Blah, Blah, Blah

Well, January has come and (almost) gone already and I didn't update the blog one time.  Sigh.  But here is the latest update on the Coopers:  What's new with us?  Nothing.  How are we?  Fine.  The End.

Just kidding!  I can elaborate on all of that but it is the basic truth.  It's just been sort of hum-drum around here lately.  Although, I like winter I am over it already for this year and am looking forward to spring.  I am ready to be out and about with the kids.  We have been staying in and trying not to be around crowds of people.  There are ton of people in the community with the flu and that is the last thing I want.  We all had colds a couple of weeks ago but we are all better now.  Silas has been getting his monthly RSV prevention shots and is one healthy kid.  Carissa and Maleah have been healthy as well.

In Silas news:  he had his regular three month evaluation by his two therapists and once again, they found no reason for him to need therapy.  That is totally unheard of for a 25 weeker to not need any therapy ever!  He is a rockstar, for sure.  He can crawl super fast and is pulling up to things and cruising along the furniture.  He hasn't taken any steps on his own - yet.  He says several words (mama, dada, baba, bye, Muh for Maleah, hi).  He likes to say Gaa! but we have no idea what that means.  He is eating table food but his favorite is still the organic baby food that he can suck out of the little bag.  I love it too because it is mess free and he can easily feed himself.  He likes to play the drum and the guitar.  Although sometimes he beats the guitar with his drumstick.  He got his very first haircut yesterday.  Stacey Earleywine cut it for him.  He had these little wings of hair growing over his ears and it was driving me nuts.  It had to go.  He wouldn't sit still and wasn't happy about the haircut.  Poor baby.  He weighs 20 pounds now and is just one awesome little man.

In Carissa news:  She got her hair cut as well.  She chose just a slight trim to the ends because she is growing her long blonde hair to look just like Rapunzel's.  She is really into Rapunzel right now and is quick to tell you that.  She is also into tea sets, baking, and markers.  The markers are a problem.  I have discovered scribbles on her bed, her play kitchen, her sister's door, walls, and honestly who knows what else.  I keep the markers hidden and put away but somehow she finds one somewhere and "creates."  She has gotten into big trouble for it but is unfazed.  Thank God for magic erasers is all I have to say.  She is unable to say the word "alarm" without following it with "clock."  We had a long discussion about fire safety and smoke alarms at our house.  And every single time that she says anything about a smoke alarm, she says "smoke alarm clock" or "fire alarm clock."  It's pretty darn cute.  She is also unable to say "Mr." without following it with "David."  Because Mr. David Koontz helps out at church and she has always called him Mr. David.  So now, when she refers to anybody else as Mr. it comes out like this:  "Mr. David Silas!" or "Mr. David Cooper!" It is really too cute. 

In Maleah news:  She just had her 100th day of school this year and was excited about that.  We made her a shirt to wear.  On the front it said "This is what 100 days smarter looks like" with an arrow pointing up to her face.  And on the back was 100 tally marks.  It turned out so cute.  She is still reading like crazy.  She is reading Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Events series right now and keeps updating me with what's going on.  The problem for me is that she might go two or three days without telling me anything and then on the third day she is surprised why I don't know what she's talking about.  Um, I'm not the one reading it, so I'm a little lost.  But that's okay, I just let her tell me all about it like I know exactly what she means.  She has been sewing things by hand and made a bag this past week.  I was impressed.  She got her hair cut into an even shorter bob than before.  It looks great.  We all love it.

In Jason news, he went to third shift for two weeks in January.  We all survived it as well as our marriage.  He is back on days, thank goodness.  He is doing fine.

In my news:  Hmm.  Well, I had a cold for a week or so and completely lost my voice.  It seems as though every time the kids get a cold I just lose my voice.  It is so annoying.  Me with no voice + Jason who can't hear me even on a normal day = insanity.  Actually, it was very sitcom-ish.  I am back to normal now.  I went to the eye doctor for my yearly checkup and ended up leaving with bifocals.  I feel so old!  I couldn't see squat before so I knew there was a problem but boy oh boy can I see now!  It is awesome!  I can see everything.  I can honestly say that I am loving these bifocals!  I had my haircolor done too and covered up all my gray.  Man, 2012 was hard on me.  I think I aged 10 years.  Thanks a lot Mini Coopers.

Now on to some pictures...

 

Carissa dancing with her new haircut and her new

blue sweater from Grandma.  She loves it!

What Carissa wants her hair to look like...

Silas' First Haircut!  I have his long hair tucked behind

his ears here so it's hard to see.

He had to be held still. 

He hated it.

What a sad face.

We are torturing the poor kid.

It looks great!  Mommy is happy even if he isn't.

What's more fun than a bath?  A bath while wearing a fireman's hat of course!

Yay!!

After the bath...

He loves mashed potatoes!

 

 

I think that about wraps it up.  I guess we are sort of boring in January.  Here's to a more interesting February!

Christmas, Christmas, and more Christmas!!

(I have posted several new blog posts tonight.  So check the links on the right side of the page.) 

We had a great Christmas this year.  It wasn't very stressful and I really enjoyed all of the family time.  I have a lot of pictures to share and I realize that if you aren't family that you might not enjoy the overload but I can't help it.  It's my blog and I can overload on photos if I want to.  Ha! 

Here are a couple of pics from Maleah's school Christmas Program.  It was great.  It was a 50's theme and the kids were all so darn cute.  The music teacher did an amazing job and I really enjoyed it.  It was the first year that Carissa did not sleep through it - because she wasn't there!  I left her and her brother at home with my Aunt Patty and I got to watch it uninterrupted this year.  Thank you Patty!  I also was not in labor this year, like I was last year, so that was another bonus.  Maleah did great.  She got to pass out programs to the parents prior to the show. 

Maleah and her friend Dani, passing out programs.

Maleah is in the back row, just like every other year.

I told her to tell her music teacher that I had a $20 bill

for her if she ended up in the front row but no dice. 

Maleah wouldn't do it.  Ah, the downside to being tall...

 



 

We also had a Christmas Program at church.  The theme with that one was superheroes.  It was called A Super Christmas.  The superheroes find out that the real superhero is Jesus.  It was a good program.  The kids all did great.  Maleah was Wonder Woman and Carissa was Supergirl.  However, Supergirl didn't actually participate.  She got mad at the very beginning and said so and so took a toy from her and she threw a big fit.  I was helping with the program and my job was to sit on the floor by the front pew and play with the 2-3 year old kids who were sheep.  While they were not doing their scenes they were supposed to sit and play quietly with me.  Well, Carissa threw a big fit so I had to take her out to the hallway.  I couldn't get her to calm down so I practically dragged her back into the auditorium full of people to hand her off to either my Mom or her Dad (who was busy with Silas, who also was on the verge of a fit because he was up way past his bedtime).  When I finally got back to my spot in front, guess what?  All my sheep had wandered off.  One was moseying up the center aisle and another was searching the crowd for her mom.  I am not a good shepherd.  With the help of a 7 year old, I rounded them up and got them back to where they were supposed to be.  Carissa ended up leaving, along with her Dad and her brother, and everyone went home to bed.  I think she would have done better but she was just worn out.  Luckily, Supergirl had no lines.  Wonder Woman did fantastic.

 

Before the play...

Poser

Group picture before we went upstairs

 

 Next on our December agenda was the Weaver Christmas.  Jason's Mom, Sherrel, was a Weaver.  We have Christmas with them every year at Round Prairie Church south of Johnsonville.  This year Silas got to meet his third cousin Liam.  Liam was born in March, just a couple of days from Silas' due date.  They are the same size and were so cute together!  Carissa played a lot with Liam's sister, Maggie.  Carissa loved her!  Plus Maggie is Carissa's favorite name ever so that just sealed the deal.

Maleah, Carissa, Silas, and Maggie.  The girls all got

new blankets for Christmas and the boys got trains.

Silas loves to unwrap stuff.   He was clapping here. 

He was just so excited about his new train!

Carissa couldn't wait to get into this box.  The

packing tape was just torturing her!  And Daddy

was clear across the room with his pocket knife.

My pretty Maleah Rose.

And my pretty Carissa Faith.

Buddies!  Liam and Silas.

A happy boy.

 



Okay, up next after that was the Sunday before Christmas.  Here are some pics of the girls in their Christmas dresses.  I refused to buy Christmas dresses this year.  It just seems like a big waste of money to me.  In years past I have always bought Maleah a new dress and Carissa has worn one or two hand-me-down dresses but last year I didn't have one to fit her.  Buying two dresses, plus new tights, possibly new shoes, etc adds up!  Each year, Maleah has always worn hers two or three times (to Christmas programs, Church, etc).  Well, this year she didn't need one for either program and was only going to wear one to church for a couple of hours.  I wasn't down with buying one.  So I... (gasp!) made her wear last year's.  It fit perfectly.  No one remembered and if they did, who cares!  This mama is practical.  I would rather spend the money on a gift or on everyday clothes than one super fancy dress.  Carissa needed a size 5 dress.  I had a size 4 or a size 6 in the closet.  We decided to go with one that was a tad bit big than a tad bit too small.  The girls both looked adorable, felt beautiful, and were back home and changed into jeans within two hours.  Everyone was happy.  Silas looked pretty cute too in his red plaid dress shirt and khakis.  I am learning that boys are fun to dress too (which is totally a surprise to me).

Ready for church!

How cute is she?

Maleah and her Bitty Baby, Carissa, and Silas on the move.

That brings us right up to Christmas Eve.  We had a fun day.  That evening we had Christmas at Jason's parents with them and Craig and LuAnn.  We ate a delicious meal and then opened presents.  The girls were so excited!  Carissa opened a musical jewelry box from Craig and LuAnn and got emotional she was so happy.  It wasn't on her list or anything but she was just taken aback by its beauty.  She screamed, she clapped, she got real quiet, she stared at it, she rushed over and gave LuAnn a hug and a very heartfelt thank-you, she showed it to me, stared at it some more, and kept saying that it makes "happy sounds."  We heard her say "I love it!" about a hundred times and she kept talking about the happy noise and the happy sounds it makes and how beautiful it was.  It was if someone had just handed her the moon.  She has slept with it every night since then.  I think LuAnn gets the prize for best gift given this year.  Carissa also got a lot of other stuff but truly no other reaction compared to that one.  Maleah got some great gifts too.  Grandma Sherrel bought her some rings and she loved them.  She calls one her "diamond ring."  It's not really but it looks like it.  She loves it!  Silas got a train and some clothes and a bunch of other stuff.  He was as entertained with watching his sisters as he was unwrapping his own presents.  He loves those girls.  After we unwrapped presents, then we had birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.  It was a great Christmas celebration.

How 'bout them teeth? 

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting.

Those cats were fast as lightning...

What?  This is for my sister?  Can I please hold it?

So happy that we let him have this box to hold.  It's

all he wanted from the minute we walked in the door.

Standing on her tiptoes, like normal.

Cheese!

Watch out for this one - she's crazy.

Maleah and her diamond ring.

Carissa and the reaction to the box of happy sounds.

And now, moving on to Christmas Day...

We were awakened on Christmas morning at 5:30 a.m.!  Uggghh!  It gets earlier every year.  It was Maleah by my bed telling me that Santa had been there.  I told her to be quiet and to lay on our floor until everyone else woke up.  She did but she talked for the the next hour and a half saying "What time is it now?" "Can I wake Carissa up?" "How much longer?" "Mom, are you asleep?"  "Mom, Santa has been here!"  "Mom!!  MOm!!  Did I tell  you that Santa has been here?"  At around 6:30 I got up and put on my makeup and did my hair.  (I do this every year.  I refuse to look bad in Christmas morning pictures.)  Finally at around 7 a.m. Carissa stumbled in.  Silas was starting to stir too so I told Jason to wake up.  (He had seriously slept through most of Maleah's talking.)  The girls took off running to the living room and I had to tell Jason to move it or he was going to miss it.  We both made it in there in time to see them unwrap their things.  It gets more exciting every year.  Carissa and Maleah both got American Girl dolls.  Some of their favorite gifts, besides the dolls, were Carissa's pink kitchen and Maleah's science stuff.   Silas liked his gear toy and the toys that didn't move or make noise.  Apparently he wants to use his imagination for sirens and loud noises.  (Duh.  He's a Cooper kid.)  We unwrapped presents, played a bit, got everyone dressed, and headed to my Mom and Dad's for breakfast and presents.  My Mom made her traditional biscuits and gravy and it was delicious.  I had a headache that kept getting worse.  I drank a Pepsi and took two Tylenol.  We opened presents and by the time that was done Jason had to drive me home because I had a migraine and was on the verge of losing my biscuits and gravy.  I went home to sleep and he stayed at my parents' house for awhile with the kids.  We all got a lot of really nice gifts. But honestly, the day is a little bit foggy.  I slept most of the day away.  We were supposed to be at the Oestreich Christmas at 3:00 that day and I always bring the deviled eggs, except for last year because I didn't go (I was at the hospital).  This year I figured they could do without again because I didn't feel like getting up to make them.  When Jason came to wake me up he told me that he had already made them - all by himself!  How awesome is he?  He has helped me do it plenty of times over the years so he just did them all by himself this year.  He is so sweet.  I made it to the Oestreich's but I didn't feel that great.  I still managed to have a good time and felt better as time went on.  Overall, it was a great Christmas!  We are so blessed to get to spend so much time with our family and friends. 

Christmas morning!  The girls by their stockings.

Santa brought Silas a drum, a remote, and a bus.

Carissa got Peppa Pig toys in her stocking.

Maleah got a telescope and a microscope.

Silas with his gear toy.

My kids with my neice Chloey at my Mom and Dad's.

 





It snowed on Christmas night and over the next few days we ended up with quite a bit of snow.  Here is Maleah and the snowman that she worked very hard on.

 

 



 

 

And finally, here is picture with me and Carissa.  I am usually behind the camera but not this time.  Carissa has a band-aid on her forehead because she had been rolling across our bedroom floor and ran her head smack into her Dad's dresser.  A big gash and some blood followed.  She is fine now.  Lesson learned:  Watch where you roll.  Or perhaps:  Don't roll around in the dark.  Or perhaps:  Don't roll unless you are on fire.

 

We also had a great New Year's Eve and weekend prior to that.  We spent a lot of time at our friends' Deb and Paul's.  Our friends the Kopacz family from near Chicago were in town and we all had a great visit.  One thing I love about good friends is that you can pick right up where you left off even if you don't see them every day or haven't seen them in months.  We sat around, visited, played Scrabble, Battleship, and some cards and ate good food.  Jason fried fish for all of us and we let off some fireworks close to midnight on New Year's Eve.  The kids had spent a lot of their time playing outside in all of the snow and had a fabulous time.  There were 11 kids total and boy did they have fun together!  I couldn't find my camera while I was there but I would have taken some great pictures if I could have found it.  Oh well. 

 

Thanks for bearing with me on all of these posts and all of these pictures.  I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas season as well.  Here's to 2013!  May it not be as stressful as 2012 was for me or for you!

The 1st Birthday Slideshow (and more)

Here is the slideshow that I played at Silas' 1st Birthday Party.  I love it!  I hope you enjoy it too.  :)

 

 

And here are even more pictures from Silas' big birthday.  His Uncle Brad came over and brought him his very first tractor.  Silas loves it!

 

 

 

On the night before Silas' birthday party, we surprised our Aunt Kay with a birthday party at Jason's parents house.  She was in town from Michigan just for Silas' party.  We never get to celebrate her birthday with her but this year we did!  We surprised her with a cake and a small get-together of family and friends.  It was so fun!  Happy birthday to one of my biggest blog fans! 

 





Here are some pictures from the hospital when we delivered the blankets to the nicu.  I can't believe I forgot to get a picture of Silas with his doctors and nurses but we were all talking so much and I got so excited to see them all that I forgot all about my camera!  Derr.  Oh well.  I was so happy to show off Silas one year later and to deliver the blankets.  I attached an encouraging note to each one and I really hoped that each one blessed the family that received it.  Here are some pics:

Mr. Man and I waiting on Daddy to park the car. 

The boxes and bags are full of baby blankets.

Handsome man.

Standing at the nicu entrance with Daddy.

It feels so nice to be on this side of the double doors.

 

This is just a random cute photo that I wanted to

throw in.  Silas fell asleep on the couch with Maleah.

It was so sweet.  It just melted my heart.

 

 

Stay with me, peeps, I got a ton of Christmas stuff to post...