Mr. Commando

Cooper has discovered his new fascination in church.  He gets down onto his belly and tries to see how far down he can get towards the front of the church or the back of the church crawling under the pews.  Occasionally, he will pop up his head and stare at the occupants of the pew.  We always breathe a sigh of relief when they smile back.  When he makes his way back to us, he gives the most mischievous grin that I can't help but smile back.  I'm sure it is an unwelcome distraction for some people, but for me, it sure beats the screaming.

I tried to find a picture of him pulling his commando act, but I think he may just do it at church.  This picture was taken in Joseph Smith's House where he was once again - on the run.

Back on the Wagon!

It's nearly been 3 months since the last post, but I am back on the wagon - the blogging wagon and I am going to do much better to stay more consistent in posting.  I do it for those who want to keep up with our family, but it's been so much fun for the kids and I to look back at the things that have happened and things we've done.  I just always end up wishing I had posted more often.

This is an unfinished picture of the house.  I need to take a picture of it now that it is all complete.  It was supposed to be our family Christmas card - maybe for 2012! :)

Our last post was about our impending move to Utah.  Well, we have arrived!  I will be posting about our 12 day adventure out here in the upcoming posts.  It was quite emotional for our family to leave Florida.  I will always be grateful for the close relationships that were created between the kids and my dad while we were there.  It was really hard to say goodbye to him, but hopefully we will still see him often.  We created friendships in Florida that we hope will stand the test of time and we are already looking forward to seeing everyone again.  But we had a fantastic drive out here and we were excited to see all of our family and friends. 

We spent three weeks living with my family and shuttling the boys back and forth from school.  Just days after we arrived in Utah, Marc flew back to Florida for more meetings.  So grateful for my Mom and David helping us with all of the stress and drama of moving and the pressure of Christmas in the midst of it all.  We closed on the house just days before Christmas and were able to move in, put up a tree and stockings and celebrate Christmas in our brand new home.  It wasn't perfect but it was magical. 

We are still drowning in boxes.  We haven't even unpacked the ones from Florida and we've started bringing the items from Herriman storage - things we haven't even seen in over two years.  But little by little we are making this house our home and getting settled.  By summer - we'll be set! :)

Marc is building up the company here and getting the Utah office organized.  I'm hoping to get in and join him after we get a bit more settled.  The boys really like their teachers out here and we are so thankful for the smooth transition.  Coleman is so excited to finally have a "man teacher".  I told him I was the same age the first time I had a "man teacher" and he was one of my very favorite teachers ever.  Campbell has an incredible teacher who is so dedicated.  I just love her.   And for the first time, I am going to be able to chaperon field trips for both boys.  They are both next week and I don't know who is more excited, the boys or me.

Addison has been after me since day one to get her into her "school".  I like to claim that the stress of moving and the holidays, coupled with the fact that we've been a household of illness for a month is the reason for my negligence.  I really do need to get on the ball.  The kids are all getting ready to be involved in sports and activities and I apparently need to locate everything and get it set up and I was just informed today that the deadline is next week so I REALLY need to get on the ball! 

Our Cooper has always had such a strong personality but it is just so fun to watch him discover and communicate more.  He has been my only child who has resisted the sign language.  I used to pride myself on how well the others used their signs.  Cooper refuses.  He refuses to try and mimic you in any way.  If you try to get him to point to something - his nose or anything, he will just stare at you in this staring contest - that he will win. But the other day he really wanted something and he looked at me and made the sign for please.  Now, I can't resist him.  He still talks up a storm but it is like a foreign language barrier and you still try and guess what he is saying.  He's pretty good at letting you know when you get it right and when you still don't get it.  The kids were amazed when they discovered that he understood what they said to him.  If they asked him to get something, he would.  It was as if they had taught a dog a new trick.  They were literally jumping up and down.  "Watch Cooper!  He knows what we're saying!!!!"

Cooper is still our climber and has the bumps and bruises to show as he fearlessly scales new heights and jumps from them.  We are just amazed that we haven't had any broken bones or split skulls from him.  But as I said, we've had plenty of illness this last month.  The croup, ear infections, the flu (including a horrifying vomiting experience for Campbell at school - poor thing), sinus infections and even a bout of food poisoning - blasted Taco Time!  But all in all we are hanging in there and every single one of us LOVES our new home.