Notes of the Week

*This punctuates the point about no bunk beds right now... this is a nightly occurrence*

*Reuben LOVES Myles. It is so, so sweet. Of course, he has two great examples of other boys who love him!*

*Wyatt gave up naps way earlier than Henry. A real bummer for me of course:) And most days, by time we reach 5pm, this is his mode of operation if he could choose. I typically don't let it happen, but I was painting a dresser outside, so it worked out.*

*In case you weren't aware yet, the iPhone isn't immortal. It was MIA for about 2 hours, Jonathan found it out in the middle of our cul-de-sac after it had been poured on and driven over. I have this really bad habit of setting things on top of the car and then forgetting about them and driving away later. I swear I have NO recollection of even taking it outside that day. He swears I was just anxious to get the upgrade. But of course, true to his nature, he just smiled, said it was OK, and then proceeded to be fascinated by the shattered screen. And, he is anxious to take it apart. Oh, and yes, he did go get me a new one! He said not to expect anything for Mother's Day now... :) Btw, if you were trying to call me the past few days, this is why you wouldn't have recv'd a response!*

Smiles with Myles - Volume 9

Myles is all over the place these days. He is so close to sitting on his own... so very close. We are excited for him! He is such a peanut... he was 18lb, 4oz. at his 9-month check up. Doing very well, has been very healthy, and is very happy. He is also starting to babble!! It is precious. We have much to be thankful for! We LOVE this age. He is so cuddly, so squishy... everything about him is just adorable. He is a blessing to our family!

Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful time celebrating Jesus' resurrection with family this year. We have no set traditions, so every year we just roll with a new plan. My sister Meagan and her husband, Ryan, and kids all came in for the wknd. We asked (suggested, told, bribed) Beth into making Easter dinner (and as usual, she DID NOT disappoint!!!), had an egg hunt, and just thoroughly enjoyed each others company. Henry asked me if Levi and Cam could live at our house. I said I thought they would miss their mom and dad. He said, OK, they can live here too. Cute.

This was about the 8th try... finally it was just "STAND THERE AND SMILE."

We are winning no coordination awards for our "dress code" at the Cooper's. Honestly, it's enough to get the boys to look halfway nice. By the end of the first church service, Wyatt's shirt was untucked and Henry had asked me about 4 times if he could take off his tie. The ties were a little Christmasy, but I figured they needed to get at least one more wear out of them before Henry grows out of his.

It was so fun to talk with Henry and Wyatt, but especially Henry, about why this day is so special and what it represents. Jesus rose from the grave! The Bible would mean nothing to us if He did not rise again... there would be no salvation, no redemption, but He did rise! What an amazing promise we have in Him. His sacrifice on the cross is why we can stand before God with no condemnation. And we don't need to fear death... He is with us, He lives!

If pigs can fly...

Wyatt asleep trying to hold Myles' hand... so sweet!

... than we can finish a half-marathon, right? We signed up for the Flying Pig half marathon again this year. It is in Cincinnati on May 1. This is Jonathan's 5th half, and my 3rd. We started about 8 months after Henry was born. That was our first, May 2007. No big deal. One kid in a jogging stroller, Jonathan was still teaching, life was simpler. Then I had Wyatt in January 2008. My next half was in May 2009. Still fairly simple, Jonathan was still teaching, bought the double jogging stroller. Smooth sailing. I knew this was the year for my third. I had run one after every kid, but I really didn't want to do it this year. It felt overwhelming to think of trying to train with our schedule, and having 3 kids made it a bit more complicated b/c now we couldn't run together if our mileage was over 3 or 4 miles. However, Jonathan kept trying to convince me it would be good for us, and he swore that he would keep us on a training schedule as much as possible. Then there was Beth... my relentless sister-in-law, who, despite entering her 40's this year, is as insane as ever when it comes to taking on challenges. She kept saying, "You can do it. We'll do it together. C'mon, you can do it." Between the two of them, it was hard to pass up. So, we are two weeks away from race day. We ran 11 miles on Monday night, and it was painful, but we both felt confident we will finish. Yes, finish. No PR's this year.... just F.I.N.I.S.H. alive, still breathing, with all of our limbs attached (and my GI system still in order).

We have always loved running together. It's something we've done since our first year of marriage. Jonathan brought the passion for running into marriage. His dad always ran for as long as he could remember. And Jonathan ran track and cross country in HS. He signed us up for our first 5K - the VanBuren Popcorn Festival in Indiana. The summer of our first year of marriage. It was hot, hot, hot and we were basically running on country roads in the middle of corn fields. I ran it in 24:12, which isn't even that impressive, but I'm sure I'll never do it again. I was wearing a pink shirt that day. I still remember this high school girl trying to beat me near the finish line... the guy cheering for her kept saying, "Pass the girl in the pink shirt, Joyce!! You can take her! Beat her to the finish line!" It completely ticked me off... honestly, I've never been that ticked - I beat her, but I was barfing in the trash can after the race. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. Jonathan NEVER told me you could throw up if you ran too hard. I was so naive!

Anyways.... Jonathan actually enjoys running together... I just enjoy being together while we run :) But running is good. This has been the hardest half to train for. I honestly didn't think I could do it with 3 kids. And b/c of 3 kids, it required a lot more running on my own (which I really don't prefer), and a lot less running together. I depend a lot on Jonathan's encouragement and mental strength to help me finish long runs. I ran 8 miles a few weeks ago on my own. But I had my music... and it was actually a really special time with hearing God's Word through music.

For my own notes: Henry is 5 1/2, and he can easily ride his bike 3-4 miles, he would ride longer but his helmet starts to drive him nuts, and we can't blame him. But it was great on some of our shorter runs. He could go with us and we'd put the two little ones in the stroller. It was a very fun family outing and everyone enjoyed. Or, if one of us was running we'd just take Henry. He loved it, and he would talk, talk, talk the entire time. It was so, so cute! 

beds and baseball

We finally got Wyatt a new mattress so we could move him out of his toddler bed. He actually has been sleeping SO much better and in 5 nights, he has not come to our bed even one time. I don't know if we can remember him NOT coming to our bed in the past 4 months, so this is a huge improvement. While we are not the type of parents to mind little bodies in our bed, for practical purposes, it is nice to have them stay in their bed for the most part. Henry came to our bed around 3 years old too, but we thought it was b/c we just moved houses. It eventually faded off. We think Wyatt was in a 'season' too, but also, his toddler mattress was getting really beat up. We are probably asking for trouble with the new lay out :) They LOVE it. And, we love putting them to bed b/c it's so cozy to lay down and cuddle with them!! Eventually we'll get them frames, but no rush, and this is a fun season of lots of love and tackling!

And, this is Jonathan's handywork. Can you see the baseball field? He loves doing this for the boys. They get a kick out of it and once we get all the neighbor kids out, it's really fun!

1978 called...

HENRY

 ..and they want the orange leisure suit back. But we're not giving it! This is an outfit Jonathan wore when he was a baby. I now have a picture of each boy in it around 9-10 months old. Isn't it way cool? Bell bottoms, winged collar, seriously, if you want to borrow it, let me know. All of the boys have been perfectly happy with it on. See those big smiles! (Finally got these pictures to post!!!)

WYATT

 .

MYLES

 

 

When given a choice...

 ... Myles will choose the iPad over a book. Wouldn't most kids... or adults? :) That, of course, is why he doesn't have his own iPad, but he does have his own books. And in other news, Henry makes pb sandwiches for lunch now all by himself. And Wyatt shoots thunder out the window. So, there you have it. We have been on spring break around here, so I happily took a little hiatus from the computer. You will find me catching up over this week hopefully.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Volume 17

 Any guesses as to what is going on here? This is taken right out my kitchen window. I suppose we need to re-visit the outdoor expectations for warm weather behavior.