The Cosby Show.....

All of our kids love the Cosby Show. Myles loves it so much that we bought him two new seasons for his b-day in June. He'll choose it out of any animated show you put in front of him! Nice b/c we like it too :) --- this is what they're watching in the picture. 

Wyatt's birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa Cooper

Jonathan's parents wanted to give Wyatt more of an 'experience' for his B-day. So they sent his card in January, but we waited until they came for a visit in March. They purchased him a horseback riding lesson. It was SO fun!!! He absolutely loved it, and if lessons weren't so crazy expensive, we'd sign him up in a heartbeat! It was one of those few times as a parent (or grandparent) where you feel like you hit the jackpot with your kid. He was captivated -- speechless, and at one point, he leaned over to me and whispered, "Mom, I've just never been this excited before. I've never seen a horse this up close, and now I get to ride it. I'm so happy." She taught him 5 basics of riding, but also took him back to Brownie's stable and taught him how to care for the pony. At the end, he asked the instructor if he could come back everyday. It was just wonderful -- and horses are such beautiful, strong creatures. I wanted to go back everyday!!! It was a great time for me, Wyatt, and Mom Cooper. 

*This gigantic horse was amazingly beautiful… and it's name was Wyatt*

Philharmonic

We just finished up another season as family members of the Dayton Philharmonic's family series. We share a row of tickets with Devon and Beth. It's been great exposure for the kids -- especially being boys :) They most likely would never choose this as an activity, but they are always excited to go and it's good for Henry to get out of his basketball shorts now and then!! This was the first time we took Myles. He was fairly squirmy, but overall did well. I think as he grows, it will be an experience he really enjoys. The Schuster Center is downtown Dayton - so it's a fun experience for the boys to be in different scenery as well.

March

March is over -- and we weren't terribly sad to see it pass by since it was still so cold. The kids are so happy to be back outside shooting hoops, playing war with the neighbors, swinging, and playing wall ball against the brick on the side of our house… which completely destroys the grass - but, hey, it's all in the name of fun so we're ok with it :) The boys finished their basketball season with Upward in the beginning of March. They LOVED it. See those two hoops? They are now hanging on my basement door and backdoor which provides them a 'full court' experience and DRIVES ME CRAZY most of the time. Jonathan reminds me how much he loved to play nerf basketball when he was their age, so I need to chill. Sometimes (most of the time) I'm in the kitchen self-counseling myself every time I hear the ball bounce on the floor, hit the backboard, the backboard smacks against the door, a boy dramatically falls to the floor and makes the last minute shot…. then the buzzer sounds (they have a scoreboard app on the iPad) - I'm finding I must be sensitive to noise b/c when my mother-in-law was here, she never seemed to notice it!! I'm amazed that I'm still sane after considering the noise level in our house on a daily basis.

We love when the warm weather comes - it provides lots of interaction with our neighbors, and our neighbor girls love to come on the deck and play with the babies. It's almost like free babysitting :) Tessa loves to be outside and so does Myles, so we're very thankful to have a gated deck. (And yes, we describe warm weather as 35 and snow on the ground… if the sun is out and the wind is not blowing, you'll find us out there!) Myles has a habit of licking anything… and apparently, Tessa thinks it's a good idea too. At least this was just ice and dirty water….

And Henry and Wyatt … they are ALL boys… like I said, they love to play war or spy games, play ANY sport possible, and in general just LOVE to be highly active. This also means requiring them to do reading, math, writing, or chores seems like a serious impingement on their fun now that warmer weather has appeared and they have better things to do! But, I remind them…. We work hard, and then we play hard :)

*Tess and Myles with cousin Theo… these three are great together!*

Saint Patrick's Day

The leprechauns visited again…. And the kids loved it :) Tessa and Myles were funny - you could tell they didn't know what to do with the green eggs. They both love eggs, and once they tasted them, they were fine to eat them green. We also reviewed the story of St. Patrick. Henry had a class project on family heritage, so it was great to have the boys learn more about Ireland and its history. 

*Her shirt says, "I'm a Wee Bit Irish."

*We showed the boys our photo album from when we went to Ireland with the Cooper family in 2001!*

*Great memories and we hope to take the kids there someday!*

February

February seemed really long going into it. With the cold winter and so much snow, it kind of felt like spring might never come! But, like everyone else, we made the best of it… spent a lot of time on the Wii, a lot of time in the snow when it wasn't too cold, and a lot of time just trying to stay busy in the house. That typically includes a lot of wrestling, legos, chasing babies, and dance parties. It also included basketball with Upward for both boys this winter. It was such a blessing -- Jonathan was able to coach both of their teams, the Lord worked it out so they had back-to-back practices, and it gave all of us something to look forward to on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. It was a winter to remember!

*SO MUCH LOVE!*

*Myles is a serious football fan… he LOVES it* 

*Of course, these two do too. I think from about Nov-Feb, football jerseys were the only shirts worn. * 

*No pink or hearts on this valentine box!!!!* 

*Myles is working very hard to phase out his nap…. but his stamina can hardly get him past dinner time! We've gone down to every other day, and that seems to be working well*

*She was very proud of herself this day… she found chocolate chips in the diaper bag. I wondered where she had been since it had been quiet for awhile. She lined all of them up on the piano bench :)* 

*Her face gave her away!* 

*Yummy valentine treats for Wyatt's party at school*

*Always at my counter…. T*R*O*U*B*L*E!!! :) *

*The best picture I could snag on valentine's morning…. our 4 little loves!!!*

*Forgot to put in a pic of Wyatt… both the boys did great this year! So much fun!*

*Cousin Ari for a visit - I think the movement in this house sends her into shock!*

*Sock Hop at Daddy's school… she seriously danced the night away!!!* 

January

Blogging… these days, I find myself so immersed in caring for kids and daily tasks, that the free moments I do have, I rarely want to spend on the computer! So…. I'm trying to widdle it down to trying to capture the monthly moments that I want for my long-term memory!

*What we do when the kids are in bed… :)*

*So much snow this year… tons of fun memories in it esp with the Winter Olympics taking place!*

*Always thankful for this friendship*

*Saying "they keep me on my toes" is such an understatement these days…!*

*Love playing games with the boys after babies are in bed*

*She loves to eat!*

*Busy again… I have to be very careful about what I put on my kitchen counter. Just in the past week, Myles has shattered a picture frame and a glass. A mess….*

*I think this was the SuperBowl…???*

*How can an 18-month old be into what she wears already?? But she is….*

Happy Birthday Wyatt

Wyatt is six years old today! I still remember the morning I delivered….  labor came on so quickly, and when we got in the car to leave, the wind chills were -0 and I kept telling Jonathan that I thought I had to push. So today felt very 'right' for his birthday b/c it was FREEZING.

We got to the hospital w/ about 45 minutes to spare before he arrived that morning. What a wonderful morning!!!!

Wyatt - you are six. You are in Kdg and LOVING it. In fact, your teacher once told me she'd like to have 20 Wyatt's in her class :) You love to learn, you are very bright, and you have quite the sense of humor.

You like to touch everyone and many times we are reminding you to use more self-control! You and Henry are best buds still, and Myles loves to play with you in the afternoons after you both get home from school.

You are always disappointed when Tessa doesn't give you a 'good morning' hug, but since you've been more careful about not smothering her, she has been more consistent about not turning you down :) You still love to cuddle and get up early… and many times you are the first one in our bed in the morning.

You LOVE your siblings and you are the first one to get down on the floor and play with one of them. You are like a little love magnet! :) And, you are always messing around… being goofy… making a joke. Making us laugh (most of the time!).

Your freckles are irresistible, and you have grown much taller this year. We are so thankful to see your knowledge of God's Word growing, and we are always praying He plants a seed in your heart that begins to grow in love for Him.

Happy Birthday Son!!