A Happy Easter

In the years since we've been married, we've had a tradition of having family and friends over after church for homemade pizza and an indoor egg hunt for both adults and children.  Last year we didn't get to have it because my brother and his family had moved out of town and were unable to come, though we did have my parents and some friends from church over for pizza.

This year, we were back in business.  My brother's family came to town for a few days and the egg hunt was on!  I thought his kids might be getting too old for it (ages 7-12), but they seemed to have just as good a time as ever (which may have been helped by the extra challenge of finding hidden $5 bills in the house).  Even Cooper participated this year, though he had his own eggs and didn't compete with everyone else.

He had a blast hanging out with his cousins.

We also had a belated celebration of my brother's 40th birthday

and had mini flute and piano concerts.

We had lots of fun,

good pizza

and lots of silliness.

It was a day I think everyone enjoyed.

Snowy Day

Well, I said I was hoping for another snow, and we got one.  Not a huge one, but at least as big as any we've had all year. 

Cooper and I went outside to check it out this morning.

Then Don, who is on vacation this week, came out to join us. 

You'd think someone who grew up in Iowa would know how to dress for snow a little better than this.  Maybe he's already put his winter clothes away for the year.

It's good we got out early because it was gone within a couple of hours.

And now I'm ready for warm weather.

A New Blog

As if I could even keep up with this blog, I have decided to do a second one as well.  This one seems to appeal mainly to friends and family, but not so much to the general public.  The focus of my new one is going to be my life as an older, stay-at-home mom, and some of the things I am learning as I go, things that might be helpful to others.

So, for those who are interested, you can find this new blog at www.pooroldtiredmama.blogspot.com.

I'm still planning to keep blogging on this one least as much as I have been, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it all.  You never know 'til you try!

Twenty-Nine Months Old

One of the things I was concerned about when I found out I was pregnant with Cooper was Don's and my age.  I thought we we would be "old geezer" parents, too old to have fun with our child.  Everyone told me, "he will keep you young," but I had my doubts.

The truth is, we WERE old geezers (sorry, Don) before Cooper came along.  And Cooper has, in many ways, restored our youth.

Who would have guessed I would go to Sky High, a local sportsplex and jump on trampolines all morning (okay, I was REALLY sore the next day, but it was so worth it!), or build forts and crawl inside (at least until my legs went to sleep and I felt like I was about to suffocate from lack of fresh air)?  I thought my days of climbing up on playground equipment, swinging on swings and sliding down slides were over, until now.  I didn't envision myself going to the lake and hanging out with the ducks and geese . . . just because.

Don probably didn't think he would be building with Lincoln Logs again.

Even our tortilla press has taken on a new life . . . as a laptop computer.

Most importantly, Cooper has brought joy and laughter to our home.  Not that we didn't laugh before, but there is a happy, silly, lightheartedness here now that wasn't here before.  Who would have ever thought that saying the word "thingamabobber" could be so funny??

 

We thank God every day for this little guy who has made us young again, who has brought us more joy that we could have imagined.  We look forward to the days and years ahead, watching him grow and learning and laughing right along with him.

Twenty-Eight Months Old

It's been quite a month, in a lot of ways.  Weatherwise, Cooper got to experience his first snow.  It was kind of a rip-off, really.  It was just a dusting and too cold in the morning (19 degrees) to go out and play in it anyway.  Then the sun came out and melted it all.  At least we went out for a little while and walked around in it, though.  He didn't like getting it on his shoes. ( :

We've had some nice weather too.  We go to a nearby park and play every chance we get (that is my dad pushing Cooper in the swing).  One day we went to the lake for a while.

For those days that aren't so nice, a church not too far from us has a nice indoor playground that is free and open to the community.  It is 5 stories high, and for the first time, last time we went, Cooper ventured all the way to the top.

My mom came over one night for a post-Christmas gingerbread man decorating session. Cooper had fun decorating it with her, and then we all had fun eating it!

Here he is in his hoodie, which Don's mom made for him.  I LOVE it and am sad that he will probably have outgrown it by next year.

We've stayed fairly healthy, though Cooper had a cold that apparently led to a minor respiratory tract infection, which he had to be on antibiotics for.

We're starting to see some signs of spring -- daffodils blooming and our yard is going to need to be mowed before too long.  I'm going to try to have a garden this year.  I'll need to get started plowing it up pretty soon.  We can't rule out more cold weather, though (and I'm still kind of secretly hoping that we'll get a better, but short-lived, snow, so Cooper can play in it for real).

Cooper is growing and changing every day.  When I look at pictures from even just a few weeks ago, I can see a huge difference.  It's bittersweet; I want him to grow up, but a part of me wants to hold on to his babyness too.  All I can do is treasure each day, and I am trying to do just that.

Twenty-Seven Months

The twos are an interesting time.  Some days I know exactly why they call them the "terrible twos," and some days I love them.  Yes, this age can be challenging, but it is also fun.  Cooper and I are communicating!  He's talking more and more every day and, while I can't always understand what he is saying, we're making progress.  He's learning so fast too!  It amazes me from day to day what he has picked up.

He's big into music right now.  He loves the keyboard he got for Christmas, and is also interested in other types of instruments.  (The mini drum set is at a drum store, and the man with the guitar is a friend at church.)

Interestingly, he seems to love written music too.  I have four hymnals that he gets out nearly every day and carries around, opening them up to various pages or sometimes bringing them to me, wanting me to sing a song or play it on his keyboard.  His favorite hymn is "Good Christian Men Rejoice."  I have never known that to be ANYBODY's favorite hymn, but I guess that's what makes us all unique!  He learned it on one of his videos.

I haven't taken too many pictures this month because he REFUSES to smile for, or even look at, the camera.  Oh well.

As for the rest of us, we're plugging along.  I'm always glad when we're through January; it's my least favorite month.  February at least brings some hope of springtime, though, I'll have to say, we've had a pretty mild winter so far.  I'm kind of bummed because we didn't have any real snow last year or this year, so Cooper has never gotten to play in it before.  We may have some yet, though.  I'm holding out hope for ONE good one.  That's all.  I'll be done after that.

I had the flu a couple of weeks ago, but other than that (and Don's little incident in December), we've all stayed pretty healthy so far.  Hopefully that trend will continue.

All in all, we're doing well.  Life is good, and we have much to be thankful for.

Kindle Fire

I am behind the times.  I admit it.  And I don’t care all that much, but I at least want to be able to communicate with people and know what they are talking about.  And until recently, I didn’t even know what an “app” was.

So, we had a little extra money, and I decided I would step up a bit.  Not all the way to a Smart Phone or an I-Pad, but a tablet of some sort.  I did a survey on Facebook asking which one I should buy for the money I had ($200 or less) and the response was unanimous: Kindle Fire.

I wasn’t sure how much I would use it.  But at least I could learn what an app was.

So I got one.  And I like it.  I’m still learning what all I can do.  I never thought I would want one to read books on, but it IS nice to be able to check books out from the library from the comfort of my home, without dragging a 2-year-old in and out just to go pick one up.  There are a lot of free books available from Amazon too.  The disadvantages are that you can’t share them with anyone else without giving up your Kindle while they read it, and I think my eyes get tired a little faster than from reading a book.  A good thing, though, is that I can lie in bed and read in the dark without disturbing Don (perhaps that's what's hurting my eyes?).

I can use it as a computer, though it’s not quite as easy to navigate as my laptop.  I can check my e-mail or Facebook or look anything up on the Internet, but, of course, it doesn’t have a keyboard.  You have to peck at the one that appears on the screen, which is kind of a pain.  Also, the screen is significantly smaller, but if you turn it sideways, the images get a little larger.  It is much easier to transport than my laptop, though, so I will probably take it with me when I travel.

Cooper has practically taken it over.  I have found a number of fun and educational things he can do on it, such as “coloring” (with his finger), playing a piano keyboard or drums, and some age-appropriate games, so it’s a good thing to take with me when I will need to entertain him (doctor’s waiting rooms, etc.)

I had to learn the difference between “3G” and “Wi-Fi.”  3G means you can use it anywhere but have to pay a monthly fee, like with a Smart Phone and some tablets, but Wi-Fi, which is what a Kindle Fire is, means you have to have a wireless Internet connection, so I can’t access the Internet everywhere.  However, the books and many of the other things get downloaded, so I don’t need an Internet connection to use them after I initially install them.

I kind of wanted it to have a camera so I could Skype on it.  Some tablets do, but alas, Kindle Fire does not.  Oh well.  I have one on my laptop which I have never even used anyway.

Two accessories I am glad I purchased are a cover for it and a charger.  It just comes with a cord that you have to hook up to another computer, but for a little extra you can get a charger you can plug into the wall.  I have to charge it every 1-2 days, depending on how much I use it.

So, all-in-all, I’d say if, like me, you just want to join the 21^st Century, it’s a good place to start.  I think it’s something I’ll use more and more, as I learn more of its capabilities.  I believe it was a worthwhile purchase.  And most importantly, now I know what an app is.