help me (kind of) clean up all his messes

Basically, it is an adorable age but I have kind of given up cleaning. The house is a total wreak and often looks like hurricane Joshua has just blown through, but it is a lot of fun. He is so giggly and full of hugs. I love being a mom, but that is what I have been doing for the past few weeks, just cleaning and trying to laugh off the destruction going on in my home. :)

Learning to talk back

Just for laughs...

The Latest Pics...

(Sorry, the pics are all scrambled up.)

Okay, so I finally sat down and downloaded the pics from the camera to the laptop. Sorry it has been forever, I just have been busy getting back into my schedule here, finished reading Breaking Dawn, started my babysitting job again, finished my writing assignment, cleaned my house, you know, exciting stuff like that. Our trip was great. I am very glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed, with of course my wonderful husband, but it was really

fun to be with my family and Tyson's family and see some of my friends. Here are some of the best pics we got from the whole time. Let's see though, what is new since we got back...

-Josh still hasn't gotten any more teeth, though he is drooling about a gallon onto the floor every day

-He started this new, "I growl when I want food" thing, I try really hard not to laugh and encourage the rude behavior

-As seen in the pics, Josh is learning to brush his teeth, kind of...

-Tyson has been way busy at work since school is starting this week but I am so glad once I get him home and I get to be with him and not just talk to him on the phone. We are also addicted to the show "Lost" freakin' scary, but I can't help my curiousity for how it turns out, so we keep watching it.

-I started my babysitting job yesterday, and so I babysit three kids for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours everyday. They are all great, it is Josh that is the monster to watch (he likes the cats...and their food)

-I am taking a photography class at the school, I will let you know how that goes...

-I was convinced I was pregnant again, took 2 prego tests, but both were negative, I didn't believe them, and I really was sad, but I guess I am just weird, it's not like I'm ready to have another kid yet.

-I actually go on walks everyday and I am loving the change. I feel so much better all day. I don't think I will ever run again like I used to, but I love just a little bit of excercise everyday.

And that is about it from our little family. :)

How much he changes in just a few days...

A good shot of his now 4 teeth. Aunt Kenni was the one with the great looking Arabian hat idea. :)

I have way too much fun with stickers.
The gravity force is tough for him in swings. He holds on for dear life and holds his breath and turns red, it looks so funny. We are such mean parents.
So cute. My favorite look.

So this is Josh's crib with his cute train set. He loves to untie it and pull it down on top of him instead of going to sleep.
This is Josh and Tommy, the terrible two. They pulled almost all the books off our bookshelf so we had to take all the books to Tyson's office. :) They are so funny together. Josh LOVES windows, especially banging on them.

The yellow thing in his mouth is a rubber ducky, Josh loves to chew on it to get it to squeak. Tyson has been giving Josh his baths lately and I think they both love it.

Raspberries and Ma-ma-ma

Rough Days

So Josh is getting to be able to move around really well. He is always pulling himself up on things and trying to walk around, but with that comes a lot of bumps and bruises. Josh pulled our length-size mirror on top of himself the other day and it shattered on top of him. Luckily he just had a tiny cut in his hand, nothing serious. Man, babies get into everything!

More of Josh

Boxes, magazines and carrying things around in his mouth are Josh's new things. He is so stinkin cute and so funny, and he knows it.